Monday is a good day....right?

Back to Monday! Yay. Right?  It's all in the tude.  And I pick to be happy that I have a job I love and I get to go to work and see all my awesome kids and spend time with them!  I am also happy to contribute financially to our house and take pressure off Papa.  I am also happy I worked most of the day at getting my lessons planned for the month (except time out for church) and it is an awesome feeling!  Yep.... Monday is ok.

I have to do our taxes soon. I think I got everything.  Just need a real clear and sharp mind for when I do them.  Hasn't happened yet. Lol!

Off to take a shower and I need to go to work early. ;D

Sharing some pictures of why I love Mondays!!!

FRIDAY!!! YAY!

I miss the days when I used to post everyday. I don't know what happened. I guess I got too busy. But this is my journal too and I should keep it up. Facebook sucks my computer time. Just keeping up with everyone. lol!

I go to the doctor this morning. I find out if I go on insulin.  My numbers have been so good I am hoping they hold off.  Whatever they tell me to do.... I guess I will have to do.

School has been very busy for me.  I am preparing for the next month and the ones ahead. Got through Christmas.  Mellowed out in January doing "winter & snow stuff".  February we are having "Our health" for the first week.... focusing on Nutrition, Exercise, Rest (pajama day that day!), our teeth (the tooth fairy is coming that day!), and we have so many cool crafts Veronica came up with!  The following week is Valentines week....we are having a party!  The next week is "Community Helpers" week and we are taking a field trip to the Fire Station!  Hoping to go to the Police Station but we may end up having a police officer come to our school instead. We are finishing the end of the month with Dr. Seuss week....having someone different come in to read to our kids their favorite Dr. Seuss book each day!  See why I have been busy planning? lol!

I started a new site with all my favorite blogger back ground links so I don't have to go back and forth on mine when I want to change a background.  It also has some other links too. Enjoy!
Favorite Blogger Backgrounds

Well.... I hope you all have an awesome Friday!!! The weekend is here!  Reminded me of the song "Everybody's working for the weekend!"  lol!

Some fun pictures to share........ REAL OR FAKE?

FAKE: IT WASN'T THAT DEEP! LOL

REAL: TAKEN ON NEW YEARS EVE

REAL:  THE SPACE NEEDLE IS ON THE RIGHT..MT RAINIER IN BACKGROUND

FAKE: BUT PRETTY FUNNY

REAL: ANDREW ON NEW YEARS IN SEATTLE

happy or sad

Some great news this morning....... a young man (Justin) who is one of my favorite people's (Cindy) son.... is ready to return home from Afghanistan!!!  It is his second tour and last. I am so happy for him and for his family! They are sooooo close!  Please pray for his safe return!

I am so missing my mama. She was my voice of reason. I counted on her. When I had a problem she would help me figure things out. When I was upset she could calm me down.  When I needed to cry she was there and would comfort me. When I needed prayer.....I knew she would pray for me. She was my best friend and I miss her. I miss going to see her and just talking....she knew EVERYTHING about my life. I shared it all and she loved me anyway. I miss calling her everyday after work to tell her how my day went. It has only been 4 months and I still miss out daily interactions. I know she is better where she is....but the selfish part of me hurts and misses her.  I try not to show it on the outside.

My schedule changed at work. Not too happy.  Marcey wants me there to teach every morning. She thinks I am awesome.  And Joanna wants me to close every night and interact with the parents.  So I am back to 9:30 - 6:00 Monday through Friday..... 40 hour weeks. Oh well. It is what it is and I am not going to rock the boat. I guess I should be flattered.  I wanted to make sure Veronica got more hours because she needs them.... but now I can't....don't have a say so. 
As a site supervisor I really don't feel like it sometimes.  I am not exactly sure what I supervise? lol! I guess it is just a title? Who knows.

I paid our bills yesterday. Feels good to have them all paid every month.  Lanny still wants to cut some things down. I guess I can take mom's cell off my bill. I don't know why I've been holding off. She's not going to use it.  We could cut back on some of our cable. It always is a good idea to get rid of stuff you really don't need.  My check will be coming tomorrow but I don't think it is going to be much... with the snow and all. Good thing we don't have to count on my checks to pay our bills.
lol!

I am praying Lauren feels better today. That family got the cold.  We have one kid at our school out with strep throat. Hope it doesn't go around the school. 

Going to get going for now......pray my day goes better than yesterday. It ended on a sour note. :(

Wonderful Sunday

I am just happy today.  Not because of the weather. Not because of anything. Because of everything! I have a God who has decided to bless me beyond my imagination. If I could think back to my days in high school.... could I ever imagine 38 years late I would have 10 amazing and beautiful healthy grandbabies,  a wonderful husband who shows me love and kindness every day, a devoted dog that makes me smile and brings a peace into my life, 5 great kids who have grown up to be the most responsible and fabulous parents and people ever. And I met Jesus....who loves me more than anyone should and saved me!!!!! See why I am happy today?  Sure, there are things that could bring me down if I thought about them.... that is why I chose not to! This is one of my favorite verses:

It is after 8 and Maddie is awake giving Toby his morning lovings.  She sure loves that dog! Lauren isn't up yet....expect her to sneak in and scare me soon.  She likes to do that when she wakes up.

I helped Andrew with homework yesterday. I cannot believe how much they bombard these kids. Homework used to be work you didn't finish in class. Now it is EXTRA work....and lots of it...that you get to work on at home. You add 6 classes together and that is tons of homework!  Doesn't seem fair. Oh well.

I have all my lessons planned for this week. Ready for the week!  Hope you have a wonderful week! I know it will be! xoxo

Surprise guests over night!

Guess who spent the night last night???

Good guess! Our handsome grandson, Andrew!  It is a big deal to me because him and Dylan don't stay like they used to. He is busy with youth group, friends, school, homework, tons of stuff.  I miss him. Him, Papa and I watched a movie...it was really good...Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. "The plot focuses on a man who, ten years after his wife and daughter are brutally murdered, returns to extract justice from the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case against their killers. His vengeance threatens not only the man who allowed mercy to supersede justice, but also the system and the city that made it so." Thankfully it was on TV so the bad language was cut out. I hate swearing. It was a little bloody. It was good. Lauren was here too.... but she locked herself into the den to ride the bike and watch tv. She came out to get dinner and to take a shower and some hugs.... but that was it. She is staying tonight with Maddie and I won't see her then either. That's ok. As long as she is happy...and she is.  I think EVERYONE is happy things are thawing out!!!

Right now we have some pretty good gusts of wind going outside. It is 7 a.m.  I am just praying we don't lose power today. So far, so good.  Not sure what else today brings. Most of the snow is melted...what isn't is slush. It has rained a lot!!! But we made it through the "winter snow storm". Hope that is the end of snow for the year. Might plan some stuff with the girls if they get time for me. lol!

I switched from Mozilla firefox to Google Chrome. Didn't like it. Slower, less options. So I switched back and upgrade from Firefox 3.something to 9!  I am rocking it now! Very fast and just awesome! Very happy browser girl now.

I hope you have a great weekend!  Blessing to you and stay warm!!!!!

Walking in a winter wonderland!!!!

Today is much better! Already...and it is only 6 a.m.  I guess it is because my life is good.  Even housebound.  I started feeling a bit better yesterday. The old monthly occurance never materialized.  Just a bladder infection. My doctor called and had the pharmacy fill a prescription for me. Kevon went and picked it up when he got off work.  Him and Jerk brought it to me. So nice of him!!!!  And it was good to see Jerk again. I love him! He's been Kevon's friend since high school.  So I'm on the road to recovery. I'm glad he was able to make it here with 4 wheel drive.

We did get a walk in yesterday. I figured I had to get outside at least once during this Snowmaggedon!!! lol!  Here are some pictures!

Should I go out???

That is an icicle he is holding. brrr

he looks like such a dork. lol!

Not cold yet!

Looking down our road...you can't even see land across the water!

Papa and Toby

Alright...it is getting a bit cold!

Nose is getting redder!!!!!

This is soooo fun!!!!

still fun

Lots of crows in the trees....it would be Karla's nightmare!

I just thought these looked cool. Or cold. lol

Main road covered too!

I don't know what today brings. I may just remain at home with this infection. Papa has no plans of driving either. So.... I guess I will remain home.  The temps haven't gone up.... still in the 20's so nothing thawed and ice remains. It is pretty but dangerous. But it is suppose to start raining and warming up....then we have flooding. If it ain't one thing it's the other!!!  I'm thankful my family is safe.  God, continue to protect them.

Here is our forecast:

Today

Occasional light freezing drizzle or snow in the morning...then rain in the afternoon. No snow accumulation. Additional ice accumulations of a tenth of inch or less. Highs near 40. Light wind becoming southeast 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight

Becoming windy...rain. Lows near 40. Southeast wind 10 to 20 mph becoming south 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph late.

yuk...not a fun day

Not looking forward to the day.  First of all.... we have 3 to 4 inches of snow that is now frozen. I couldn't get to work yesterday...they ended up closing it down at 3. I don't think I will be going today according to my driver. I don't know how they will like that at work.  He won't risk it.  But I have another problem. I have a bladder infection and have to get medication for it. So this is a wait and see how this day will turn out type day.  All the schools in the area are closed today...they called it last night. It is 6:15 and we will see what happens.  To top things off....the monthly occurance that went away may be back right now. REALLY????  See why I am not looking forward to this day?

Yesterday was my nephew's birthday.  Donny would have been 42 years old.  We still miss him soooo much!

Well.... don't have much more to say. Going to go lay down. Sitting puts too much pressure on my bladder. Pray for me when you think of me!

Short and sweet (no sugar though!)

Well.... I don't have to go to work today!  Teresa called and we have 4 kids in the whole school... 3 are going home at noon. lol!  So here I sit! I have stuff to do anyway. My house is clean but there is "stuff" I can sort through and throw away.

I lost 3 pounds this past week. That makes me happy.  It is just an added plus.  Losing weight is not my primary goal. Getting my blood sugar down below 140 and getting my blood pressure down is what is important to me.  Eating different is a no brainer. And I am enjoying not stuffing my face. I am eating less, eating slower, and eating healthier.  I take less on my plate and stopping when I am done which means usually not cleaning my plate. It isn't even hard. I am not struggling with this at all. God is SO GOOD!!!!  I know it is only because of Him it is easy. 

This morning Papa said "I am really proud of you."  out of the blue.  That meant the world to me. His compliments usually come when he is encouraged to say them. lol!  It means something when people acknowledge your efforts.  What is really hard is missing mom telling me how proud she is of me....and I know she would be and she would tell me often.

Kevon came over for dinner on Saturday night.  We watched the Bronco game and we made Sweet and Sour Chicken Wings and Julienne Potatoes.... his favorite dinner!  His birthday dinner.  He enjoyed it very much and we enjoyed visiting with him.  Papa really enjoys Kevon and respects him so much.  They have a good relationship.

Had a pretty easy weekend....doing much of nothing. Just some cleaning here and there and waiting and watching for snow.  He had flurries here and there and a little bit stuck.  Still suppose to see more coming over the next few days. We'll see what happens. The weather people around here are not always accurate....

Well.... going to go and maybe take a nap again today....like I did yesterday!  Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Kev!

Today is my son's birthday!!! Kevon is 34 years old!!! I can't believe it.  I love my baby boy.  I am so proud of him.  He is smart....not just smart but common sense smart too!  He is kind, loving, talented, oh, he is just perfect. Just ask him. lol!  He really is such a great person. Everyone loves Kev. Especially his mama.  He is out to dinner with his dad, Karla and family tonight.  I hope they are having fun! :D

Sadly, my Aunt Lorraine passed away this week.  She had a fall and never recovered. Like mom. Back and forth from the nursing home to the hospital until she died.  I was so sad!!!  I adored her. And now she is gone.  Reminded us all so much of when we lost mom. Our hearts were with June, Kathy and Donny. And mostly our prayers!!!!

Pretty good week at work. Got the best compliment. The CEO said everything changed for the better the minute I walked in the door.  Do you know how great that feels?  My self confidence is back.  Now I know I can do almost anything.

That is why I know I can get healthy.  If you look at my new link.... you can follow my progress. I am quite pleased with how I am doing. I ate a salad for lunch today.  Theresa, Marcey and Joanna all came by my office and saw it! Witnesses!  It was actually pretty good.

What else is going on?

Dylan is trying to raise the rest of the money to go to Washington DC over Spring Break!!!!  If you feel like helping out at all.... here is the link. He is almost there! He has to have the rest of the money by Monday! He has worked so hard... I am sure he will make it! Thanks! https://olr.worldstrides.net/scripts/cgiip.exe/RegisterOnline/PaymentLogin.htm?ttype=gift&custid=102016437&custlname=Rogers

They are calling for snow this Sunday - Wednesday!!!  And then again next weekend!  woo-hoo. I think. We got a memo from Joanna.... we WILL be open and we WILL be expected to be there. My plan was to stay the night with mom when it snowed since it was just down the hill. ( I still look up at her apartment every day I go out on the playground. :(  Have a great weekend!  Hopefully I will too!!! 

The ladies I have loved and lost....

I have a few minutes to post.  More changes.

My Aunt Lorraine passed away yesterday morning.  Breaks my heart.  I loved my aunt so much! We were close.  Named after her, understood her, defended her, supported her, laughed with her, just had a great life knowing her.  I will miss her so much!!!!  Like mom though, I am thankful she is with her and pain-free and being held by the Lord.

Yesterday I was reflecting on all the great women I got very close to in my life I have lost.....Kaye, Ernestine, Virginia, Mary, mom and my Aunt Lorraine. They all mentored me in ways you can't imagine. 
Kaye Mathison taught me to be a strong woman and not believe everything you hear....make your own opinion.
Ernestine Kain taught me compassion and how to see past peoples faults and love them anyway. And not to worry about if people are grateful or not.... did I please God?
Virginia Mason taught me you can get through almost anything in life with a smile.
Mary Davison taught me how to stick to what you believe in and to love family no matter what.
Lorraine Tuff taught me to be honest and to be hospitable. and how to let people in my life.
Mom....well, she taught me so many things. How to forgive, love unconditionally, take care of others how you want to be treated, kindness, and every good quality I have comes from mom.

I just found out another mentor is in the nursing home next to my work...Mary Lane. She taught me graciousness and how to serve others. I need to go see her while I can. :(

Learn from people oldeer than you. The have a lot to offer.

At the top right of this post is a link... I wrote about my health struggles and triumphs so I can look back a year from now at my progress!!!

Have a great day everyone. Walk with God!

Big decisions.....and lots of thoughts....

I made a huge decision. I have decided to do the nightly insulin shots. Well, I really don't have a choice if I want to get better.  I try to put on a happy face and use almost all my energy at school. But once I leave....I am exhausted all the time.  My vision is blurry as I type. My blood sugar is high.  This is the message I got from my doctor Annie when the lab results came in: 

Your diabetes test does not look good. Ideally I would like for your hemoglobin a1c to be <7, presently this is 12. It was at this level prior to starting metformin and now you are elevated again despite taking the metformin. This level indicates that your blood sugars are generally in the 300-400 range, this can make you tired, dehydrated and in the long run puts you at high risk for kidney problems, heart attack/stroke, ugh! 

So... that kind of scares me. Dr. Annie knows everything is my decision and I am stubborn. But I am stepping up to the plate. I am starting to walk every day again, watching my carb intake, trying to lose some of this weight, and getting on the insulin. I love my husband and family so much. I don't want to burden them. Plus I don't want to be on dialysis some day (thanks for the offer, Heather) or lose my feet!  Dad lost both feet before he died...and mom was prepped for dialysis with her fistula! Neither one had anything to do with diabetes...but it could. Does it make sense?

Enough about that.... I am so worried about my Aunt Lorraine. She is mom's little sister that came out last summer.  She is really, really sick in the hospital....they are not sure she is going to make it!!! I want to call cousin June so bad to see how they are all doing....especially my aunt.... but I don't want to disturb them either. My heart and prayers are with them. Please pray for them, also!

Lauren and Maddie came over yesterday.  Maddie can now leave her cat Gracie. lol! They sure had fun. We went to Red Apple store and they have smaller carts there...the girls each shopped with their own carts.  We got healthy food.  All of us want to get healthier so we bought salad stuff, green peppers, cauliflower, apples, and instead of pop they bought a vita-water whatever. Very proud of them. When they get up we will go for a walk this morning.  Lauren did a 3 mile walk with her mom yesterday! Good girl. Kids really don't get enough exercise. 'When I was a kid' we were outside playing every day....rain or shine or snow. But we had a great neighborhood to play in, too. And we were so creative!  And we didn't have videos or computers or computer games or anything like that. We had a record player and would play Mary Poppins. lol!

There was something on the news the other day about how preschool age kids don't get enough exercise with computers and all. Well, we don't have a computer for the kids. We only watch a video once a month. They go out to play ever 2 hours. I play a game with them... "If you like chocolate... take a lap!" and then they run around the playground equipment. "If you drink out of mud puddles... take a lap!" ...of course, none of them go! lol! But it is fun. Another game I play is singing "Here comes Ella down the slide (clap.. clap... clap clap)" knowing is is Cedric coming down....then I say "YOU'RE NOT ELLA!!!" They all think it is soooo funny! But it gets them to run up and down the slide! sneaky. Now if someone could trick me and make me exercise....that would be awesome!

Last Monday I called my son, Kevon, 3 or 4 times.... so I gave him a break the rest of the week. lol!  I hover when I am concerned.  But he is doing ok!  I am really proud of him!!!!! Divorce is tough but he is getting through it fine. I will always worry. I am a mom. I think I have a reason to worry about all my kids. lol!  Then I pray. I can't do anything to help anyone.  I found this saying and it not only goes for my sons but my daughters, too....

Well.... it has been 4 months today since mama went to be with Jesus. I miss her like crazy. It has taken all this time for me to realize I can't call her. I called her about everything. And she always was there.  Now I don't have her.  I never felt like I was intruding on her life. She was never too busy to talk to me.  She was always there. Now she is not.  Yesterday papa cleaned out the garage and went through bins.  There were cards from mom and dad in there and letters. I am thankful to have those!!! Some of the things she wrote that I cherish are:
"I'm very fortunate to have a daughter so caring & I'm proud of you."
"What ever happens...you know I love you. Best thing in the world I've ever did was to have children, I've not been sorry. Maybe sorry we couldn't give more material things. But I really have been fully blessed."
She wrote many more and in letters... one card has a teddy bear tucked in and says "Daughter, Just in case you didn't know it....loving thoughts from home tuck you in every single night." Mom was so good at choosing just the right card.

But on a lighter note.... so was Karla!!!!  Examples:
"You always loved me no matter what.....inside: I pushed that concept to the limit though, didn't I?" that was for mother's day....and then she wrote 'I love you always'. Karla is not all that affectionate or mushy and rarely tells me she loves me. I know she does.
Another card talked about how lucky she was to have me....Kevon crossed her name out and wrote his! lol! The other one is a whole story I will have to print another time.
I had found cards from my aunts, cousins, old friends, kids, grandkids, brothers and sisters, Lanny's mom (those I cherish...even her hand writing)... lots from papa, and then I got one from my old Sunday School class! Also.... I found one from Cameron and Brandon! Who is that? lol! Seriously....it is home made with my name on it. I don't know who they are.

This is getting way too long, ya think?  Have a great Sunday! I am off tomorrow!  Even through the sadness and problems... Life is sweet! God bless!

Making plans for a great year!

You can make a plan.... but God implements them. I believe that....if He wants it to happen...it will. If he doesn't...it won't.  So I am making plans for this year.  Haven't really made plans for a long time. With mom's health...it was so hard. You never knew what would happen next.
Mainly our first plan is to save money for Papa's car to get tuned up and reset. Timing chain and stuff we are looking at over $1,000.  Then comes papa's truck. It has been sitting for 4 years... just trips around the block to keep it running.  Probably another grand. We have camping trips planned!!! One in May at Flagler, another one in June for our family Group Camp out, one in July at the Dosewallips, and another one in September at Flagler again (our favorite place).  Very excited about these trips!  Disappointed about the South Dakota trip not happening...but I am filling up my happiness now with camping trips. I know Don & Heather are coming to the group one. I am hoping they can come to another one too! It is a long haul for them. :(
After the truck is done... I want to work on my home.  I want to redo my kitchen...new floors and counter tops. I want to get new windows through the house. Paint of course. Plus papa has plans. It is nice to set goals.
I am doing good on my food goals. Cut way back on the carbs and no added sugar. It isn't easy since all I ate was carbs. lol!  But my doctor is SO UNHAPPY with my glucose readings. I average over 300. yikes. Pray for me or she will put me on insulin at night. It is serious. I finally get it.
Work has been ok.  Have some stuff to work on. Meeting with Marcey today. Pray for me as I try to do my best as Site Supervisor and teacher. I have to juggle both and I don't feel like I am doing a great job at either one.
Papa and I did great meeting our goals last year.... except the weight and health thing. But he does walk every day. Rain or shine. Changed a lot in our eating. We also got out of debt. No credit cards ever again. No debt. He also retired!  That is awesome. Got the van done...new timing chain and tuned up etc.... and I got a job!!!!
Please pray for Ryan & Amanda's backs....both tweaked them bad. Amanda did hers while trying to help Ryan by finding the rice pack. :(  I know how back pain feels. 
Got off at 1:00 yesterday because we were low on kids. Stopped and saw Karla and Gracie. What a sweet cat! 
Well...best go and get my day on. 

First day of the year!

Happy New Year! It is officially 2012!  Got a phone call from my brother in Virginia, Douglas. He just got done saving a life.... putting a stint in a 30 year old man! I am proud of my brother. He is a good guy and I love him!!! Happy New Year Douglas. I am sad because we won't see him this year. We were suppose to go to South Dakota and now we are not.  We have been tossing this around for the past couple weeks. Papa really wants to get our truck running. It hasn't had new tabs or been running for a couple of years. We haven't had the money. He needs to get the $1500 tune up on his car. New timing chain and the works. There are things that have to be worked on and fixed around the house. Money money money. Plus my back is always a concern. Same reason we don't get to Heathers. Papa's legs and hips get to hurting him. We are old. I think my parents were healthier than us all those years we took them back there!!! I am just so sad I hurt my sister. I am sorry!!!!!

We have two main resolutions. To get healthier and to enjoy life!  I don't have a choice with the first. Went to the doctors Friday and she is wonderful. She never calls me fat.. she just says I need to get healthier and I can get off most of my meds. If you know anything about diabetes.. my insulin numbers have been between 230 - 450. My average is 325. So we are trying to fix that. No wonder I don't feel good most of the time. Spacey headed, tired and sleepy, and just not so great!
I think I am going to cut out carbs as much as possible. That's my downfall. And quantity. And walk again. yech.

Yesterday we took Lauren and Andrew to see "We Bought A Zoo". Personally...I thought it would have been funnier.  Plus there was a lot of swearing in it which I was surprised by. Lauren looked over at me and whispered "I hear more than this on the bus." lol!  Do parents really know what their kids are saying when they are away from home? They would be shocked.
Took Andrew to meet his friend. They were going to Seattle to see the Space Needle fireworks. I was very stressed because we had to hurry...and that he was going to be in Seattle at night!!!!

Speaking of which...I was so stressed yesterday!!! First....I am a people pleaser big time and hate to hurt anyone. Second...Andrew drove my van from his house to Red Apple store! I didn't know he hadn't driven on highway yet!!!  I was a basket case! I get nervous with papa....who has been driving for almost 50 years and is a very good driver. I am a nervous rider...ask anyone. Thirdly, we had to hurry and get Andrew to his friends after the movie so he could catch the boat....that stressed me! Next, I noticed I left my purse at the theater!!!! So we had to go back and get it! I had to wait in the lobby about 15 minutes waiting for a manager. My back ached, my stomach hurt, I was stressed, but it was locked up in the office with everything intact. Thank you, God!!!!

Last night we watched a movie which got over at 12... switched it for the countdowns on TV..space needle one didn't have a countdown on the screen. That bummed me. But the time square one did. We would flip the channel back and forth! The 3 of us yelled happy new year and we got big huggings and squeezings and kisses from Lauren!!!! Papa went to bed.... Lauren and I goofed around and laughed and tickled and then went to bed. It was actually a great way to bring in the New Year!

I know Lauren missed Maddie last night....but Maddie was very busy with her new cat, Gracie! They got it yesterday and they all fell in love. I can't wait to meet her!

Well....going to take down Christmas Decorations today and tomorrow I am going to lunch with Veronica and discussing school plans. We are going to be more of a tag team this year. I am giving her more to do and looking forward to it! I think she is excited too! :D

Have a great 2012!