Chaos then hopefully calm

I'm here despite not posting. The beginning of school is such chaos. It started yesterday. Everything went fine for my daughter. She's going into 5th grade. There was a little drama/trauma about who was in her class and who wasn't but she's fine now. My son is a 9th grader and he is going to a new high school. He's already played in 2 football games for the school. The only problem is the school will not be finished being built until January . We knew about this situation over a year ago - enough time IMO to get it built! Anyhow, he's going to a school within a school. 2/3 of his new high school is on the campus of the school he would have gone to if he had not been redistricted. 1/3 of the kids are in the same situation on another high school campus. Every afternoon an activity bus takes the athletes from both locations to the new middle school to practice. That middle school is next door to his school which isn't finished. They have mobile locker rooms. Do you follow all this? Actually it is better than is sounds. Despite all the b.s., it is a wonderful opportunity for our kids. The population has been growing like crazy and a high school has not been built since the early 80's. Right now it's a small environment with only 9th & 10th graders this year. A grade will be added each year. The teachers were handpicked by the principal. He's very enthusiastic.
I've been getting up at 5:30 every morning to get stuff done. My daughter has to be a car rider this year due to another new school being built. It too won't be finished until January and is being housed at 2 different campuses. She had the option to finish her last year at her current school but no bus service :( Hopefully my husband will be back in town tonight to help. We're off to Michigan Friday where Appalachian is playing in the Big House the next day. I hope to meet up with Katie and Allison. Go Mountaineers!

Magic Wands, Challenge 6 Recap and Baseball

I'm into the 4th Harry Potter book. It's got me thinking. If I had a magic wand, I'd love the ability to wave it each day and be showered with hair and make-up complete. I'd be so much more productive. I'm not high maintenance however because of vanity and lack of some natural qualities, I'm not the type who runs out of the house without a little make-up (concealer and mascara these days) and my hair dried. I can get the whole routine done in 30 minutes if necessary but I usually stop and start dealing with housework, kids, and cat.
A recap of Challenge #6 - daily exercise. Honestly I'm exhausted but I believe that's because of last night. More on that in a minute. I felt it did me good. My favorite workout was the hiking in the mountains Tuesday and Wednesday. It was beautiful. Last night I volunteered to help run one of the concession stands at the Grasshoppers baseball game. My son's high school got a percentage of the sales for their PTSA. It was 98 degrees at the start of the game. The stand had no air conditioning just loud fans. I'm deaf in one ear so I quickly realized I couldn't hear the customers placing orders. I ended up running around, helping others, and counting money in even a hotter area. It was a workout no doubt.

Don't They Realize?

They've schedule an important meeting next Friday morning at work. It will involve accountants. I'll have to listen and be asked questions. Don't they realize ....

1. It's Labor Day weekend. Doesn't that start - hmm Thursday?
   
2. I'm flying out to Detroit Friday afternoon. I procrastinate. I will not be packed before work especially since it's a school morning. To travel as much as I do, I hate to pack. I can't make up my mind regarding what clothes to take.
   
3. My husband has banned me from checking in luggage. This whole 3 oz. liquids and gels in a ziploc bag will take hours of preparation.
4. Did I already mention it's Friday and a holiday weekend?
   

Girls Trip

My daughter and I had a great mini mountain vacation. Stop 1 was Grandfather Mountain. The first picture was taken from the top before we crossed the mile high swinging bridge. Afterwards we visited the animal habitat and saw the bears. Stop 2 was Linville Falls for a short hike and view of guess what - the falls. Then we checked into our room and sat outside at read for a while. I'm on the 3rd Harry Potter book. My daughter is on the 5th one. We had dinner there then read some more. The next day Stop 3 was Tanger Outlets at Blowing Rock. Girls gotta shop. Stop 4 was a hike on the Glen Burney trail to see the cascades. Stop 5 was Kilwin's ice cream in downtown Blowing Rock. Then back home. We didn't step foot into Boone for a change. It was a fun way to celebrate the end of summer.

Away I Go (again)

Back to the mountains for a mini vacation with my daughter. I told her I'd take her to do a few things since she isn't going to Michigan with us. Later ....

Challenge 5 Recap, Presenting Challenge 6

Challenge #5 - to take daily pictures was the most boring challenge to date. (you were right Nancy). It probably would have been okay if it had not been such a dull week. We didn't do much and everything outside is all brown. Oh well, the challenges are learning experiences.
Challenge #6 - I've been sedentary most of the summer with the exception of our Wyoming/Idaho vacation. I usually can get exercise in during the school year but the summer is difficult. My schedule is different each day. I'm working and running the kids around, etc. This week I'm going to make an effort to jump start my exercising again by getting in 30 minutes a day. I'm curious how I'll feel my next Sunday. Afterwards I want to find a manageable routine once school begins August 28th.
Today I got in my workout. We hiked along the Blue Ridge Parkway (NC) on the back side of Grandfather Mountain. Here are some pictures. It was hazy, not as clear as usual.















We were up in Boone for Fan Fest for the football team. It happened to be moving in day for freshmen. I'm sure I bored my kids going down memory lane with my own freshman moving in stories.

Big Win

29-0 was the final score. My son #42 won his game last night. It was the first game for his brand new high school. He played the whole game and survived the heat. No one was hurt unless you count my son's cell phone. We think it got stepped on and crushed while in his gear bag. He was clueless how it happened. There is no display screen just a blob of different colors. Kinda psychedelic.
We're heading to the mountains tomorrow for more football stuff - college this time. I'm out of blogging ideas. Have a good weekend.

Hot and Worried

It seems the heat has decided to return. It's August. What do you expect? Again for several days in a row Stanley Idaho has had the lowest temperatures in the U.S. Tonight in this heat my son will play his first high school football game. It's JV. He goes to a new school which only has JV. He's starting as defensive end. I worry about him in the heat. I worry about him getting hurt. I worry about him in high school. I worried about him before he was born. I worried about SIDS after he arrived. He's gone from 21 inches to 6 feet 1 inches. The worrying doesn't stop. The concerns just change.
P.S. I should add I worry about my daughter, too. Totally different personalities. A whole other set of issues.

The Countdown Until School Begins

This time of the year I have to deal with one of my most dreaded tasks - getting school supplies. For those readers who don't have children, let me tell you it has gotten a lot more complex than when we were kids. It is especially complicated for middle and high schoolers -weird things like purple pens, several specific size Post-It Notes, etc. Fortunately, my son still has his $100+ required calculator. I was gearing up to hit the stores today when an email (from heaven, I think) was sent to me. Apparently USAir and Office Max are offering frequent flyer points and free shipping if you order online. By using my USAir credit card, I got even more flyer points. I work the system baby. It took about 30 minutes mostly due to my son's list but I got practically everything ordered. I'm sure the teachers will come up with something else. I probably could have saved money going somewhere else but time is money dammit!
Update: I almost forgot about daily pictures. My husband is working on his diet and has decided to give up drinking until our big Labor Day weekend. To show support, I'm trying not to kick back and down beer on a constant basis. My only indulgences seem to be old Hersey bars I found in the freezer. They were designated for s'mores left over from a camping trip. Otherwise I try to limit my chocolate. I find myself getting these every time I go into a store:

Frugal Feet and Other Money Matters

I'm slumming and painted my own toenails. I'm feeling guilty about all the money spent on our vacation therefore I'm being super frugal by not paying for a pedicure. The problem with this logic is the nail salon I go to is pretty cheap. It's not like I'm paying day spa prices and saving us a fortune.
I have to admit I am the financial conservative half of my marriage. I fight the feeling to sit quietly, spend no money, and save it all for a rainy day. My husband, on the other hand, thinks every day will be sunny. Fortunately we usually meet in the middle.
This morning I thought I'd have to spend more money. The washer would only make a bad noise no water no spin. My panic wasn't just financial. I have a son who practices football twice a day in 90 degree temperatures. I think the machine was mad at me because I kept messing with it. Finally after being unplugged a few minutes, I guess it reset and was okay. Now I could get my breath back.

Geek Mom

Since my son was with me when I took the picture of the Dick's Sporting Goods store, he questioned my sanity then demanded an explanation. I told him about my challenge of the week to take daily pictures.
Son: "So who is really challenging you, people out on the Internet that you've never met?"
After trying to answer that I brought up I posted pictures to flickr and attempted to explain it.
Son: "Flickr, is that like myspace for pictures?"
Me: " I guess so".
Son: "You can only comment about the pictures?"
Me: "Well I guess you can say something else but the site is about photography. "
Son: "That's lame". (He hasn't seen some of the picture on flickr and I won't tell him!)
So much for connecting. I did remember to take pictures:
Shopping but nothing for me (or my daughter or my husband)

A look out my front door. We had our heat wave. It's still hot but not quite as bad. We're in a drought too. My plants are dying. My grass in browning despite a sprinkler system. This happens every year here. In fact it usually starts earlier like in July.

Challenge 5

Once again I had a challenge in mind all week and went with something else at the last minute. I've decided to only go for one challenge mainly because I am continuing with the previous 4 challenges in my day to day routine (cooking meals, reading Harry Potter, learning Spanish, and enjoying the moment).
For this week: Challenge #5 will be to take daily pictures. I don't feel I take enough pictures or vary the subject (too many of the cat). For a week, I'm going to make a point of carrying my camera with me and take pictures that capture of a little of my life however boring it may be. I'll post a few each day including an update to this post.
Update

Challenges 3 and 4 Recap

I have to say I spent so much time on Challenge 4 - Enjoy the Moment that I failed to put much effort into Challenge 3 - Continuing to Learn Spanish. Getting back to Challenge 4 - this turned out to be a great week (I'm not being sarcastic) despite the boiling temperatures, no a/c upstairs, and running my son to his two a day football practices. My office was closed for renovations so I didn't have to work. My daughter was in an afternoon art camp therefore she didn't have to get up early, was out of the heat, not attached to me, and I didn't feel guilty about her being bored. Basically all week I stuck close to home. I continued cooking dinner (challenge 1). My daughter and I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (challenge 2) then watched the movie. We started on book 2. We did a baking project, etc.
I plan to continue with the Spanish though not as a challenge. Challenges 5 and 6 in the next post.

I'm So Popular

Thanks to J for the link.

You Are Marcia Brady

Confident yet kind. Popular yet down to earth. You're a total dream girl. You've got the total package - no wonder everyone's a little jealous of you.

What Brady Are You?

My daughter and I have been watching The Patridge Family. We're on Season 2 now. I always wanted to be Marcia Brady and go out with Keith Partridge. That would have been groovy.

Scone Much Fun

For what I lack in domestic abilities, my daughter makes up in enthusiasm. She really wanted to make blueberry scones yesterday. Her brother doesn't like blueberries so we made strawberries ones, too. They may not have been the prettiest but they tasted great.

Find Some Shade

Man, it's hot here - around 100 degrees with humidity as well. My poor son has 2 a day football practices. So far he seems to be doing okay. We carpool but I still feel I'm running around not accomplishing much.
This is the t-shirt I'm wearing today:
We were there a few weeks ago visiting my husband's brother, his wife and son. Since then I've noticed twice in the newspaper Stanley has had the lowest daily temperature in the whole U.S. 'Sounds refreshing. The flip side is this occurrence happens frequently in the winter, too.

Challenges 3 and 4

Hola. All last week I had 2 challenges planned for this upcoming week. At the 11th hour I changed my mind. I felt they weren't in my best interest at the moment but they will certainly be on my list in the future.
Challenge #3 - I'm going to make time each day to work on my basic conversational Spanish. I have a pretty good program on my computer along with pod casts. I took years and years of French in school which I've never used. I regret not taking Spanish. I don't have a huge reason for learning it. I am returning to Cabo San Lucas Mexico this fall but most everyone speaks English there. I actually hear more Spanish at work because we are having major construction taking place. I do want be able to read and speak the basics. My family is probably already annoyed with me talking in Spanish around the house. My son takes it in school. I try to communicate with him. He usually ignores me.
Challenge #4 - this challenge is a little more difficult to describe. Every since I've returned from vacation, I feel I've just being going through the motions. I'm existing, getting dragged down with a routine and other crap I've forced on myself. My goal is each day to take some time (only if it's a few minutes) to enjoy the moment, reflect on the positive things going on, and try to have some fun. I will try to keep a note about each day.
Update: this goes toward challenge #4. My husband, daughter and I checked out the newest state park at Haw River. It's in its infancy.

Challenges 1 and 2 Recap

Well today is the last day of Challenges 1 and 2. Challenge 1 was dining in. We usually eat in 5 nights a week so going for 7 wasn't a stretch. Daytime was more of a challenge. I didn't realize how often we stop and get lunch or a snack while running errands. On the days I work, I will get coffee or a bagel. I tried to be organized but still went to the grocery store 3 times and Costco one time. I broke the rules once. My daughter went to the pool twice. The first time I packed a lunch for her and her friend. The second time I got lazy and they split an order of chicken fingers. My son tried to convince me ordering pizza qualified as dining in. Technically he may have been right but I still said no. Challenge 2 was to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I've gotten about halfway through it. I'm taking it slow since I mentioned I have a difficult time visualizing things I read. It is okay. I just bought the 2nd one at the used book store. Allison told me to stick with it so I will follow her advice. Perhaps she has words of wisdom for a cat who seems to be going through her crazy teenage years. That is a wrap-up of Challenges 1 and 2. I will list the upcoming ones in my next post.
Speaking of teenage years, a few days ago my son announced he had a girlfriend. I will meet her tonight when we drive them to a movie. I feel old.

When Friendly Is Too Friendly

Recently (before my dining-in challenge) my husband asked me why I didn't go to a certain coffee house anymore. I replied "they were too friendly". I would come in when it was slow. I think the owner was starved for conversation. I was held hostage. I don't mind good, friendly customer service but this went overboard. At times I wanted to zip in and zip out. Other days I attempted to get work done. Neither was possible.
I had another experience at a drugstore. It's a large chain with a cash register in the health and beauty section usually manned by the same woman. I was in there the other day and she sought me out to see if I needed help. I politely told her "no thanks". I pretty well know my way around a drugstore. A few minutes later I hear a voice from down the aisle "What brand of hair color are you buying? I might have a coupon". She did. Next I moved onto sunscreen which happened to be near her register. She then says "Hawaiian Tropic is on sale not Coppertone". I wanted Coppertone Sport!
Nowadays it's common for sales people to hardly speak or not tell you thank you. I should appreciate these friendly people but I'm not the most chatty person. Am I just being oversensitive?