It's Baaaack...

Winter, that is. Today I had to pull the old winter coat out from the closet and wear it. Yuck. I know that winter is part of the circle of life and all that, but come on. I grew up where it would rain and then clear up. There was water enough with that, usually. Today I looked out the little window from the shower and saw bits of snow coming down. It was enough to send me back into the shower's heat, or back to bed, if I didn't already have the bed made and I was standing in the shower fully soaked by then.

Oh well. I noticed The Boy already had his snowboard and boots out to "check their size on me now, Mom". He is still looking for the snowboard helmet though, so it will be a while before he is really ready. Plus the first storm of the season is only a tease. All the skiers and snowboarders get excited, while the sun lovers among us grumble under our breath. We might get a mini-respite before the snow dumping begins but I know when that happens it is only a brief one. I just have to snuggle in for the long winter's offense and look forward to the spring's promise of sunshine.

I guess I can look forward to homemade rolls and steaming soup. You can't serve that in the 90 degree days of July. And I feel pretty confident that I have plenty of clothes that cover my body in the winter, when I wish I had less body to cover in the summer. "To everything there is a season." I suppose that is true. Its just too bad I like the warmer seasons better and they are now over. But I guess that gives me something to look forward to, right? Here's to snow that stays on the grass and off the streets, and road construction that finishes before the snow flies for good. And to a good coat that surprises you with $5 in the pocket when it comes out of the closet for winter.

Let's Do The Time Warp, Again....

Is it me, or does the week seem excruciatingly long??? Yesterday I was sure it was next Tuesday, but it was only Thursday. What makes the time feel like it is flying by or standing still? Some cosmic time warp?!

I have a sign in my kitchen that says: "With Kids, the Days are Long but the Years are Short".
And usually I would agree with that. But these last two weeks are just dragging by for me. I have a ton of stuff to do, but I find I am ready for the weekend about Wednesday.

Is it any wonder that I am completely attached to my mug of Diet Coke when I feel like I have been run over by a truck when I wake up each morning and just can't seem to get going without it? It's just a good thing that Diet Coke will help, otherwise, I might start looking for something harder.

Maybe it is the combination of the weather changing, our family employment situation changing, and the fact--though I don't like to admit it--that I am getting older. Whatever the reason, or combination of reasons, I just feel tired. And I would love a nap. I can't remember the last nap I had. They used to be regular Sunday activities. Not any more.

So, here's to the weekend when I should be able to sleep in. Oh, wait! The Boy's football practice was changed to Saturday morning at 8 AM. Genius Golfer will likely take him, but I am sure I'll be up at my regular time getting everyone going. I guess I can hope for a sleep-in on Sunday then. I'll cross my fingers.

Lift Me Up and Calm Me Down

As some of you may know, Genius Golfer has been unemployed since last Wednesday. We knew it would be coming and were prepared, mostly, but I wanted to just thank all of you that have had uplifting words for me or thoughts that particularly calmed my wildly racing "what-if" mind.

We have savings stashed away and can live on that for a good while. The insurance was my biggest worry, but Dear Friend Kelly told me about a "major medical coverage" that is reasonably priced for individuals to carry, so that should be taken care of by next week. We have followed the counsel from the church to stay out of debt, so that is not the problem either. We have food storage to eat, and it is for just this sort of thing, so we won't starve. All in all, we can basically continue as we have all along.

GG doesn't have any plans at the moment. But he has played some of the best golf of his recent life in the past week. Must be the decrease in stress. He also tells me that he is sleeping so much better! Glad one of us is.

I just have an overactive worry-center in my mind. I think of things that could possibly happen, even far-fetched things that may or may not come along, but I worry about all those things. This is where good friends like you come in and save me. I have had some burger-therapy with Good Friends who tell me we are in good shape, and to trust GG and to trust the Lord. Things will be OK. When other people reinforce what I am trying to tell myself, I tend to listen to them (at least for the moment) a lot better than I hear myself.

I'll keep you all posted on the situation, but just know how much I appreciate the comfort and encouragement you offer as my friends. We WILL be fine. Just let me keep repeating that to myself and then you second that thought and I should begin to feel it too. I hope. Soon.

Just Had to Share

Dear Friend Karen sent these photos to me in an email and I liked them so much, I had to post them. There must be some kind of warning embedded here, but I just can't seem to narrow it down. Might be: Don't go to the beach with friends, or stay away from the water at the beach, or keep your personal space at the beach, or maybe it is just Legs + Time = Not Your Friend.

Happy Wednesday!

They Scored Higher AYP?!

So the Charter Schools reached AYP (Annual Yearly Progress) at a higher percentage than Utah's public schools, did they? Well, it's no wonder.

Thanks to the short sighted and non-funded No Child Left Behind federal law passed a handful of years ago, the public schools must test with their total population--be they non-English speaking students, Special Education students or students whose homes fall below the poverty line--everyone who attends that school. Charter Schools have the advantage of being public funded, and still being allowed to pick and choose their student population.

If our public schools didn't have to accept all the kids that lived within the boundaries, but could instead choose only the ones with parents who cared enough to get involved or who came from a higher tax bracket and therefore had resources available to them when they needed something for class, our public schools could out score schools that have to do that too.

It kills me when this stuff shows up in the newspaper articles, like this one from the SL Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10656141?source=rss


I take my hat off to our good, qualified teachers and administrators that have cared enough to make the AYP required by the ridiculous NCLB national policy while making school the fun and enjoyable place we remember from our childhoods. That is no small task, when you think of the societal differences that these teachers face today: two income parents, single parent homes, older children staying home to watch younger siblings, litigious parents waiting to pounce on anyone who "oversteps" their place, acceptance of TV/Video games as acceptable child care, overly stimulated or continuously medicated students in their classes, parents who themselves take no personal responsibility and therefore hold their child blameless for everything that student does, plus all the safety issues that they must go through just to be in a classroom with kids while the parent "volunteers" have no such safety check, among many other things. I am blown away when you think of all the intricacies our good public school teachers have to hurdle--and they still take on the teaching of my kids every day.

So Charter Schools are ahead in the AYP race by a few points--knowing what I do about charter schools and their systems of selecting their students, they ought to be way ahead! Bravo to our public schools and the teachers that are there each day teaching and caring for my kids and the neighbor's kids around us. There really should be an "express lane" into heaven for the teachers who take their jobs seriously enough to care for each child they teach and teach them with love and kindness--still fulfilling the asinine requirements set by a distant and unattached government.

All You Have To Do Is...

A little serendipity happen this weekend in our family scripture reading. We are reading King Benjamin's address in the Book of Mosiah and it was General Conference on TV.

It's been a little while since we were in Mosiah, and I was pleased to recall the simplicity of the message Benjamin is relating to his people. In verse 22 of chapter ,he says:

"And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you."

That sounds like what the general authorities of the church taught us all weekend: Keep the commandments and you'll be blessed.

I'm glad that Gospel of Jesus Christ is just that simple. It makes it easier to keep track of, don't you think? "When you're good you're glad, when you're bad you're sad." That makes sense to me.

Post-Wedding Report

We have now survived the niece's wedding, after having survived the nephew's wedding 6 weeks ago. Larisa and Phil were married on Sept 19th but their open house/reception/party was Friday night.

There were no beaded dresses for any little girl cousins. Remember that beading-like-a-mad-woman weekend? Yeah, for nothing. I mean, I guess The Girl could wear a beaded, pin tucked shantung fabric dress to church on Sunday, but I doubt it. The dresses didn't get done. The Girl's apparently was done, but SIL Lori didn't like the way the zipper looked, and was going to re-do it. It didn't happen. Grandmama was sewing the littler dresses and cut herself at some point and bled on one so the tinier dresses. So that didn't get finished either.

The kicker for me is that none of it really mattered. Larisa and Phil are happily married and the party/open house/reception went off without little girls in dresses. It just didn't matter. It neither affected the outcome of the party nor the result of the wedding.

The party was very laid back and casual, in fact the bride's parents didn't get there for an hour and 45 minutes into the party. That is laid back! Too bad the prep for the wedding couldn't have been a little more.