Goodbye 2010

Wow! This has been an incredible year! I have been blessed with the birth of my grandson, Robby. He is just the greatest blessing of our lives. Robby is so sweet and loving. Kelsey has become such a good mother. He is so very happy.
My 365 only made it to about 183 or so. In 2011, I hope to make it closer to 200 or 300. Maybe I should go for 52 - one picture a week. I also plan on continuing my journalling with prompts from Your Life Spelled Out.
Happy New Year All!

Left Cali

We've been in California for Christmas. It has been great seeing all our extended family. We are all getting older.
We left Tuesday evening because there was a snow front going through out route home. We kept driving until we were too tired to drive anymore. Unfortunately, the front passed us and we had to drive through the snow storm. Once we got to El Paso, we drove through a dust storm. We had tumble weeds rolling across I-10 and hitting us. Also got hit by a dead bird who hit one of the big rigs in front of us. Tried to walk the dog but she wanted no part of the wind.
Daisy dog did have a great time visiting the family. My sil has two rescued dachshunds, one who is also named Daisy. The two daisies became great friends. They loved to play chase. My Daisy is about twice the size of the other Daisy.
The drive home was really horrible because of the weather. I think it rained more than 50% of our time in Cali. Robby had a great time with his cousins. The girls enjoyed him. Actually, Maddie & Cami enjoyed him. Brie ignored him for the most part. She did teach him to cruise the furniture and while he isn't as stable as she is, he keeps on trying. He turned nine months on Christmas Day.
Your Life Spelled Out starts again on January 1st. There is a facebook and blogger page for the journal prompts. It is an awesome resource for journalling. I also joined Ali Edwards' course on Big Picture Classes 'One Little Word.' I think my word will be wisdom. I need to gain wisdom to help understand my adult children. Their choices confuse me at times but I need to gain the wisdom to let go. They are adults and I have to let go more. I have always over mothered everyone as it is.
My spring conference for Grace is coming together. I have four months to go and I have 2 speakers confirmed. Need at least one to two more professional women. Ideally, they will have gone to Jay. I will probably lead the dream boards section. The girls really enjoy the dream boards.
I hope that I can unkink my back after the long car trip. My back is really hurting from the ride. I am going to try a new doctor for my back this spring. I am looking into decompression of my disks. I have an extreme fear of surgery, so I am hoping that this will be a good alternative. It was recommended by a friend who got great results from it.
I forgot to take my contacts out before they dried out and thought for awhile I wasn't going to be able to get them out. Wearing my glasses for the last part of the trip. I wanted to try the dailies but they only go up to -7. My prescription is a -9. My vision is so bad that they don't have a laser big enough for me. I have to get the surgery that implants a lens into the eye. It costs about $7,000 an eye, so I will remain blind as a bat for awhile.

Christmas Firsts

Merry Christmas! We are also celebrating Robby's first word on his ninth month day. He called Gerry "BopBop". He was up at 1 this morning and has been a bit cranky ever since. We have a Wii bowling game and a chickenfoot game going on. Later we are going over to Bryan & Jeni's for dinner.

What an adventure

Today, I woke up to a small crisis. But really not sure if I actually woke. I didn't get much sleep. Last night, the boy had problems sleeping. So about 3am, he came and slept on the floor in our room. He kept hearing a ticking sound and a blue glowing light. Seems, Uncle Jim has a small robot that glows blue at night. He is taller than me now but he still is just a kid. Yesterday he had so much fun playing with his cousins. The girls just adore him. Just like Robby does. Seems that Tim's charm works on all small children.
After the boy woke us up, I was kept up by the dog. My dog was scratching again. I think she may be getting other food than the hypo-allergic (Sp?) stuff I paid $40 for. Or it could be the stress of hanging out with two other dogs. They are very close dogs and my Daisy thinks she is human. So, she prefers her humans to the other dogs.

12/21/2010

Today is the first day of Winter. In my family, all of my relatives have the unfortunate habit of passing away on holidays. I know they really don't have any control over the event but I am starting to run out of holidays without sad memories attached.
Today is the date that I lost my mom. 12/21/2001. It has been 9 years today and the pain is still there. I know that she is now out of pain and is happier than she was on Earth. But I miss her. In the 9 years she has been gone so much has changed.

Poor Puppy!

My poor puppy is now having food allergies. She is very itchy and has bald spots. Gerry is appalled at the cost of her food. She wasn't very thrilled with it at first but she did eat some of it. Now she is scouring the floor looking for scraps. She is also taking steroids. So, her portly size may get even bigger. She is 27lbs. The doc also suggested that we get her stairs to get on the bed.

So excited!

One little word is going to be explored in a class at Big Picture! I am so very excited. This year was my first year of focusing on one word to encourage me for the year. My word was COMPLETE. It has been a great word for me this year. I have already chosen my word for 2011. My Aunt Becky inspired me. She said we should pray for wisdom and that resonated with me so deeply that I knew it would be my word for next year. I really think wisdom is something that would help me.
On a more serious note, I started new hormones today. I am the first female in 5 generations of my maternal line to go through menopause, so I don't know much about how it will go. I'm in perimenopause which can last up to ten years. I am going with hormone therapy for now because of my age. I'm am very young to start this stage. I have been going through this for a year but I haven't talked about it because I don't want to believe I am old. I don't feel old.
So wisdom is excepting the bad and the good.

Call for Donations & Speakers

Some of you know that I teach at a very inner city school. We are a title one school which means that over 40% of our students receive free lunch. I work with a group of ladies who have started a club for young ladies called Grace. It stands for girls reaching for academics, confidence and excellence. We have a conference each spring. This year, our theme is "College We Can; College We Will."
For centerpieces, I would love to use those souvenir megaphones that you can get at college bookstores. They are about 7 to 8 inches tall. They have the college name and or mascot on them. If you would like to donate a megaphone to my club I would really appreciate it. Just send me a message on my blog or facebook if you could donate one from a college in your area. We have a drawing for the girls to get to keep the centerpieces and I know they will be so thrilled with the megaphones. I plan on picking up some during my Christmas break.
Also if you know of a professional woman who would be interested in speaking to my girls and are in the San Antonio area please let me know. I have one speaker who has committed already. I am so excited to have a former Jay HS graduate and the first female police captain in San Antonio as a speaker. I also tentatively have an Ob/Gyn who hopes to be able to speak. Her schedule is sometimes quite erratic. Babies have their own schedule.
Working with these young ladies is incredibly rewarding and I get so attached to my girls. I sometimes feel like I have about 50 little sisters/daughters that I get to see 5 days a week.
Many of these girls come from families who have never even considered college as an option and my mission is to inspire them to believe they can attend college.
Also pray for my conference to be successful and for me to have wisdom in the coming months.
Last year, I had such trouble of deciding on my word for the year and it seems one word is staring me right in the face. Wisdom will be my word for 2011!

Black Friday

I made Gerry go with me to Target and Kohls today. We didn't get up early, but it was still pretty crazy. Target was the most organized. We got what we wanted and got out in about 10 minutes. But I should have known that was too good to be true. We went to Kohls and the lines were terrible. We did save over $100 and got $10 in Kohls cash but we were in line for 45 minutes - Gerry timed it. I think they really need to work on the wait time.
We set up the Christmas tree today. I want it up for Robby. We got the nativity set up and the stockings hung. The girls then decided to clean the closet under the stairs. We found several things we had misplaced and quite a few things to donate to Goodwill. The family room is still a bit of a mess but I hope they aren't done yet.
Enjoy the beginning of the holiday season!!

Sixteen years together

Wow, Gerry and I have been together for 16 years tomorrow. Many people thought we wouldn't last.
A good friend of mine just shared with me that she is getting married in the spring. I am so excited for her - she deserves a great guy finally!
I love my family.
I am planning on putting up the Christmas tree on Friday. I really want Robby to have a great first Christmas. He is such an awesome addition to our family.
Gerry is going fishing on Friday. It is time to start filling the freezer with crappie. The kids love the fish. We broil it with lemon pepper and butter.
Holly is doing well at UIW but she really misses home cooking. We made my Aunt Bettye Jo's Potato Soup for dinner tonight. We usually don't have any leftovers on soup night.
Kelsey and Holly have their schedules for the spring. Kelsey is only taking 7 hours but they are very tough. She is taking Chemistry and Ant. & Phsy. Both science courses are very tough and she will have to take the second halves next semester. She has about 12 hours after spring semester before she applies to nursing school.
We got Kelsey's eyes checked & she is happy to have new contacts. Tim got his temporary crown today. I think he may have TMJ like his mom. After getting his mouth worked on he is having trouble opening his mouth. He does grind his teeth like I do.
Journal your Christmas starts on Dec 1st and I can't wait!

One more day...

If you know me, you know that teachers are often more excited about the holidays that students. And that is so the case this week. Every year there is that one class that drives you nuts. Or something has changed in your environment. Or you are just getting older.
I don't know the reason this year but I am very ready for the holiday break. I really love my students, but I need a break from the grind. Maybe I am feeling this way because I have been so sick lately. I don't know. I really want to get out of this funk I am in.
Today is the Culinary Class's luncheon. I am finally broke down and bought a ticket. Two of my students are in the class and they are really excited that I will be there. One is quite the accomplished chef and I see him going to the Culinary Institute. If he can get the scholarships. But I play to help him with applying for those next year!
I am trying to get back in the cooking mode, and last night I made a simple mac and cheese recipe. Tonight will probably be spaggetti, but I just use Prego. I tried for a while to make my own sauce but I really didn't think it was any good. My mother would have added sugar to my recipe, but I hope to be a bit healthier than that. And my family would probably prefer hot sauce anyway. I did find a shrimp and beer dip recipe on HEB.com. Its secret ingredient is Shiner Bock Beer.
Please keep Kelsey in your prayers today, she is very sick with a cold. She is having a really rough time with it and the timing. She had a test last night that she got her teacher to email her and a presentation on Tuesday night. Next semester she is taking Chemistry and Anatomy & Phys. She has about 20 hrs to go before she transfers to the Health Science Center.
Holly has also registered for the Spring Semester. She changed her major from pre-Med to English. She wants to teach English at the college level. That is going to be a hard one.
Did I mention that I am a provisional editor over at Rebel Tales? Rebel Tales is a new Ezine with fresh fiction - including paranormal, sci fi, fantasy and suspense. I am really excited to be working with these exciting authors and editors. We are hoping for a March/April release. If you write - check them out. Holly Lisle is the publisher and I am sure you have read one of her books. They are really good.
Last night I finished book 5 of the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Wow, what a great book. I fear that it may be the last book of the series, it really ended well. But maybe there are a couple of strings not tied up. I can only hope for another one.
I am not going to make my goal for reading 144 books this year. I think I will be about 20 or so short. I have read 115 as of today. But, hey, maybe next year.
The jury is still out on the haircut. I can't seem to get it to look like Laura made it look. It has flippy ends that are just going crazy.

Weekend....

One week until Thanksgiving Break. I am really looking forward to a week off. I have an appointment for me booked on Monday and Kelsey on Tuesday. I went on Thursday to the eye doctor and got a new contact prescription. We had to switch eye doctors because of the new insurance and I had been delaying. We tried an eye doctor on DeZavala for Holly and I hated them. They didn't respect my time, and lost my business. Which in a house of 5 who all wear glasses - could be a pretty penny! The new doctor was able to see me early and apologize for a 15 minute wait. Bandera Vision was where I went. And I am booking all the family members....
Brie should be allowed home today. What a trooper! She is such a sweet little baby. Maddie, Cami and Grandma Gail are sewing cases for cheer today in Elk Grove.
We are going to California for Christmas. The downside is that with Gerry's parents getting older this could be our last Christmas with them. We have been blessed with many years with them and the kids just adore them. I wish my mother was still around. I miss her a lot at Christmas because that is when we lost her. 12/21/2001.
I am getting my December Daily/Journal your Christmas album together. I really enjoy Shimelle Laine's daily prompts for Christmas. It would be so easy for me to let my missing my mother over take my Christmas Spirit. I think that even though we are going to California, we still need to get the tree set up for Robby. I want him to enjoy the season. I am also pushing my self to complete my Christmas Cards this year. I haven't sent many cards out for the last 4 years.

Brie's surgery is done

And she made it through and is in ICU. They are giving her medication for the pain. From what I understand from the surgery, the real test of the surgery will be after the swelling goes down. The spinal cord was trapped in tissue at the base of the spine. If there was damage from the trapped area the damage may heal because she is so young. Hopefully, the damage is slight and she won't remember all of this when she is older.
I went and had my vision checked for new contacts. Same prescription as the one last August. So my vision has stabilized again after the dip the previous April. The blood sugar was ruled out as the reason. The MRI cleared any brain disfunction. So we have no clue as to why my vision got so bad. My hormones are dropping again. I hate getting old!

Gratitude Journal and eating right

I am working on two things right now.
Today is my second day of eating better at lunch. Yesterday, I had a frozen steamer dinner and today was a soup and sandwich frozen combo. Both were under 400 calories. If only I can continue the experiment. I have a bad habit of eating fast food for lunch!
The second experiment is encouraging my students to think about the holiday and what they are grateful for. We have had two days so far.
Cases for Cheer will be posting a video on Utube on how to make their pillowcases. I will finally be able to sew some cases for them! Cases for Cheer is a non-profit started by my great niece, Maddie. She makes pillow cases for people going through chemo to cheer them up! She started the charity when she was 10!

Praying for health for all

I have had a bout with bronchitis which lasted for about two weeks. Today I had Robby for the morning and then we went to Outback for dinner. It was a nice evening with Gerry, Kelsey, Tim &Robby. I am coughing a lot tonight but it should calm down after I rest a bit.
Next week, my niece will be having spinal surgery on 11/11. The little bit is barely a year and weighs less than 20 lbs.
Gerry's ear is taking a long time to heal. It was a huge cut.
Another friend's step-daughter had brain surgery and we are praying for her recovery.

Another scrapbook class...

I am taking another of Shimelle's scrapbooking classes. I just love her on-line classes. Today's prompt (2nd day) is about numbers and letters.  I am still composing my ABCs but I jotted down some numbers that I am looking at right now:
250 - tissues with aloe that I am blowing my nose with
158 - my weight today
105 - how many books I have read this year
77 - students I have in my classes
37 - pages left in my book to read
10 - the size that is getting a bit tight!
6 - peanut butter cracker to tide me until 6th lunch!
3 - children
1 - grandchild who gave me the sniffles
1 - awesome husband who I adore!

Almost Friday

This week has felt like a week and a half. Monday started out with a training which really wasn't designed for high school teachers. It was research- based but somewhat flawed due to the fact it was based on Bloom's Taxonmy which isn't research based. I know that I think too much. ::sigh::
I am looking forward to watching the boy play football tomorrow. His school is playing my school. My loyalty is divided a bit.
I taught some adjectives for the short time I had my kids in class. We decorated some cards and described ourselves. We are going to display them in those clear over the door shoe organizer. My kids just live art projects that I sneak grammar in.
It is supposed to be the coldest evening of the season with a low of 47. My quilt top is half done. Maybe I will finish it before it gets to cold.

10-10-10

What did you do on 10-10-10?
We bought a new mattress set. We had thought we were going to get a king size but then decided not to spend that much. We would have to get new bed linens and quilts. I am still going to need a few new linens but not too many.
I watched a bit of Tony Danza as an English teacher. I know I am much better than he is as an English teacher in a rough school. He really would cry in my class. Heck, sometimes I cry because of my 8th. Just sayin....
My goal is to finish my quilt before November. I am going to attempt the circle quilt with reproduction 1930's flour sack prints. I already have one quilt made of the retro prints but puppy chewed a bit of a hole in it.
Speaking of puppy: Daisy had a good report from the vet. She is a tad heavier than the doc would like but ok. She isn't as heavy as my in-laws Annie though! That poor dog weighs more than Daisy and Daisy is about 2 inches taller and 3 inches longer. No tarter on her teeth! The one thing I am excited about is the new 6 month heart worm shot. Much more convient than the monthly pill. I always forget it.
Gerry took me out to Salslito's for dinner. I had the Steak Ranchero with borraco (sp?) beans and rice. And a huge margarita. Gerry was my designated driver and I stopped at one!
I got my bedside table cleaned today. Now only 12 pieces of furniture left before my room is ready for the new bed. I have to go through a lot of clothes. I have to give up the dream of being a size 8. It just isn't happening! Size 10 isn't so bad!!
Have a beautiful week!!

September 30

I can't believe September is already over. Robby is six months old which is also unbelievable to me. Another milestone is that we have finished the six weeks grading period.

Finally bought it

Becky Higgins Project life is on sale for $10 off and I finally broke down and bought it. Even though I dropped the ball on my 365 project. But I can start up again, right? Tomorrow Robby will be six months old! Woowhooo!!!