Still crabbing.....

I guess it's like this. I look at something and see tiny little individual details that will make a stage look so very cool. Then, I have to figure out how to accomplish that elementary school style. Then, I have to figure out how to do it with no $$$$$$$$$$!!!!!! Then, I actually have to physically do it. When it is done, it looks beautiful (to me), but does anyone else really care? Would they be just as happy with having their kid stand up on a riser, wearing a Santa hat and singing about 8 songs. Probably. And then, when I've done all this work, i just get grief. I asked for contributions of stuff....I got one roll of wrapping paper and one string of lights. whoopee. Ok...I'm done....I'm just really afraid my nightmare will come true and I'll have a bad show.

Too old????

Do you ever think you are just too old or too crabby to do your job?? That is kind of how I feel today. For too long, I think I've wasted my energies on things I care about but to be honest no one else does....Does anybody care if I hang sparkly curtains on the back of the stage? Or stand up on a ladder and hang twinkly lights on the short curtain?? Or twirl lights around a hugh pillar?? I mean, does anybody care??????????????????????????????????????? I try to incorporate all sorts of kids and still somebody crabs. I do so much right and then I blow it with one rude comment. I just don't feel like bothering anymore. I just don't.

Home Grown TV commercials....

I have wanted to complain about this FOR YEARS.....finally determined I could share my frustration HERE. FOLKS... if you own your own business, it is NOT A GOOD IDEA TO USE YOUR CHILDREN AS "SPOKESMEN" in your TV commercial. In fact, it is really, really annoying........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 99% of the time, they can't be understood. As much as you love them and think they are incredibly cute, it just doesn't translate into positive advertising. If I want to make a purchase, a mumbling 6 year old is NOT going to be the one to give me the confidence to purchase it from that provider. Spend your money wisely and save the kiddos for the family album.

Ebenezer....

Nope, not scrooge....but raising an ebenezer. Yes, I know....Lynne "P" and I used to laugh everytime we sang that hymn, but that was when I was stupid and unenlightened. NOW....i have marginally more knowledge and NOW I understand that raising an ebeneezer is basically setting up a monument in testimony to God's faithfulness. You know, I don't think we can have enough of those...and I think setting up those monuments gives us something to cling to when we think God isn't paying attention. So....I now "raise an ebenezer"...I give testimony to God and His unfailing love AND his presence and very real caring in my life. I think we spend so much of our lives stumbling around in the dark and then every now and then He shines a brilliant laser beam of light on us to remind us He is there.

I'm back.........!!!!!!

Yes, I know it's been awhile....not sure why. Just figured anything I had to say would cause the rest of the world to doze off!!!!!!!! So much is coming up.....many of which are my favorite things, but when they are all crammed together....WELL....it gets more than a little insane. 4 programs plus the secret shop all in one week....PLEASE pray for good health, good stamina and good weather!!!!!!! And pray for a cooperative baby waiting to be born after Dec 14, but not to putz around too long after that time! I spoke to him when i visited Christy a couple of weeks ago. I told him Dec 18ish would be good. Let's see if he is a good listener to his grandma....Yes, I am EXCITED.

I know it has been a long time since I've posted. This has been a "full fall" so far. Try saying that fast 12 times! Right now I'm in the middle of Christmas preparations and the clock is TICKING! Shopping already???? No....musicals, cantatas, special services etc. ALL need to be planned and decided NOW!!!!!!!!!!!! So...that's all I have to say...I need to go write!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christy's Baby Shower

I'm just sitting here by myself thinking about the difference 1 week can make. Last Sunday, everything was a great bustle about time, getting ready for Christy's baby shower. My mom was here, Christy and Jenn were here...we had been working on the house, I was nervous if the food I had made would taste good and I was concerned about people having a good time. Well, no worries were needed...it went beautifully and in the midst of the busyness, I had some moments when I looked at the incredible women present. Women from all different situations....many of them mothers themselves...all coming together to help this young woman, my daughter, prepare for her baby. It is still sitting in my mind and in my heart as amazing. Such incredible kindness and generosity was shown by all. All I can say is "thank you. I was stunned by your generosity and kindness towards my daughter"

Beautiful, beautiful....

I had the opportunity to visit Assateague Island Saturday night. I went with the family of a friend and it was an amazing time. We drove on the beach, set up for dinner, had a magnificent fire...but the highlight, the incredible highlight was the stars. An unimaginably beautiful blanket of stars stretching across the entire sky. Do you know the words "when I think of all the heavens, the moon and all the stars, I wonder what you ever saw in me" Who could look at the beauty of that sky and doubt the presence of the Creator? It was a WONDERFUL "end" to summer. I am very grateful for the evening....

Official First Day

Ok...last week was as projected. Lot's of meetings....some torturous, some....well....to me, all meetings are pretty tortuous. :) The good news is that both classrooms ARE set up...(I think that's why pushing to the end with my house is doubly hard) I actually know what I'm going to teach today...always good. We had some interesting things last week....Pam and Krissy went out of their way to make our transition back into the school year pleasant. The highlight was a luncheon served by Jimmy's Grille. Now THAT is a good welcome back. It is always a physical challenge for me at the beginning of the year.....it is physically exhausting....but that's ok. Boy, I just keep getting more and more boring....anyway, time to figure out what to wear for the first day of school. (It is fun to see how excited the kids are) My prayer request??? That I remember how incredibly precious each child is....Each one is "the world" to somebody and I need to appreciate that aspect and not get bogged down by the sheer numbers of kids. Ok....That's it....time for prayer, time to get dressed and get on the road. btw...last night, I dreamed I had a flying car....what is THAT about????????????????????????????????????????????

ah me......

Remember when you were little and it was the night before school started?? You probably had your clothes laid out, and you probably had your little notebook and little pencils ready and maybe a new lunchbox? Fastforward about 45 years or so and here we are...first day for teachers...not for kids. My clothes are NOT laid out...my classroom is totally still stuffed in boxes, I don't have a clue about how I could "decorate" it so that it could look different, but I guess I have a tiny tinge of excitement....just a little one. Because you see, it's a blank slate right now....kind of like that new box of crayons you used to have....and teachers get to reach in that box and pull out whatever color we want and start to draw amazing designs....I think we call that teaching. Yeah, soon enough, those crayons will loose their wrappers and some will break and definately the points will wear down, but right now they are still awfully pretty. It's that hope thing...or optimism or whatever you want to call it. It's knowing that pretty soon you will see excited faces of kiddos, be the recipient of all kinds of hugs; gooey and otherwise, have to wipe some tears and shove some moms out of the door, and see little faces that are maybe a little scared, some with an attitude (how DO they get like that so young)...anyway....the start of a new year. One week of setup, hopefully the meetings will not be too deadly and then off we go. Fall is my favorite time...so many delicious events and holidays to sing about. That's what we do best.

A Grand Adventure....

A "grand adventure" is really the highest compliment I can give an activity. By defination, a grand adventure usually involves traveling somewhere, sometimes in an unusual mode of travel, there is sometime a tiny bit of fear as it often an unknown place, there is usually good company and there is always a measure of delight. An example? When I visited Carlsbad caverns by myself. Traveling to somewhere unusual, on HIGH mountains, and seeing the most incredible caverns ever. That was an extreme grand adventure. Last summer, meeting Christy in JAX and driving to Key West was a grand adventure. Tonight was a grand adventure....I was driving down rt 50 in MY CONVERTIBLE with the full moon shining after having a wonderful dinner with a good friend. Grand adventures can be found in lots of places...you just have to be willing to recognize them. :)

NOW HEAR THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY UTILITY ROOM IS FINISHED. Just in case you didn't hear me, MY UTILITY ROOM IS FINISHED. Hallelujah, hallelujah. I guess it looks pretty good...actually, next to my upstairs bathroom, it is the best looking room in my house. Says a lot for everything else, huh? I did a lousy job pounding the nails in the trim in the dining room. Very sad about that. Other than that, still working on shoveling OUT. Anybody have a backhoe I can borrow?????????????????????

The clock is ticking.........

tick tock, tick tock....oh my goodness. 1 week until I go back to school. 3 weeks until I have a house full of guests....i think if panic could reach through the tiredness and overwhelmedness, I'd be there. no time for that....You might wonder, what is WRONG with that woman and her house???? If you look up the word packrat in the dictionary, my name is listed as a defination. Add into that my school job "stuff", my church job "stuff", my "stuff" that I KNOW will be useful somewhere, somehow, all of my music stuff, ALL of my books...let me repeat that one...ALL OF MY BOOKS...and clothing in many different sizes...WELL.....welcome to my life. Oh yes, my ANY SOLDIER care pkg stuff which just got put into it's own cupboard...(that was a happy day) EXCEPT for the Christmas anysoldier stuff....that won't fit.....and there you have it. The good news is that the secret shop stuff went to church to live there...probably until the deacons find it....ok...that's enough. Time to get off my caboose, stop whining and GET BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ps....I've got a couple of extra keyboards...any takers???

not bad.....

Well....it was a good evening. We didn't end up in jail, the newspaper, or the hospital, so you know it was good! Just kidding. A lovely time was had by all at Mama Mia....quite a few sniffles during the pre wedding scene and then things broke out into some clapping and dancing. Topped off by Kahlua milkshakes....what could be better???????????????

Getting closer..........

Well...................I know EVERYONE is holding their breath, waiting to find out how my household projects are coming!!!!! THE FLOOR IS IN THE DINING ROOM. MARY L. IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an amazing woman. She has power tools and KNOWS how to use them. My aim today is to paint the dining room and finish up the utility room. Something isn't quite working in there and I can't put my finger on it. AND....... Is there anyone, anywhere brave enough to help me clean out my car??????????????????????