Maybe I'll Have Time Tomorrow - Slice of Life

I need to do several loads of laundry

But I think I have the essential clothing needed for another day

     …maybe I’ll wash them tomorrow

I need to load the stack of dirty dishes into my dishwasher

However, there are still plenty of dishes in the cabinet

     …maybe I’ll do them tomorrow

I need to practice a difficult piece of music for our next performance

We don’t perform again for another month

     … maybe I’ll practice tomorrow

I need to figure out what I’m going to fix for supper this evening

I noticed we still have a few leftovers in the fridge

     …maybe I’ll wait and cook tomorrow

I need to go purchase some batteries for our TV remote control

We have plenty of other devices that use the same size battery

     …maybe I’ll buy the batteries tomorrow

I need to make and deliver some sugar cookies to my niece

They are so time consuming and I would have to go shopping first

     …maybe I’ll feel more like making them tomorrow

I seriously have so many thing that I need to get accomplish

But today… I’m much too busy doing nothing

     … maybe I’ll have time want to do them tomorrow

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - Slice of Life

As I left this morning, I knew I had left plenty of time to arrive early for orchestra practice.  I had purposely left my music for orchestra…and choir right by the door so I wouldn’t forget them on the way out the door.  When were almost to the church, I realized that I had messed up again.  I did not have all my music.  Even though I had put all 3 music binders by the door, I had left one there because I knew I didn’t need it.  Maybe I need to start taking that fish oil that my sister is always talking about to help me remember things.   The potential crisis was avoided when my orchestra leader had extra music (although my husband made haste to go get it for me because he didn’t know).

After the orchestra played and the choir sang their specials,  I left the stage area to go and sit with my husband.   A couple of us left together and decided to go up some stairs to be less obvious.  That didn't happen because I almost made a complete fool out of myself when I lifted my leg up to climb the stairs and there wasn't even a stair there.  I'm not even going to try to explain how that happened!  Luckily I was able to get out of there quickly with any further embarrassment.  

 I usually make a pit stop at the bathroom while the soloist performs his/her special.  Then I quietly slip in and sit down quickly by my hubby.  As we stand to honor God’s Word while the preacher reads the Bible, I reach around to make sure that the thin strip of material at the back of my dress is not tangled up.  That’s when I discovered the ends of my ties were wet.   I was puzzled for just a second and then I realized that I had gotten them wet when I went to the bathroom.  No big deal.  No one knew what had happened.  As I sat down though I realized that the back of my dress was VERY wet – I had sat on the ends of the ties which were apparently very saturated!  I was so embarrassed because I knew that everyone behind me that saw a HUGE wet spot on the back of my dress thought I must have had an accident.

 

Thank goodness that this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad morning is over!

    

Family Gatherings - Slice of Life

I never know what’s going to happen when I spend time with my family.

It seems like whatever we do, we have a tendency to go to extremes.

It consumes us...and you can either participate or sit back  on the sidelines and watch the show.

Years ago it was volleyball.  We had a wide range of skilled players in that game.  There were those could dive for the ball with such speed, those that spiked the ball…which always irritated me, some who couldn’t serve a ball and get it over the net, but my mom was my absolute favorite player.   She never moved.  I believe her idea of being a player was sticking her arm out and hoping that she made contact with any part of the ball.  You never knew where the balls she hit would go.  If you were on her team, it was always a spectacular save if you could get her wild ball over the net.    Fun times!

From our parents, we inherited the need to be competitive while playing cards. Sitting around the kitchen table has been known to entertain us for hours.  Oh the stories that we could tell about some of our card games.   We have thrown water, raised our voices, scolded each other, cried, throws the cards,  got ticked off and leave, and so many other things!  Fun times!

Karaoke was big at our gatherings for a very long time.  We had trios, duets, and even some brave souls that were the stars and  sang solos.    We sang old country hits,  hymns, oldies, children''s songs,  and I'm pretty sure we sang songs that had never EVER heard before.   We think we sound pretty remarkable.   Fun times!

Once or twice,  we played poker with dollar bills.  I never understood the whole process, but I know I ended up losing a few bucks.  Of course, I’m not sure what all the rules really were... so I sometimes wonder if they just wanted to take my money.  Fun times!

I can’t leave out Sudoku.   When that little logic number placement came to our family gatherings I hated it!  No communication at all.  I remember sitting there for hours and watching how consumed everyone was.  Those that were not engrossed in it drifted to another room or simply left.  After a while, I chose to leave.  

Now for the past few years, it’s the electronics.  Kindles, iPads, laptops, iPhones can be found in almost everyone’s hand.   I have noticed that these suck the life out of any conversation.  I hope this phases out pretty soon..... but I have a feeling that it is going to a part of our family gatherings for a long long time. 

It's All About My Baby Brother - Slice of Life

     I love my family! They never cease to amaze me.

Tonight I watched my baby brother who is forever young at 54 years old graduate with an Aviation Maintenance Technology Certificate. (I must admit that I don't even know what that means though).

     I proudly sat beside his youngest daughter as the graduation ceremony proceeded.  We tried to master the technique of cupping our hands in a way that allowed us to clap loudly.   There was a lot of clapping going on, we I think we were almost able to master it.  
     After all the students walked across the stage and received their diploma, they announced that they would now award a certificate to the outstanding student.  I leaned over and whispered that I wasn’t going to hold out much hope for her dad on that one!

     I was totally shocked a few seconds later when I heard his name announced as being the recipient of this honor.  The crowd went wild after his name was announced.  Okay...maybe it was maybe it was just his family and friends that went totally crazy with excitement!!! 

I'm truly proud of him.  He is a man of many talents and I have no doubt that he could accomplish anything he put his mind to.

I've Got A Long Night Ahead - Slice of Life

This is me.

Although I must admit that I don’t look anything like this teacher (even on a good day).

But I can still manage to see a slight resemblance.

I am a teacher.  The little sign on the desk lets me know that we are definitely similar.

I love teaching, and I can see the happy face on this sweet teacher's face too.  

But it’s the turtle part of me that has me fretting tonight.

It’s going to be a long evening. 

These unfinished important documents are going home tomorrow.

I hate being late! Slice of Life

Yesterday I looked up at my clock and realized I had 5 minutes to get to orchestra rehearsal.  Yikes!!!  My zip speed took over and I immediately grabbed everything I needed and headed out the door.  I knew I am going to be cutting it close… but I was pretty confident I would be able get there in time. 

About a mile down the road I had this sinking feeling that I didn’t have everything I needed.   Where was my music notebook?  Did I pick it up?  I tried to go over swiftly in my head what I had picked up before walking out the door.  I was pretty sure it was in the car, but I didn’t see it anywhere!  Within a few seconds, I decided that I needed to be positive that I had it before going any further.  Dang it!  I didn’t see it anywhere. 

I turned around and headed for home…perhaps at a greater speed than I had been going before.  Hurriedly I went into the house and there it was…right where I left it.  I scooped it up and rushed out the door once again.  With a quick glance, I noticed it was now almost 6:00.  I was going to be late!!  Do I bother to go?  I was panicking as I backed out of the driveway and almost decided to just forget it.  But then…the responsible side of me knew that I had to show up at our last rehearsal before we played on Sunday.

 I continued to hurry (trying so hard not to speed too much!)   I finally got there about 7 minutes late.  

They never ever start on time!!  But yet there they were (everyone) playing.    Once again I wanted to turn around and go home… but I decided to plow through my embarrassment and go sit and start playing…hoping no one would notice.  It was a short practice and we were done at 6:15!  Was it worth it?  Yip!  

More or Less - Slice of LIfe

Laugh more

       Cry less

Pray more

       Procrastinate less

Read more

       Watch TV less

Relax more

       Stress less

Be adventurous more

       Stay at home less

Share more

       Take less

Write more

        Erase less

Exercise more

       Eat less

Sing more

       Complain less

Save more

       Spend less

It's my choice

       More... or... Less

The Way I Remember It. .. Slice of Life

As I was sitting on the couch trying to decide what to write about, my husband made a suggestion that perhaps I should write about our telephone conversation today.   (Well those weren’t his exact words...but I’m sure that’s what he meant).  So here it is (the way I remember it):

During recess today I made a telephone call to my husband to ask him an important question.  It’s rare that I call him during the day because I know how BUSY he is.…I on the other hand have so much free time and it's so easy to take personal calls since all I do it teach!! (insert sarcasm) 

So...  I use my breaks to try and get all my important (according to me) telephone calls taken care of during that short period of time.   He answered the phone and before I could utter ANYTHING to him he said, “I’ll call you right back.”  … Uhhh... okay...… 

I'm thinking that there must be some kind of emergency at his place of business.  As soon as that thought came to my head though, I quickly dismissed it.  Irritation began to take over the battle I had going on in my head after our short conversation.  How did he know that I didn’t have an emergency???  I mean come on!  What’s the absolute  worse thing  that could happen if he took the time to talk to me.  Perhaps his boss might fire him??  I don’t think so... especially since he owns the business.   Grrrr...…

A few minutes later he graciously took the time to call me back and said, "Sorry, I was with a customer."  However, what I felt like he meant to say was... "you are not as important as my paying customers".  I must admit by that time I was perhaps a tad bit ticked off at him and so I pretty much just hung up on him.  That definitely wasn't one of my shining moments!  

There you have it... our phone conversation (the way I remember it)

The Growth Of A Crocus... Slice of Life

Carefully pushing its way to the break the hard soil

Reappearing faithfully year after year in early spring.

Obtaining the urgently needed sunlight to continue its growth

Carefully waiting for its moment to shine

Unleashing suddenly its lovely yellow petals

Spring bloomers...… enjoyed for such a short time.

Do You Ever Find Yourself Not Understanding?

Do you ever read the words/writings/poems/stories that someone wrote and think quietly to yourself that you don’t have a clue what they are talking about?   

Typically if that happens to me, I try reading it again... slower... and not skipping words that I sometimes fail to read when I’m in a hurry. Occasionally the second time, I get it and then... I typically find myself reading it again... just to make sure I didn’t miss anything else.  

But then there are those times that I still don’t get it!  That’s when I begin to question myself as a reader and writer. Which basically gets me nowhere... until I eventually realize (again) that we are all made uniquely different and the way that we express ourselves is a part of our unique personality... which ultimately allows us to express ourselves in ways that may or may not be able to relate with everyone. 

For some reason, this is a cycle that keeps repeating itself for me.  So again today, I realize I don’t have to understand all the writings I find myself reading.  They are obviously in a different place in their life (and for now) and I’m okay with that.

Subitizing ~ Counting Together App

     Until recently, I didn’t know what subitizing was.  When I finally understood, I realized that I JUST simply didn’t know that it had a special name.  For those of you that have not heard of the term, subitizing is being able to instantly see how many objects there are in front of you without actually counting them.    

     A few weeks ago I was asked to write a review about an app that was available to help my students subitize.  Up on that time, I had not heard of the app entitled  Counting Together.  It is an app (free or the full version for $1.99) that will definitely be a helpful asset in the classroom of young students.   

     One of the first things that I quickly noticed after downloading the app was the theme.  Dinosaurs!   I have several students in my first grade classroom that find dinosaurs to be quite exciting! Therefore, the colorful 3-D screen of this prehistoric world of dinosaurs and cavemen will definitely help engage the students in their learning.

     

     As you can see from the picture above, there are 3 levels of difficulty.  Up to to 4 players are also able to be engaged on one iPad at the same time!   As students are playing the game they will see dinosaurs and other strange creatures in the middle of the screen.  Their goal is to quickly recognize the number of objects and press the number that matches the picture they see (and of course try to  beat the person(s) they are playing with.)

     To see a video that explains this game in more detail, click the on the picture below.

It looks like it is going to be a great resources for my first graders, especially at the beginning.

Please go check it out for yourself! 

My Memories or Their Memories - Slice of LIfe

     This morning I enjoyed relaxing on my front porch watching several groups of children playing on front lawns throughout my busy neighborhood.  My mind gradually drifted towards my own childhood which today seems like a million years ago.  

     Some people have an abundance of good and bad memories of their childhood.  I am beyond envious of everyone that has them.  My childhood memories are scattered and far between.  In fact, sometimes I get think I get confused if I actually remember a certain event or if I am only remembering through the stories told by others... or if there are only triggers that brings back some memories.  

     Today I’m contemplating the idea of writing a list of things that I’m pretty sure are my own memories.  Having old pictures might definitely be a help... but is that my memory?...… or is it a memory created in my head to explain the photographs? or... Maybe it is just the photograph's memory.

I'm the cool one, that's not doing all the fun stuff!  Just a typical picture of my siblings (and my auntie) acting goofy.    

Luckily my baby brother and I both had our own steering wheel...otherwise I'm pretty sure one of us would have been crying.  That's another brother following close behind.

Life As I Know It...Slice of Life...Day 20

Life as I know it…

I can’t read without glasses…I can’t fit into my wedding dress…I can’t jump out of a 2-story house anymore…I can’t walk on my hands for several seconds…I can’t wrap my arms around my Mom and Day and tell them that I love them…I can’t sleep all night without needing to go to the bathroom.

Life as I know it…

Thankful that I am able to continue to read, write, and so many other things when I wear glasses…Forever thankful that the Lord loved enough to place in my life the man he had prepared for me and that I would need my beautiful wedding dress…Grateful for my childhood and the excitement of so many little things such as...jumping out of our 2-story house…I’m thankful that as a child I loved to play outdoors and try  new things even if I ended up getting hurt sometimes…Thankful for the loving parents that God gave me and for the time He allowed them to be on this earth with me…Thankful I wake up in the middle of the night so I don’t end up wetting the bed!

LIFE as I know it...

Quiet Time Interrupted... Slice of Life

I relish my quiet time.

My husband is at work.

Our three dogs play in the warmth of the outdoors.

The house is void of any unwanted noise...…the welcome sound of silence....

I thirst for quiet times like this because it occurs so rarely.

Then it happened... a faint tap at my front door.

Irritation begins as I realize my quiet has been interrupted.

Don’t they know it’s my quiet time?

The knocking becomes louder and more forceful.

Stingily, I force myself to abandon my desperately needed quiet time.

I can’t help but smile when I looked through the peephole and found myself reluctantly opening the door.  

Two children are standing side-by-side with huge grins on their little faces.  

I notice quickly that they are dirty from head to toe. The older child immediately starts the conversation before I even manage to completely open the door. 

“Would you like to buy some rocks?” she asked. 

I didn’t say no...…but pointed towards the pile of rocks that I have accumulated over the years.  

Before I could say anything else, they turned around quickly and off they ran towards the house  next door. 

For some reason… I wish I would have looked more closely at their treasured rocks.  

I do LOVE rocks!!!!  

I think I’m going to have to seek out those neighborhood children tomorrow and take a closer look at the rocks and perhaps add them to my collection.

Growth - My One Little Word - Slice of Life

Last year at the beginning of the year, I chose a word that I wanted to represent me for the year 2013.  I wanted the word to be a point of reference for some things in my life.  Finally I came up with the worth GROWTH.  There were three specific areas that I wanted to see this growth. 

First, I wanted to become a better writer.  Unfortunately I totally failed in that quest.  Last year would have been a great year to write about the happenings of my life…but there was so much going on and during that whole year I had absolutely no desire to write about them or anything else. 

I also wanted to grow in the knowledge of God’s Word… to grow closer to him.  I know that I have grown in the knowledge of God’s word… but the growth I really wanted…just simply didn’t happen.  I tried.   After I typed those words I took a long pause…. Maybe that is my answer…the “I” tried.   I’m going to have to do some thinking on this statement.

Growing as a musician was the last thing I chose.   I love playing my clarinet and I spent HOURS playing it.  How do I know I’m better you might ask… Well, there are a couple of reasons.  First, my husband told me that he has noticed I squeal less.  But the real reason I know I have improved is because my orchestra director told me he was going to turn the microphone up.  Yip, I must be better. 

A Four Week Journey...Slice of Life

This morning I woke up feeling a mixture of emotions.  I had been anxiously waiting for over a month for this appointment.  Finally I would be able to find out what was causing the issues which affect me on a daily basis. 

I came prepared to answer questions that could easily have been sent from the referring doctor.   Wouldn’t it be nice to have a form that could go from one doctor to the next!  

He asked me a million more questions.  Then came the fun!!

“Stretch your hands out and touch your nose while leaving your eyes closed”  (failure…apparently I was a wobbler)

“Put one foot in front of the other and walk towards me”  (failure again…- I hope I don't have to do that for the police!  Yikes!!)

Apparently I have benign positional vertigo that is induced by changing head positions. Yippee!!!! There is treatment.  So...my next step was to see a physical therapist. 

A few hours later, I found myself working with the physical therapist.  After a quick exercise to find out which side I was most affected by the vertigo I heard the therapist say “there it is!!!”  She didn’t need to tell me, I knew it before she did.   I felt the uncontrolled eye movement immediately.  I learned there was a name for it…but unfortunately I don’t have a clue what it was. 

So…today begins a 4 week journey of vertigo physical therapy that leaves me with a mixture of emotions… and anxiously waiting to see what the results will be.

I'm Okay With That... Slice of Life

Today is one of those days that I have absolutely no desire to express myself in writing.

I'm okay with that.

I have an abundance of things going on in my mind that I could force myself to write about...but today, I'm choosing not to  uncover anything that's up there patiently waiting to be expressed.   

I'm okay with that.   

This challenge has made me realize once again that I do enjoy writing... Sometimes the words just flow as  I quickly type on my keyboard trying to keep up with my thoughts....but sometimes they want to remain bound up inside my head.  

I'm okay with that.

Spring Beak Begins...Slice of Life

Spring break is finally here.   I'm looking forward to a week of unplanned nothingness.

• No alarms
• No schedules
• No meetings
• No traveling
• No papers to grade
• No orchestra practice
• No choir practice
• No bell choir
• No lesson plans to make
• No lunch duty
• No recess duty
• No life groups
• No ironing
• No plans

Reading Challenge Reward Day...Slice of Life

Reading Challenge Reward

colorful scarf dancing

delightful face painting

costume picture taking

cereal box stacking

yummy popsicles melting

bouncy castle jumping

beautiful crown making

bouncy dragon  jumping

dangerous scooter ball catapulting

tired teachers watching 

Sometime I Just Need a Reminder... Slice of Life

Sometimes I just need a reminder…

…that it is time to clean the nightstand when I can’t find my glasses.

Sometimes I just need a reminder…

…that I gag easily so I shouldn’t get dressed before I brush my teeth.

Sometimes I just need a reminder….

…that a casserole that overflows in the oven deserves a good cleaning.

Sometimes I just need a reminder…

…that there is a reason for the expiration date on milk.

Sometimes I just need a reminder…
…that dishes will only get cleaned if I put them in the dishwasher.

Sometimes I just need a reminder…

…that touching your eyes after taking seeds out ofjalapeños is a very bad idea. 

Sometimes I just need a reminder…

…that taking a sneak peak at a books ending will ruin the book for me!

Sometimes I just need a reminder...
...that if I'm too busy to spend time with God than I am too busy!

Yes… Sometimes I just need a reminder...