Best Made Plans

I still plan on taking a blogging break but a few of you asked me about my husband and son going to the Appalachian vs. LSU football game which was yesterday in Baton Rouge.
They did not go. Due to Hurrican Gustav, the game got moved up to 10a.m. (central time). My son played in his school's very first game on their home turf Friday night (and won) so the guys were flying out early Saturday morning. They couldn't land in New Orleans and make it to Baton Rouge with the new kickoff time. Fortunately the airfare was refunded.
In addition to App's loss, it sounds like the whole scenario was a disaster from crowded airports and roads, power outages at the hotels and much more. Katie, Allison, BlueridgeBlog, and Gnumoon were there. I followed their saga on twitter. Black and Gold NC had some issues based on her blog post.
I'm wishing a safe return those traveling and I hope everything will be okay for those residents of Louisiana.

I Need a Break!

I'm taking some time off from blogging. My heart just isn't in it right now. I've never been the type of blogger to completely open up and tell my deepest thoughts. It's not my style. My posts have usually been pretty light hearted and I'm not feeling that at the moment. I was hoping blogging would be a nice diversion for me with the other things currently going on in my life. Instead it is another item on my "to do" list. I will still read and comment on your blogs. I'll let you know when I'm back to posting. If you are on twitter or flickr I am ASUjoan - big surprise there. Take care. I'll be back.

Pictures Speak Louder Than Words

Pictures do speak louder but a few ideas: Kiss my ---. Is this my best side? What do you think? This guy/girl hopped over my foot while I was weeding my flower bed. The he/she stayed put while I got my camera.

Good, Bad, Miscellaneous

Good: My son and his teammates played their first ever varsity football game and won 21-7! This is a team with mostly sophomores and some juniors. It's a new school so there are no seniors. Last year they played a JV schedule. I was nervous because their opponent had a few big guys committed to colleges.

Bad: A friend died suddenly of a heart attack on his 5oth birthday Thursday. I don't know his health history but he was in good shape - a runner, mountain biker. Wow. My son is pretty upset. My son and his son played soccer together for 9 years together - spring and fall. The dad ended up becoming the coach as well as their biggest supporter and cheerleader.

Misc: Other than unfortunately having to attend a funeral, my plans for this weekend are to have no plans. I really am looking forward to school starting Tuesday. I love the first part of the summer but now the kids are bored. The lack of routine is taking its toll. I feel nothing is getting accomplished.

Open House Fun

Last night was our daughter's 6th grade open house. What a difference 4 years make. When my son started 6th grade, he was in a mobile classroom village. The description sounds better than it was. They were trailers, okay, and ratty at that. He had a cubby no locker. Fast forward. Our daughter is in a 2 year old school with plenty of light and lockers. Last year my son was put back into that same trailer park until his school was complete in January. Fortunately he is in a lovely new high school now. I know teachers, administration, and staff are the backbone of the school but kids need an environment conducive to learning not filthy trailers, with small windows and ripped up carpet. I feel strongly the classroom conditions contributed to my son' respiratory issues in 6th grade. He ended up with in the hospital with pneumonia.
Let me say attending open house is one of my least favorite things to do especially since my kids attend large schools. It tends to be a place where the PTA super moms showcase their talents. They know everyone and everything about the school. They literally thrive in this open house scenario. I swear a few were glowing. God forbid if you are a newcomer. I'm not slacker. I help at my children's schools. However I'm more of a behind the scenes kind of person. I wonder what will happen to these moms when they are empty nesters? I see anti-depressants in their future. A second peeve is the parents who want to tell the teacher their whole child's history. Open house is a quick meet and greet. The teacher doesn't know your child yet and most likely will not remember what you are saying. We were in line last night waiting to introduce ourselves to the homeroom/language arts teacher. Sure enough there were parents in front of us going through their child's complete academic history. The mom of my daughter's friend standing with us finally said "I guess my child will find this classroom on Tuesday because I'll still be here waiting."

A Morning at the Dairy Farm

Today my daughter, her friend and I toured Homeland Creamery. I love farms. It was a lot of fun. The temperatures were rising so the ice cream at the end was a welcomed treat.

To my blogger friends, I usually don't put many pictures of my kids on my blog. I have more photos on my flickr page if you are listed as my friend. If you are not listed as a friend and are interested, let me know.

It's That Time

Love it or hate it but no denying football season is almost here!



My son is #42. He plays varsity for his high school. For those new readers a word of warning - there will be a lot of football posts in the next few months mainly about Appalachian State Mountaineers. Husband and son are heading up the mountain today for Fan Fest. I'm staying home so my daughter can attend a party. My daughter doesn't like watching her brother play. She whined all through the scrimmage last night. She's okay about going to see App play because of the tailgating, food in the stadium, face painting and the band.

Views in the Mountains

Both of these were taken from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Linville NC. The one on the right is Grandfather Mountain.

Wild flowers seen on the Boone Fork Trail. A 5 mile trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock NC.

Scenes from the Boone Fork Trail.

Debbie Downer's Week Wrap Up

I don't set out to have such downer post but this week sucked. Minor things were my new shared office quarters - nothing against my coworker. During the summer I bring my daughter into work when I'm there briefly. Now it's a cramped space for 3 people. Of course when you move, the dang computer never works on the first go. Major things: I went with my brother and parents to Mom's first oncologist visit. Very emotional but I am glad I went. The next day the Mountaineer Mobile stopped running while my son was driving. Correction the engine runs. It just doesn't go forward or backwards. Being the transmission has gone out in 2 cars I was driving, I feel the Mountaineer Mobile may have suffered the same fate. If that's the case and it needs a completely new transmission, it won't be worth fixing an 8 year old car with 150k+ miles. The thought of 8½ years of memories, not having it for tailgating, and shelling out $ for another car make me sad. I have a rental now. Here is a glimpse of MM at the 2006 National championship.

Good news I think I have a solution to perk me up. It involves mountains, ASU, some bloggers, shaved ice drinks, caverns, good food, and photography. More details when the mission is completed.

P.S. I guess I find humor in the fact the cable went out while I was writing this blog. At least I remembered to save it to Word and Husband has access through his cell phone.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Like my new ASU vs. LSU countdown on the sidebar? Thanks to AppFan. Unfortunately I will not be joining my husband and son down in Baton Rouge. Spring 2007 when it was announced App was heading up to play Michigan I jumped all over that. My friend Cindy and I made plans to go before I even asked my husband if he was interested. It ended up my husband, son, Cindy and I all went. When the App vs. LSU game was scheduled, I was excited but it felt different. We ordered our tickets but as a few of you know I went back and forth about going. It just didn't feel right. Finally I decided to remain home. If I had gone, my daughter would have stayed with my parents. Now with my Mom's situation and ongoing treatment, I don't think that would have worked out. For several months I was really puzzled why I felt like I should not go. Maybe I'm reading too much into the situation. Maybe not.

It's August

It's August which means summer vacation has become summer boredom. I look back to June which seems so long ago. There was the excitment of my daughter going off to camp for the first time. I was complaining about my son's social life and having to driving him everywhere. We were all excited about what summer had in store for us. I was up early tackling projects. Now back to August ... the kids are sleeping until about noon then watching way too much t.v. S starts the dreaded two a day football practices this week. My daughter and her friends are "bored". I can even tell a difference with me though I attribute some to my Mom's situation. I think the turning point was our week of staying in to do home improvements. The kids were great about the whole thing. However this is the first summer in years we haven't gone away for a week and I can feel a difference. Still I know the summer boredom would set in eventually.

Twin 'Shrooms

Exercising and Organizing ???

I can't think of anything interesting to write about - no witty banter here today. I feel very disconnected to posting or even reading your blogs. I'm determined to get in some exercise today. Any of you successfully maintaining an exercise routine? My daughter and I got a bread machine last week and I've eaten way too much! I'm starting to feel like a carb filled blob.
Are you a list person? I stopped making lists and setting electronic reminders over the summer. I wanted to take a break from all the organization that is a must during the school year. I've come to the realization I can't remember a thing. I caved in and scrounged up a little notebook to keep with me in my purse in addition to entering events on my yahoo calendar. I've sorta rebelled against electronics this summer so pen and paper it is.

P.S. Thanks again for your comments on my previous post.