Tell Me About It...

Moving on

2010-07-02T19:19:00.003-05:00

I think I'm done here. I might have more to say at some point, but for right now I need to just move on. I don't plan to delete this blog, so it will be floating around in cyberspace for new people to read. And who knows...someday I might resurrect it. I just don't want to feel the pressure to write something when I have nothing to say.

Thank you to everyone who read here. To those who commented and emailed and came back for more I am truly grateful. I will still receive any comments left here since I have them sent to my email account.

a new do

2010-06-05T22:50:00.003-05:00

This weekend we went from this

to this,

and from this,

to this.

The before pictures were taken after swimming and hair drying. They didn't usually style their hair that way. My dad had the privilege of blow drying their hair and then shaving it off. They both like the new styles, but I must admit that I will miss the long flowing locks. They both look so much older and taller now!

hi

2010-05-02T09:25:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's been two weeks since I blogged here. I know I was out for a bit, but I had planned to blog more often. I just got busy I guess.

So I've had a migraine for 3 days. Even on medicine it hasn't totally gone away. I woke up with it on Friday and took drugs to fight it. I was fine all day. Woke up Saturday morning with it again. Took drugs. Took drugs Saturday evening. Took Excedrin this morning in hopes that it will knock out what little bit is left. We'll see.

And because of that nagging headache I'm going to get off the computer. I've already skimmed all of your fabulous blogs and now my eyes are tired.

Someone should totally pay me for this stuff.

2010-04-18T07:57:00.002-05:00

Many of you know about my love affair with peanut m&m's. It's been going on for years. I've tried some of the other candies in the m&m's family...peanut butter, coconut, mint, pb&j, wildly cherry...and so far nothing has been able to steal me away from that bright yellow bag. I guess that's a good thing considering most of those other flavors are for a limited time only.

As you know it is my job to find and report* on new food (ok...mostly candy) discovered in my stomping grounds. Well yesterday I ran across these babies.

Pretzel m&m's.

Now I love me a good chocolate-covered pretzel. The combination of sweet and salty just does it for me every time. I am uber excited that m&m has decided to join the fun.

Inspecting the color palette*.

And I tasted them. Actually I ate all of the ones you see pictured. I would have eaten more, but that was the entire bag's worth.

So how did they taste? Pretty much like you would expect a candy-coated, chocolate-covered pretzel to taste. I do think there was a tad too much salt flavor, which is surprising if you know me at all. I love me some salt. The chocolate to pretzel ratio* was completely in line with what an m&m should be, but I'm thinking they would have been better with a bit more chocolate on them.

Verdict* - I wouldn't turn them down if they were offered to me, but when I'm standing in line at the grocery store making my own choice I'll still be picking up the yellow bag.

*I realize that m&m's are supposed to be a fun candy and that my post sounds quite serious. Product review...it's a serious business. Of course it would be so much better and easier to remain serious if I got a paycheck for all my research. I could have a spot in my house to actually do reviews. There would be a photo studio so I wouldn't be tempted to take pictures of the products on my unmade bed. I can't promise I wouldn't eat the candy in bed, but at least you wouldn't see the sheets in the background.

Sunday afternoon in the park

2010-04-11T11:18:00.004-05:00

problem solved

2010-04-04T14:37:00.002-05:00

Remember this?

Well, I happened to be driving by that same billboard yesterday and saw this...

Much better!

World Autism Awareness Day

2010-04-02T16:33:00.004-05:00

Since it's World Autism Awareness Day I thought I would write about a little something that's been on my mind lately.

Right after spring break I got a new student. He seemed to be having trouble adapting to our schedule. After 2 weeks of teaching said student I'm almost positive he has Asperger's Syndrome or some other form of autism. My niece has it, and there are many similarities to the glimpses I got of her at that age. I haven't said anything to the parents, because I'm not sure why he transferred to our school. I know he is closer to his mother's job now. I know they pay tuition for him to go to our school, because they still live in the district where his old school was. I can't help but wonder if the teacher at his old school mentioned that he might need to be tested because of his problems, and his parents didn't agree or want to accept it. From what I can tell he's an only child. He reads and writes beautifully (From what I've read good handwriting isn't normal for autistic kids...hm...). He can count better than most. Based on those things he is a model student. But something is definitely wrong. I've talked to my principal, and she thinks we should wait to talk to the parents. She told me to make notes. Document behaviors that stand out. I've started doing that. I just wish I could call his old school and get some feedback from them.

While looking things up online I came across this fictional story about a kid with Asperger's Syndrome that I thought I would share. Just in case anyone out there is interested.

I'm thinking bald is beautiful.

2010-04-02T14:50:00.000-05:00

I have never liked getting my haircut. I don't like the amount of time it seems to take. It's not like I think I have better things to do with my time. I'm not one of those people who has to be on the go all the time either. But for some reason when I'm getting my hair done the time seems to drag on and on. Waiting for that golden moment when you're given the mirror to check yourself out seems like it's never going to come. When the cape is finally removed and I'm allowed out of the chair all I want to do is throw my money at the counter as I run by. I feel as though I have to escape before my stylist sees an errant hair that he missed and pulls out those scissors again. I don't though. I actually stand there and pay like a good customer.

When I lived in Turkey I really hated getting my haircut. And yes, hate is an extreme word, but it is the proper one here. I never knew what to expect at the salons there. After a couple of really bad haircuts (due I'm sure to my extremely limited language skills when we first arrived AND earning me the nickname Larry because one was SOOOO short) I was quite skittish anytime I needed a trim. And believe me the only time I ever got my haircut there was when the split ends were taking over and I had no choice but to get a trim. There was no way I was going to let someone actually give me full out haircut. I saved those for my trips to America. One of the things that seemed so strange to me in Turkey was the fact that it took 2 people to style your hair. One person was the hairdryer holder while the other used the brush and aimed the hairdryer. And even though I was only getting trims it still seemed like it took forever.

A couple of weeks ago I had my hair colored and highlighted. It was spring break and the only available appointment my colorist had left was on a Saturday. Let me bear witness here that Saturdays are crazy busy at my salon. After looking over my hair my colorist decided that it was time for some highlights and low lights as well as the normal root touch up. Being completely dense about these things myself I let her make those sorts of decisions for me. So far she's never steered me wrong. She mixed her colors and set about foiling my hair. By the time she was done with that portion her next client had arrived. She passed me off to a girl who basically runs around the coloring station helping everyone. She applied the base color to my roots and wherever else it needed to be touched up. I waited. When it was time to rinse it all out another helper girl took me to the washing sink and rinsed. She applied a 2 part leave-in conditioner that needed to be heated so I sat under the dryer for 20 minutes, rinsed, was conditioned again and sat under the dryer for an additional 15 minutes After everything was washed out I was taken to yet another person who dried and styled my hair for me. 4 hours and 4 people later I was done. Finally done. All I can say is thank goodness I hadn't planned to get my haircut as well!

Note...my hair was beautiful. I wish I had thought to take a picture of it.

Note 2...I made another appointment while I was there for a Tuesday night weeks in advance. I NEVER do that, but I don't think I can handle another Saturday appointment again.

Teaching FAIL

2010-03-28T11:18:00.003-05:00

Passed this sign today. Drove about a mile before I decided I had to turn around and take a picture of it. I decided to be nice and called the number for the academy to report the mistake. Since it's Sunday I just left a message, but you can be sure I'll be watching the billboard to see what they do about it!

Say what?

2010-03-27T10:51:00.000-05:00

Teaching is getting easier. Kinda. The kids are still much harder to deal with than I remember, but I am getting into a routine. And the staff at my school is fabulous which helps tremendously. Mucho support from everyone. But back to the kids. After spring break I had the kids tell me one fun thing they did over the break. The first kid I called on said he went to Disneyland. Um...yeah...right. How did you get there? A limo. Now I know he has no idea that to drive to Disneyland would take a full 24 hours. But still...why make up such a crazy story? After that the stories ranged from bull riding to mountain climbing to going to a waterpark. Now I know that none of the stories are true. I could tell by the way they were told. I also know that 5 year olds don't ride bulls, there are no mountains anywhere close, and that the waterparks weren't open yet. I was so thankful for the kid who said he and his brother got to stay up late and jump on his trampoline in the dark. The best part was how excited he was to tell me that. He didn't make up a story about something that he couldn't even imagine. He told the truth, and it showed all over his face.

The same kid who "went to Disneyland" for spring break mentioned that his birthday was coming up. He wondered aloud if I was coming. He answered his own thought by reminding himself that I didn't even know where his house was. Just because I was curious what he would say I asked him if he could tell me how to get there. I wrote down his directions to make sure I got them right.

"You know where that red light is by my nana's house? That green light that means go, yellow for slow down and red to stop? Go straight. You see that barbershop. Russell, he works there. My horse is right there by that tree. He is a brown horse. What kind is your car? (me...a van) Yeah, my church has a van. You see the donut shop right here. You gotta turn your head this way. Then you turn and that's my house."

And of course his directions were full of hand motions and pointing. He was sure I got it because I paid attention and wrote it all down. Poor kid. I don't think I'll be able to make it to his party despite his excellent directions. My reason...I don't know where his nana lives.

Kickin' it at the Rodeo - Mar. 19

2010-03-27T10:48:00.001-05:00

Last week I was able to make a quick trip to the rodeo. I had promised my kids we would go see Rascal Flatts. Due to several unforeseen hold-ups between the hours of 4pm and 7pm we arrived late. As soon as we got in the gates we ran to the stadium. We missed the first event...calf roping and half of the second event...bareback riding. We saw the rest of the rodeo events and most of the concert before we left. There was no time for the carnival or the petting zoo or the ag-venture barn. I was not happy. I wanted more. This weekend will be my final chance to see it all. The question is will I go or not. I still haven't decided. If I do go I know what shoes I'm wearing...

A month or so ago I stopped at a western store to look at boots. I wanted boots. I tried on several pair before narrowing it down to two choices.

This beauty. A boot by Twisted X. I loved them. I paraded up and down the aisles and looked in the mirror numerous times. My only issue is they came up higher on my calves than I preferred, and unfortunately I have thick calves. I wasn't sure how that would feel after hours of wearing them. But they were so pretty. And other than being a bit tight on my calves they were very comfortable.

Then there was this one by Ariat. I liked it, but did I love it? That was the question. I put them on and they were comfortable. I liked the color as well. Not quite as pretty as the others, but at least they weren't pink. (Yes, they came in a pinkish color.) I walked and walked and walked and began to love them. I tried on one of each boot and walked some more. No doubt about it. The Ariat was more comfortable. It was also quite a bit cheaper.

I made my choice...comfort over beauty. And let me tell you I LOVE my boots. I wore them to school one day, and my feet felt fine the entire time. I know that summer is coming and that the weather is getting warmer. I know that flip flops will be the shoe of choice fairly soon around these parts. Despite the warmer temps I think I'll find excuses to wear jeans just so I can wear those pretty, comfortable boots!

Break Dancing - Mar 14

2010-03-27T10:47:00.001-05:00

It's Spring Break. I have a whole week of nothing. Oh my how I needed it. Forget that I had two and a half weeks of nothing much before I started teaching. Forget that I only taught 2 weeks before this one. So what if I only worked 2 out of the last 5 weeks. I still needed the break.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go take a nap.

Falling off the bike...over and over. - Mar. 7

2010-03-27T10:44:00.001-05:00

I survived my first week but so needed the weekend to recover. It's Sunday, and I'm still tired.

Kindergarten is hard! The material the state requires a child to know by the end of their kindergarten year far surpasses what I taught to my students 15 years ago. Several years ago they made some huge changes to the curriculum. It will take me a little time to figure it all out.

The kids are also quite different from the ones I taught 15 years ago. They don't seem phased much by consequences or rewards. That's going to take some work on my part as well. How to keep a classroom running well while teaching what they need to know. I'm not there yet.

I'm older than I was when I taught last time. All the newness and uncertainty of the past week knocked me on my butt. By Wednesday night I was so tired that I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. A friend came over and took me to dinner. At least that's the story I was told. I barely remember it. There was leftover Chinese food in my refrigerator so I guess it really happened.

I barely saw my kids. I went to work an hour early and stayed an hour late just about every day. I went to the teacher supply store three times. I was in bed by 9:30 every night.

I teach this week and then have a week for Spring Break. I am so happy about that! I think a week to recover from my first two weeks of teaching is just what I need.

hit by a bus - Mar. 3

2010-03-27T10:43:00.000-05:00

just a quick note to let you know that i'm alive. barely. too tired to even press the shift key to capitalize. is it friday yet?

It's like riding a bike, right? - Feb 28

2010-03-27T10:42:00.001-05:00

Oh my. I start the new job tomorrow. I am ready, but then again I'm not. I just got the lesson plans, and most of it is just gibberish to me. I don't get the codes or know the curriculum at all. It is kindergarten so they won't be able to tell that I have no idea what I'm doing much. I think there will be a helper in the room as well so between the 2 of us we should be good. I plan to arrive an hour early, and I'm sure I'll be staying late just so that I can figure out what's what.

I packed my lunch and picked my clothes. My first day of school is tomorrow.

Random thoughts - Feb. 26

2010-03-27T10:40:00.001-05:00

Random thoughts...

1. What does it say about me that I would rather wait at a light to take my turn than have to decide when to merge into oncoming traffic? There are two particular places that come to mind where I routinely choose to sit through a couple of lights rather than go the shorter way because of this.

2. In April of 2008 my grandmother passed away. I bought waterproof mascara as a precautionary measure and have since only used waterproof mascara. I started crying that month, and for some strange reason I cry all the time now. At silly commercials, my daughters' program at school (which wasn't even a tear jerker), over a dirty bathtub, and at countless other noncrying moments. Happy, sad, frustrated, mad, hopeful, wistful, sleepy, bored. It doesn't even matter. The faucet turned on and now it leaks.

3. I start work on Monday. This week was a flurry of getting background checks and filling out paperwork and getting fingerprinted. My principal just called me and said to be there Monday at 8am. I am pretty sure I'll arrive a tad bit earlier than that. I have no idea what I'm supposed to teach so I need to get a look at those lesson plans!

4. My train of thought jumped the track, and now I can't remember what other random thoughts I was having. Oh well.

Heart is pounding! - Feb 19

2010-03-27T10:38:00.000-05:00

I got the job!!!! I am beyond excited about that! I could barely breathe after I got off the phone with the principal. She said she called all my references and got glowing reports about me. YEA!!!! I LOVE glowing reports! She wants me to start on Monday. She was going to call the HR department and see if they could process me that quickly. I'll either get a call from them or from her this afternoon to let me know for sure. Either way though...I got a job! I start next week. Yippy, skippy, doo!!!!!

Whee - Feb 18

2010-03-27T10:35:00.000-05:00

The principal called me today to ask for the phone numbers of my references. I hadn't put any on the application which I explained in my interview. At the time I filled out the application Panera didn't know I was applying for another job. I was worried about jeopardizing my job by giving them the phone number. (Turns out I was right to think that!) Today I was able to give the principal 4 references, 3 from Panera and 1 from my principal at my last school, 15 years ago. Calling my references...that's a good thing. I don't know if I will hear something tomorrow or not. Last Friday she told me she wanted to make a decision by tomorrow, but when I talked to her today I didn't ask her if that was still the case. I figured I could give her a few more days to make a decision.

After I got off the phone I did a cartwheel in the backyard. Not so much because I almost have the job though. My youngest challenged me to a cartwheel contest to see who could do the better cartwheel. She's 10, but I'm limber. I'm also 40. I felt every bit of those 40 years as I turned myself upside down. My right thigh muscles pulled tight and my wrists hurt a little when it was over. I should have stretched, and I'm not used to holding my weight on my hands! But I won! She may be 10, but she sucks at cartwheels! I could have totally kicked her cartwheeling butt when I was her age! As it is I did the full cartwheel without losing my balance too much. She totally fell over at the end of hers. HA HA! I won!

The end of an (Pan)ERA - Feb 14

2010-03-27T10:33:00.001-05:00

I went and observed at the school on Friday. It was exactly the type of school I want. Poor families, disadvantaged kids, and teachers and volunteers who could be at bigger, better schools but feel at home at this one. Sign me up! I think my day of observing went well and that I have a pretty good shot at the job. I know there was one other candidate who observed last week as well, and there might be one or two observing this week. The principal said that she hoped they would make a decision by Friday. I think there are a few things in my favor. 1. my age. I don't plan on this being a stepping stone to a better job. Many young teachers start small and move to bigger school districts. I have absolutely no desire to do that. 2. I've taught in a school very similar to this one. I could answer questions based on what I knew from that experience. 3. Living overseas and doing missionary work. I approached the job with a learners posture. I expressed a desire to learn about the community and the kids from those who knew them best...the staff at the school. I didn't come in with all the answers.

We'll see.

I also quit my job at Panera. I went to work on Monday and Tuesday then decided that I couldn't take doing that every day. Part of it was a pride thing I must admit. On Monday I took the new girl around and introduced her to some of my clients. When I was asked what I was doing now I told them that I was looking for a teaching job, but that I would be at the store for a while if they needed anything. I was pleasant and gracious about the whole thing. The poor girl who took my place felt bad about it all. She didn't realize that it was a big secret at first. When she came to interview for my job she thought I had actually given notice. I was fine the whole day Monday. My boss thanked me for helping out. On Tuesday I had a hard day. All I could think about was how sneaky they had been. The new girl and the girl who trained her were told not to tell me. They both hated it but needed to keep their jobs so they went along with it. My boss wasn't the one who made the decision, but she could have gone to bat for me. She could have at least told the district manager that I wasn't one of those employees who would sabotage things before I quit. I was mad when I arrived. I was asked a million questions about delivery charges and how to get to different clients. I was asked to train a new guy for an associate job. The more I did the more I fumed. I took 2 deliveries, because there were too many for the new girl to do alone. At one point my boss passed around some papers with our cultural values on it. We are about to be audited by the corporate office and might be asked to recite some of the values of our store. Number one just about made me flip my lid. It said, "No jerks. We will treat each other with respect and honesty." I had done exactly that. Out of respect for them I was honest about the interview. I was not treated the same way at all. I decided that I needed to take a day off. On Wednesday I called in sick. The more I thought about going back the more I dreaded it. That evening I went in and talked to my boss. I told her that I had the observation at the school on Friday and that I wouldn't be back. I told her that I hated not giving her 2 weeks notice, but that I didn't feel like I had been afforded the opportunity. If I don't get the teaching job I will need to use my days to find another job. There are other teaching jobs out there, but I haven't applied for any of them. I hope I don't have to.

And yes...I totally cracked myself up with the title of this post!

it happened - Feb 7

2010-03-27T10:27:00.001-05:00

Remember that overly paranoid thing I mentioned? The part about how I was worried about losing my job? Well it happened. Guess I wasn't being overly paranoid after all.

On Saturday I picked my daughter up from work. She happens to work as a cashier at the same place I was catering manager. While I was there my boss told me she wanted to talk to me. She said that starting Monday I was being demoted to associate. The same position I had when I was hired back in April. The same position my 17 year old daughter currently has. She said that the girl who interviewed for my job, the same girl I saw training at another store a few days after her interview, that girl was starting Monday as the new catering manager. Since I had interviewed for another job they knew I wasn't committed to the catering job, and they wanted to put someone in the position who was going to stick around for a while. The funny part is the girl they hired for the job has worked for our company three times. She's quit and returned twice. I guess she plans to stay this time.

I must admit that I was upset at first. I certainly didn't deserve to be demoted. I have busted my butt for this company. I've gone above and beyond for them time and time again. I do understand their position. I understand the need for a committed person in the job. What bothered me was the way they went about the whole thing. I hadn't even had my interview when she came in to interview for my job. My boss led me to believe that I wasn't going to lose my job just because I had an interview somewhere else. I told her that if I got the teaching job I would give her two week's notice before I left. It was the right thing to do. And while I was ready to do the right thing they trained the new girl in another store for a week then gave her my position instead of bringing her in to train with me. A week and a half after I was honest with them about having an interview I was demoted.

My boss told me that she would appreciate it if I would help the new girl this week. Go with her on the deliveries to introduce her to the customers. Help make the transition a smooth one. I honestly couldn't believe she was asking me to do that as an associate. That's what I should have done during her training. She should have gone with me.

I will go with her. I will be kind and gracious. I will continue to work hard. Because that's the kind of person I am. And if I am offered the teaching position I will take it. And I will start as soon as they need me. The one thing I'm not going to worry about doing is giving them two weeks' notice. They gave me 41 hours' notice that I was demoted. If I hadn't gone in on Saturday I wouldn't have gotten that much.

Tomorrow should be fun. I'm actually looking forward to it in a strange sort of way. I won't say a negative word about anyone I can assure you, but watching the reactions of others will amuse me.

Paranoia - Feb 4

2010-03-27T10:25:00.003-05:00

The reason my boss asked me if I was giving my two weeks' notice is because she's lost several long term employees to higher paying jobs lately. A very reliable morning opener who had been with the company for 5 years had recently gone on to a better job. She was already beginning to stress over losing some good people when a girl who had been with the company for 2 years gave her notice that morning so I think she was worrying a bit. When she heard me say I needed to talk to her about something her mind automatically went there. She really didn't think that I wanted to give notice, but I opened my big mouth and told her about my interview.

Since that day I have talked to her, and I think she's ok. She says that she doesn't think I've given notice and that as far as she's concerned I'm not going anywhere. That being said the girl who came in to interview for my position is currently being trained at another store. From what I understand she's just training for management not catering, but I'm not sure what I think about that. It did make me a little nervous.

And finally...I got a call from the school I interviewed with. They want me to come out and observe one day next week. I was somewhat surprised to tell you the truth. I knew my interview went well, but I just assumed there were better qualified applicants for the job. There may be. They may be observing one day as well. We'll see. I am reservedly excited if that makes any sense at all.

Edited to add...

This morning I ended up needing to stay home to take care of a sick kid. 103 temperature, throwing up with diarrhea kind of sick. I called my boss who was quite pleasant. Like she didn't care that I wasn't coming in. Totally not the reaction I would normally get. Either I am being overly paranoid or I desperately need a teaching job and fast!

Stressing out - Written Feb. 1

2010-03-27T10:18:00.001-05:00

Last week I applied for a teaching job. It was a rather unexpected event to tell you the truth. I knew that I might need to move back into teaching in the fall. I knew that I would need more money. I decided to check into some job fairs that many school districts have in the spring. When I looked at one of the area school district's website I noticed that they had an opening for a kindergarten position. I debated applying but decided that it wouldn't hurt to send in my application. That was done last Sunday. Monday afternoon I got a call about an interview for later in the week. I wasn't sure what to think. I wasn't sure what to tell my current employer. I decided not to say anything because the chance of me actually getting the job was pretty slim, and I certainly didn't need to cause my employer to stress out. On Wednesday my boss made some comment about me turning in my 2 weeks notice. I wasn't sure if one of the two people I had confided in had mentioned my interview to her or not. I explained what was going on, and she freaked. She was totally joking when she said what she said about me giving her two weeks notice. I told her that I wasn't really looking...that I just had the one interview. That in the fall I would probably need to do something that offered more benefits. I think she would have handled it okay, but the district manager happened to visit. She didn't handle it well at all. She kept telling me that I could make the same amount that the teaching job offered at my current job. She is right. I could make the same amount. The difference is that word...could. Teaching I will make that amount. I will have a number of sick days. I will automatically have vacation days for Spring Break, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. There will be retirement benefits as well. I don't have any of those things where I currently work. If I want to take a vacation I won't get paid. If I am sick or one of my kids is sick and I miss work...no money. I do have insurance but no retirement. I love my job. I really do, but I know that I won't be able to support myself on it for long. I can't continue to live paycheck to paycheck. I have to be saving some money. On Friday I had to leave work early. About 15 minutes before I left a girl showed up to interview for my position. I couldn't believe it. It really stressed me out! I didn't have a chance to talk to my boss about it then, and she is on vacation until tomorrow. I have no idea what will happen. I don't think they will do anything crazy, but at this point I'm not sure. I won't be fired. I know that much for sure. I just don't want to be demoted. Even if they keep me at the same pay scale I will lose my insurance. I won't have the extra money that comes with my job. I need every bit of what I make.

As far as the teaching job goes...I interviewed. I felt like it went well. I know for a fact that at least one other person interviewed for the job. We passed in the parking lot. On the interview table I saw 3 folders similar to the one they put my information in. So I am guessing that there were 4 of us interviewing that day. After the interview I asked the principal when she was going to make a decision. She said it would be a couple of weeks. That tells me that more people will probably be interviewing. I have no idea what my chances are. I haven't had a teaching job in 15 years. I thought the interview went well. I don't know Spanish which would be an asset. I've lived overseas and experienced different cultures which seemed to impress the panel. I have absolutely no idea which way this will go. I really wouldn't care so much about not getting the job if I hadn't said anything to my boss. As it stands now I am going to be a little stressed until I talk to her. Hopefully that will be tomorrow. Hopefully after talking to her I will feel better and not worse!

Updates...

2010-03-27T10:16:00.004-05:00

Going to be putting some posts here today. Things I've written, but didn't publish. Thanks to those of you who haven't completely given up on me.

I need to borrow a baby on a cold day.

2009-12-22T21:38:00.003-06:00

If I had a baby he/she would totally be sporting this look this winter. I absolutely love these caps! So cute!

I know...I haven't been here in forever. Work, life, illness. That pretty much sums up the last month. Trust me...you haven't missed much.

Seriously though...you have to check out that link. Especially if you have a baby, are in need of a knitted cap or know how to knit yourself and want a fun new idea. So cute.

I'll be back.

Oh that Russell!

2009-11-13T15:09:00.004-06:00

Remember these? These delectable chocolate covered marshmallow Santas? Ahhh...such good memories...

Then there was this. A heart. I loved it as well despite the chocolate to marshmallow ratio being slightly off.

And now...

I've discovered this. Standby while I take my first bite...ahhh...such a sweet familiar flavor. But...wait...I had no idea...the marshmallow is chocolate flavored, too. A chocolate marshmallow covered in chocolate? Yummo!

Yum!

2009-11-08T21:28:00.003-06:00

I love fall. I love the colors associated with it. I love the cooler weather as well. And I love the food. Last year we moved back to the states the Monday before Thanksgiving. By the time jetlag wore off we were in full Christmas mode. I missed fall. This year I was pleasantly surprised by all the fall foods in the grocery store. The variety of squash alone was enough to make me giddy. In Turkey we had zucchini. They weren't exactly like the ones here in the states. They were a lighter green, but the flavor was the same. I liked them and cooked them often, but I missed other varieties.

The other day I bought these three varieties of squash. From left to right...CARNIVAL squash, DELICATA squash, and GOLDEN NUGGET squash. Yum! I cooked them all in the same night for a mini taste test. The kids took one bite, which I didn't even capture on camera, and turned their noses up. Well everyone but Erica. She and I both thought they were delicious! They all tasted very similar. Slightly sweet and buttery...or maybe that was the butter I put on them. Either way...yum!

personal

2009-10-19T20:38:00.002-05:00

Hm...not sure what to write here exactly.

I appreciate all the prayers and thoughts for me and my family. I know most of you would like an explanation, but I am not ready to talk to anyone about all that is going on. Just know that Brian has been truly remarkable throughout the whole thing. It is important to me that you know that. Even though he disagrees with some of the decisions I've made he has been kind and gracious to me. I expected nothing less. He was always that way. Also I wanted to let everyone know that the kids are in the forefront of my mind. I will be a bike ride away from them at most, and they will be seeing me on a daily basis. In no way am I abandoning them or my role as their mother. Beyond that I don't have anything else to say yet. Maybe I never will. This is personal, and I need to keep it that way for now.

hi

2009-10-01T17:49:00.003-05:00

I am currently without internet at home. I am downloading my email at work, but I haven't had time to actually answer most of them. I promise I'm not ignoring you guys! And there is no time for blogging during my quick time online either. Oh...and the vonage phone isn't working since the internet isn't working. I am able to check my messages though. Sorry for the craziness!

best tattoo ever!

2009-08-30T22:31:00.003-05:00

I was surfing the internet the other day and came across this tattoo. I shared it with my kids. I shared it on twitter. I showed a few friends.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed watching the different reactions people have had to it. Personally I think it's quite clever. If people are going to be looking/noticing that a toe is missing you might as well have them giggling over the whole thing.

Kemah

2009-08-09T18:09:00.003-05:00

Before moving to Turkey one of our favorite places to go for the day was to the Kemah boardwalk. We always rode the train, ate some yummy seafood, played in the dancing fountain, and had beignets for dessert. Occasionally we would let the kids ride the ferris wheel or merry-go-round as well. A couple of weeks ago we took our first trip to Kemah since we've been back in the states. Evidently Hurricane Ike did quite a bit of damage here, but we couldn't tell at all. Kemah was back and better than ever! Here are a few pictures of our day.

The train ride. Of course!

Anna Grace screaming in the tunnel.

Erica, Will, and Anna Grace decided to ride the Drop Zone. Jacob didn't want to have anything to do with it. I didn't blame him one bit!

Yeah...it was entirely too tall for me! I wish I had a picture of the kids' faces right after they were dropped. They were scared! Within seconds they were laughing and talking about how fun it was though.

They all decided to take home temporary tattoos as a souvenir.

The day was hot, but we had fun! We had the yummy seafood, ate beignets, and rode a few more rides as well, but somehow I only managed to take these few pictures! We'll get 'em next time!

Colors

2009-08-02T22:47:00.003-05:00

I was adding some pictures to my computer when I stumbled across these. I took these pictures in May when the first fruits of our garden were starting to make themselves known. The vibrant colors make my heart ache.

Yellow squash

A baby watermelon

A perfect little cucumber.

Ah...the sweet smell of home grown tomatoes!

And for the flower lovers out there I'll include this one.

I am a mixed medium gardener. Flowers mixed with veggies, mixed with shrubs, mixed with annuals, mixed with roses, mixed with...well you get the idea.

my day

2009-08-01T18:17:00.002-05:00

This morning I woke up with a massive headache. I couldn't decide if it was going to be one of migraine proportions or not. I chose to just take Excedrin and ride it out. I also drank a diet Coke, took some Ibuprofen, took naps, and ate food in attempts to alleviate the pain. Nothing helped really. Despite having a headache I am feeling quite chipper. It's a good day. A lazy Saturday. A talk on the phone to a friend kind of day. A thumb through Southern Living magazines and dream sort of day. A read all the posts in my reader kind of day. And I'm smiling about all of it.

life

2009-07-22T20:39:00.003-05:00

I've had several emails and comments from people wondering where I am. I'm still here...just really busy. There's a lot going on. I'm not quite comfortable talking about most of it here though. So for the time being...until I get things sorted out...I probably won't be blogging much. I always promised to let you guys know if and when I decided to stop blogging altogether. That is not the plan as of now. If it comes to that I'll be sure to tell you. Thanks for being such faithful readers.

just a quick trip...ha!

2009-07-11T20:50:00.005-05:00

While in Oklahoma we've become acquainted with a certain convenience store...Quick Trip or QT for short. The drink choices at this place...wow!

frozen coffee drinks, hot coffees, cappuccinos, mochas, lattes, dairy and non-dairy flavored creamers...

milkshakes, smoothies, slushes, fountain drinks, iced tea (which is next to the cups on the right)...

a whole bar of lids for all the different cups

And when you're buying drinks for 8 thirsty kids it's anything but a Quick Trip.

As a side note...I love the looks I get when I pull out the camera and take pictures in places like this. Thankfully I think the wonderment on my face excuses my backwoods behavior.

party at my place

2009-07-09T22:53:00.004-05:00

One of my most favorite restaurants in Turkey was a little local place right up the street from our apartment. When we first moved to Turkey they were just a little hole in the wall kind of place that had about 7 tables. 7 plastic tables with plastic chairs. By the time we left, almost 7 years later, things had changed. They had expanded to be quite large, had nice booths and tables, and were very popular! They made home-cooked kind of food. A dish called manti was their specialty and so they were called Manti Evi or Manti house. Manti is basically a dumpling or kind of ravioli with a meat and spice mixture tucked inside the dough. It is served with garlic yogurt and red pepper paste on top. Delicious!

Several years ago I went to the Manti Evi to learn how to make Manti. I had grand plans to make it in the states when I came here for a visit. It is quite tedious and I am quite lazy so those plans never did come to fruition. (And besides once I got to America there was Pappadeaux's to consume. I must admit the manti making took a backseat to stuffing my face with Cajun cuisine.)

Several weeks ago, before our friends came to the states for their visit, they visited the Manti Evi and took this video.

And today we sat down and made some manti ourselves.

It was still quite tedious, and nobody really ended up with a Turkish sized serving of manti, but we did it!

My taste buds and tummy had a party today. I love it when they do that!

Day one

2009-07-09T21:02:00.004-05:00

We came to Oklahoma to visit some of our closest friends from Turkey. The ones we camped with in this post. The ones we shared Thanksgiving with in this post. And I talked specifically about Shawn here. I'm sure they are scattered elsewhere throughout this blog as well.

Today is day one of our trip. So far we've...

dressed up in all kinds of outfits.

Jacob decided to join in as well. I must say he makes an ugly girl! The old lady hair and goggles certainly don't help his look any!

There have been water balloon fights.

Joint Nintendo DS games.

Face rearranging.

Turkish food making...

And eating.

Did I mention dressing up?

And this was only the first day. Tomorrow we have Chuck E. Cheeses, rollerskating, a possible concert in the park, and renting movies for late night movie watching planned. Read the above post about Shawn to understand how much fun we have been anticipating having. It will be a jam-packed few days. My kids are in heaven! And I'm tired already! I love that.

trees

2009-07-06T14:29:00.003-05:00

One morning when I awoke very early, I saw my mother walking up the hill to the barn. Mist hung about the ground, finches were singing in the oak tree beside the house, and there was my mother, her pregnant belly sticking out in front of her. She was strolling up the hill, swinging her arms and singing:

Oh, don't fall in love with a sailor boy, a sailor boy, a sailor boy--- Oh, don't fall in love with a sailor boy, 'Cause he'll take your heart to sea---

As she approached the corner of the barn where the sugar maple stands, she plucked a few blackberries from a stray bush and popped them into her mouth. She looked all around her---back at the house, across the fields, and up into the canopy of branches overhead. She took several quick steps up to the trunk of the maple, threw her arms around it, and kissed that tree soundly.

Later that day I examined this tree trunk. I tried to wrap my arms about it, but the trunk was much bigger than it had seemed from my window. I looked up at where her mouth must have touched that trunk. I probably imagined this, but I thought I could detect a small dark stain, as from a blackberry kiss.

I put my ear against the trunk and listened. I faced that tree squarely and kissed it firmly. To this day, I can smell the smell of the bark---a sweet, woody smell---and feel the ridges in the bark, and that distinctive taste on my lips.

In my mini journal, I confessed that I had since kissed all different kinds of trees, and each family of trees---oaks, maples, elms, birches---had a special flavor all its own. Mixed in with each tree's own taste was the slightest taste of blackberries, and why this was so, I could not explain.

From Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.

Have I mentioned how much I love children's literature? I have. Ok then...carry on.

How I spent the 4th

2009-07-05T23:02:00.005-05:00

My entire family went to Lake Sam Rayburn for a little 4th of July fun. My parents brought their RV and boat, and my sister and brother-in-law brought their wave runners. Their were air conditioned cabins, bikes, s'mores, hamburgers, tubing, skiing, swimming, and even a pinata. All kinds of fun was had. Well except the first day when I decided to water ski even though I hadn't been water skiing in over 12 years. Yeah...I'm about to be 40 and could totally tell. So could the hamstring that I pulled that first morning. Thankfully there were air conditioned cabins since I was pretty much out of commission that first day. The rest of the time I limped around determined to spend some time in the water. Here are a few photos of our weekend.

The kids taking turns with the pinata.

Jacob and Will cooling off.

Everyone you see in the picture belongs to us. Wait...except the kid with the buzz haircut. I have no idea where he came from.

Paige enjoying the lake.

Little Luke

Hannah having fun.

Vanessa and Jacob prepare to take off.

Will and Erica tubing. Lots of laughing involved.

Will and Jacob waiting their turns.

Vanessa and Jeremy taking the girls out for a spin. Anna Grace has been compared to a bronco bustin' rider. She LOVED going fast, spinning around, and jumping waves.

There were several more pictures, but they pretty much look the same as these. And I totally forgot to take pictures of the food. We were all so ravenous that it was gone before I thought about it.

Good times.

details

2009-06-27T11:54:00.004-05:00

I've been trying to come up with something to put here. Something that doesn't have to do with work. (Oh, and speaking of work...I now have business cards. Real, official ones that my manager ordered for me. Like with the company logo and MY NAME on them! I've never had business cards with my name on them! I look so important now!)

The other day a girl at work (Despite the use of the word "work" this is not a work story. It just happened to take place there. Sorry to all of you who had to go get your reading glasses to even be able to tell that these were actual words and not a faint green line in the middle of a sentence. I just wanted to make sure it was said and since it wasn't an integral part of the story I thought I should change the font to teeninecy. Is teeninecy a word? And if so how is it spelled exactly?) asked me if I was wearing lavender eyeliner. It was a shade of purple so I said yes. She said she liked it. A couple of days later she asked another girl if she was wearing "Shell eyeshadow by Loreal"? The girl answered, "no, it's Pale Moon by Estee Lauder." Now there are two things I find funny about this. First of all I had no idea what the actual shade of my eyeliner was called nor did I know who made it. (Purple Amethyst by Almay...yeah...I looked at it later.) Second, both of these girls could call out shades of eyeshadow and the companies who made them without missing a beat. Wow.

This past week a friend was in the market for a new car. She mentioned that she was looking at Jeep Wranglers. I had to look it up online to be sure what a Jeep Wrangler looked like. I had driven my dad's Jeep Grand Cherokee so I knew what it looked like, but I really don't know that much about cars. If I've owned it I can pick it out, but other than that I'm lost.

I don't recognize many major brands. I try on shoes based on how they look and buy them based on how comfortable they are. It doesn't make a difference to me if they happen to have a fancy name stamped on the inside. I figure most places I go people aren't going to see the name of the maker of my shoes unless I take them off. I never take my shoes off unless I'm at home where my family could care less who makes my shoes. I'm the same way with purses. Does it have what I am looking for? If so I buy it. If not I don't. Period. Later when I discover that I bought some fancy brand I'm surprised. I had no idea.

Are we seeing a pattern here? For someone who usually pays close attention to life I find it interesting that I am fairly clueless about those types of things. I am usually a details type person, but for some reason those details just don't compute.

Are you tired of reading job related blog posts yet?

2009-06-24T21:26:00.004-05:00

Has it really been two weeks since I blogged? I can't believe it. I don't think I've gone two weeks without blogging since 2006. Wow! It's the job. I blame the job. And speaking of the job...

Remember that catering position that I was supposed to start training for? Well I didn't get to start training the week I was supposed to. Several people were out so I ended up covering their cashier shifts. The next week I was going to start my training, but again things kept getting in the way. I did get to train with the current caterer for about 2 1/2 days during this time. The manager wanted me to get 1-2 months of training in before I took the position full time in the fall. We had plenty of time. All summer really. Then something big happened. I was called into the manager's office at 2:30 in the afternoon a week and a half ago and told that the catering coordinator was no longer working there. I was up. WHAT? I was nowhere near ready to do that job, but I jumped in with both feet. The managers were really great to help me. They went over the next days' orders with me, and I've been going full force ever since. I've made many mistakes, but thankfully they realize that 2 1/2 days of training doesn't quite equal up to the 1-2 months that would have been ideal.

The same week that I started the catering job Erica started working as a cashier there. It was a little bit of a rough start for her I must say. At first the idea of dealing with a drawer full of money that she was totally responsible for made her nervous. Couple that with needing to learn a full menu and it was stress city. She trained all last week and started up full force this week. She had a mini-meltdown on Monday, but we got her through it. Today she told me that she loved this job. She knows she is really fortunate to have such a great job for her first job. She knows that they wouldn't have ever hired her if I wasn't working there. They don't usually hire 16 year olds. I've seen many applications trashed because of a lack of experience. I love that they are giving her a chance. So far she has really done well. Today when she counted out her drawer at the end of her shift she was one cent over what her ticket said she should have. Doesn't get much better than that. I am so proud of her. And I can't wait to see her face when she gets her first paycheck! She is going to feel so rich!

It's funny. At our store Erica is the youngest employee, and I am the oldest. I love that!

Oh and I have to say that I love that I am able to wear just about anything I want now. Today I dressed up some because I thought I was going to be doing some marketing. We ended up getting 3 lunch orders so I wasn't able to get away. I was wearing heels and slacks while running around prepping these orders. By the end of the day my feet were killing me. Still are. Oh well...at least I looked good.

Ok...enough work stories for now. I'll try not to be such a stranger. And next time I won't blog about work. Probably.

reflection

2009-06-10T17:22:00.004-05:00

My grandmother lived in a tiny town in Arkansas my whole life. And when I say tiny I mean 333 people tiny. As a kid it was just a constant in my life. We may have moved every 3 years, but I could always count on my grandmother to be in the same place. One of my favorite things to do when I visited her was to walk to the general store. Steven's store. Also known as Marion Talley's. It was an old-fashioned sort of place. Wood plank floors, barrels and buckets of all sorts of items, work clothes, frozen foods, canned goods, hardware...you name it and they had it. By the time I was born it was a place that the locals went only when they needed something quick. A new Piggly Wiggly had been built in the town a few miles away, and that is where people went for their big grocery trips. I never could understand why people drove to a generic grocery store when Steven's store had everything anyone could ever need! Because I loved that place I made sure to give them some business when I came to town. I always bought one of two items when I went there. If I had enough money I bought a German chocolate cake. It was kept in their freezer and had a see-through lid. I don't remember what brand it was, but I do remember how good it tasted! I would walk back to my grandmother's house as quickly as I could so that I could have a piece before it had completely thawed. Something about a slice of that frozen cake just meant summer at Mamaw's to me. If I was short on funds I purchased a Neapolitan colored coconut bar. One of these. They were hard and chewy which I'm sure was due to the fact that they had been sitting on the shelf for a long time! I haven't had one since I was a kid. I wonder if they taste the same.

Despite my devotion Steven's store closed down around 1990. A few years later it was torn down completely. In 2002 my grandmother moved to another state to live with my aunt and her house was sold. Last April she passed away, and we took one last trip to the town where I spent many a summer vacation. Here's the post I wrote during that trip. I read it again today and those memories came flooding back again.

It's where I came from. It's part of who I am. I like that.

an explanation

2009-06-06T15:36:00.004-05:00

Yes, I got a job. And no, it's not a teaching job despite that degree I have. I wanted something way easier than teaching. I wanted a job that I could leave at the end of the day. I wanted something fun. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do exactly. I wasn't really looking quite yet, but after inquiring about positions at Panera Bread they wanted to hire me on the spot. I figured they saw someone who wasn't a teenager and that was probably pretty rare. I decided I could try it out and see what I thought. I honestly didn't know what to expect. The last real job I had was working at a preschool in 1995. What do I think? I LOVE it. Currently I'm just an associate. All that means is that I work the cash register, help customers in the bakery, and walk the dining room. I do not make sandwiches, salads or any of the other food Panera Bread serves. I am completely customer service. I am good at customer service. I remember names and faces easily. And not to build myself up, but the customers love me. I talk to them. I ask them questions. I remember. Totally right up my personality alley.

A couple of weeks ago my general manager asked me to take a walk with her. I hadn't done anything wrong so I knew I wasn't in trouble. She said she wanted to know if I was interested in the catering coordinator position. It's a management position with benefits. The current catering coordinator is heading to school in the fall so they were looking for someone who could replace her. I told her that it sounded great but that I needed to talk to Brian first. We talked and decided it would be a good thing. On Monday I start training for that position. Basically all the catering our store does would go through me. I will learn food prep for individuals and for a group. I will be the person taking the orders and delivering them. I'm looking forward to it! I will be losing some of my face time with the regular customers, but I will be gaining a whole new set of clientele.

But the best part of all...I don't have to wear a hat or tuck in my shirt. Ah...

Telling

2009-06-01T20:12:00.003-05:00

Whew...finally. Finally I can tell!

So I mentioned that something made me nostalgic for Turkey in my last blog post. That nostalgia was triggered when we had a surprise guest. Derya! Actually she wasn't a surprise to me. Brian and I knew she was coming to Texas for a couple of weeks before she actually came. We did decide to keep it a secret from the kids though. I teased them with the idea of a surprise guest a few days before she arrived. You should have heard all the guesses. I think they guessed everyone but Derya! When her car pulled up and they saw her through the passenger window there were screams all around! They were so surprised. Derya is our oldest Turkish friend. We met her the first month we lived in Turkey I think. She was someone we had only ever seen in Turkey. She had been in England getting her doctorate and came to the states for a little visit. The kids never expected to see her in America!

Derya brought a special friend with her as well. Virgil. We took them to Pappadeaux's since it was a place we had mentioned...oh...once or twice while we were in Turkey! We enjoyed seeing Derya and getting to know Virgil. Brian had the privilege of playing Dad and asking what his intentions were. He was open and honest and shared that he wanted to marry her. Wow!

As the kids tried to get hints as to who the mystery guest was they asked lots of questions. One of them was, "Has the person ever played Rock Band on the wii?" I told them I didn't think so, but I wasn't exactly sure. Nope...she had never played. We remedied that situation very quickly.

Since Derya is planning to marry an American I'm thinking we might see a lot more of her on this side of the ocean. Yay!

something

2009-05-24T21:16:00.005-05:00

I am feeling something today. I guess you could call it homesickness. An event happened yesterday that got me thinking about Turkey. I was able to dismiss the feelings for the most part, because I was enjoying myself. Then today my kids started talking about the fun times they had walking home from school in the snow in Turkey, and the feelings swept in again.

For 6 1/2 years I lived in this building.

This pink and yellow and gray building. 3rd floor, apartment #12. The building was new when we moved in so we were the first to live in that apartment. It was like no apartment I had ever lived in. There were four bedrooms, a kitchen, a combined living and dining room, and three bathrooms. Only two of them had toilets though. You could start at the front door and follow the hallways in a square passing every room in our apartment and end up back where you started. Every room had a door that could close it off from the rest of the house. We took the kitchen door off it's hinges right after we moved in because it was in our way. It took up precious wall space when it was open and closing the kitchen door seemed strange. Our doorbell rang to the tune of Für Elise. It was a friendly way to announce a guest.

I honestly can't imagine not going back to that apartment there. I walked in and out of that front door countless times in the 6 1/2 years I lived there. I took off my shoes as I entered and hung my bag on one of the hooks by the door. I greeted many a guest in that entryway. We don't even have a real entryway hall here. The front door just opens into the abyss that is the office/formal living and dining room area. We don't even use the front door on a regular basis save for the pizza delivery guy and the kid next door.

I moved around a lot as a kid. I remember lying in my bed at night in the new house and closing my eyes. I would picture the old house. I would picture the layout of my old room. Being in the same bed made it easy. The closet door was to the right. My dresser was in front of me. The pink prayer picture was hanging on the wall to my left. I would fall asleep remembering.

It's much harder to do that here. The bed is different. It's a king size instead of a queen. All of the furniture is different. I can't close my wardrobe and feel the air rush out of the small crack between the doors. I don't have that wardrobe anymore. I have a closet for my clothes. I can't pry open the secret compartment in my dresser to reveal passports and shot records. The dresser here doesn't have secret compartments. The passports and shot records are kept in the filing cabinet in the office now.

I don't have a basket full of winter wear by the front door. I did bring back a few of our favorite scarves and hats for winter, but they weren't ever taken out of the coat closet. It never got cold enough, because well, this is Texas.

The treasure chest that sat on our entryway table...the one where we kept loose change to give our doorman so he would bring us a loaf of fresh bread in the mornings sits empty in our office here. There is no doorman to bring us bread. This is Texas.

There is no sending the boys to get their haircuts, no asking one of the kids to run to the store for a forgotten item, no walking to a friend's house, no doing a lot of things I got used to doing. This is Texas.

The kids still take their shoes off as soon as they come in the house even though it isn't considered dirty to wear your shoes in the house here. Some habits die hard even though this is Texas.

For some of my musings about Turkey and moving to America you can go here and here and I'm sure many other places on my blog. Clicking the Turkey link on the sidebar will get you to some of it. If you're interested.

Um...

2009-05-21T18:03:00.008-05:00

So I've been hanging out at this new place quite a bit lately. Like Monday - Friday from about 6 or 7am to about 2 or 3pm. You know...depending on the day.

I've eaten quite a few of these which I only have to pay half price for. You know...since I'm there so much.

Would you just look at the yummy goodness!!!

These aren't so bad either!

So...yeah...if you've been wondering where I've been you obviously haven't looked here.

sustenance

2009-05-18T21:50:00.004-05:00

Lately I feel like I've neglected this blog. I've posted pictures and the random words that go with them, but it hasn't been enough. I feel like there hasn't been much sustenance. The pictures are nice, but I can't live on a diet of pictures alone. I am starving. I need my words. Many of you know that about me. Thankfully when I have a hard time coming up with my own words I can count on my blogging friends to have words for me. I read and comment and read and email and read some more. I reread and close my eyes and let their words paint the picture of experience in my head. I've been to a parade, attended a wedding, bought a house, stepped in dog poop with my bare feet, dealt with the loss of a child, contemplated a classroom of 3rd graders, had a colon cleanse, been on a Turkish picnic, and remembered a relationship through the words of my friends in the last couple of days. Thanks to everyone for sharing your words with me.

I'm so very grateful.

(Oh...and the great thing about a virtual colon cleanse and virtually stepping in dog poop is it is so much cleaner this way. I totally recommend it!)

a day

2009-05-16T20:37:00.003-05:00

Today was a nice relaxing day. We hung around our house this morning before heading out to a local farmer's market to browse the fruits and veggies. Most of the stuff was trucked in...tomatoes from Florida, cantaloupe from Guatemala (which I realize is a very long truck ride)...so we elected to wait a couple more weeks before we tried out their produce. Hopefully some of the local stuff will be ready by then.

I brought my camera along with plans to take pictures, but since the fruit was slim pickins I never even pulled it out of my bag.

After a bite of lunch we went out to my parents' house for a little swim time. I did manage to get some pictures of the kids swimming.

Now I'm sleepy.

comments

2009-05-16T08:57:00.003-05:00

Ok...I've enabled comment moderation again. This time for me. I want everyone to feel comfortable saying whatever they want to say here. I will get all the comments and have the power to approve or delete them. If I think a comment was left that was meant for my eyes only I won't worry about publishing it. So say what you want. I'm listening.

A.G.

2009-05-11T18:56:00.002-05:00

Anna Grace made me a card for Mother's Day. In it she wrote a rather lengthy note. I wanted to share it with you.

Dear Mom,
I love you. I know that you do almost everything for me so I decided to make you this. I love when you rub my back and say my prayers at night. I know that you love me and will always love me. I wish that someday I will make it into college so that you won't have to pay for me and my things. I think it's funny when you sing a song on American Idol that you know. I love how you make me laugh. I hope that you stay alive until I die. Hopefully we will never get separated. I like making puzzles with you. You are the greatest. Oh yeah, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! I'm glad that we got to move here, but I really want to go back.
Your's Truly,
A.G.

Yeah...I cried. That kid can get to me for sure.

All mixed up

2009-05-10T20:02:00.003-05:00

On Mother's Day I get to choose where we have lunch.

Last year in Turkey I chose Timboo Cafe where I enjoyed a cheeseburger with grilled onions and fries.

This year in America I chose Zamani Mediterranean Grill where I had icli kofte, sarma, and hummus.

Yeah, I've got issues.

Camping

2009-05-10T17:39:00.002-05:00

I am in a camping mood. I get in these moods every once in awhile. I want to go somewhere pretty and enjoy being outside. We don't actually own any camping gear anymore. We had quite a bit of stuff before we moved to Turkey. Most of it we gave away before we left. We acquired quite a bit of stuff while we were in Turkey. All of that we sold before we came back. So now we are back at square one with nothing. I'm sure my family has everything we need for a successful camping trip. I just need to call around and see who has what I guess.

A flower story

2009-05-02T13:12:00.005-05:00

The natural look

2009-05-02T12:51:00.004-05:00

My parents have an amazing yard. Last night the kids and I went to their place to spend the night. This morning I walked around with my camera and took tons of pictures. These 5 are my favorites!

I love this. If I were to name my pictures I think I would call this one Determination.

Feel free to offer names for the others if you'd like.

friends

2009-04-28T22:12:00.002-05:00

Lately I've been thinking about a lot of things. About how people come and go in our lives...our seasonal friends. Personally I am not a fan of seasonal friendships. I hate the whole idea of them, but I understand that they are a reality of life. Not everyone will be a forever friend. I have had plenty of seasonal friends in my life. Growing up and moving around a lot contributed to that reality. I didn't have a choice really. As an adult I have more of a choice, but even so sometimes people just grow apart and life moves on.

We don't plan for people to be our seasonal friends. It just happens that way. We don't start friendships with the mindset that one of these days we probably won't know where that person is or what they've done with their life. We will look back with fond memories on those friendships and wonder how it happened that we lost touch. Maybe we will know exactly what happened that caused us to not be friends anymore, but we will still remember the good times.

I don't know. Lots of crazy thoughts.

Just over a year ago I wrote a post called Bubbles. I've been thinking about that a lot too. Something I've realized in the year since that post was written is that we can always find some shared commonality with just about everyone we meet. We might not look alike on the outside. There might not seem to be any shared interests, but if we dig deep and really listen we can find something familiar in them. Something that rings true in our heart. Something we share. Believe me, I know. And I have discovered that it is worth the digging to find a friend.

That's it.

Marching

2009-04-26T17:06:00.006-05:00

Yesterday AmazingGreis, Kay, and I donned our Maddie shirts and participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies in Houston. I had never met either of these women, but like me they had been touched by the story of baby Maddie.

We joined crowds of people.

And we walked. Slowly at first, but we were able to pick up our pace as we went along.

This is the view in front of us.

And the view behind us.

We passed a butterfly garden during one portion of our walk.

So sweet.

Approaching the finish line.

Our free lunch.

I know my words are few, but I'm not sure what else to say. It was a wonderful experience, and I was honored to be able to participate. Thanks girls!

Um..

2009-04-25T21:58:00.003-05:00

After writing my heartfelt, thought-provoking post last night I went to bed. Today I read the encouraging comments from all of you. It made my heart glad to see the love and support. And then I really thought about it. 6 months? Really? So I counted down and up and back. And I realized that it's really only been 5 months. I totally relied on a 4th grader's arithmetic. Anna Grace said 6 months, and I believed her. So now I'm thinking we really need to work on her math skills!

6 months

2009-04-25T00:32:00.005-05:00

Lately I've been thinking about our life here in America. We've been back for exactly 6 months today. I wasn't paying attention to the date. I hadn't been counting down or up or back. I knew it had been about 6 months, but I wasn't really keeping track. Then tonight Anna Grace came into my bedroom. I could tell she had been crying. She told me that today was exactly 6 months since we arrived. And she burst into tears again. She wants to go back to Turkey. She and Will both want to go back. Erica and Jacob seem to be having an easier time of it, but even they've wanted to go back at times. I've watched these kids navigate the roadways of life in America these past 6 months. There have been some really hard days. We've had to deal with some reverse culture shock in a big way. I have almost blogged about some of those things in the past, but I didn't want people to think I was being judgmental, racist, prejudiced, or insensitive. I've decided to put a couple of those thing down tonight, because for some reason they are weighing heavily on my mind.

The first week of school for Erica was eye-opening for us all. Erica came home from school talking about a girl in her class who was pregnant. That didn't surprise or shock me. I fully expected there to be a pregnant girl or two in her school. After telling me about the pregnant girl Erica mentioned another girl in her class who has a 1 year old boy. I asked Erica what she did with her son while she was in school. She told me that he went to the daycare at the school. I was shocked. On one hand I was happy that this girl could continue her education without having to worry about who was taking care of her baby. On the other hand I wondered how many kids at her school had kids. Evidently enough that there was a need for an in-house daycare. It was hard to wrap my mind around that. It still is.

We've also had to deal with the way our kids talk about people of a different race. We came from Turkey. We called those around us Turks. They were Turks. There weren't Chinese Turks and French Turks and Georgian Turks. If you were Chinese you weren't Turkish. If you were Greek you weren't Turkish. Even the Kurds who lived in the East, who had been born and raised in Turkey weren't Turks. They were Kurds. It is what we were used to. At the international school our kids attended there were kids from all over the world. Iraqis, Italians, Greeks, Nigerians, Brazilians, Iranians, Egyptians, and so many others. Those nationalities were celebrated at their school. Here in the states our kids find themselves wanting to call people by the nationality of their ancestors. In Houston there are many people of Mexican descent, but they are not Mexicans. They are Americans. The kids know that...now.

I hope you hear the tone in which this was written. It's observing, thinking, and understanding. It is without fear. It's been 6 months already. I can't believe it.

exactly

2009-04-22T21:46:00.002-05:00

I sit here and just stare at this blank space. I want to put something here, but I don't want to write something just to be able to say I posted today. I have had lots on my mind these last few weeks, but I have a hard time putting words to those thoughts. As I sat here I thought of something I posted back in November of 2007. I am reposting it because it is exactly what I need to say.

Oceans and Straws

I just read something that I have to share...

I've often said that there are times I feel so full, but I can't get anything out. I want to write, but for some reason I have trouble getting my thoughts to make sense...they don't flow well. I was reading the blog of a friend of a friend of a friend....I think...and they said that there were times that they wanted to write but couldn't manage to put anything down on paper. They said it was

"like pushing the ocean through a straw".

I love that word picture. I'll remember that the next time I sit here and stare at my computer screen in agony...my mind filled with an ocean full of thoughts that I can't do anything with!

Love this!

2009-04-19T23:26:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't really written a blog post in a long time. I will. Things are churning in my head and eventually I will figure out what I want to say. But today...today I feel the need to post these pictures.

Some amazing Texas scenery.

I had to pull over to take this picture. Thankfully it was a quiet street. I was kinda wishing for a lawn chair and some lemonade so I could just sit back and enjoy it. Click on the picture for a better view.

And because I'm sure you couldn't see it very well in the first picture I zoomed in on the shed in the pasture. You gotta love Texas.

I wanted to pull over several more times, but I had places to be and people to see. One of these days I am just going to have to go driving for the sole purpose of taking pictures.

Random pictures

2009-04-16T22:28:00.002-05:00

One of my nieces celebrated her 1st birthday last week. She cried when we sang to her and refused to touch her cake! I know how she feels. I will be turning 40 in a few short months, and I am totally going to cry about it! I won't turn down cake though.

I have been known to go out into the middle of my backyard and sit in this chair in the sun just for fun. I took this picture several weeks ago before we planted more stuff in the flowerbeds. Now they look much better!

Recently I attended an event where there were free cupcakes. See that cupcake with the red sprinkles? It was chocolate cake with cream cheese icing. I chose that cupcake solely based on it's name. It was called the Michael Jackson.

My 10 year old niece had a fund-raiser at her school. They sold Coca Cola products. Score!

I have many different versions of this same picture in a file on my computer. I was trying out the new camera and took a picture of myself on each setting. Once I uploaded them to the computer I realized that I had no idea which setting took which picture. And honestly other than the scenery in the windows nothing really looked any different. Why I felt that it was necessary to do this while we ran errands is beyond me.

Maddie

2009-04-14T16:30:00.000-05:00

Today little Maddie will be laid to rest. People all over the world are wearing purple to honor her memory. Balloons are being launched, pictures taken, flowers planted...all for her. Amazing this world wide web. Amazing these internet stranger/friends. Truly amazing.

Help me reach my goal! Sponsor Me at March for Babies!

2009-04-14T15:52:00.002-05:00

an idea

2009-04-13T17:32:00.008-05:00

I've joked around about walking half a mile to the grocery store on facebook. We really do that.

The other day the whole family walked to a Chinese food restaurant in the same shopping complex as the grocery store and then went grocery shopping afterwards. The kids didn't think much of it. They are used to walking to the store. Nevermind that nobody else does it around here.

Then today I was running an errand and passed by this.

Can you see it?

Here's a closer look.

Evidently we aren't the only ones walking to the grocery store. At least we don't push the cart full of groceries to our house after we check out. Not that I haven't thought about it. I just didn't figure my neighbors would appreciate seeing a woman with a grocery cart walking down the street. Hm...maybe I should reconsider...

And yeah I totally turned my car around and went back to take a picture of that grocery cart.

Update

2009-04-13T17:15:00.003-05:00

Remember this picture?

It's the fun kids from this post. The ones in our family who don't have glasses.

Well, I have an update.

Yeah. Seriously.

They don't have to wear them all the time though. Just for seeing the board in school. And driving...which neither of them know how to do yet. Will said he couldn't believe how clear everything was. It was like looking through a really clean window.

And I guess I should admit that my almost 40 year old eyes are beginning to act like...well...almost 40 year old eyes. I am noticing that if things are too close they are blurry. I don't need reading glasses yet, but I am holding my book a little farther away than normal. Big sigh. REALLY big sigh.

Please...

2009-04-09T21:35:00.012-05:00

I have tried to start this blog post so many times and ended up erasing the words I'd written. I don't know what to say. I guess I should just start with the facts. On April 7th a beautiful 17 month old baby girl died. Madeline Alice Spohr. Maddie.

I didn't know her personally, but it felt like I did. Her parents, Heather and Mike, both have blogs, and I was a regular reader. They are also on twitter where the interaction is fast paced at 140 characters or less. Through reading their blogs and chatting on twitter I felt like I knew them. I read all about Maddie's premature birth and the medical miracle that she was. Dr. Looove, oxygen rockets, liquid diets, developmental specialists, nutrition specialists, 1 1/2 pound weight gains...all of it was there for me to read and reread. Even though I didn't know Maddie I "knew" her.

I knew that she had a cough on Saturday. I knew that they were giving her oxygen at home on Sunday. I knew that she went to the doctor on Monday and was sent to the hospital. I read the tweets from Heather on Tuesday that mentioned the problems they were having with keeping an IV in. All of it was there for me to read. When I went to bed on Tuesday night I had no idea that Maddie's little body would give out later that night. It never crossed my mind. When I woke up Wednesday morning and signed into my reader I checked on Maddie first thing. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Maddie was gone. I was in shock. I still can't believe it.

The funny thing about the Spohr family is that it seems that everyone "knows" them. The internet was abuzz with the news of Maddie's passing. Maddie was even a top ten trend on all of Twitter most of the day Wednesday. Over 280 people from all over the world wrote blog posts as a tribute to sweet Maddie. People from all walks of life, people who didn't really know each other other than in this crazy blog/twitter/internet way rallied together in support of Heather and Mike and their families. And together, as a community, we grieved. Those who could organized food donations and March of Dimes donation pages and whatever else they could think of to help out. A blog was even set up to put it all in one place.

For the past two days I've tried to think of what I could do for Heather, Mike and Maddie. I wanted to do something that would count. Heather and Mike have asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the March of Dimes in Maddie’s memory. Donation buttons for the March of Dimes are everywhere in Maddie's name. I decided that I could put one on my blog as well. But it didn't seem like enough to me. I wanted to do more. So I've decided to walk. On April 26 the March of Dimes is sponsoring a march for babies and I've signed up. I'm walking for Maddie. I'm walking for Heather and Mike. I'm walking because it is something I can do to make a difference. If you can I would love for you to sponsor me. Just click on the button below and it will take you to my March of Dimes page where you can sponsor me for as little or as much as you are able. I would love to surpass my goal.

A PayPal Account has also been set up to assist Heather and Mike with any upcoming expenses. You can donate by clicking the link below. All money received will go directly to them to be used at their discretion.

And finally a mailbox has been set up for Heather and Mike, so if you would like to send them anything, you can send it to:

Mike & Heather Spohr
11870 Santa Monica Blvd. #106-514
West Los Angeles, CA 90025

It is at a UPS Store, so they can accept packages as well.

I do want to say thank you to all my readers. It's times like these, when people rally together to help their "friends", that I am reminded why I love blogging and the internet so much. The friends I've made here mean a lot to me. I've come to count on you to make me laugh and bring me to tears. You get this blogging thing and why I need to do it. I love being part of your lives. I thank you for sharing in mine.

A whim

2009-04-06T21:37:00.009-05:00

After all the talk about taking pictures in the bluebonnets I decided I couldn't wait until Saturday to have my turn. So today, as soon as the last kid arrived home from school, we set out to find a bluebonnet field. I knew where I had seen some on Saturday so that is the direction we went. One hour later we came to this...

Nice

And this. Oh my.

So we frolicked and took lots of fun pictures.

Notice that I didn't care what my kids wore.

Or really how they posed.

I made sure to get their individual shots as well. They chose their own poses.

As we were leaving another car pulled up and the kids piled out. All girls. All dressed in hot pink. Even the mom was dressed in hot pink. I'm sure their pictures looked fabulous! All matching and everything.

And yes, Brian and I had pictures taken in the bluebonnets as well. Will took them. I wore sweats and no make-up. Brian worked the camera. Will even said that Brian was made for the camera, but I'm not going to show those pictures here. Oh, ok. I'll show one. but I cut out part of it for a very good reason. Trust me.

Now I'll never have to take bluebonnet pictures again. Unless I want to that is.

Proof

2009-04-06T11:55:00.008-05:00

Here is a picture of kids sitting in bluebonnets. Brought to you by Mrs. Flinger. I would venture to say the picture is at least 20 years old. ( I just read her comments and she confirmed that the picture is from 1988. Ha! I'm good!) This bluebonnet thing isn't new.

And now for a few pictures from my friends who are much better at being Texans than I am. For your viewing pleasure...

These next two are over 20 years old as well. Ahh...the good ol' days.

Thanks Shari, Tamara, Becky, and Vanessa for the help!

Not exactly what I had in mind when I said a picture frolicking in the bluebonnets, but I thought I should include it since it was the first submission I received. Thanks Guy!

Oh...as I find more I'll be adding them to this post. Stay tuned!

Bluebonnets

2009-04-05T19:39:00.003-05:00

On Saturday I did some driving. I was in the car for about 3 hours; windows rolled down, music blaring, just enjoying myself. I drove through some country and had to deal with some traffic. Since I was in the middle of nowhere I was surprised by this. There were cars everywhere. They were slowing down and pulling over to the side of the road. People were everywhere. Getting out of their cars and frolicking in the bluebonnets. Those of you who have never lived in Texas may not be aware of bluebonnets. The bluebonnet is our state flower. In the spring there are fields of them all over the place. People bring their kids out and take their annual bluebonnet pictures. And let me tell you Saturday must have been the day for pictures because I literally saw hundreds of people in bluebonnet fields between my house and Giddings, Texas. I wish I had some bluebonnet pictures to share with you, but I don't. In all my years of living in Texas, I have never once taken pictures in the bluebonnets. No pictures of me or my kids frolicking in the fields of blue. I know...how can my kids call themselves Texans when they've never taken bluebonnet pictures!?! I thought about rectifying that today, but it was a lazy Sunday. Still no pictures. I wonder if next weekend will be too late.

Oh and if any of you have bluebonnet pictures of you or your kids or your friend's kids send them to me, and I'll post them on my blog. Just so my readers can understand the phenomenon. Thank you.

a day out

2009-04-01T19:04:00.003-05:00

Last weekend one of Brian's college roommates and his wife came for a visit. On Saturday we went to a car show our church was sponsoring. You know...just for something to do. Now I had never been to a car show before so I wasn't sure what to expect exactly. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Brian's roommate, Brian, like this truck.

His wife, Tamara, liked this one.

There was also this cute little number.

Erica liked this one...and I can't say that I blame her.

Actually all of the above cars and trucks were quite lovely, but I have to say that my favorite was this one.

It was clean, bright, shiny, and sparkly. I like sparkly!

The chrome on the inside was fabulous! This picture just doesn't do it justice at all!

And power! Wow! And it's so sparkly. I can't get over the sparkly...

A taste test - in pictures. (Because I am too lazy to try to come up with witty remarks for each picture.)

2009-03-26T23:53:00.010-05:00

How to dress a baby.

2009-03-21T08:42:00.003-05:00

You know if anyone out there ever needs a baby dresser or two I totally have a couple of them at my house. Here's a video showing their handiwork.

Heritage and culture...western style

2009-03-20T13:09:00.010-05:00

We went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Monday evening with my sister and brother-in-law. Lord have mercy it was fun. We met this cowboy as we were walking up to the entrance. I asked if I could take his picture, and he said he was just waiting for me to ask! Then he had to rope my sister to prove what a true cowboy he was. He also muttered something about people not knowing what "Ride 'em cowboy meant since that old brokeback movie came out." And we giggled. Can you tell?

First we went to the livestock show. Ah...the smell of farm animals assaulted our senses as soon as we entered the building. I seriously love that smell. I wouldn't use it as perfume or anything, but that smell comes with memories. And I love that.

We went through the breed barn where we learned the difference in Angus, Hereford, Brahman, and Longhorn bulls among others. This one is a longhorn. I know, I know. You are amazed at the knowledge I acquired.

There were also goats. Plain ol' regular ones and

Angora ones. This lovely lady, Miss Priscilla, was being very unladylike and using her horns to scratch her back. She wouldn't pose for a picture at all!

There were

brown pigs

and pink pigs.

And then there was this pig.

We also went through the Birthing Center where we saw lots of baby chicks,

a one day old calf,

and cute little suckling pigs.

We browsed the shops where you could get just about any western item you might want. Tables made of tree stumps, armadillo lamps, star shaped jewelry, and of course belts, boots, and hats.

Good cow, how I wanted a hat. And boots.

But I settled for a silver star pendant.

After the seeing, smelling, and shopping we moseyed on over to the rodeo.

Would you just look at that? Seriously. I love it.

We saw all the main rodeo events. Bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie down roping, barrel racing,

saddle bronc riding, and of course

We had so much fun that Brian and I decided that we needed to take the kids to the rodeo before it left town. We decided that they had experienced all kinds of Turkish culture, and now it was time to learn about some of their own heritage. Rodeo.

We went on Wednesday since it was a value day. This time we went early enough to enjoy the carnival as well as the livestock show and rodeo. Despite being there for hours I only managed to take three pictures.

This one

This one

And this one. Yes we tried something from this list of fried confections. Deep Fried Oreos. Now I'm not a fan of regular Oreos. They taste kind of like a burnt chocolate cookie to me. I think I would have much rather had a fried pickle or a fried Snickers. Next year...next year!

Um...what?

2009-03-17T11:32:00.002-05:00

So I was riding on a bus yesterday. A bus from the mall parking lot to the rodeo. The rodeo I will blog about later. This blog post is dedicated to the window of the bus.

This window.

Exactly what does this sign mean?

track meets and men

2009-03-11T22:43:00.003-05:00

Will ran in his first track meet this afternoon. This chilly, windy afternoon. After driving all over tarnation trying to figure out which school was sponsoring the meet we finally found our kid.

There he is. The shortest, blondest one in the photo.

Yes...poor kid. He is short. Much shorter than everyone else.

He didn't let that stop him though. He stretched. He prepared.

He ran.

The kid practically sprinted the full 800 meters and still came in last. After he caught his breath he said he had to run hard just to keep up with the joggers in the bunch. I was proud of him for running hard and not getting discouraged. Brian and I both had stories about how we came in last in sporting events. Once Brian came in 186th out of 185 people. Seriously. That's the place they assigned him. Once I was swimming the butterfly relay. The other relay teams had completely finished the race before I ever even dove in. I swam the length of the pool and back all by my lonesome. Last place. Will's in good company!

I do have to say I was shocked at how big some of the kids were. This is a group of 8th graders. 8TH GRADERS! Some of them looked like men. Seriously!

I'm a little winded just from watching...

2009-03-10T17:01:00.003-05:00

Two of my kids are in elementary school. They have PE. Remember elementary school PE? We played Dodgeball. I wasn't a fan of Dodgeball. We played Bombardment. I hated Bombardment. We played Red Rover, Red Rover. Again...not my finest hour. I hated anything where balls were thrown at me. Running into peoples' arms trying to break through was also painful. Gymnastics, badminton, swimming, relay races, four square...all those were ok. My senior year of high school I actually took PE on purpose...for fun. I didn't need the PE credit, but I did need to take an elective my second semester of my senior year. I chose PE. You know who takes PE their last semester of high school? Those kids who put it off until they have absolutely no choice. Those kids who aren't in band, dance, athletics, or some other PE credit class. We did tennis, archery, and some running. For once I was one of the best athletes in the class. For once.

My kids are learning something in PE that I had never seen before. Cup stacking. Here they are showing off their talents.

And here's a video I found that just blows my mind! I totally gotta start practicing. You knew I was going to have to try this!

We're back.

2009-03-08T23:47:00.005-05:00

We spent the last several days in Oklahoma. Exotic Oklahoma. We had a great time while we were there seeing old friends and meeting lots of new ones! We went to visit our friends Kevin and Sharon. Oh, and their four kids! Can't forget them!

Kevin and Brian...right after Kevin tried to give him a holy kiss. Brian still looks scared!

Me and Sharon. Now Brian took this picture with my new camera (yes...I got a new camera! Thanks to those wonderful friends who gave me such an awesome gift!) I have no idea if he just moved his hand or used a funny filter on it. All I know is we are fuzzy...very fuzzy.

Some new friends.

And more new friends.

While in Oklahoma we had the opportunity to speak to 60 5th graders at a local elementary school. Our subject? Turkey. We totally know about Turkey! The next day their teachers gave me a package with thank you notes from the kids in it. Last night after we got home I finally looked over those notes. Here are a few of my favorite excerpts...

"I hope you come back with more pictures and information. P.S. I even liked the pictures I saw today. They were interesting."

"I want to go to Turkey. It looks like a fashionable place."

"I especially like the part about eating lots of bread. I have only run across one kind of bread I didn't like too much."

"My favorite part about the lesson is the picture of the first president. He looked so cool with the suit on, but the mustache didn't fit him well."

"Thank you for inspiring us with the use of knowledge. One day we might have a test, and we'll ace it because of you!"

"Mrs. Dixon, you are really pretty."

All in all it was a great trip.

We are cheap

2009-03-02T23:19:00.004-06:00

March 2009

Yeah, we finally got around to taking a decent family picture. There was no color coordination, no formal sitting, no plan. Just us in our front yard.

Our last decent family picture. Us in our backyard.

Sept. 2006

Then there was this one...

December 2007

And this one...

June 2008

Why pay for a photographer when you can get pictures like these?

Traveling back to last April

2009-03-02T00:11:00.005-06:00

I've decided to enter a contest that my friend, Rhonda, is sponsoring over at Because Mom Said So. Basically she is offering free miles to whoever has the best travel story. Those miles can't be used for travel to any old place though. The winner of the contest has to go visit her in Connecticut! Um...I've never been to Connecticut! I want to go! I want to win! After much thought on which travel story would be the best...and believe me there are many to choose from...I've decided to go with one that I originally wrote last April. Mainly because it still makes me laugh every time I read it and because I don't have time to write anything new! Why? Because we are traveling! How ironic. Here is a reposting of that story.

My duty

On my trip to America I had the best seat I could have for economy class on the 9 hour flight over the ocean. I was seated over the wing on that big plane. There was a wall in front of me, but it was so far away I had to take my seatbelt off to reach the magazines in the rack. Lots of leg room! I loved it. As we were preparing to take off the flight attendant came by and asked me and the man sitting next to me if we spoke German or English. I replied, "yes, English." The man sitting next to me just looked at her. She asked him again...English? He said yes. I had my doubts, but she seemed to be satisfied. She handed us a card that we needed to read concerning how to open the exit door over the wing, how to inflate the slide, and how we were supposed to help the passengers in case of an emergency. I read over the English portion of the card and looked at the pictures. It was quite interesting how much they expected me to remember in an emergency situation. Look out the window for debris, fire or black smoke. If you see any of these don't open the door, but direct the passengers to an alternate exit. Once the door has been opened wait for the slide to inflate. Make sure it is inflated all the way by observing the stop sign printed on it. Once the slide is ready the sign will disappear. One person stands in the doorway to help assist passengers out of the exit. The other stands at the bottom of the slide helping people as they come down it. It seemed easy enough...if I could remember it when the time came...if the time ever came. The man turned his card over several times from the German side to the English side finally settling on English. Hmmmm. There were pictures as well so if he wasn't getting the English maybe he could tell what he was supposed to do from the pictures. The flight attendant came back and asked if we understood what we read on the card and if we were willing to perform the tasks required of us if necessary. I was thinking that I would do whatever they needed me to do if I could keep the seat with all the leg room! I answered her with a hearty yes I can! She looked at the man next to me and asked him again since he didn't answer her the first time. His response..."it's clear". Ok. I guess he got it. I still wasn't convinced though.

I had a cold when I got on the plane so at this point I decide to take some Nyquil. I downed those pills and immediate thought...oh no. Wait. What if I have to perform my emergency duties while under the influence of Nyquil? Will I be able to do it? Surely a potential plane crash would sober me up! As I drifted off to sleep thinking about the poor man next to me and his limited English and me in my drowsy state I figured out how we could work it if we did indeed need to offer our services to distraught passengers. After the door was opened and the slide was inflated I could go down it to help at the bottom. The man could stand in the exit, look out at the emergency slide and say the three English words I was sure he knew. Yes, it's clear.

Here is a link to the contest again just in case you missed it the first time and want to read up on it. And I guess you can enter the contest as well, but just know that I want to win. So don't be too funny or engaging or special. Because...you know...I want to win.

hm...

2009-02-26T21:21:00.003-06:00

hm...so that last post with all those pictures? well i accidentally hit publish before i was done. so then i had to go in and edit it. and because i've added myself to my own reader i noticed that it didn't actually update the post in my reader. i guess i figured it would give me whatever the last update was. instead it showed the almost finished post. aggravating.

The 70's - my look in pictures

2009-02-26T20:23:00.009-06:00

So I was at my parents' house today. I needed to pick up a few things for my grandmother. I also wanted to look for a couple of pictures in the old photo albums. I never did find the pictures I was looking for, but I did come across a few that I had to share. I was a style maven!

Would you look at that bonnet? I mean I could seriously be giving Aretha a run for her money in the hat arena!

I had to use this picture, because my dad was the bomb!

Here we have rooster colored striped pants. You know you want some!

And wallpaper overalls.

Then there's the tragic story of my hair. Long, luscious locks the day they brought my sister home from the hospital.

At some point in the next couple of months 3 kids must have overwhelmed my mom so she did this to my hair.

I don't look very happy about it!

Am I wearing a dress or a shirt?

Note the matching Keds. A style I would repeat in high school it seems. (And the girl next to me is best friend #1, Staci.)

Here we have a lovely patriotic ensemble. This was a school production so I wasn't the only one looking so festive.

And finally. Finally we have a Shawn Cassidy t-shirt. Because come on now...Da Doo Run Run? Yeah, baby!

There were many more pictures with many more fun outfits from the 70's. Unfortunately many of them were very discolored. I didn't think they would scan well. I did find a few more to share with you though so stay tuned for more flashback fun! (How many times can I use the word more in a paragraph? How about one more!)

freedom weekend

2009-02-22T15:23:00.003-06:00

As I type this there is noise in my house. Kids talking, normal life noises, and the TV is on. I went without the sound of a TV for almost 48 hours. Without the sounds of other people in my house. It was so quiet. So still.

Erica and Will participated in Freedom Weekend with our church this weekend. Brian, Jacob, and Anna Grace went to Waco to visit his parents. And I stayed home. All alone. Talk about freedom weekend! I lived on donuts, sushi, and diet Coke this weekend. Yes, my tummy is having some regrets today, but I had to live it up. I surfed the internet, did some cleaning, and laid around a lot. I read some, drummed some, and looked at a cooking magazine. Not once did I turn on any music. It never crossed my mind. Strange, but completely enjoyable to me.

It's not often that I have extended time to myself, much less a weekend in my house, all alone, doing whatever I want. NO, actually that's NEVER happened before. So here's my question. If you could have a whole weekend alone what would you do? Some of you may get those anytime you want...what do you do? I need some ideas for next time! Yeah, like there will be a next time. HA!

Friends

2009-02-17T13:19:00.006-06:00

I moved around a lot as a kid. I know I've said that before, but I feel the need to start this post with those words for some reason. Because I moved a lot I was almost always in the market for a new best friend. I've had several of them over the years. As a kid it was a necessity. I lived somewhere for 3 years at the most and when I moved on my friendships had to move on too. Oh I could write letters and make a rare long distance phone call, but eventually having no face to face contact or recent news of my friends took a toll on the friendship.

Best friend number 1 was Staci. We moved next door to her when I was 3. The perfect age for having a first best friend. The summer before 3rd grade we moved from that house to Pearl River, Louisiana, and for the first time ever I had to best friend shop. There was a girl who lived across the street who was nice, but we were friends more out of convenience sake than anything else. A couple of months after school started a new girl moved to town. Bonnie. Not only did Bonnie join my class, but she lived in my neighborhood as well. One day the girl from across the street was invited to Bonnie's house to play. I was jealous! I rode my bike past her house several times that day to see if I would be invited to play too. I don't remember if I was included that day, but I do know that within a few days Bonnie and I became friends. Best friends. She was best friend number 2.

One of our first conversations had to do with the last name that we shared. She was the first person I had ever met outside my own family with the same last name as me. Even more interesting was the fact that our mothers had the same first name. We pretended like we were sisters and loved when people asked us if we were related to the other's siblings. We rode bikes, caught minnows and crawfish in ditches, and played radio station by recording ourselves and our records on a tape recorder. We tap danced on a piece of plywood, and I got a gigantic splinter in the bottom of my foot that had to be removed by a doctor. We rode our bikes to the new edition in our neighborhood and jumped on a trampoline in someone's backyard. We were on swim team together, played kiss and chase with the boys on the playground, and had big fun. But the fun could only last so long. The summer after 5th grade my family moved again. This time to Houston, Texas. Bonnie and I wrote letters, and we each made one trip by airplane for a visit. Actually now that I think about it she might have made two trips. Over the years our letter writing became less frequent, but I always seemed to know where she was or where she had recently been. I think the last letter I received from her came when I was in college. I also seem to remember talking to her on the phone once after I got engaged in 1990, but my memory could be playing a trick on me. After we moved to Turkey in 2002 there were a couple of emails exchanged I think, but I don't remember who found who or how we got each other's email addresses. I hadn't heard from Bonnie in quite a few years, but recently she found me on Facebook, that wonderful friend reconnecter. Last night we had the chance to chat for a bit. We reminisced about some of the people we knew from elementary school. I must admit that I could barely call anyone by name. The fact that I've moved to new cities 7 more times since that move to Houston in 1980 has really messed with my memory of people. I've had several more best friends since Bonnie, and I'm sure there are more new friends in my future.

Some people say that the art of letter writing is lost. That people don't take the time to truly connect with people anymore. I can agree with that on one hand, but I know what it's like to lose track of friends. Because of the internet, Facebook, instant messaging, and SMS I don't have to lose people anymore. I might not have the chance to talk to some of my friends for weeks or even months, but I can have an instant connection anytime I want, day or night. And for that I am thankful.

Me and Bonnie at the airport in 1982 on my trip to visit her. (And can I just say that my dad took me shopping for my outfit. It was Gloria Vanderbilt! My mom wouldn't have ever paid what he paid for those pants and that shirt, but he didn't know any better!)

Thanks for the fun chat, Bonnie! I look forward to many more!

home decor...

2009-02-13T21:28:00.005-06:00

Tonight I babysat for my brother and his wife so they could go out for Valentine's Day. I brought Will, Jacob, and Anna Grace with me so they could play with the cousins. They hadn't been to their house in a long time.

And now for your reading pleasure I give you a conversation that took place during the course of the evening.

Will: I love this kitchen.
Me: Why?
Will: I like the set up, and they have stainless steel appliances!

Later in the evening...

Will: The loft looks like it was decorated by Design on a Dime.
Me: ??
Will: It's so spacious and organized. And I love the colors!

I think we might be watching a tad too much HGTV at our house!

the winner

2009-02-13T21:11:00.002-06:00

And the winner of the awesome book on Lincoln is....drum roll please....

Mamadallama!

Congratulations! Email me at nagdalie(at)aol(dot)com with your address and I will get that in the mail to you.

And no...I didn't take pictures of the drawing process. I didn't think about it until after I already drew the name. I thought about staging it so I could take pictures but decided there was no reason to redo it.

Today is someone's 200th birthday!

2009-02-11T22:02:00.003-06:00

I've mentioned my reading goal before. The one about reading all the Newbery medal and honor books from 1922 to the present. So far I've read 220 of the 374 books on the list. I've started another 4 that I have had to put down, because I lost interest in them. I'll get back to them one of these days.

Last Christmas when we were in the states I shopped for some new reading material. I brought quite a few books from my list back to Turkey with me. I read some and saved some. When it was time to come back to the states this time I packed up my books and shipped them back. I knew that shipment would take a couple of months to arrive, but I wasn't worried about not having my books. There are amazing bookstores in America! I could go buy some more books to add to my collection.

Enter this book. 1951 Newbery honor book. I found it at Barnes and Noble and had to have it. I put it on my bookshelf to save for a rainy day. I also bought a couple other books from my list as well as several that just looked interesting. Enough reading material to keep me occupied for awhile.

Two months later our shipment from Turkey arrived. I was so excited to put all my books on my bookshelves. Sorting them by author, genre, hardback, paperback, if I had read them already or not. You know typical book lover stuff. As I was unpacking I came across this book.

Yes, evidently I had already purchased this book. A full year before. It sat on my bookshelf in Turkey unread, completely forgotten. I really don't even remember buying it!

I certainly don't need two copies of a book about Abraham Lincoln. This is where you come in. I have decided to give my extra copy to one of my lucky readers. This month does mark the 200th birthday of President Lincoln and what better way to celebrate it than by giving away an account of his life?!? I know! How exciting! I'll even throw in a Turkish bookmark for you to mark your page! You know you can't resist now!

To enter this fabulous contest all you have to do is leave me a comment. I've tried to come up with a clever question for you to answer, but I got nothing. So tell me anything...why you need this book, what you think Lincoln would think of the USA today, or what you ate for dinner. It really doesn't matter. Any comment could be the winning comment as I'm employing the pick-a-name-out-of-a-hat method for choosing my winner.

(And I already know I'm a nerd for giving away a book about Lincoln in a contest so you don't have to mention that in the comments. Unless you got nothing else. Then I guess it's ok.)

Hope is the thing with feathers...Emily Dickinson

2009-02-08T15:42:00.004-06:00

Ms. Johnson says everybody has a story. She said some of us are afraid to tell ours and that's why when it comes time to write something, we say we have writer's block. Ms. Johnson says there's no such thing as writer's block. She said it's just your mind saying to your body, I ain't trying to write that jive. Everybody laughed when she said it like that because, mostly, Ms. Johnson speaks proper.

"Then what does your mind want your hand to write?" Ms. Johnson asked the class.

Trevor was tracing the letters on his desk. Rayray was staring out the window. I looked down at my blank paper, my pencil in my hand and my hand and mind real still and quiet.

"Frannie?" Ms. Johnson looked at me.

I shrugged, "A story?"

"Maybe," Ms. Johnson said. She walked slowly over to Rayray and turned his head gently toward the front of the room. She walked over to Trevor, lifted his pencil out of his hand.

"If the story is the truth," Ms. Johnson said.

"But that's nonfiction then, " somebody said.

"The truth is in your heart. My daddy says we all have a truth in our hearts."

It was the Jesus Boy speaking. He even surprised Ms. Johnson. But she tried to hide it by smiling.

"Exactly," Ms. Johnson said. "Write what your heart tells you to write."

We all looked around the room at each other. Nobody said anything.

"My heart's not saying anything," Rayray said. He slumped down in his chair. "I hate this."

Ms. Johnson walked back to the front of the room. "Think of a day in your life," she said. "Any kind of day--where something big happened or nothing at all happened. Something important or something just regular, like you ate a sandwich while watching cartoons. Anything. Just try to write down every single detail you can remember about it."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I looked down at my paper. There were a million days in my head, all of them marching all over each other. All of them coming from my heart and feeling like my heart-truth. I didn't have the slightest idea where to begin. There were all kinds of thoughts swirling around in my head and it felt like the whole class dropped away and disappeared and all that was left was me and my pen and my paper and the whole wide world spinning around me. I felt dizzy with all those thoughts, had to put my head down on the desk.

"Frannie, are you okay?" I heard Ms. Johnson asking. Her voice sounded like it was coming from real far away.

I nodded into my arm but didn't lift my head. "I don't even know what the first line to write would be," I said.

"Begin at Frannie's beginning," Ms. Johnson said.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the book Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

I love children's literature.

tomorrow

2009-02-05T23:38:00.002-06:00

I know. I haven't written a blog post in almost a week now. I have barely visited other blogs this past week. I have read/skimmed blog posts in my feed reader, but I haven't commented. And now it is late and I am tired. Tomorrow. I will write something tomorrow. Maybe.

A little weekend fun

2009-01-31T09:49:00.002-06:00

It's the weekend, and everyone knows that weekends are for fun. In order to inject a little fun into our (this means me and you) weekend we're going to play a game. (Aw...come on. You know you want to play!) Here's how it works. I'm going to ask a question. First person to comment answers my question and leaves one of their own. Next commenter answers that question and leaves one. And so on and so on. If for some reason two people are commenting at the same time and answer the same question the next commenter gets to answer two questions before moving on. Since it's the weekend it might be a little slow going at first. I'll be heading out of town this afternoon for a couple of days so hopefully this will keep us entertained while I'm gone. I'll have my computer, but I don't know that I'll have time to write a blog post.

Now for the question...

What's the best gift you've ever gotten?

Oh, and thanks to Ronnica for the idea!

Yes!

2009-01-29T18:44:00.003-06:00

Lately I have been craving a few Turkish food items. We didn't bring any foodstuffs back with us, because we literally had no space for anything extra. I was thinking I was going to have to have someone send me some of the things I miss in order to survive. Then I remembered that a Turkish friend here in the states told me about a place I could go and get some Turkish foods. Today the cravings finally got the best of me and I ventured out to find the store, Phoenicia. I was very pleasantly surprised that it was so close to our house. About a 20 minute drive. In Houston that is like just around the corner! When I got in the store I was even more thrilled at the things they had. The prices weren't any higher than they would be in Turkey either! Since I went alone I took my time and walked up and down every aisle. They had foods from all over the world!

This is what my basket looked like when I was ready to check out. Well minus the beyaz peynir (feta-ish cheese) which I picked up after I took this picture.

They also had yufka, lentils, bulgur, jars of salca, and many more items. I will definitely be going back!

The two main things I've craved are Turkish tea and Maramarabirlik olives. They had both. I was a happy girl.

Here's to satisfying cravings!

Friends

2009-01-27T22:05:00.002-06:00

I just had to pop in and let everyone know that I did let the girl from 9th grade know about my blog post. I debated it and decided that I would love to know if someone had a memory of me...good or bad. It was 25 years ago after all. Today I got a response from the girl. She said she does remember me. She apologized for being mean...and really I don't think it was mean at all. She talked about the insecurities we all had in high school. It was a very nice note. Very sweet. At the end she said she was glad I asked her to be my friend. That made me smile.

No wonder...

2009-01-26T21:40:00.005-06:00

And now an announcement concerning food and the amount we consume.

I found the following paragraph here.

The average dinner plate today is 11 to 12 inches across – small wonder that we’re all eating too much. A few decades ago they measured a mere 7 to 9 inches. With this in mind, try using a salad plate when you dine at home. You’ll find your meal still looks adequate, even though it’s much smaller than before.

We recently got new dinnerware. The first time we used it we discovered that it didn't fit just any old place in the dishwasher. It had to be put in the front of the bottom rack on the sides only. Anywhere else and it was hitting the top rack. Very frustrating! I measured it after reading the above paragraph and it measured 11 inches across. The salad plates were 9 inches. We have started using the salad plates as dinner plates at home which makes for easy loading of the dishwasher and hopefully will help us limit our portion sizes as well!

Because Mamadallama asked to see a picture...my plates also have a raised edge, but it is so very slightly raised and food still sits on it quite easily. I elected to measure the entire plate knowing that I had no problems piling food to the edges if necessary!

That's all. Now back to normal. You know where I talk about a whole lot of nothing and take pictures of food.

Ha!

2009-01-26T08:08:00.003-06:00

So this morning as I was waiting for the kids to get dressed for school I was scrolling through my google reader. Thankfully there were only a few blogs to catch up on. I came across June Cleaver Nirvana and noticed that I was crowned Peep of the Week for the witty comment I left on one of Holly's recent posts. She even linked to my blog. As I thought about all the traffic I would get from Holly's site I realized that said traffic would land at my last post. The one where I posted a picture of a plumbing mug. Seriously good stuff. Ha! I can't even imagine anyone reading past the picture. I thought about all the amazing stuff I've written over the almost 3 years I've had this blog. And again I have to say HA! There are some posts that I love though. That post about Jacob would pull on their heart strings. The post about my 9th grade angst...brilliant. (Speaking of brilliant I left a message on facebook for the girl I wrote about. I thought about it and decided that I would love to know something like that. I never did hear back from her. I am not bothered by that because if I was it would be like 9th grade all over again!) I've blogged about camping trips, trips to France, and trips to the pazar, yet the post linked on Holly's blog is about a whole lot of nothing. Oh well.

In other news I was messing with my camera last night hoping some kind of inspiration would hit me. I really want a new camera...one that comes with inspiration, but I know that isn't going to happen anytime soon. I figured I should just accept that and move on. I did get some cool water pictures which inspired me to take more during daylight hours instead of waiting until it is almost midnight to take pictures!

This picture just makes me thirsty. Despite the nasty looking background the water looks refreshing to me! Um...pay no attention to the nasty looking drain.

Moving on...
My wii fit age is now 28. Considering I'm 39 I am quite proud of that. Of course the wii fit still told me I was overweight, but then it complimented me saying that I was strong and had great posture. All this back and forth is confusing me! I don't think I can do another wii fit age because there is no way I will ever hit 28 again.

Good grief, this post is just as bad as the previous one. I think I'll quit while I'm ahead. I am ahead right?

Pictures for the week

2009-01-24T12:11:00.003-06:00

Thanks so much for all your well wishes and thoughts for Jacob. He got off the bus yesterday still wearing his coat which made me sad, but he said that things were better. The friend he plays with everyday was nice. Another kid asked him what it was, and he said excema. He explained that the other kids couldn't get it and things were fine. Kids sat by him at lunch and were fine. Hopefully that is the end of that!

And now...the three whole pictures I took this past week. Well the three besides the picture of Jacob's hand! I won't post that one again!

January 19

This mug was in our cabinet when we got here. Actually there are two Daniels Plumbing mugs. My kids made up a song with this number. Crazy. They were quite disappointed when we called someone else for our plumbing needs this past week. We decided to go with the company my family uses instead of the recommendation on a mug.

January 20

There are some pots on my front sidewalk. Mostly they look like a lot of junk all mixed together. They need weeding. I have no idea what much of it is. The other day I noticed something sprouting in one of them. A bulb of some sort! I can't wait for it to bloom!

January 21

My flowerbeds need lots of work, but there are a few spots that I love. This is one of them!

Yeah...I'm slacking on the picture taking. Oh well. I'll continue to post the weekly pictures even if they aren't so great. Because I said I was!

Hoping

2009-01-23T11:42:00.004-06:00

Yesterday Jacob came home from school a little sad. He said he'd had a bad day. I told him to come sit by me and tell me about it. My 10 year old boy sat in my lap and burst into tears. My heart was breaking, and I hadn't even heard the story yet.

A couple of days ago, right before bedtime Jacob showed me his hands. The skin on top of his hands was really dry. We put lotion on them, and he went to sleep. The next morning I gave him some lotion to use at school to help with the dry skin. I don't know how much he used the lotion, but his hands didn't seem to be getting better. Then yesterday when Jacob was at lunch the boy sitting next to him noticed his hands. He made a huge deal about the "rash" on Jacob's hands and made sure all the other kids sitting nearby heard him. Then everyone got up and moved away. Jacob ate alone. Kills me! At recess Jacob sat on a swing by himself because nobody would play with him. Makes me want to cry just thinking about it!

We talked about what he could have said or done to help the situation. He said he tried to tell them it was just dry skin, but they wouldn't listen to him. He asked if he could stay home from school today. I told him that he had to go to school but that we would go to the doctor first. This morning we went to the doctor, and she gave him some cream for excema. Jacob was so impressed with me, because I had already told him that it looked like more than just dry skin. It looked like excema. He dealt with excema some when we lived here before. He had a couple of bouts with it when we were in Turkey. This is the first time it was really noticeable. This was the first time anyone had ever treated him like that.

When we were on our way to school I noticed that Jacob was wearing his jacket. The weather had warmed up, and a jacket was no longer necessary. I told him he could leave it in the car if he wanted. He said he wanted to wear it. That's when I realized that he was wearing his jacket so he could hide his hands.

I dropped Jacob off at school at 10am this morning. I hope those kids have short term memories. I hope that nobody looks at his hands to determine his worth today. I wonder if this event will be one that shapes him. After writing my last post about one of my own experiences in school I can't help but wonder.

Jacob is one of the sweetest kids I've ever known. Both my boys are. Anyone who's ever met them can vouch for that fact. They are well liked by everyone and have always had lots of friends. To see the look on his face when he explained what happened just killed me. So here I sit counting down the hours until he gets home. I hope someone was exceptionally nice to him today. I hope he comes home smiling. I hope.

(Yes, I noticed that I didn't say anything about my girls being the sweetest kids ever. And that's all I have to say about that!)

At last!

2009-01-21T15:31:00.009-06:00

The summer after 8th grade my family moved to a small town north of Houston. It was only a move of about 20 miles, but those 20 miles were significant. Those 20 miles meant changing schools. I had already gone to three different schools so it wasn't a big deal to me. I started high school that fall and loved the small town feel of it. The best part was that the high school had been growing significantly so the 9th grade was given a campus all it's own. I loved that! I didn't have to wonder who the upperclassmen were. Everyone in my school was in 9th grade just like me.

Because I was new in the district I didn't know anyone. I watched the kids to see who I wanted to be friends with. I always seemed to plan these sorts of things. I guess that was a side effect of moving a lot. The planning. Friendships happened naturally for me, but for some reason some people stood out more than others. There were people I noticed. In 9th grade that person was a cute, blond girl in my dance class. She seemed fun and was well liked by the other girls. She had a best friend who she seemed to spend a lot of time with. I tried to be her friend. I tried to sit by her in class. I did whatever my 9th grade self thought to do to be noticed by this girl. Once she was fixing her hair after class, and I told her how cute it looked. She asked her best friend what she thought and then proceeded to take her friend's advice and change it. It was obvious. She wasn't interested. She had friends already and didn't need another one. I eventually stopped trying to be her friend and made other friends. I never did stop idolizing this girl though.

The funny thing is that I'm sure she had her own insecurities back then. What 9th grade girl doesn't? I'm sure she had no idea I was trying so hard to be her friend. I was fairly shy so I didn't do anything over the top to get her attention. I bet she didn't even think about it. She was never mean or ugly to me at all. She just didn't notice me.

Recently I noticed this girl, the one I had so desperately wanted to be friends with, on facebook. I didn't go searching for her. We had some mutual friends, and a notice popped up on the sidebar that told me I might know her. I thought about how much I had wanted to be her friend back in 9th grade. I wondered how she had changed since that time. I decided to send her a friend request just to see what would happen. She accepted it. After all these years I can finally say I'm her friend. I don't think she remembers me, and I didn't send a note with my request. Still, she said yes so I am counting it!

Amended...I certainly hope nobody is taking this post the wrong way. It was meant as a look back at a little of the angst of a 14 year old, and as 14 year olds go I had a perfect home life so really there was very little angst there. Having a 9th grader who is new to a school has had me thinking a lot about 9th grade and making friends lately. It was interesting to me that I saw this girl on facebook after I had already thought of "our" story. I am even tempted to let her know I've blogged it. She seems like a lovely person and might like to know that someone thought she was so great all those years ago! If she hadn't accepted my friendship request I wouldn't have been offended at all. I honestly can't see how she would remember me. I moved again after 10th grade so we only went to school together for 2 years. And in the grand scheme of life and things it really wasn't much of a story!

Explanation

2009-01-18T16:11:00.007-06:00

After reading some of the comments on my House Things post I felt like I should explain a few things about our house. Answer some questions so to speak.

No, this is not the house we lived in before we moved to Turkey. We sold that house when we left. This is not the house we lived in when we were back in the states for 7 months in 2006. That house is basically a family house, and it is being lived in by someone else.

When we knew that we would be coming back to the states for some amount of time we started looking at housing options. When we were here last we had issues registering the kids for school. I wrote about that here. Because I was already feeling quite a bit of stress the thought of house-hunting and living with family until we found something just stressed me even more. I didn't want to have to live with my parents and put the kids in school only to have to pull them out if we found a place to live in another school district. I wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible for all of us. With that in mind Brian and I asked my parents if they would be willing to house hunt for us. We are fairly easygoing and had no problems with moving into a place that we hadn't ever seen before. We did it when we moved to Turkey and ended up living in that apartment longer than we had ever lived anywhere. My parents have moved more times that I can count and are expert house pickers. They agreed to do the shopping for us. I didn't care what color the house was or how big it was. I didn't need fancy flooring or fancy anything. Just a simple house. Our only request was four bedrooms in the school district that we lived in before. The district is huge so that wasn't a big deal at all. Four bedrooms because there are 6 of us and the boys can share. If a four bedroom wasn't possible I was ok with the girls having to share, but it certainly wasn't ideal. A messy 16 year old and a strong-willed 9 year old don't make for good roommates. Trust me. We've done it! So my parents set out to find a place for us to live. They narrowed the field down to 2 choices. They were able to send us pictures of both houses online so we could see what they found. Still we didn't have a preference. We told them that they were there and could walk through them. We told them to just pick the one they thought was best. They did.

This is that house.

Before we arrived from Turkey my parents moved all the furniture in. They made the rounds collecting the furniture that belonged to us from the family members who had been storing it. My siblings and parents threw in other things that they didn't need or that they thought we could use. The people they bought the house from left a few pieces of furniture which helped as well. Sheets, towels, kitchenware, and other necessities were put in closets and cabinets. A new mattress was purchased, and a sprinkler system was installed. A new kitchen sink, a new oven vent, and new bathroom faucets were added to the house. My mom didn't like that there was carpet in one hallway so she bought tile and had it installed. So much was done to make it move in ready. More than move in ready.

I arrived from Turkey on a Monday night to freshly made beds and food in the refrigerator. I woke up Tuesday morning ready for a shower and realized there was no shampoo. I had to run to the store to get shampoo and ended up getting toothpaste as well. Later that day my dad called to check on us. He asked if we had been out so I mentioned running to the store that morning. Then my dad, my sweet dad, apologized for forgetting to get shampoo!!! Shampoo...good grief! The entire house was more than I could have ever dreamed of, and he felt bad because he forgot to get shampoo. I love my dad!

pictures for the week...kinda

2009-01-17T23:59:00.004-06:00

Ok...I have been a bad picture taker this week. I was busy, but really there just wasn't much to take pictures of. The pictures I did take have already been shared with you for the most part. Here's what's left from the week. Get ready to be blown away by their awesomeness. HA!

January 11

I honestly don't remember taking this picture. I seem to remember messing with my camera and accidentally taking one. This might be it.

January 13

Jacob's birthday. He requested Taco Bell for dinner. It was way better than the Red Lobster Erica requested 5 days earlier. Way better. I will never eat at that Red Lobster again. Yuck! And I love love LOVE seafood!

January 14

I took this picture the same day that I took the one in the previous post. The only difference is the blinds were open. The backyard isn't as small as it looks. Notice the new fence. That was another thing that happened this week. The fence at our house was old and rotting then hurricane Ike showed up and left it leaning. The new fence smells so good!

January 17

A golf lamp I bought for Brian for some holiday, birthday, whatever day years and years ago.

January 12, 15, and 16 are just blurs. I have no idea what we did or where I was. Obviously I am going to have to work on this picture taking thing. I think I need a new camera. Maybe that would put me in the mood.

In other news my wii fit age is 31. Not too shabby! (Whew...big sigh of relief!)

House things

2009-01-16T10:30:00.007-06:00

Thanks to all who outed themselves as blog readers the past couple of days. I love that you took it upon yourselves to come up with something to talk about! Tamara and SparklieSunshine both asked to see pictures of our house so I thought I would oblige them.

Here you go.

I know...they wanted a photo home tour. I'm not quite ready to take pictures of everything yet. It's clean, but there are a few things I would like to do to it before I take the time to photograph every room.

Here's a sneak peak at some of my favorites things in my house so far.

The bathroom. I love the tile and the glass shower. And don't even get me started on the bathtub. Love it! I do think I need some candles to complete the look though. Someday...

This wall. First of all it has the window seats which I am so very fond of. They look small, but I am able to sit with my back against the side and my feet up and look out of the window. Plenty of room. Also there is the dresser. Love this! My mother bought me this dresser and a matching taller dresser about 10 years ago. They are massive and heavy and great. My sister had been using them while we were in Turkey, but she willingly gave them back when she heard we had an empty house and plastic tubs of clothes. Whew!

This light fixture. Not sure why, but it makes me smile.

The windows behind my kitchen sink. The ceramic clock is from Turkey, and I needed some green so I bought some little plants to put there with it. If I am going to have to stand there and wash dishes I at least want something happy to look at!

This spot on my island. I searched high and low for a fruit bowl that I liked. They were always either too big or too small. I found a couple that were the right size, but they were plain. I'm not usually picky when it comes to things like that, but I was willing to wait since I had a plastic bowl that worked perfectly fine. Last week I was at Walmart when I saw this bowl. It was plain, but it had a metal stand! I loved it. It was the only one like it anywhere. There was no price on it or on the shelf where I saw it. I carried it all over the store looking for another one. I did find a price on a shelf that said "ceramic casserole with stand". I have no idea what that looked like because there were none there. I was determined to have this bowl so I just figured I would beg the cashier to let me buy it. (This is turning into a post in and of itself...sheesh!) When I was done shopping I scouted out the checkout lines. The lines closest to the grocery section of Walmart were definitely longer. I didn't mind long. What I was looking for was a cashier that could help me. I knew that whoever I chose was going to have to call for back-up. There were going to be price checks and waiting. I didn't want the line behind me to be full of people with full grocery carts. I decided to check out the other side of the checkout lanes. I was presented with a dilemma. There were three cashiers to choose from. One was a young guy probably of Indian descent. He seemed perfectly nice, but would he be able and willing to take the time it would take to find me a price? I wasn't sure. Next there was an even younger girl. The poor girl seemed lost and more than a little stressed. Then there was an older gentleman. He didn't seem to be happy to be there. Should I choose the young guy who was horsing around, stress out an already worried little girl, or choose grandpa? I chose grandpa. He was older, wiser, and surely knew the ropes for getting a price on something that I wasn't sure even belonged in that Walmart. I am here to tell you that I chose poorly. I'm not sure where grandpa was from, but I could barely understand him. Now I personally have a problem with accents. After living in Turkey for almost 7 years I have gotten accustomed to English spoken with a Turkish accent. Anytime I hear English with any other accent I have to really pay attention to get what is being said. I'm sure in time my ears will retrain themselves, but in the meantime I have to ask people to repeat themselves way more than I am comfortable with. That is what happened with grandpa. And because he was older he also mumbled. I had no idea what he was saying. He finally called for back-up. While we were waiting on more help he proceeded to scan the rest of my items. I was buying some plants for my house. The plants you see in the other pictures of this post. One of those plants had some water standing in the pot. He managed to dump all the water out all over his scanner. He walked away. I wasn't sure where he was going. He finally came back with a roll of paper towels. About this time I decided I better let the two people waiting behind me know that I was needing a price check and that it could be awhile. One immediately left our lane and went to stressed-out-girl's lane. The other figured she had time to wait. The manager finally came over to see what we needed. I explained the dilemma of the fruit bowl. I told her that I had seen a price for a casserole with a stand. She asked me if I was ok with that price. I was. She then told grandpa to enter it under 14 and type in the price. After he was done scanning the rest of the items he looked at me and asked me what number he was supposed to punch in. I told him. He asked me the price. I told him. He asked me what it was. I said a bowl with a metal stand. I was dumbfounded. Poor guy. He had probably had a hard day, and here I come with a basketful of problems! Oh, and I love that the black stand matches the "vase" the bamboo is in! So fun!

Ok. That's it. That's all the house tour you get for now.

your words rule.

2009-01-14T23:30:00.004-06:00

Today I have felt a nagging sense of need all day long. I've wanted to express myself, but I wasn't sure what to say. I still don't know. Since I seem to be lacking in the words department I thought I would ask you guys to say a few. Evidently Monday was delurking day on the world wide web. Bloggers everywhere asked people to step out and comment on the blogs they read. Today I am asking you to do the same thing. If you've commented before please help get the ball rolling and comment again. If you have just been a lurker step out and say hello. I would love to know who all is here!

And now ladies and gentlemen I give you my commenters.

Taste Test - Adult Edition

2009-01-11T20:50:00.008-06:00

After subjecting my kids to various taste tests over the past 6 months I decided I needed some fresh meat. Last night my family was getting together to celebrate Erica and Jacob's birthdays with a hamburger cookout. I decided to add to the fun by bringing a little appetizer for everyone to try.

Enter sushi.

California rolls, Philly rolls with salmon, and spicy tuna rolls. I wasn't sure who had and who had not already tried sushi, but I was fairly certain there were a few sushi virgins among the bunch. I was not disappointed!

First up was my dad.

He'll try anything.

And pretend he doesn't like it! I should tell you that he tried all three types and said they weren't bad despite this look he gave the camera!

Next up was my brother, John.

He didn't mind trying it. He had tasted some before and wasn't crazy about it.

Not bad. I don't like the seaweed taste in it though. I've had some that had rice paper instead of seaweed, and it was better.

Next up are the outlaws...I mean in-laws.

Michelle and Paige are my lovely sisters-in-law. Paige loves sushi so she didn't mind it at all. Michelle was a little nervous but a great sport!

Down the hatch...

Not bad.

The seaweed is kinda chewy though. (I have to tell you that Michelle is adorably cute, and not one picture I took showed this. I must scour my files for an adorably cute picture of Michelle to post later to make up for these not so cute ones I am posting now.)

And Jeremy...

My brother-in-law.

Who said something about how much he loved when we lived in Turkey.

But that he would rather try sushi than do that thing I made them do last time. Jeremy loves us! (He really does...he's a great sport and lots of fun!)

Next up...my mother.

My mom said she wasn't going to try it. I wasn't going to make her. (Like I could make my mother do anything!) After the others tried it and lived to tell about it she decided all on her own to try it. She even tried the spicy tuna. Raw fish and spices. Wowza!

Not a big fan. That's all.

Then we have my sister, Vanessa.

Vanessa was nervous.

She doesn't like dark meat chicken because of the sliminess of it. Here she is about to try some raw fish. On purpose.

She ate it. She didn't like it, but at least she tried it. What a good sport.

Then it was Matt's turn.

Matt is the youngest of the 4 of us. Matt is married. Matt has two beautiful girls. Matt is stubborn! "I'm not trying it. You can't make me. Neener-neener." Little brothers. Sheesh!

Vanessa's youngest tried it.

And she liked it!

Jacob tried it and thought it was pretty good.

Anna Grace loves sushi!

Matt's oldest daughter tried it.

Another one of Vanessa's kids tried it.

He actually went back for seconds!

She didn't. But at least she tried a bite.

She passed it off to her mother.

And we're back to Matt. "I'm not trying it. You're not the boss of me!"

If you missed any of the previous tastes tests and want to see what all the fuss is about here are the links.

Taste Test #1

Taste Test #2

Taste Test #3

Taste Test #4

Taste Test #5