Category Archives: Friends

Aw, shucks! Golly gosh! Thanks!!

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Today, Off Duty Mom made my day. She nominated me for:

Versatile-definition via the free dictionary…am I? really? let’s see….

ver·sa·tile http://img.tfd.com/m/sound.swf (vûr

-t

l, -t

)

adj.

1. Capable of doing many things competently. I would say yes. I am a multi-tasker and can generally do it well….or fake it enough that you THINK I am competent. (though my friend at work and I have a running joke on our incompetence..)

2. Having varied uses or serving many functions: “The most versatile of vegetables is the tomato” (Craig Claiborne). Cook. Dishwasher. Personal shopper. Secretary. Volunteer. Laundress. Maid. Nurse. Taxi driver. Teacher. Wife. Friend. Mom. Photographer. Sorta-writer. Full-time worker bee. Personal Trainer. Holy cow, no wonder I’m perpetually exhausted!

3. Variable or inconstant; changeable: a versatile temperament. Yes. I’m completely inconstant. Versatile temperament, check! I’m sure my kids can attest to my head spinning abilities. Especially when they have a project due this a.m. and forgot to print it last night. And I can love up on them like no one’s business. My favorite is in Mass…my 14 year old hates it…

4. Biology Capable of moving freely in all directions, as the antenna of an insect, the toe of an owl, or the loosely attached anther of a flower. This is a fail. I’m not so loosey goosey. I taught aerobics, but I’m more of an “Elaine” dancer for you Seinfeld fans.

Now. Having never received any type of blogging award, I had to check it out and see what the heck this is. Never mind that someone not only commented on my blog (LOVE comments!), but liked it enough to give me a shout out; I was blown away.

In a nutshell…. it’s a nice way to recognize some of your favorite bloggers and to let them know in a VERY public manner that they ROCK! Wow. Thank you, Off Duty Mom! I enjoy your blog and look forward to your boy’s clothing store opening to broaden the fashion horizons of little dudes everywhere!!

There are some rules and such that go along with this award and I will just cut and paste from Off Duty Mom:

“if you find yourself nominated, you’ve been awarded The Versatile Blogger award. And then, you need to pay it forward” by

Thanking the person who gave you this recognition
Including a link to their blog
Selecting 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly
Nominating those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award — you might include a link to this site.
Telling seven things about yourself

Here are my top 15 blogs that I consider versatile in one manner or another:

And now for the 7 things about myself that I probably haven’t already blogged about…hmmmm:

I could eat cake and coffee for breakfast everyday. Apparently so could my grandmother. But I don’t. It’s usually oatmeal, a smoothie or eggs. Cake is more fun.
I love Downton Abbey. It’s our Friday night date on the couch. Only 2 episodes left until Season 2 is over. I’ll be in mourning. Boo hoo.
I am a morning person. But I like to be up at night when everyone is in bed. Peace. Quiet. AHhhhhhh.
I taught aerobics for several years (stopping with baby #4….ran out of time!) Loved it. Paid to work out. Those were the days.
I am easily overstimulated. And God blessed us with 4 children. He has a sense of humor, doesn’t He?
I procrastinate. Too much. I’m passing it onto my children. Thank you, Jesus for a Type-A Hubby to save them from this nasty habit!
I am able to help other people figure out a life plan and yet…..those glasses are fuzzy when it comes to my own life. WHAT?!?!?
I love to snuggle with my Hubby in the morning, unfortunately it’s always right when the alarm goes off and it’s time to get up. <sigh>
I ran a marathon. Once. 5 hours 40 minutes. No land speed records, but talk about your endurance. YOU try running that long. OK. I walked a little bit. Still…..
I am running late for work! Always! I’m always trying to do that one. more. thing.

Have a great day!!

All in favor of a two-day work week, say “Aye!”

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Since taking three days off of work to spend time with the kids for their Spring Break, my “week” is two days at work and PHEW!, I’m ready for the weekend.

I forgot how HARD being a stay-at-home mom was. It’s been awhile, forgive me, but OH. MY. GOODNESS!! The chores. The needs to be met. Errands to be run. Sheesh. Fortunately for me, I decided early on Monday (about half way through errand running) that these days off would be about bon-bons and chillaxin’. The rest would take care of itself somewhere along the week. And this is what my week consisted of:

Monday-Wednesday at 9 a.m. attending our church’s Lenten mission to hear Father Richard Leonard speak on the history of the church and Mary, discernment and God’s will in our lives and forgiveness and faith. Tremendously uplifting and Living Water for this thirsty soul, right when I needed it. Very cool how “GOD-planned” to offer this retreat on my EXACT days off.
Monday, Tuesday, and today (Friday), hit the gym with my girlfriend and got our strength training on. And abs. And cardio. You know it’s a good exercise week when you are still feeling it on Friday from Tuesday!
I was able to have our girls’ BFFs over to play each day I was off. The boys are older and do “their own deal”, but it was nice to be able to get them breakfast and lunch and run them around a bit as well. Not to mention how great it felt to be able to help out some moms and provide a fun day for their girls. Having “been there, done that”, it is always a happy feeling when you know your kids are having fun with their friends and not bored at home, coming up with new ways to irritate the you-know-what out of each other.
Dinner was taken care of. Monday: chicken and rice for the fam and I went out with the girls to celebrate my girlfriend’s 12th annual 38th birthday! Tuesday: crock pot. Wednesday: leftovers. See? Dinner was taken care of.
We hit the beach. Every day. See previous posts from this week…..Sunscreen aplenty, boogie boards, beach toys, snacks and water. Recharged!
We tried out a scrumptious cupcake bakery in town. (sorry, no link, no web-based orders, local only) My youngest daughter and I had a hard time picking out a dozen minis to share with everyone. Though the price was quite affordable, the calories are simply not a luxury and we will be making a wide berth. Except for special occasions. Maybe.
Book 3 of Hunger Games, “Mockingjay” is downloaded to my Kindle. Which is charged. I have to work today, however, my lunch hour and free time between football games this weekend will be consumed by Katniss, Gale and Peeta and wrapping up this depressing, yet fascinatingly addictive series.

Things that didn’t get taken care of this week:

Laundry.
Spring cleaning
Reorganizing the pots and pans (a mess, let me assure you!)
Reorganizing the spices and pantry (I want it all in ONE spot)
Purging the girl’s toys
Purging the boy’s clothes
Purging my clothes

No big deal. It’s still there and it WILL get done. However, the world will go on regardless, right?

See what other’s weeks looked like @ Conversion Diary’s Friday Quick Takes with Jen Fulwiler!

Have a blessed weekend!

The power of prayer: for Lauren

Friday=Spring Break, Day1

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Spring Break for my kiddos, not me. Not their teachers, as they post grades for the 3rd Nine weeks which means……folks, we are moving into the home stretch of the year. HOLY! COW!! As once again, I scratch my head in wonder and confusion at how time DOES that!!! And, so I’ll wrap up my week with Jen @ Conversion Diary and other people from around the globe as they wrap up THEIR week, too! Happy Weekend!!

1. Time change week. I think…..just as we are adjusting to the time change we now go into Spring Break and will have a second transition week AFTER the break. <sigh> Well, at least I am off for a few days and can enjoy a little sleep-in here and there as well!

2. I took our oldest to his HIGH SCHOOL REGISTRATION this week. Again with the time clock. OY!!! He’s all signed up for classes. Happy with his electives. Relieved he gets a second chance at Algebra 1. Looking forward to high school. And I am just dazed wondering where my boy went who was all about dump trucks, mud in the yard, tree climbing and Rescue Heroes. <sniff>

3. Bike Week 2012 is in full swing here. LOUD. Congested. Crazy sights. Hope to get some pictures this weekend and share some of the zaniness that comes to us twice a year. We try to lay low and stay out of the traffic though, so maybe we’ll just hit the beach instead…..

4. Great gym time this week. 2 HARD days of strength training and lots of cardio. Heading into spring in a good mindset. Week 11 and still going strong. Can’t say the same for the rest of the gym as it’s gotten much less congested the past few weeks as New Year’s Resolutions peter out. (which is GREAT for me on my lunch break!)

5. Along with fixing the washer and sink sprayer, Hubby has also fixed the gate where out little Caramel the Cat likes to make a break for it and indulge his stray cat roots. Dirty little stay-out. He always comes home though. Now, it appears he is relegated to the backyard and chasing lizards. So long as no one shows him how to jump the fence we’ll be good. For some reason, he hasn’t figured that out yet and I like it like that. Hubby was rewarded with homemade chocolate chip cookies last night for all his efforts.

6. Swapped out winter clothes for spring clothes and are taking stock of spring/summer needs. WHAT am I feeding these children????? My baby appears to be leaving the 7/8’s behind and entering the 10’s. And my oldest daughter and I can almost share shoes. WTH?!?!?!?? She’s 10. Our boys are 5’8″ and 5’10” @ 12 and 14. We may need to trade the cat for a cow and dig up the yard for an organic garden or just stop feeding them. For now, I am just singing the praises of Aldi and Hubby is getting in tight with the Produce stand people…..

7. Three days off next week. Thank goodness. I need a break. Work is crazy. I am getting burnt out. Am having a hard time compartmentalizing patients and their illnesses/diagnoses lately since I have had far too much bad/sad news lately: a)my daughter’s 8 yo friend diagnosed with a tumor in her chest and surgery this week to remove it (still waiting to hear how she’s doing), b)my girlfriend’s 30yo daughter diagnosed with a (so far) benign brain tumor to be removed Tuesday with a risky and complex surgery and c)another friend with a recurrence of ovarian cancer cells and will re-start chemo in a week. UGH. UGH. UGH. Why is life so hard sometimes? A reminder to embrace each day and to let the petty stuff slide and remember what is truly important and that God has it all under control far better than we EVER could imagine.

God Bless and Happy Weekend!!