Putting it off no more!

Last night at Bible study, one of the questions was "are you more of a thinker than a doer, or a doer than a thinker"?

While the lesser of two evils, I am definitely more of a thinker than a doer, and it irritates me. I have SO many great intentions, but so much is left undone. Even so, I'd rather do that, then start acting without thinking first.

So today I have been inspired to tie up some loose ends. On January 22, I wrote a three page letter to my longest and dearest friend. I'd been teaching that day, and on my lunch hour, decided to write an old fashioned letter. She had sent me one a while back, and I loved it. We used to write in college (her more than I - imagine that!), and it was fun to revisit getting a hand-penned note. (Five pages long if I remember correctly.)

This letter has been sitting on my desk, waiting to be mailed, since then. One day short of two months. And why? No reason. I got caught up in other projects, and it left my mind. Well, today it was mailed.

For over a month, I've been wanting to send a gift to a friend who has had a rough few months. A fun box, of fun things, just to make her smile. The pile of things I'd collected to send her sat for an entire month. Then last Saturday I got them boxed and ready to go, but missed the deadline at the local post office, and it has sat in my living room for five days. But today, it got mailed!

So while I'm not making any resolutions, I realize that I am bothered by my lack of follow-thru. Maybe it will start to get better? Hoping to bring smiles to TWO fine ladies this week. They will know that I love them!

Pinterest...a part of our lives!

If you don't know what Pinterest is, you've been living pretty isolated.

I still remember when I was introduced to it. It was October, 2011. I had 5 friends up from Nebraska for a scrapbooking weekend. A couple of those friends were shocked that I'd not heard of this amazing new thing. Of course, after a quick tutorial, I was hooked. As someone who crafts, and is a self-professed foodie, Pinterest was built for me.

I often spend my early mornings, or after I relax at night, browsing the Pinterest boards, pinning to my virtual boards, and dreaming....

And I also pick times when I tell myself it's time to stop pinning, and actually USE the ideas. This week was one of those weeks! With a dear friend preparing for her daughter's Sweet 16, I was able to FINALLY try one of the first crafts I'd pinned - making a picture frame into a chalk board. It created the most adorable menu board in hot pink for the food table... The same day I made the chalkboard, I made TWO recipes I'd pinned, very happy with both!

But not every Pinterest idea works, and that's to be expected. It's no different than trying a new craft idea from anywhere. Some work, some don't. That's the gamble you take! The fun is in the trying!

Yesterday I had a few girlfriends over, and was able to make a new yummy recipe that I had pinned, a hot onion dip that won everyone over. Deemed "a keeper", it was a fantastic recipe. We had started the second bottle of red wine, when the inevitable happened. A glass slipped from a hand, sending red wine across my light tan carpet.... And the first thing I heard was "There's something on Pinterest on this!" And while I ran for towels to blot, two of the girls had Pinterest up, with chats of "It's on my household tip board!"

And sure enough, the tip - to use a baking soda paste - worked like a charm. This morning I vaccummed up the spots, and it's hardly noticeable. I'll do a little tweeking with my spot cleaner when I do my steam cleaning this week, but in all, the spot (a large one!), is gone. Pinterest saved the day.

We all had a good laugh when we realized how Pinterest has become part of our lives. Like Facebook, and Twitter, and "the cloud", it has changed our normal. And like a superhero it can even save the day!

enough lazy already!

So I only taught one day this week, and yet my house is not in order. I've been a complete bum.

Ok, I've done a little cooking for the family - and some crafts for a friend's daughter's sweet 16 - but for the most part, I've just barely kept up with the house, doing dishes after dinner, enough laundry to keep me unburied, and that's about it.

I've read two books.

I've played on the internet.

I've had a LOT of coffee.

Not sure what the funk was, or where it came from. But I have not been motivated at ALL to do anything. And that frustrates me, because I actually had time this week to do it.

No way to get the week back, so I guess I need to make today count. Logging off the laptop. Turning off the tv, and turning the radio on. It's time to get my groove on!

I tend to beat myself up over weeks like this. Of course when I look at the week, I taught on Monday, and spent Tuesday with a girlfriend getting supplies for the birthday party. So maybe I only wasted Wed and Thur. Ok, I can give myself a couple of days I guess. I'll call that my weekend. :-)

Either way - it's time to get the house clean for the weekend, so I don't have to do it then!

Mother - Son time

As my son nears his 16th birthday, I am finding our relationship changing....for the better. We've always been VERY close. I still get goodbye/goodnight kisses on the cheek, and he still tells me he loves me every day. We've always had a great relationship.

But it seems to be getting better.

In the last few months, so much has started to change. He is learning to drive, so we spend time as he learns to drive. He is digging into his second year at high school, and exploring with new organizations, and interests. He is now looking into colleges, which creates endless conversations.

I am very Blessed by my son. He is a good young man. He doesn't mind hanging out with me. And tonight, he and I had a great night.

We headed into town to meet some of my family for dinner - and he was the only child there. He sat, and enjoyed dinner with my oldest sister, her husband, my niece and her husband, and me. And he was perfectly comfortable having dinner with us. It was wonderful.

All the way home we chatted - about school, kids, sports. Everything imagineable. From a young man who typically has his head in a book while we travel, it was a great treat to have him actively engaged. And even more wonderful was the fact that the conversation continued when we got home! We got home, turned on some college basketball, and started talking about colleges. He brought out all of the information he's received so far, and we made the "long" and "short" lists tonight, researching each of the universities, looking at location, size, affiliation, and cost.

I cannot explain what a night like tonight means to me. To have such honest and open communication. To have him listen to my opinions, and advice. To have him ASK for advice. It was just an amazing end to the day.

A day of nice surprises...

Today I taught in the High School - had a wonderful day teaching chemistry and physical science. The day went really smoothly, and because I'm teaching in the same room on Monday I got to spend some time prepping for that as well. Just a great day to be a sub-teacher.

When I got home, my husband had begun dinner - grilling out porterhouse steaks, with potatoes, frezer corn from last summer, and dessert - vanilla ice cream with strawberries from last summer. It was wonderful. Being a mostly stay-at-home mom, I do the majority of the cooking. And I love it. I love baking, and cooking, and providing for my family. But because I do it most of the time, these nights, when my husband is home, and surprises me with dinner, are SUCH nice treats.

Tonight I'm crafting, pricing, tagging, and packing up for a craft sale tomorrow. I opened the fridge to put leftovers away and found some marinara I needed to use up. So I grabbed some frozen chicken stock (from the last chicken I poached) and three Italian chicken sausages from the freezer, along with some frozen veggies. Browned up the sausage, added some onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning, and then added the stock, marinara, frozen veggies, canned garbanzos, orzo, and some fresh Kale. It's been simmering for about an hour, and I just tasted it. AMAZING minestrone. Literally out of a few ingredients I wanted to use up from the fridge and freezer. Tomorrow I'll make some fresh French bread to go along with it - and we will have a wonderful lunch!

The third big surprise was a text from a neice. She, and her family, and my sister and brother-in-law are going to be only 20 miles from me for the weekend. So tomorrow night we are going to meet them for dinner. A WONDERFUL surprise to get to see them!

So today has been a gift - of many surprises. What a great day!

A peek at our future....

Tonight was the annual Learning Fair at our elementary school. Now teaching, I am connected to so many of the kids, and could not wait to see the projects I'd been hearing so much about. And I was NOT disappointed.

It is awesome to look at each project. The passion the children have for the subject. The work they've put into the project. The knowledge they SHARE about the project. It was absolutely awesome.

I learned SO much tonight. I learned how to tell if my lemon juice and olive oil are 100% products. I learned how very little a farmer's share is in the products that we purchase at the grocery store. I learned that Ice Worms feed off of snow algae. I got to taste a wonderful red juice that TASTED like apple, but my mind tried tricking me into thinking diffrerently because of the color.

Tonight I found out that painting rocks is a way of recording a pictorial history. And I learned how electromagnetic energy can be harnassed. I found out how difficult it is to identify an animal from it's skull. And that salt added to water can change the density of the water enough to float an egg.

And I saw so many cool things. Homemade lava lamps (a first for me!), a volcano (what "science" fair is complete without one!), "tie dye" art using sharpies and alcohol, lots of plants and animals... so many great things.

As a mom and now as a sub teacher, it was great to talk to all of the kids. I loved hearing them explain their projects, telling me how they did it, and what they found out. It's that little glimpse at our future - of these children who still get excited about learning new things. And who are excited to SHARE that passion and knowledge. It was a good, good thing.

And the Learning Fair was only the half! The other half was the art show - FULL of amazing talent. From rubber printing, to ceramic glazed leaves, to various self portraits and sketches. It was a myriad of multi-media, and great talent.

It is so neat that the school shares this night with the community. Not having children at this level anymore, I forget about the fun.

Out of touch...

How come life gets SO busy?

I think back to growing up - with older parents - in the 70s. We spent time visiting people. Relatives, friends, and neighbors. We visited - sat, caught up, and often enjoyed coffee and treats. There were days when we drove long distances to visit others, and the same of them. Being the only child still at home during those days, I spent a lot of time visiting.

I miss those days.

Visiting is a lost art.

I hear (and have said myself) "we just don't have time". I hear people talking about their busy schedules. We have lost time to connect. To be. And it's not good!

Today I realized that it's been many weeks since I had any contact with a dear friend. Someone who I used to see every day. And we'd been so good at staying in touch, every couple of weeks, and now it's been over a month. Over a month, and neither one of us with the time to chat. Not even a text! While to me, texting is not the same, it is better than nothing. So I sent her an email - a request to get together - only to get her out of office. Ironic, yes?

How do we let our schedules get over-booked, filled months in advance? Leaving no time for impromptu visits, for afternoon drives, for taking time to reminisce and enjoy the company of those we love? Why has it become the norm that a family is involved in so many activities that there is no place for visiting?

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to have a girlfriend for the weekend. A last minute decision to get together, and with no real agenda, she was able to come for the entire weekend! We relaxed. Stayed up late, talking and drinking wine. Shopped. Scrapbooked. It was the most amazing time with her. A true chance to visit, catch up, and just hang out.

I think that our society would be better if we would redefine the importance of visiting. Of face-to-face contact. Of the importance of those relationships in our lives. We have put such importance on being "busy", that we've lost the art of connecting. And staying connected.

This is something I am very passionate about. I have missed out on opportunities to spend time with some of my elderly relatives because I simply "didn't have time" and now it's too late. I can't continue to let that happen. It's time- to bring back the art of visiting. To bring people back into my life!