I am still here...

slowly digging my way out of this rut I have fallen into...

I will be back soon!

friday frivolity...

I forced myself to stop ironing for a minute to write...

so I will have to make this a quick rambling...

because I LOVE ironing mounds of Emma's clothes!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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This week as gone by so fast...

not much has happened...

but it feels like we just began the week yesterday.

They say time flies when you are having fun!

Oh 'fun', is THAT what you call it?
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Stephen started on nights Sunday...

so far so good.

Of course it doesn't really affect us here...

I just get a call at 11:00pm instead of 11:00am,..

and I don't talk to him on his lunch break.

Because (in theory) I am asleep at 2am.
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Steve also got a part-time job this week...

because he was wasting so much time...

sleeping!

I am glad he finally is using his freetime wisely:)
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I also got a job this week...

tutoring part-time.

I have had two sessions so far...

and I hope to pick up some more students in the next few weeks.

I now remember why I wanted to teach!
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Michaela has the dreaded state testing next week...

I will be glad when it is finished...

because I am so tired of hearing, "Preped for the test." when I ask her what she did in school.

I now remember why I no longer want to teach!
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Emma is working on money in school...

and she seems to have the same aptitude for Math that her sister has.

This is NOT a good thing!

I wonder if I get a discount for tutoring with my new employer?
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Emma is having a great time with the warm temperatures and longer days...

she is outside long after the street lights come on...

if we actually had street lights out here in the country.

The thrill over homework has been lost to the thrill of the great outdoors.

Summer break cannot come soon enough!
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Michaela asked to be homeschooled again...

after another discussion about why I am against homeschooling...

she finally confessed that the only reason she would want to be HS'd is because she hates getting up in the morning.

I told her if she was HS'd we would still have to get up early and start lessons...

and she laughed.

I am not sure what she was trying to imply!

I love mornings...

as long as they start after 10am!
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Blogger has still not fixed the problem with my 'comments'.
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I looked for rooms to rent in Louisville...

because I think it would just be easier for Steve to have his own place near work...

and come visit us here once in a while.

No packing. No For Sale sign. No upheaval.

For some reason, he wasn't as excited about the idea as I was!

Kind of selfish of him don't ya' think:)
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Michaela has her last competition tomorrow...

in Louisville of course...

because Steve is not working this weekend.

I have my Advil packed...

and am prepared for the drama-fest...

a.k.a. Dance Team Moms!
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Oddly, as I have sat typing this post...

the pile of ironing has not shrunk AT ALL!

As it seems the laundry fairy has taken the night off...

I better get back to the ironing board :(

Disposable clothes are looking better and better!
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Have a great weekend!

not quite wordless wednesday...

brace face

metal mouth

tin grin

railroad tracks

no matter what you call it...

the orthodontia fun has begun!

lady of leisure no more...

While we may have an idea about where we are headed and the time we want to take to get there, God often has other plans for us. And as much as we like to think we are in control of our lives, He has ways of making His presence in the pilot's seat unmistakable. Sometimes with subtlety. Sometimes with a frying pan. But always unmistakable. And always in His time.

Unfortunatey my reminders often have to be a frying pan to my head..because I do not give up control easily. And I am not a patient person.

After giving up on the application I submitted a few months ago to a tutoring company, I had decided to just get the house ready to sell and look for a job (to fill in the time until I begin taking classes again) when we moved.

But God had other plans for me.

So after many years of being a lady of leisure, sitting around the house watching 'my daily dose of smut' and eating bon bons, I am going back to work!

Starting tomorrow I will be working for a company tutoring students in their homes.

I am not sure if I should be excited or dreading this :p

things i learned on a monday...

Spring break is over. Alarm clocks and homework are part of our days again. And none of us faced reality this morning very graciously! But we went about our day with smiles and learned a few things in the process.

As I was out and about I learned that...

**my phone is usually silent for weeks on end... but the Monday after Spring Break week, when we are running around trying to get out of the door on time, it begins ringing non-stop at 8:00am {with wrong numbers and telemarketers}.

**it would seem, by the clothes OUAC did not purchase from me, that my child is the only little girl in the Northern Ky/Cincinnati area that wears cute smocked dresses. {grungy jeans are snatched up though!}

**when having a dispute with an utility company they have the ability to turn off the service, so they ALWAYS win :(

**it sometimes pays to listen to the commercials on the radio. It doesn't pay a lot, but at least Half Priced Books has the stack of books I needed to get rid of, and I have some cash I didn't have this morning.

**Michaela can act confused at the simplest request, but can carry on THREE Facebook instant message conversations and ONE text message conversation all at the same time---for over an hour!

**Banfield really has a stupid system for ending your pet insurance. I could not cancel the account (after being on hold for 25 minutes) because Steve signed the contract, but he could send an email and request cancellation. I guess when I talk to him, I will let him know he sent that email.

**errands are so much easier to deal with when the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and it is 68*!!!!

closer...

Progress derailed for the last 2 days by a stomach bug...

but we are almost there!

terri...

Have you ever had a person in your life that gives unconditionally? A friend that offers to help in a time consuming situation, even though they are in the midst of upheaval in their own lives. Someone that you may not talk to on a regular basis, but you can pick right back up with as if no time as passed.

Thankfully I do!

We met many years ago in the temporary living quarters on the base our husbands were working on. Her daughter and Michaela and her youngest son and Emma were the same ages. We both had taught school. And we were both non-military outsiders in a world where the military was (thought to be) everything. We became each others sounding boards; sanity in a world that often was anything but.

And then we got busy...with life. I starting working. She started studies towards her Masters. The time together became scarcer as our commitments increased. We would see each other on base and wave, but the time to just 'hang out' was limited. Yet, no matter how long we went without seeing each other, we could just begin conversing with no hesitation. And while I am not sure I showed it as much as I should have, I treasured the friendship. I valued the bond we had.

And then we moved back to the States.

But even with an ocean between us, she is still giving her friendship to me selflessly. In the midst of her own move back to the States, she offered to take care of the antiques we left in a storage unit in England. She endured the rudeness of a stranger as she retrieved the key and encountered furniture covered in mold as she opened the storage door. She took items to the chapel, washed mold off of dressers and chairs, and unloaded the storage unit as her own house was being packed up to be sent across the ocean---all without a second thought. (because when you are truly a good hearted person, doing for others is part of your nature.)

And I truly do not know how I will ever repay her unconditional generosity.

Terri, I am so thankful for the day I walked out of the TLF and met you. Your friendship was one of the bright spots of our 3 years in the UK. I am proud to be able to call you my friend.

THANK YOU!

***smile***

"Mommy, why did you roll the window down and then back up?"

"Because Emma, there was a bug on the window that wanted to be outside."

"Oh Mommy!! You let the bug be free. You are a lifesaver!"
(insert a VERY dramatic voice and hand gesture)

My Drama Queen in Training!

just because...

friday frivolity...

It is the end of a long week...

and the beginning to an even longer one!

But all this fun house stuff will soon be done...

and then I won't know what to do with all of my free time:)
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I took my last final this morning...

and I sighed a huge sigh of relief!

No more classes until after summer.

YEAH!
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Emma began her Spring break a day early...

thanks to another stomach bug!

She finally stopped getting sick at 3:00am...

even though she told me this morning...

'I must be better because I did not get sick through the night.'

I guess she got to sleep through all the fun!
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Michaela was supposed to have 4 friends come up from La Grange this morning..

see above!
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The girl's weekend has been postponed...

at least the stove and refrigerator will actually be in the kitchen when they come!
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Steve came home tonight to paint...

but ended up turning around and taking Michaela to La Grange.

Because if the party can't come here, Mac will go to the party!
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But the paint and rollers will be waiting for him...

when he comes home tomorrow!

Sheesh...cracking the whip is tiring!
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Our Spring break is filled with such excitement...

Spring cleaning...

packing...

organizing and purging old stuff...

braces for Mac...

a For sale sign in the yard!

I know some have trips to Hawaii and Europe...

but we have so much more!

We have boxes, cleaning supplies, mowing and landscaping.
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Emma is asleep...

so I think I will watch a movie...

and then go to sleep...

And enjoy sleeping in for a change!

Sweet dreams

going with the flow...

Sometimes life does not always go as planned.

Sometimes 6 year olds get a stomach virus for the second time in a 4 week span...

causing the 6 year old to miss eating Thunder cake at school...

and a play date with Madeline:(

And because the 6 year old is getting sick every hour-AGAIN...

the 13 year old sister has to cancel her girl's weekend...

which makes her and the 4 girls coming up to spend the weekend very sad.

And with the 6 year old getting sick---AGAIN...

the mother hopes to find 90 minutes to take her timed final for A&P by noon tomorrow...

and causes her to wonder why a 6 year old who has never had a stomach virus before, has had TWO in such a short span of time.

But we will go with the flow...

because things happen and plans change...

and whining won't get us anywhere anyways!

sad state of reality....

23,000 teachers were given pink slips in CA

17,000 in IL, New Jersey, & FL are cutting teacher jobs & reducing salaries.

We need to get our priorities in order. Athletes and actors get paid millions, but teachers, whom we trust to educate our kids, get no respect!

in progress...

I started messing with my header in order to make it more 'springy', but forgot that my pictures and editing programs are not on the laptop due to the 'clean out' Steve did last week...

so this is it for now.

One day I am going to figure out how to make my own backgrounds!

spring beauties...

easter eve...

Due to our week being consumed by tiling, our Easter traditions have been neglected.

No shopping for new outfits.

No new summer dress shoes.

No nothing:(

But in the midst of laying the last pieces of the tile, we stopped and colored eggs.

Thanks to Cari we had some boiled eggs to use... We created colorful masterpieces... had some sisterly bonding time...
and even showed some team spirit. ( that would be Mac's UofK egg).

The baskets and eggs are ready for the Easter bunny to come...

and hopefully the bunny's helper finds some goodies for the baskets at the store he is at right now~~~ since there has been some priority issues!

friday frivolity...

I just got back from driving Michaela to La Grange for a birthday party...

I will be driving back down in the morning to get her.

I think one day I am going to meet myself on Hwy 71!
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So this week began like any other week begins for us...

worshipping God...

a Dave Ramsey session...

food and friends.

And for a little twist to our routine...

having to completely clean out the laptop...

because multiple viruses---attached to a PDF file--- were attacking the registry.

Whoever shared these little varmints with me, next time DON'T!
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Steve took the week off to get the house ready to put on the market...

he has tiled, tiled, and tiled some more.

In order to tile the kitchen we have had to move everything out...

so the stove is in my living room...

and the refrigerator is in the hallway.

I just need a couch on my front porch to feel like a complete redneck!
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The kitchen has taken ALOT longer than we planned...

so the painting is behind schedule...

tomorrow we will have to work in warp speed to get as much done as possible.

I think Steve will be ready to go back to work so he can get some rest!
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The kitchen looks really nice with the tile...

I had priced out travertine and we were ready to go pick it up...

but we thought we would go to the Tile clearance center and look around real quick.

They had a ceramic tile clearanced to .89/sq.ft...

which was $3.00/sq.ft cheaper than the travertine...

so I convinced myself I liked it.

Because seriously, why would I pay all that $ for beautiful travertine when SOMEONE else is going to get to enjoy it!
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I also found a 4 year old top of the line dishwasher on Craigslist...

in the right color...

for $100.00!!!

We haven't had a dishwasher since before we left for England...

long, ugly story...

and replacing it hasn't been a priority since we came back...

because when you are out of work and it is either eat and have electricity or buy a dishwasher, for some reason the electricity and food always won out~

but we knew we needed to put one in before we listed the house...

so I was excited to find a cheap one!

Because seriously, why would I pay all that $ for a new dishwasher when SOMEONE else is going to get to enjoy it!
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Steve has added tiling to the list of jobs he hates...

he even made the comment that he would rather be painting than tiling!

He must truly dislike tiling because thanks to the Navy, he DESPISES painting!

Can you tell what our lives have been consumed with this week...

I promise this is the last time I will mention tiling in this post!!!
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Michaela's week was slow...

No play practices. No performances.

She came home on the bus every day...

and only had dance on Tuesday.

It was so nice to be able to retire the Taxi sign for the van this week!
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Emma has had a great time playing in the glorious sunshine we have had...

she wished for a swimming pool today.

Keep wishing baby girl, it may be back to 60 by next week!
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It is the end of the grading term...

so Emma brought her report card home this week.

She is doing well...

still asks for some help with her Math papers...

but has increased by almost 2 grades in her Accelerated Reading program.

Quite impressive for a little girl that not too long ago had to be forced to pick up a book!
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I take my finals next week...

and then I am taking a break for a few terms.

and I am very ready to not have to say, "I have to go study!"

Of course those words will hopefully be replaced with, " I have to go pack up the house!"
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Right now I am going to get some sleep so that I can get up and drive to La Grange to get Michaela, come home and help with painting and grouting, go get Easter bunny goodies, and figure out how to boil eggs for coloring ---without a stove!

Good night!

we will return to our regularly scheduled postings...

tomorrow...

when I am not covered in thin set...

and the kitchen is completely covered with tiles!!!

And as a side note...

tiling goes on the ever growing list of tasks to be hired out!!!