Journalling Prompts

I am following a blog here on Blogger called Your Life Spelled Out. It has some really good prompts if you are interested in going along. I have been completing most of my prompts in my comp book, but I am thinking of adding them to my blog.

Today's prompt is to write about something you are passionate about. The subject that I am most passionate about is autism. I have a masters degree in Autism from Our Lady of the Lake University, so you could say that I am interested in the subject. At work, more and more students with autism are getting on my case load or are in my classes. I am also a parent/home trainer for the school district in the evenings.

The really scary thing about autism is new research into the prevelance. When I graduated last year the number was 1 in 144. New numbers came out in December with some stats as 1 in 100. I also heard that it is 1 in 84 boys. I am not sure of the accuracy of these numbers, I am waiting for more collaboration on the subject. But it is thought provoking.

Post #101

I totally missed that my last post was my 100th post. I should have noticed! lol. I watching the news and the talk about being able to claim your pets on you income tax return. I have 3 cats, 3 dogs and 3 fish. I spend quite a bit on the dogs and cats, not really much more than the cost of chemicals and food on the fish. How do you think they will identify the animals. Will we have to send in a picture or get them social security numbers? What happens when one of your pets eats the other? (My cats really like fresh fish, and I can't figure out how they get into the fish tank...)

This whole cold front is really disappointing. I live in South Texas. I can usually wear flip flops in December and January. I don't like this!

Holly got her ACT scores last night. She has a 32 composite. The score puts her in contention for more scholarships at Texas Tech. She has enough scholarships and GI bill to afford Texas Tech and living on campus or going to Incarnate Word and living at home. Both colleges are offering her mucho scholarships, and have honor colleges. She is a great kid, and I think she has a great future on the horzion. One thing that Texas Tech has is Zach. Zach has been her best buddy since middle school. His mother and I taught together for several years. She is one of my best buddies. It would be good for them to have each other for support.

3/365

I am not really using a special program, except that I use my photo shop to add the overlay to my photos. There is a lot of chatter on the scrapbooking blogs. There is even a web site! 365 Project and I joined it. My site is http://365project.org/kimwin/365 please join me there!!

I already posted my photo to my Facebook account and the 365 page, but here it is again. The sewer backed up in front of our house.

365 - January 2 photo

My January 2 photo of my Daisy dog. I am using the Ali Edwards 365 photo overlay which was released today at Designer Digitals.

365 Photo - #1

January 1, 2o10

A photo snapped from my IPhone on our trip back from CA. We were going from San Jose towards LA. Tim said that the hills looked so pretty that they didn't look real. I thought that was very insightful for my 14 year old son. The rest of the trip home paled in contrast.

New Year Thoughts

There are many things going on around the scrapbooking world. I have my memory log book started and ready to record my year. Another thing that I am trying to do is take a picture a day to record my year. Ali Edward's have a word of the year. What do you think would be a good word of the year for me?

patience?

challenge?

Merry Christmas Eve!

It is Christmas Eve and my son is very excited that we are in California because he gets to open presents on Christmas Eve at Grandma's house. My husband is happy to be around his best friend, Dan. Yesterday Dan, his boys, Gerry, Holly and Tim played basketball for hours. He is hobbling around now.
My Iphone probably won't arrive until after Christmas because FedEx is having problems with weather at their hub.
I am a bad mommy. I didn't get all the Christmas pjs this year. Every place I went they were out of pjs!!

12/21/09

Today is the eighth anniversary of my mother's death. I still can't believe she is gone. We finally made it to California. Gerry's mom had a bad spell today and she isn't feeling well. She had a pre-stroke. It is the second time that she has had one of these. Gerry is really sad about how ill his parents are getting.

my to do list is getting longer & Christmas Letter

I am getting a bit overwhelmed with what I need to do for Christmas. The boy wants a target gift card, and so does Dot #2. Dot #1 wants a digital camera to take pictures of the baby. I got presents for most of the extended family at Bass Pro last night. Tonight I have to finish the last of the packing and be ready to go. Kelsey is going to be alone for a while, but her buddies plan on visiting a bit.

And here is the 2009 Christmas Letter

Top Ten Reasons We Didn’t Send Out a Christmas Letter this Year….

10) Kim has a longer commute to work now that she is teaching at Jay High School. But don’t think it is a bad thing; she only teaches four classes and has a classroom in the building.

9) Gerry misses Kim a lot now that she isn’t at O’Connor and can’t make copies for him or bring him lunch!

8) Tim broke his arm, again. Actually, he was very diplomatic about it. He broke the right in July and the left in September. Eighth grade football season was spent on the sidelines.

7) Holly is taking 4 Advanced Placement Courses (English, Economics/
Government, Chemistry 2, and Art History).

6) Gerry is teaching Holly Chemistry 2. She tried to get the whole class to call him Dad, but they compromised by calling him “Sir”.

5) Holly scored really well on the SAT and is applying to several colleges.
She is graduating number 21 in her class. She is being offered numerous
scholarships and Incarnate Word University and Texas Tech are the
top 2 college choices right now.

4) Kelsey moved out, and moved back home.

3) Gerry joined a new fishing club (he won $300 in September!).

2) Bonkers passed away at the mature age of 15 (105 in human
years).

And the number 1 reason we didn’t send out a Christmas
Letter this year is…

Gerry & Kim are going to be Grandparents.
Kelsey is expecting a baby boy in April!

miss the little kids

ok, so 18 and 14 isn't exactly that little, but they are my little ones. They flew to California for the holiday break. We got a great deal on Southwest and thought it might be easier for them to fly down. We are going to drive. Kelsey is going to fly out on the 22nd. We have a house sitter for the big dogs. We still need to put stakes in the back fence to keep Taffy Daffy in. She will just make another hole though. She does not like to be fenced in. She comes around to the front and rings the bell when she wants to go to bed.

oh, yeah, I cut some bangs that I really shouldn't have. Note to self, leave the scissors alone.

4 days left till Break!

Boy, I am looking forward to the Winter Break. My classes are all taking a benchmark from Monday to Wednesday, then we are going to watch a video to relax after the benchmark. My students will be incredibly bouncy by the end of the week.

Kelsey had a dr appt today. It is her 6 month visit. She is still just going once a month. The ultrasound showed the baby was right on schedule for April 11. I am getting excited. We are going to plan the baby shower for the week of Spring Break.

I hit level 5 with my virginhealthmiles!!! yeah! That means $100 gift card for Best Buy. I am going to use it to buy my I Phone on the 22nd. (My contract renewal date is 12/22.) Kelsey is eligible for an upgrade on 12/28. She wants a touch screen phone but isn't going to get the IPhone.

We are getting ready to make a run for the west coast.

some people are very naughty

This situation started last Christmas and will probably continue until the person dies. She is not a nice person and her mask is finally slipping and no longer am I the only person who sees this. Last Christmas, this person came to my house for Christmas and totally dissed me. She brought presents for everyone but me. I didn't make a big deal about it till later.

She also started a situation in trying to get in between my daughter and the rest of the family. Interestingly enough, once we shut her out of our life everything got much better with our relationship with the daughter. Still there was major damage to our family and things that happened could have been avoided.

Well, the girls went over to her house for a Christmas celebration and she didn't get a present for their brother. This upset the girls. Also, she has made several comments that have upset the girls. She is still trying to break up our family.

I wish that people could be happy and loving to family members. I will never talk to the woman again. I have blocked her number from my son's phone. My girls are grown and I will let them make their own choices. It is to the point that I am thinking of moving out of state to get away from the witch!

Falling behind....

I am falling behind in my Christmas Journal. I haven't even opened the prompts for the 9th and 10th, but I have a good excuse. My daughter, Holly, celebrated her 18th birthday yesterday. We didn't have a celebration yet, because we want to celebrate over Christmas Break. I am really looking forward to being off from work.

This weekend we have the Jay Christmas Party and then on Sunday we have Gerry's Fishing Club Fishing Trip. I am excited about the Party....

My Christmas Journal has been started

It still needs some photos to be added, but I haven't had them printed yet. Here are images from my Journal.

Another silly questionnaire

Another silly questionnaire

If you've been tagged or you are reading this, you have the honor of copying all these goofy questions, writing your own response, and tagging 25 other victims. You have to tag me so really you just need 24 more people. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you - but not in a creepy stalker kind of way.

To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your title as "Getting to know each other!", tag 25 people including me (tagging is done in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.


1. What time did you get up this morning? 7 am    

2. How do you like your steak? Medium rare

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Blind Side

4. What is your favorite TV show? Ghost Whisperer

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Probably California to be near Gerry's family

6. What did you have for breakfast? cereal

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Italian

8. What foods do you dislike? onions

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Carraba's Italian Grill

10. Favorite dressing? Ceasar

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? Nissian Versa

12. What are your favorite clothes? Yoga tanks & pants (though I don't do yoga)

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? The beach

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full

15. Where would you want to retire? The Lake (to join my hubby! Cause he is usually already there)

16. Favorite time of day? morning

17. Where were you born? Bowling Green, KY

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Basketball

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? Not sure. Maybe my Aunt Becky cause she can't get her computer to copy and paste. (love you, Aunt B!)

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? The first person to be awake...

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Not sure

22. Bird watcher? Are you kidding? I annoy the birds

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning

24. Do you have any pets? 3 dogs, 3 cats

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? My first grandchild will be here April 11 & it is a boy!

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher (I made everyone play school)

27. What is your best childhood memory? Being with my Grandmother Dorothy and Granddad Cecil

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Both

29. Are you married? Yes        

30. Always wear your seat belt? yes

31. Been in a car accident? Several, so I wear my seat belt

32. Any pet peeves? Too many people

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? mushrooms

34. Favorite Flower? honeysuckle

35. Favorite ice cream? chocolate

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Las Palapas (nachos, just ask my co-workers at OHS)

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? 0

38. Who did you get your last e-mail from? Best Buy ad about cyber Monday

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Barnes and Noble

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Most everything I do is spontaneous

41. Like your job? yes

42. Broccoli? yes

43. What was your favorite vacation? All of them

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? My husband

45. What are you listening to right now? A show on Animal Planet

46. What is your favorite color? purple

47. How many tattoos do you have? one

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? Haven't decided

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 8:40 am

50. Coffee Drinker? No, soda drinker

Lazy Saturday

The results of the blood tests arrived today in the mail. The only significant result was that my human growth hormone is borderline. I have to call on Monday to schedule another test which requires fasting and drinking glucose. Not thrilled with the idea. My urine test and MRI were done this past week. The headaches are fairly constant. Not horrible but always there. I am also very tired in the afternoon.

Kelsey and I went walking at Bandera Point. We had some enchiladas and wandered around. We decided there was some really cute baby boy clothing. The only thing we bought were some Thank You cards for Holly. We also mailed her application to Incarnate World.

Black Friday

Didn't do much shopping today. Bought Tim some jeans at Penney's and Holly some jeans at Old Navy. I also bought 2 circuit cartridges at Michaels. The Martha Stewart line also had a cute elephant punch that I got for Kelsey. I have written a bit of my Christmas letter. This year I don't think I am going to be as funny as I usually am. This letter is going to be on the serious side. Too much happened this year. I started to do a really short top 10 style note but that just seemed too lazy. This year has been a great deal of change. I can't imagine a more eventful year. Heck, I am almost a grandma. Kelsey was saying how fast this time was going by, but I am not sure about that. We are hitting the 21^st week on Sunday. More than half way through. I don't know if I am ready. But the baby doesn't care. I will love the mite incredibly.

MRI over!!! Yeah!!

It took 40 minutes but I survived the MRI. I don't really go for enclosed spaces or crowded places, so I was concerned that I would freak out. But I didn't. I remained calm and collected. I just have to wait until the 10^th to find out if my pituitary gland is enlarged.

Some people wondered what type of car I was concerned about. It is a bright emerald low rider with hydraulic lifts. Just not the type of car I see in our neighborhood. I am just concerned because it is not a family car. We have SUVs, pickup trucks, even a corvette and a few Hummers. There is a bright yellow one down the street that is very tacky. We either have gang bangers or a fraternity moving in. The fraternity is the worst scenario. There was one by the elementary school last year. The parties were horrid. You would see beer cans all over the streets after the party. We are about 5 miles from UTSA and it doesn't have fraternity houses on campus. It started out as a commuter college.

I want to go get a newspaper to decide if I am going to go anywhere on Black Friday. I am taking Daisy to the groomers at 8am. She needs her nails clipped badly. They grow so fast.

The turkey is in the oven, and the dogs are playing. We are going to bring the dogs in this afternoon because the neighbors throw turkey over the fence. My dogs get horribly sick with turkey. So, even though I have asked them not to do this – it still happens. This year I am going to bring them in before they get to that point.

Today I am thankful that all the tests are done. I am waiting now on the results. The results are going to be the starting point for getting rid of these symptoms. I would love not to have headaches every day. I would love not to be so tired that I can't keep my eyes open. I would love to have fewer problems with my vision. The cure is much better than not knowing what is wrong with me. I have put off this for too long as it is.

Today is MRI day

In about an hour, I will be waiting for my MRI. I am not excited about this; I have a lot of apprehension about the test. I have taken all my jewelry off except for my wedding ring. I am going to have some bagel bites for lunch and then go to my appointment.

Our new neighbors are moving in. They drive a very interesting car. It is not one that we see in our neighborhood. We tend to go towards mini vans and SUVs. I am a bit worried. I am sure first impressions are not always the best.

I am supposed to get some scrapbooking stuff in the mail today. I can't wait until I get to play with them.

I am excited about the holiday. We have the turkey sitting in the sink and thawing. We are going to have turkey, dressing, corn casserole, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce. We are going to make pecan bars and cookies. We also have pumpkin pie and whipped cream.

For Christmas, I am getting the kids gift cards since we are traveling this season.

MRI is finally scheduled

I have the mri tomorrow at 2:50. I am going to the STRIC located on Spurs Lane. It is the athletic one right by the Spurs practice building. There is also a great sports medicine place over there too. Gerry his knee looked at there and Tim's foot.

Today I am taking Tim to get his cavity filled. Gerry has football practice this afternoon. That could be hilarious. The teachers are going to play the coaches. The teachers may win because they will play all those trick plays. The coaches only think the way they are told to sometimes. We will see.

Yesterday's ultrasound was awesome. We are going to have a grandson around April 11. The baby is growing well and is measuring for his due date really well. When I was pregnant I never measured right because I ovulate twice a month and got pregnant when I wasn't supposed to. I also have a tilted uterus which supposedly makes it hard to get pregnant. I guess the two eggs a month made me super fertile. We told our neighbor down the street that Kelsey was having a boy. I think he started to offer condolences. You see, he has 5 daughters and 1 son. The one son is more trouble than all five girls combined. I have always said that if my son was born first, he would have been an only child. Boys are just so much more inventive and destructive. Our grandson, Robby, is going to be a handful I am sure.

The weekend is here and it is a long one….

I am so happy for the Thanksgiving break week. My new buddy, Wendi K, supplied me with some fun papers and stamps to play with this week. I am going to get the baby's scrapbook going with all the fun papers I picked up yesterday. The album should be done and just waiting for the pictures by the end of the week. I have 3 scrapbook classes next month which I am really excited about. I am doing Ali Edward's December Daily, Shimelle's Journal you Christmas and on BPS, I am doing Reclaiming Your Time. I am looking forward to the fun classes. Wendi also is going to have a class for me on a calendar for my desk. I am very excited.

I have to go grocery shopping shortly, I am just trying to get motivated to move. I am not very excited about hitting the grocery store this morning. I hate the crowds.

I am really getting myself organized this year. Part of the Blogging for Scrapbookers class was being able to write about the memories that go with the photos so that you don't forget the best parts of the memory. I am also using something that is going to help with remembering the great moments. It is called Log you Memory and it is a calendar that I use to record things that are important to me. I am really excited about 2010 and being organized before this year starts. So much is going to be happening: the baby will be born in April, Holly graduates in June, Holly goes away to college in August and Tim starts high school. I am also talking Tim into going back to karate and finishing his training to get his black belt. He was about to test for his brown belt when he started football last year. There are so many accomplishments next year, and I don't want to miss one.

 

 

 

 

 

    

Medical Day part 2

We filed a report on the dog bite tonight. We took Tim to the doctor and it is healing well. There is no sign of infection! The doc did prescribe antibiotics, but just to be on the safe side. The dog will be quarantined by Animal Control. This dog has terrorized the neighborhood. Pete, down the street, has been bitten twice by this dog.

I know God doesn't give me more than I can handle, but I wish he didn't trust me so much (Mother Theresa).

The tests will be fine. I think knowing what it is will be better than not knowing. I have had strange symptoms, and I just want to know what is going on. The high levels of cortisol can even cause the pre-menopausal symptoms that I was experiencing. The vision changes and swelling of my hands and feet are also problems with the overactive pituitary gland.

On another note, I am getting excited about the coming Christmas season. At the beginning of December, Shimmelle starts her annual Journal Your Christmas with daily prompts to help you remember the Joy of the season. This will be my 3 year to participate. I am going to try a digital album this year. Maybe I can finish it this time….. Or I could do the Ali Edwards December Daily with an album already together. Sigh, so many choices… I do have my Christmas Planner completed and I am using it! I have my Christmas cards made (thanks to my friend and CTMH supplier (and enabler?)Wendy K!) lol! I also have the baby's scrapbook started with her help. I am using the pattern Animal Cookies for the baby book and pre-making the monthly pages with headers and space for journaling.

Medical Day

Ok, so I thought I was going to post only about my dr appointment today and my worries about it. But unfortunately, I have new fodder for my angst.
As I was driving home, I saw this man with two dogs in the middle of the street and my son laying on the sidewalk. One of our neighbors was in front of me, and started to pull over until she saw that I was behind her. Nicki is a really sweet woman.
I pulled over and Tim had been bitten by the dog "Jock". I couldn't believe it. I got the owner's contact number and made sure that the dog had a current rabies shot. I took Tim home with his bike in my car. Kelsey helped clean up his bite, and we now have him sitting on the futon with ice on his leg. He just had his DPT in August, so unless it becomes infected he doesn't ned to go to the doctor. Gerry thinks it is a dog that bites everyone, and if he is right we are calling the police. This dog is a menace.

Today, the doctor requested more tests. I had 7 vials of blood drawn, I have to collect my urine for 24 hours (ewwww!!!) and I am going to get a MRI. The doctor thinks my pituary (sp?) gland is enlarged and it is causing the problems. I go back on 12/10 to find out the results of the tests. At least I lost 2 pounds.

Good things to look forward to...

Thanksgiving holiday is just a week away. I am really looking forward to the holiday break. Tomorrow I go to the glandular specialist to begin to find out what is wrong with my bndody. Friday we are taking dinner over to Larry's house. A week from tomorrow is the ultrasound for my grandbaby. Hopefully we will be able to find out if it is a boy or girl. I think it is a boy. Gerry's parents are going to be here on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Great things are happening soon!

Something fun....

For fun, I spend lots of time on Facebook. No, not talking to friend, but playing games. Bejewelled Blitz, Farmville, Farmtown....

I need a life!!!

OHS Volleyball Beats Regan!

In a close match, O'Connor Volleyball won 2 to 1 to advance to the state semi-finals. My husband reported that there was a great shot where one of his students spiked the ball into another's face. I think that would almost be as good as the soccer player video that Letterman kept playing last night. Click here for the video. The girl has issues!

Shimmelle's Class prompt 6 is about goals. Yeah, it has taken me 3 days to get around to the post. Goals are often something that I make but never achieve. Like losing weight. I would like to get back to 135 to 140 range of my late 20s. I must tell you that I started at 170 (my highest weight with being pregnant). I am now at 156. I got down to 150 this summer, but I have gained 6 pounds back.
So...
Goals for a healthier life....

• lose the weight - I would like to weigh 135 - 140
• lower my cholesterol, raise my iron and even out the cortisol
• lower my stress - relax more

Two of my friends are currently battling brain tumors right now. One is fortunately benign, but it is in a very difficult place to operate on. She is going through chemo right now. One is not so lucky, it started out 10 years ago as thyroid cancer and has suddenly become aggressive and he has tumors throughout his body. Both friends are on my daily prayer list. But they really show to me that I need to get serious about taking care of my health.

Fun Day

Went to a Christmas Card Crop today. Made some adorable Christmas cards. Now just need to write my Christmas letter and adress them and I will be good to go. :) I might actually get them mailed this year!!!

We are going to Wurstfest tonight with a couple that we work with. It will be fun. I will eat way to much. :)

Football Game Recap

The football game was interesting. Neither team has much of a defense, so the game was a race to see who could score the most. The Panthers (our team) lost by one point.
It was also the senior game with all the seniors and parents announced. Gerry and were out on the field with Holly.
I had pictures, but my uploading failed and I lost all my photos. I am bummed.

Day 4: And then

Writing about everyday things is day 4 prompt. Which is easy for me...

After my blood tests, I am more stressed about my health. My cholestrol is high and mmy iron is low. My red blood cells are once again young & immature. And as always --> I really wondered if we need a test for that. Anything & everything about me is young and immature. A new thing is my cortisol is high. From my research on high cortisol, my adrenal glands are over producing because I am overstressed.

I am going to try and eat better, take supplements and relax more. Eating better is very hard for me. I eat horribly. My palate is very immature & leans toward eating lots of yummy red meat.

So, today, I started taking supplements. I am taking fish oil, flaxseed oil and a mult-vitamin. First of all, the fish oil is not setting well on my stomach. And I keep tasting it. Nasty!!!! I think I am going to stick to the flaxseed oil, it doesn't keep visiting me.....

Day 4: And then

Day 3: My Top Five

Number 1 and Number 5 together! My darling husband and my little puppy! Daisy is a dauchsund mix, but not sure what she is mixed with.

My children are 2, 3, and 4 in no particular order.

But I have to add a 6th.....

MY SLIPPERS!!!

Day 2: Blogging for Scrapbookers

A memory that I treasure started out as a fairly mundane day. It was a half day of work followed by a doctor's appointment for my oldest daughter. It was a routine prenatal appointment with measurements and explanations of test results. Then it morphed into something extraordinary. The doctor got out the Doppler stethoscope. At 14 weeks, we were getting to hear the heart beat. At first we heard Kelsey's heart beat--> the slow steady rythm. Then the doctor started moving the transducer and the rythm changed. It was the heartbeat of my grandchild beating at 156 beats a minute. But the best part wasn't the sound but the look. The look of wonder on my daughter's face as she realized that her pregnancy was real and the was a baby inside her. She had known she was pregnant, the morning sickness certainly proved that. But I don't think it was real until that moment. This isn't the plan that I had for my daughter but I know we are going to make it through as a family and together. (picture to follow tomorrow!)

Day 1 of Blogging for Scrapbookers

Today is day one of Shimelle's new scrapbooking class. I think I will be going the short version of the prompts to start with. I hope to beginning blogging more. I think it is important for me to record my life. The time is going by so fast. I just can't keep up with it anyone. It is always more fun to scrap about things that I remember clearly. Though, I have joined several classes with good intentionsl. I just I can't seem to complete them. Soon my grandbaby will be here and I will have even less time to keep up with my world.

Another note, I have to take a half day tomorrow. My blood tests came back and they weren't good. They won't tell me what is exactly wrong yet. At least the mammogram hasn't made itself heard yet.

I am going to check out everyone else's blog and maybe get motivated to do more later. Right now I am worried about the test results....

It's noon and I need a shower still

What a lazy Sunday today is. I did manage to start my novel for NaNoMoWri. But I am procrastinating a great deal on it. I have got to get in the mood for writing. I also have paper work to finish for tomorrow. I have two meetings and I really haven't started on the paperwork.

I am starting on a class at Shimelle.com on blogging and scrapbooking. I really enjoy her classes. Her ideas are so cool. I did manage to finish a small scrapbook last week. I promised it to my cousin Karen. I just want to take some photos of it first. I really think it turned out well.

I have to go to the grocery and pick up all the prescriptions that I got on Friday. All the blood test results will be back on Monday. The biopsy and mamagram will be back later. My obgyn wants me to take the birthcontrol continously to lighten my time of the month. She really doesn't want to go the route of removing anything.

Daisy is still traumatized from her day at the groomers yesterday. My time at the groomers went well, I got my nails and toes done. I am going to go clean up and get ready for my day. I made brunch for the family, so I haven't had a totally wasted day....

Why I teach

Today was an exhausting day, but it was eventful. I am teaching summer school this year. It is a bit different from my regular teaching assignment. It is preschool program for children with disablities. I have three students in my class. All are completely nonverbal. Only one student babbles when he is enjoying something.
Yesterday, the little girl mimicked the chorus of a song and said "roll over." I was so excited just for that little bit of language. Today she was doing even more. She was babbling all morning and repeating words from different songs that we had playing. She had speech therapy this morning and the therapist reported more interaction than she had ever seen before.
These little victories are why I teach. I did a little something to help someone communicate a little bit with the world they live in.

In a cast again

Tim compressed his growth plates in his hand and is now in a cast for the month of July. He didn't break anything, they are using the cast as a protective measure to make sure his growth plates heal.
I have another week off from summer school. Next week we go back. I will have a student from UTSA next week. She also has had mainly high school experience, so it will be a case of the blind leading the blind.
I hope everyone is having a good summer.

First Day of Summer

Well, the longest day of the year is here and I have nothing planned. It is also Father's Day.
We got Gerry a great Fred Flintstone card and a photo viewer keychain. He likes it and already has me putting photos on and charging it.
I am also feeling a little puny. I am going to relax and hopefully feel better.

Grandparents are Visiting

We are having a blast with Gerry's parents visiting. Tonight, Gerry, his dad and Pat Gardner are going fishing for crappie. Tomorrow we are going to have crappie for dinner. Not my favorite meal, but I will find something to eat.
They brought their dog, Annie. Annie and Daisy are having a blast together. Daisy is excited to see a dog that she is bigger than. Well, sort of. Daisy is about an inch taller and 2 inches longer but Annie out weighs her by 5 pounds.

Inservice Days are a total waste of time

I just spent 8 hours of toture today. I don't see why they have to do stupid meetings and listen to the talking heads. I really hated being squashed into a computer lab with 140 other teachers in a room for about 60. I thought I was going to have a panic attack. And then nothing worked the way it was suposed too. Naturally!

Gerry's New Laptop

I ordered Gerry a new laptop from Best Buy. We had $160 in gift cards from our Virginhealthmiles and I used that to bring the $399 price down. He got a good Valentine's day! It is an HP with 15.4 screen, so it is bigger than mine. I have the 14. Both have 250 gig hard drive & 3 gig virtual memory. I have a built in webcam but I don't think Gerry's does.

Valentine's Dinner

Holly and I cooked a Valentine's dinner for the family. We had steak, baked potatoes, ceasar salad, and sour dough bread. We are a simple family, meat and potatoes is our mainstay.



Holly is going to babysit for my friend Wendy tonight and Kelsey is working at the bowling alley. Tim, Gerry & I are going to be hanging out with the pupsters.



Amazing Race starts on Sunday. I think that would be a great reality show for me & Gerry to go on. We might bore people though, we get along to well.

My husband

Here's a chance to see how well you really know your husband. Cut, paste and fill in the answers, then forward . . . shoot, you know what to do. The real challenge is to send it to your husband to see how right you really are.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
If it is Wednesday, it is Ghosthunter. Any other night, NCAA Football or Madden Football games

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ceasar

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Onions!!! It is almost phobic!!

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What drink does he order? Diet Coke if we are not drinking, and Shiner Bock if we are.

5. Where did he go to high school? Elk Grove High School

6. What size shoe does he wear? 12

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? He collects fishing equipment

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? reuben

9. What would this person eat every day if he could? Chinese Food

10. What is his favorite cereal? He really doesn't have a favorite cereal... doesn't eat it enough

11. What would he never wear? something pink

12. What is his favorite sports team? Raiders (football) & Kings (basketball)

13. Who did he vote for? McCain

14. Who are his best friends? Dan & myself

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? picking my cuticles, he swears if I was a bird, I would be bald. And bringing home stray pets (we have a small zoo!).

16. How many states has he lived in ? Two, California & Texas

17. What is his heritage? German

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? I usually make chocolate or strawberry cause they are my favorite & he doesn't like sweets much

19. Did he play sports in high school? football

20. What could he spend hours doing? fishing or playing football on the game cube

21. What is something cool about him? he really cares about his students and his job

Getting Rid of the Old Lady Wings

I have been participating in the health miles for 2 years now, and this is the first time I have used my personal training sessions. I am hoping to strengthen my back and get rid of the beginning of the old lady wings. Yesterday was the day. Boy do I hurt today! My shoulders and biceps are killing me. I am sore!!
I guess round is not being in shape, it is just a shape.

Gerry's Bday is Monday

Gerry will be 46. Today is Lola puppy's birthday, she is one year old. She weighs about 70 pounds and is a very well behaved dog. She knows how to shake hands and that is the only trick she wants to do. I think it may be because Daisy does more. I am not sure. Daisy is over the mange, but we continue medication for another month. She went to the vet yesterday and weighs 19 pounds. None of the animals want us to sleep late on the weekends. They become very upset when we aren't up by 6:30. I need a dog with a snooze button....

New Car for Kim

I have a new car. This isn't a picture of the exact car I have, but it looks just like this. It is going to be detail tomorrow, so I am taking its picture then.

I am very excited to have a new car. My Nissan Versa is very cute. All the kids have said it is the hero's car. It was featured in the first season of my children's favorite TV show. So, I think it may now be known as the hero car.

Hitting 40

Well, I have been 40 for two days now. It doesn't feel too terribly different. I took Daisy for a walk and I think she was tired! Poor little Daisy!

Daisy

Daisy is such a sweet puppy. I am a little too attached to her, but she is so sweet. Everyone thinks she is an ugly dog, but I just adore her. Right now, she has my afghan and is making a nest for herself. She is such a momma's girl. :)

Plans

I am trying to get my kids ready for our finals next week. Tuesday we have a full day, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday are half days. On Wednesday I have 3rd period exam, Thursday is 2nd & 5th and Friday is 7th.
Daisy has puppy class tonight. We have missed the last two. We are way behind. Last week Lola was very sick with her ear infection and the time before was Holly's Christmas concert.
Gerry, Johnny, Holly and Tim are going to the Monster Truck Jam on Sunday.

Back to school

There are 99 days left of the school year. Yes, we are all counting.
It seems that I will not be getting a new portable. The old portable will stay on campus until it is bought by someone. Unfortunately, I don't have a classroom. I currently float into 3 different classrooms. In 1st period I am in Portable 16, 2nd period I am in portable 9 and 3rd period in portable 30. I am getting 13,000+ steps a day on my pedometer. It was very miserable today with drizzle and a high of 42. I am so thrilled with my schedule.

Last Day of my Vacation

Today is the last day of our holiday. We go back to work tomorrow. I don't know where my classrooms will be. I was told that they were going to try and move in a new portable for me over the break. I haven't gone up to see if they even moved the old one out. I would really like to have my own room again. It is going to be really cold and rainy tomorrow.
Lola is starting to feel a little better. She has a very bad outer ear infection. We have been on meds since Friday. I have to cleanse her ear a couple of times a day. She is still swollen.
Daisy is being a sweetie. She likes to sit on my feet when I sit in my recliner. She loves my afghan and thinks it is hers.

Virgin Health Miles

We have this program through our health insurance that we get membership to Spectrum Health Club and participate in Virgin Health Miles. We have a pedometer that we wear and earn points for steps and health challenges and stuff. There are 5 levels, and you get health cash that you reedem for gift cards. This year I made it to level 5. I almost didn't make it! I was 730 points short, then there were opportunities to earn points for agreeing to be smoke free and creating your own challenge. Each was worth 500 points. So, I got to level 5 and earned $100!! Last year, I bought my new range with gift cards. I am giving this gift card to Gerry for him to buy his own laptop. We got a really good deal on Kelsey & my computers and will be able to get him one shortly.
Gerry and I both want to get to level 5 this year. :)

New Year's Resolutions

1. To weigh 140 pounds by January 1, 2010.
2. To change my oil in my car regularly forever!
3. To actually participate and complete NANOWRIMO 2009
4. Curb my potty mouth at home

Ding Dong My Car is Dead

Ok, everyone can laugh. I killed my car with lack of oil. Yeah, the brain trust called. They want me to work for them.
I can't believe I did that. I am usually so good at getting that stuff done. Gerry is threatening me with a caravan. I may go insane if I get a minivan.
In this economy we are lucky to have stable jobs that aren't going away, so we can afford new car payments. But we have gone so long without a car payment, it is going to change my budget.

Monday Fishing Fun

Gerry took Holly and Tim fishing this evening. Tim was a bit disappointed that he couldn't use his new pole for crappie fishing. (He got a bait caster rod.) They are using live bait, so the poor boy had to leave his new tackle box at home too. :) Holly is such an outdoor girl. I am so proud of her. She doesn't mind getting dirty.
<--This is a picture of Daisy meeting Annie (Gerry's parents' dog). Annie never warmed up to Daisy. Daisy tried so very hard to get Annie to like her and play with her. :) My Daisy is sick today. She has runny green poop. I think it is from her medicine. She has Demodectic Mange and is on Ivermectin. We are on day 10 of her treatment. She is not feeling well. Right now she is sacked out in my lap. She is such an ugly dog that she is cute. She is part dachshund and part Chihuahua. She is about 16 pounds right now. When we got her, she was only 5 pounds. She is such a trip. We also have Lola, our black lab. Lola is not a hyper lab, which is so very strange for me. All of our labs have been hyper. Lola is so laid back. My husband's dad just couldn't get over her. He wanted to take her home with him. She has the basic commands down and is house trained. She is outdoor/indoor, while Daisy spends most of her time inside. My fence wouldn't hold Daisy. She could get out really easy of that fence.
Holly and Tim got new cell phones for Christmas. Both of their old phones were dying -- the keys were actually breaking. Gerry broke his blackberry screen on Saturday. He was so upset with himself. I have a razor which I love. I doubt I will move on to a different phone for a while. It is actually my second razor.
I am keeping a food diary to watch my intake. I would like to get down to 135. I am at 156 now. It is less than what I started at 2 years ago, I was 170 in December 06. Studies say that people are more successful at losing weight if they keep a food journal. I tried weight watchers but I haven't really done it faithfully. We will see what happens.

Our Family Holiday Weaknesses

Tim's weakness is Egg Nog. He can't wait until Halloween when the first batches of egg nog are available in the stores. His favorite brand is Oak Hills. He is a little egg nog fiend! I don't worry about the calories for him. He needs to gain weight. But since he is the only one who drinks it, we don't often finish a quart before it goes bad.
Holly's weakness is silly socks, but it isn't limited to the holidays. Everyday she wears two different types of socks. She has the strangest combinations of socks. And she wears them out in public.
Kelsey's weakness is hard to figure out. I think it is all the holiday candies, but I am not sure. She loves anything with sugar.
Gerry's weaknesses is Starbucks. Luckily, he gets gift cards from people to supply his addiction to fine coffee.
My addiction is doing too much. I always think that I can get everthing accomplished on time, but I never do.

Christmas is over, but I still want to celebrate...

Bass Pro Shop was so slammed yesterday that they called Gerry into work. He works today and Sunday also. He enjoys talking to everyone about fishing. He sold someone about $3000 worth of fishing rods and reels yesterday. He sure does have the gift of gab.
Gerry, Tim and I went out to dinner last night after we picked Gerry up from BPS. Tim is enjoying being an only child now that his sisters are growing up. Kelsey was working and Holly went over to a friend's house.
Tim spent his Christmas cash in buying his little Bakagan toys. He is 13, but he sure loves his toys. I don't think the girls held onto their toys as much as he has.
Kelsey went with Daniel as he got a tattoo. She isn't up yet, but I figure she got one too. Even though she is scared to death of needles, she would like to get a tattoo. Go figure. I think it is just defiance.
Holly is such a good kid, I don't have to worry about her. She is almost making straight As in some very tough classes. She is taking AP English, AP History, Pre-AP Physics, Pre-AP Latin, regular Pre-Calculus, Band and Health. Ok, the Band and Health aren't difficult. But I can't even imagine taking Pre-Calculus. Crazy, crazy schedule.
On another note, I am really missing my mom this season. She has been dead since 2001, it should get easier. But this season is really tough. I miss my mom.

The after Christmas Returns

I have to go to Wally World today and take back Kelsey's mouse, I accidently got one with a wire instead of wireless. I screwed up.
Yesterday, after the gifts were done, we had Nana and Papa Johnny over for dinner. I got everything done easily and we had a great time. Daniel, Kelsey's boyfriend, was also over. The kids played Uno forever. It was the world's longest game. Then we took the kids bowling. We all had fun.
They were still teasing me about my prayer. "We will all be a year older" is now a humorous refrain in the family.

Merry Christmas!!!

I just spent a couple of hours trying to load Tim's new album onto his crammer. It is very insane for those of us wh are only half computer literate.
This afternoon we had Christmas dinner with Nana, Papa Johnny and Kelsey's boyfriend Daniel. I gave the blessing, and well, I didn't prepare for it. So, I made a fool of myself. (It isn't hard!) Everyone is still quoting, "We will be a year older next year."
Next year, I am going to memorize a prayer from the internet. :)

Merry Christmas Eve!

It is Christmas Eve, and we are all ready for Christmas. All the presents are under the tree. Tim is excited because I am going to let him open presents today.

My family always celebrated Christmas day, but Gerry's is Christmas Eve. So, we open tree presents Christmas Eve and open stockings on Christmas Day. The stockings are small presents most of the time.

The dogs and cats are only getting stockings. My "girls" have been bad already today, and are in their kennels for pooping in the house. Lola and Daisy both added their own presents under the tree. Crazy girls. My "girls" are a 9 month Black Lab and a 5 month Chi-Weenie.

Our Family's top Christmas movies

Christmas isn't Christmas without watching The Christmas Story. My favorite part of the movie is when the little boy licks the metal pole. This movie has been around for 25 years. I love watching on Christmas Day on TNT. It is an awesome movie. I have even used the phrase "you will shoot your eye out" when Tim says that he wants a bbgun.


The Family Stone is a good movie. I think Gerry likes it more than I do. It was on HBO for a while and I think he watched it like a hundred times. I like that the two sisters were able to get the perfect brother for each of them.




I am not sure if anyone else thinks of this as a Christmas movie, but it is set at Christmas time or in December. I love this hilarious movie. John Candy was a comic genius.

The best holiday movie is always Home Alone. I so love this show. I think it is a great physical comedy movie.

Monday before Christmas

I am a bit stressed today. We woke up to a breaker not working. One side of my bedroom didn't have electricity. I tried to figure it out, but couldn't. I woke up Gerry and he couldn't figure it out. I finally unplugged the electric blanket and it worked again.
Gerry is bringing the worst out in me today. He is being a bit bitchy and I don't have the patience with him that I usually has. He is all offended that I think he is sharp, so he threw a tantrum. Like every man he can be a pain in the butt.
I will admit I am not in the best of moods. Yesterday was the aniversary of my mother's death, and I don't do well in the days around it.
I did do something nice, I asked Virginia & Johnny over for Christmas dinner. I don't know if Allen and his family are coming with them. I hope not. I have no patience for him and his stupid wife. They should not be allowed to be parents. The way they smother their children is child abuse. And I will not keep my mouth shut in my own home. Lisa does something stupid, I am going to call her on it. Wolves would be better parents to those poor children.

Christmas Letter

I am mailing my Christmas cards today and I thought I would post my Christmas letter for all to read. :)

2008 Annual Winter Family Christmas Quiz
This year has been quite exciting and fun for the Winter family and we would like to have ya’ll answer the family quiz. Remember your life lines: phone a friend at 210-696-2728 or kwinter@satx.rr.com if you need help!
1. The Winter family Zoo grew by 2, our two new pets are:
a. Cow named Elsie and a donkey
b. A Chi-weenie named Daisy and a black Lab named Lola
c. A shaved monkey and rat
Answer: B, We have a 5 month old dachshund Chihuahua mix and 9 month old lab. We still have 2 other dogs, Taffy and Bonkers. Bonkers is going to be 15 years old in March. He is one old dog.
2. Fisherman extraordinaire Gerry was able to:
a. Get a part-time job at Bass Pro Shop for the 40% discount on all items made by Bass Pro.
b. Teach regular chemistry, honors chemistry, and advanced placement Chemistry 2
c. Teach Holly and Kelsey to drive without losing more hair
Answer: All three are correct. Mom doesn’t have the patience to teach the girls to drive. It is very scary!
3. Supermom Kim was able to:
a. Graduate from Our Lady of the Lake with a master of arts in special education
b. Host Prom 2008 and it was a huge success
c. Develop shingles for the month July
Answer: All three are correct. Kim graduated on 12/13/2008. Prom was great and everyone enjoyed it immensely. The stress of college, prom and Kelsey’s graduation helped Kim to develop a case of shingles. Shingles is the most painful condition and the cure is almost worse than the disease.
4. Kelsey was able to:
a. Graduate from high school
b. Get a part-time job at the bowling alley hosting birthday parties and as a cocktail waitress
c. Finish her first semester at community college
Answer: All three are correct. It has been a wild and fun year for Kelsey! Her major right now is Early Childhood Education K-4. She works well with kids and we all hope she enjoys this choice.
5. Holly was able to:
a. The band went to state with their show, Things that go Pop! The costume for the color guard was the ugliest yet! Supposedly they were to look like Cindy Lou Who but we never understood the connection.
b. Take two advanced placement classes that will give her credit for Freshman composition and US History in college.
c. Get her learner’s permit and almost her driver’s license (just a couple more months to go!).
Answer: All three are correct. She is the hardest working high school kid we know. She has a 96 gpa going into the second semester of her junior year. Mom is still not comfortable with her driving skills, but closing her eyes helps keep her from squealing to loudly.
6. Tim was able to:
a. Break his left arm and spend the summer in a cast.
b. Played free safety for the 7th grade B football team.
c. Survive another year in middle school.
Answer: All three are correct. We sometimes wonder if Tim will be able to make it through middle school. He is the defender of the underdog, and it constantly gets him in trouble. He grew a little this year and is now 5ft 1in and weighs 95 pounds.
This year has been such a momentous year. I can’t believe I made it through grad school. This last semester was the toughest, I took 9 hours. I haven’t been the best at keeping in touch and hope to be much better in the future. Gerry should finish his principal certification next fall and who knows where that will lead. Everyone thinks he would be a great academic dean because he understands the value of science and math. The kids keep growing and making me feel old. I will be 40 on January 17. I made my goal of finishing my masters degree with 35 days to spare.
We all hope this holiday season is happy and bright for ya’ll. Have a great New Year!
Love,
Kim, Gerry, Kelsey, Holly & Tim

Graduation, finally!!

Last Saturday I graduated from Our Lady of the Lake University with my master of arts in special education.

In other news, my classroom was damaged from a fire in the classroom next door. After a week and a half, I was finally able to get my stuff out of the room. The school district auctioned off the damaged portable. Hopefully, I will get a new portable classroom by January 5. We will see.

As a graduation/anniversary/Christmas/birthday present, Gerry bought me a laptop computer. I really, really love it. A laptop is so nice. I don't think I will ever use my desktop again.

Christmas Journal

My journal is going well. I have many more pages than I have posted, so don't dispare for me. Today's prompt was really easy, it was what I am grateful for. I really loved that one.
One more week of school. We are going to buy the final presents after payday on Wednesday. Fun is waiting until the last minute!!

Great Project I found at Simple Scrapbooks

This calendar is so seriously cool. http://www.simplescrapbooksmag.com/mag/article.ihtml?idx=1041&issue_idx=46 You have to check it out!!!

Winter Photo Challenge

I am going to play in a photo challenge. The photo challenge details are located here: http://winter50photos.blogspot.com/

1.angel

2.blue

3.boots

4.brother

5.candy cane

6.Christmas Eve

7.cookies

8.cool

9.cousin

10.friend

11.gift

12.gingerbread

13.glitter

14.gold

15.green

16.heart

17.hot chocolate

18.hug

19.icicle

20.kiss

21.love

22.mittens

23.nativity

24.pink

25.quilt

26.red

27.ribbon

28.Santa

29.scarf

30.silver

31.singing

32.sister

33.skating

34.sliding

35.snowball

36.snowflake

37.snuggle

38.soup

39.sprinkles

40.star

41.stocking

42.storybook

43.sunrise

44.sunset

45.sweetheart

46.tree

47.Valentine

48.warmth

49.white

50.windy

December 5

Ok, so I hate the new filter on my computer at work! I can't log on to blogger during the day. I have don't abuse it. I only due it during my lunch. It is such a bummer.

December 2

Weather is the prompt for today. I am going to go out and do some grocery shopping and then come home and work on my prompt. I am also going to get my hair trimmed. Holly went fishing with Gerry and Paw Paw Johnny. It is supposed to be in the low 80s today. :)

December 1

Did my first page of my Christmas journal today! I will post the picture tomorrow. We also bought a new Christmas tree. We got a seven foot artifical lighted tree. I don't like real trees because of Gerry's asthma. He has terrible allergies to mountain cedar so I am not too optimistic about chancing a real tree.
Gerry is going fishing tomorrow. He has gotten four new rods & reels, so he is really excited.
Tomorrow I am going grocery shopping and Kelsey is working at Parties to Go by Jo. They are going to be filmed by MSNBC for a news segment. more on that laters.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow the new Christmas Journal class starts. I have some pages started to make it easier for me to complete it. I did only three prompts last year! I hope to complete the album this year. :)K

Haven't been here

I have been very busy with school and haven't posted in awhile. I am getting ready to start a new shimelle class, so I will be posting more soon. :)K

My Christmas Manifesto

Manifesto: Noun. A declaration of one's intentions.

Starting December first, I will keep a Christmas journal. In it, I will write something every day to reflect on the holidays of my past, enjoy the holidays of the present and dream
about the holidays of my future. To some, this will be a stack of papers and trivial scribbles, but not to me. I am taking back my Christmas, I am letting it be something I relish and, most importantly, I am giving at least fifteen minutes every day to myself no matter how crazy this season becomes. I hope you will share, encourage and understand as I make something with my own hands, my own words and my own memories.

I may post some or all of my entries here. Other artists are doing this with me, and you can see their work <a href="http://www.writtendown.com">here</a>. Or you may <a
href="http://www.shimelle.com/classes/105/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like">join
us</a>.

Above all: enjoy the season. I will.

Kimberly Winter

Winter Family Quiz Draft

Winter Family Quiz December 2006
For this issue of the Winter Family Christmas Letter, we decided to do something different. This year’s version is a quiz. See how much you know (or can guess) about what happened with us this year!

1. Kim and Gerry logged many miles this fall by
A.) Joining the traveling circus; B.) Going on a romantic getaway; C.) Driving the band carpool twice daily; D.) Didn’t drive at all (the truck does not have over 100,000 miles!)
Answer? C. We got to take Kelsey & Holly plus two of their friends to morning and afternoon practice plus to and from the games. Somehow the carpool didn’t seem very equal.
2. Tim began karate lessons in January, and he has earned what color belt?
A.) Yellow; B.) Purple; C.) Black; D.) Orange
Answer? B. Tim earned his purple belt on December 2. We are also impressed with his incredible physical shape – he even has a six pack!!
3. Gerry met Kelsey’s new boyfriend when
A.) His students’ announced that Steven didn’t want to flirt with anyone but Mr. Winter’s daughter; B.) In the principal’s office; C.) On their first date; D.) In his nightmares
Answer? Believe it or not, A. Yes, poor Steven is in Gerry’s chemistry class.
4. In a surprise move,
A.) Gerry started liking onions; B.) Kim stopped spending money on stamps and scrapbook paper; C.) Kelsey and Holly learned to share; D.) Tim didn’t break anything
Answer? Trick question! You know none of that could be true! None of these things happened, and don’t expect them to happen next year either.
5. Which of the following themes was discarded for this year’s letter?
A.) Reusing the dog-writes-letter idea; B.) Reusing the form letter idea; C.) Reusing the newspaper idea; D.) No Christmas letter this year
Answer? All but the last one. Skip our Christmas letter? Not a chance. We even delude ourselves into thinking people like reading this stuff as much as we enjoy writing it. We almost did C but couldn’t find the right format and thought it was too boring. Sadly for everyone else, we came up with this quiz idea though. Sorry! Any suggestions for next year? How about write it in pig Latin? At-whay o-day ou-yay ink-thay? Maybe not.
6. The whole family is very proud of Gerry this year for
A.) he discovered his own element; B.) he graduated with honors with his Masters of Education in Science; C.) learned how to grow more hair; D.) ran a marathon
Answer? B! Gerry actually finished his program at Our Lady of the Lake University in August of this year but will walk the stage on December 16, 2006.
7. During the next year, Kim is
A.) going to stop talking; B.) learn to spend less; C.) plan a prom; D.) pursue a masters degree specializing in teaching Autistic students.
Answer? Actually C and D. She is one of the sponsors of the Class of 2008 (Kelsey’s graduating class) and is planning prom for about 1,000 students. She also has been accepted to Our Lady of the Lake University and will start school in January (the same week that she celebrates her 38th birthday!). She is in a grant program and plans on transferring to a middle or elementary school after Kelsey graduates.
8. The Winter Family zoo includes
A.) 3 cats, 2 dogs, 2 ferrets; B.) 2 dogs, a rabbit & pig; C.) Animals? Who has time with this many kids? D.) none.
Answer? A. We did lose one of our dogs this year; Sharla passed away in early November. We did get another dog so that Bonkers would stop being depressed. The new dog, Taffy, is about 6 years old and a yellow lab. Bonkers is now acting much younger than his 12 years.
9. Tim plans to become famous by
A.) replacing Jet Li in karate movies; B.) finding the cure for baldness; C.) seeing how crazy he can drive his parents crazy with refusing to cut his hair; D.) filming a skateboarding montage and posting on youtube.com.
Answer? While C is a really good choice, the answer is D. Montage was actually his word when he was describing his project. What are they teaching kids in school?
10. Holly’s future plans include
A.) attending the Air Force Academy and then joining the FBI; B.) join the circus; C.) play bass in a rock band; D.) get a job with Apple so she can get a really cool Ipod
Answer? A. Kim isn’t really thrilled with the idea, but is trying to come to terms with the idea of Holly joining the military.
11. Kelsey’s career plans include
A.) graduating in 2008 from high school; B.) writing a novel; C.) joining the foreign legion; D.) cosmetology school
Answer? A, we hope. She doesn’t have many plans for the future, and will probably go to junior college for a bit to figure it out. She did think about D for a bit, until we explained that she would be cutting hair. She also toyed with the idea of the secret service, but was concerned that it wasn’t very secret with them attending the school’s job and career fair.

How did you do? Get them all right? Did you need a lifeline? 50-50? Ask the audience? Why not just phone a friend?
We love you all and hope this letter finds you happy and healthy!
Love,

Bowling for Soup

My guilty pleasure is listening to my Ipod. I have a new cd that I am putting on my pod --> Drunk Enough to Dance by Bowling for Soup. I love their song 1985.

Some men are dogs

Some men are dogs. It is just a fact of life. I have been very blessed with two wonderful husbands who would never cheat on me. My best friend Suzy, we found out isn’t so lucky. Her husband has been sniffing around this little 18 year old (who is 20 years younger than both of us!) and even moved her into the house. I knew when that happened that things didn’t look good. He had also just had a visit with his parents recently.
Side note on his parents:
They helped him & Suzy build their dream home, and then tried to scam the couple out of $350 thousand dollars.  Their excuse is that their other son would never have the pension that Jeff would have. Both Suzy & Jeff forgave them.
The parents spew filth into his mind. He is tempted by this young girl. This morning Suzy found them kissing in her house! I told her that she should go for the adultery fault divorce! If he has the balls to kiss her in Suzy’s house, you know they are screwing. Tomorrow, Suzy is going for a meeting with a divorce attorney. I think that is the best thing. At first she felt that she was to blame, that she was a bad wife. I think that she is waking up and no longer believes the asshole!!!
She did kick the little tramp out of her house. Which if she hadn’t done, I was going to do it for her.

Book of Dreams Update

Have been very busy hanging out at the pool. But I wanted to add these pictures of my book of dreams.

Altered Book of Dreams

I am going to create an altered book themed My Book of Dreams. Artsymama is doing making one and I am going to follow along. I am a day or two behind, but she is doing a technique a week. So, I should be caught up by next week. I picked up a book at Half Price Books, and I am now preparing the book. I have to thin down the papers so that I don't break the spine with all my artwork. I edit and post my before pictures laters. Wish me luck!!

Gerry flew to CA

Gerry went to California this morning. His brother Greg was in an accident with a quad runner. He was driving on the dunes at Pesmo Beach when he went up one dune that had the back side washed away -- leaving a 70 ft cliff. He broke his pelvis in 2 places, broke his shoulder and has at least 5 broken vertabraes. It will take from 5 months to a year for rehabilitation. His surgery to repair his pelvis started at noon California time, and will take 8 hours. I am glad that Gerry will be there with his family. They will be comforted by his presence. His mother was very glad to have Gerry there. She just needs her kids around. I think it is a mom thing with her boys.
I was surfing, and stumbled across Angie Pederson's Blog of Me and she was talking about being a mother to boys. It really is very different with a boy. My girls never thought of eating personal care products. If it wasn't for Tim, I would never know that lotion can be a great laxative. Or that you can't steer rubbermaid buckets as you go down the stairs. Go figure! I should have know that when he managed to eat a scorpion at 8 months I was in serious trouble.
I did tell Gerry that if I woke up in the hospital with all my brothers around me --> I would look at Gerry and ask if I was dying. I see my brother and I know that I am history.
I hope my kids are as close as Gerry & his siblings. While we live several hundred miles away, they still are there for each other in the roughest of times.
I am counting the days until the 27th. We are getting close to the bottom of the barrel. I just keep praying that we will get to the end of the month before we get to the end of the money. Next month will be better. I just have to remember that. Gerry's truck will be paid for at the end of May, and that will give us $500 more in the mix.

Eventful Weekend

First, the bad news. One of Gerry's students was killed in a car accident on early Friday morning. We went to the visitation this evening. It was very sad.
Now for the good news. I went with my best friend Suzy to the Women of Faith Conference in Houston this weekend. It was wonderful! I loved the great feeling of fellowship, and wonderful loving atmosphere. It was awesome.

time for the big guns

As an adolescent, I had terrible acne. My girls are having the same problem right now. I made an appointment for the 28th to go to the dermatologist. I am hoping that we can get this taken care of easily. Gerry really doesn't want them to get the hard stuff, no accutane. I just don't want them to be scared for life.
Today, Gerry is taking Holly to the doctor. She is really having emotional problems and I just seem to make them worse. So, we decided that dad should take her. I helped Kelsey with her World History project. We have it finished. She was glad that I could type it for her and help get it formated. She had a terrible time with it. She needs to learn more about computers.

My Curly Gurly

Kelsey has been hanging around me a lot lately. I wonder how much of it is a reaction to the local news of the Runaway Mom. Kelsey doesn't have to worry that I will take off but I think she may be concerned about losing me. Or she just wants to stay on my good side because I am working on her banquet dress.

How far away is Friday?

E I really am looking forward to the weekend. As the year draws to a close, I can't wait for it to be over. It isn't like I hate my job or anything, I am just ready for a break. That is the cool thing about being a school teacher, getting all the holidays off. April 28 is Prom, and my Interact Club's Banquet is May 10. The important parts of the school year are almost here. The end of the month is the big TEST days.

More on the Runaway Mom...

The story keeps getting weirder. Naomi was found in a homeless shelter in New Jersey. I can't understand why you go to New Jersey, but that is the place of choice for runaway moms from Texas. Stories are circulating about a family member being notified that she was alright but not notifying the police; being wanted for questioning by Windcrest Police (where her employer is located); and having to subpoena phone records to find where she is. Ok, after reporting your wife missing--do you really refuse to give cell phone records to the police? Do you want her found or do you already know where she is? I had seen the daughter and husband at the Tigermart by school & I was troubled by the fact that neither of them seemed visibly upset. I would be very visibly upset if my husband was missing.
A larger part of me is very disturbed that the public was lied to. I understand from news reports that her sister is pissed off. In a statement she called her sister very, very selfish. I agree with that assessment. Selfish is a very good word for it. Seems she is a criminal and just wanted to escape from her life.
I have had shitty days, but I have never walked away from my car, my family, my job or my life as a way to handle things. I just don't understand...

Good News

Source: Missing UTSA Student Found Alive
Great news! My friend has been found. She left on her own. I can't understand how she could leave, but she is back. Where was she and why she left are still unclear, but I am glad to know that she is back and alive.
I have really thought she was dead. I didn't think that it would end this happily. I know that there will be challenges as they deal with this. It may cause an end to their marriage, but at least she will be alive. I wonder how it will affect the children. I would think they would be very angry with their mother. The trust that your mother will always be there would be very bent. I can't imagine...

Who is the one with the problem?

It is Friday! Yeah! I have to help Gerry with his research paper, but that shouldn't take me too very long. He has left everything to the last minute yet again. I don't know how he manages to do this everything. I don't know how he can believe that he isn't ADD. The boy has no concept of doing things on time. Not that I do though. But we all know that I have a serious case of ADHD. I am very free with telling the world that I was diagnosed in 1976 before it was cool. They had to really figure out something that would describe what I was. I was hell on wheels.
On to other matters, Tim is still sick. Hopefully he will be better by Monday. I am hoping to pick up some work for him today. I am still incredibly worried about the boy. I just hate to see him sick like this. He did gain 6 pounds in the last 6 weeks, so that is good.
I am a financial mess. We are totally broke until payday. I am borrowing some cash from mom, but geez, I wish I wasn't such a moron. It is really hard only getting paid once a month, but I should be used to it. I am a total goof.

I have got to relax...

I am overwhelmed today. I really don't want to be here. I am so nervous today. My pulse is going a thousand beats a minute. Okay, so that isn't really true, but it feels like it!!
Gerry is home with a sick boy. Tim is having fevers again. The doctor says that it is viral. I am concerned. He had the same thing about 6 weeks ago. How do you keep getting the same thing? The good news is that he gained 6 pounds. He was almost underweight at the end of January. We started not giving him his concerta on the weekends to hopefully increase his appetite. It seems to be working.
Today we are having an all day faculty meeting. That means that during my conference period I have to go watch a video on drug abuse. I think I may know a little about that. Seems all my students have at least tried some thing. I am just glad that Kelsey, Holly or Tim haven't done them. I hope that I am doing the right things to keep them safe and drug free.
I have way too many people depending on me. I am a special education case manager, and incredibly I do much more than just paperwork. I work with the different departments, teachers, counselors, and therapists to take care of 30 students. I am feeling overwhelmed.
One parent requested an ard, and after two attempts --> they haven't showed. I bust my butt getting things together, do the paperwork, get everyone to be there and it is a no show. I am just blown away! Why ask for a meeting if you aren't going to show up?
My son is in special education, and I have never been a no show to his ARD. If I can't make it, I reschedule. I am the one that requested testing in the first place because I thought something was wrong. The boy had a learning disablity. The ADHD also compounds things. I just know how important it is to be involved in your child's learning.
Naomi is still missing. Another woman who was kidnapped on February 13 was found a few weeks ago. I wonder if she will ever be found. I think she is dead. She wouldn't have run away from her family. It was too important for her to do that. She didn't leave willingly.

Missing Naomi

On February 19, an old friend went missing. Her daughter was in my daughter's girl scout troop (that I was the leader of). I was very close with all the girls, we had girl scouts for 3 years together. Now, the girls are all sophomores at the high school that I teach at. Our kids were in band and other classes since kindergarten.
She went missing from the downtown UTSA campus. It was a cold day, not many people were out. She disappeared between 2 and 6 that day. No one has seen her since. (More details http://www.utsa.edu/utsapd/)
I can't imagine what could have happened, and I pray every night that she will be found alive. I can't imagine losing someone like that. The uncertainty of not knowing where or why would be worse than a death.
Selfishly I think how this has changed my life. I don't go anywhere without my husband after dark. If I do, I call several times during my outing to let him know where I am. There are still things that I do, but there are lots that I don't. I don't go to the gym by myself anymore. I don't go to Walmart by myself anymore. I don't think I live in a horribly crime ridden city, but now I don't know...

Kelsey

I sometimes get overwhelmed by the actions of my oldest daughter. She makes choices that are not thought out or are just plain stupid. She makes these decisions for attention. She likes to be the center of everything and will do really stupid things to get that attention.
Thursday she chose to wear her father's knee brace because her knee hurt. The girl has never damaged her knee nor has any problem with joint disease. She weighs 100 lbs maybe and her father weighs 250. It was for attention. I asked her why asprin, tylenol or advil was not a better choice. I tried to explain to her that her that if she had a headache that a neck brace was not needed.
This morning Kelsey decided to throw up on the bathroom floor. She is not "sick" and I am not a mean mom. You could hear her making herself gag until she threw up. And throwing up in front of the toliet, and only on the tile floor takes talent. She did it for the attention and probably to get out of chores. She cleaned it up, and is now laying in bed.
Kelsey has a problem with making good choices. She has either bipolar or border line personality, the diagnosis is still up in the air. Could be both. She just got bad genes. We have her on medication and have had to have her hospitalized.
The stress in dealing with her is great. I don't know how to handle her sometimes. I wish that kids came with a magic button that would make them all better. My biggest fear is that she will be a teenage mother and that I will have to raise the child because she can't get her shit together and ruin her life.
Optimistic aren't I?

My Very First Memory

That is a hard prompt to answer. Mainly because I have blocked so much of my childhood from my mind. My parents didn't mean to be such terrible parents, or at least I hope that they didn't. My mother was bipolar, and couldn't deal with much of anything. My father was a pedafile who is now in jail. I am proud to say that I put him there. My mother died in 2001 from a stomach virus that was helped along with too much morphine in her system. Did my dad have something to do with that? I think so.
My best memories are of my grandparents. They were the stability of my childhood. Without them I would be some criminal or a drug addict or exotic dancer or worse. Boy this is a bummer prompt!

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's day is an over commercialized holiday. Too much expectation is placed into one day.
I have a soul mate whom I love and adore, but forget the stupid holiday.
And that is all I have to say about that...

Fun Plans for this weekend

I am going to Austin this weekend with my buddy Suzy to a women's conference. It is presented by Lisa Welchel (remember Blair from Facts of Life?). It is the second time that we have gone to see her. I just love her wonderful style. She is also the mother of teenagers, and many of her stories really resonate with me. I also trimmed my hair yesterday. I didn't cut the length, just the top layers went shorter. I got rid of the heaviness of the longer top layers. I went from a bob to a shag basically. It is really interesting to see how much longer it makes my hair look. I am kinda confused by that part.

Long way to go

as you can tell from my icon, my hair is about chin length. I cut my hair short when my son was born and I haven’t been able to grow it long again without cutting!

See more progress on: Grow my hair as long as possible

10 days til my birthday....

and I will be 37! oh no!!
I just so don't want to be old. I really don't feel that old.
Above you will see Lucy, the most spoiled dog in history. She is opening one of her many Christmas presents. My sister really needs to get a life....