Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt, February 21st

First and Foremost---I recieved word today that I passed my EC-4 Content Area test. This is one more step towards the goal of certification! Yea! I am now enrolled on another course through iteachtexas, and after completeion, I'll take yet another test, the PPR. I have a couple of observations to endure and the year to finish out and them I'll be done.

on with the show . . .

This week's Photo Hunters theme is warm. I had to stop myself from posting a HOT picture.

This is one of B riding her bike on a warm January day. The very next day . . .

. . . she was in her heavy coat!

Have a happy weekend and support your local Girl Scouts! They're trying to wrap up sales this week. help a girl reach a goal---even one box will be appreciated, I'm sure!! We are also collecting boxes of cookies for soldiers, so if you don't want any for yourself, buy one for a soldier---they love them, too. :-)

Volunteerism

I sometimes have felt guilty for not "volunteering" to a cause like homeless soup kitchens or at-risk youth or something like that. But I already volunteer quite a bit. I just had never felt like it was volunteering because it was for events my kids were involved in.

This cookie season has had me volunteering at an all time high. Friday I worked 4 hours for the Girl Scouts (banking, math, booth sales, carrying boxes). Saturday I worked another 2 and a half hours. I guess I got a break today with only a couple of phone calls.

My mental time is being taken up on this also, though. Last night I went to bed thinking about it, and I woke up this morning thinking about it. There are not even any problems going on---I'm trying to figure out how to shift cookies around to other girls or how to make a few more sales (we're not quite to that goal!) or whatever.

I ought to be thinking more about my job, maybe! or my marriage!

Lar and I did go out on Valentine's night. We were going out about 6, and the restaurants were all very crowded. We ended up getting Mexican food at a new location, which was a second choice. For some reason, I think Italian food is more romantic! The parking lot where I wanted to go was all full, though, so I suggested the second place. It didn't have "atmosphere" and we were in the middle of a crowd of tables, but it was Delicious and we had a nice time.

Friday night was the Not So new Newlywed game at church. This is usually kind of romantic---we do think about our coupledom a lot through the course of the evening, adn we don't have kids with us! ;-)

J (and Larry) think it really was my fault we missed 2 questions! One involved my thinking I'm a little more risk taking than Larry thinks. The other question we missed was about what Larry was like in high school----is he more of a "Mac" or a "PC" in character? (Like the guys on the TV commercial---was he more hip and trendy or more traditional and stodgy?) If you knew him then, you can leave me a comment.

Well, it's the end of a weekend, and we're back to the ol' jobs tomorrow. It kind of bums me out!

More slices of our lives

I wasn't even going to do Photo Hunt today, but instead do a "what's up with us" post. That's long overdue.

I had another thought about GWDG (Growing weary doing good). The Bible verse says

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up." Galatians6:9

I have always thought that this verse means that if you're asked to do something good, then you ought to be able to handle it because you should not grow weary when you're doing good. You should be able to keep on doing good, and know that God appreciates it, and God will fill you back up again.

I had let myself get very busy and feel obligated to too many things. I was growing VERY weary. My brain was so full of the next activity I had to get ready for that I couldn't really appreciate the now. Oh, brother. Or I was thinking about one part of my life so much that I was forgetting the details of the other parts of my life.

I'm letting go of a few things, and it's been good for my mental health.

On other fronts . . .
B was at a Book Club this morning for the book Harriet the Spy (by Louise Fitzhugh). I didn't get to read it before the club, so I didn't even stay for the club meeting. Although I did have a wonderful tomato sandwich (just what Harriet eats) that the hostess had toasted. B really enjoyed that meeting, and I enjoyed the part of the discussion I got to hear. I know I read that book long ago, but had not remembered much of it.

Yesterday I was off from my school, and it's just what I needed to get caught up on . . . well, nothing is quite caught up, but I did make headway on washing the clothes (but not folding) and getting a big deposit ready for the GS Cookies.

Speaking of that, we worked one more booth yesterday and between 2 girls we sold a total of 89 boxes of cookies. B has 44 boxes unsold, and 13 days left to sell. It's totally possible, but she will not get to the goal she made herself. :-( On the bright side she is over her total for last year. I'll have to see what she wants to do about that.

J is getting ready for Junior Science Bowl, where he is a team captain this year. His school did really well last year, coming in 9th out of 25 with only 6th graders on the team. The competition is sometime in March. He is not involved with any Troupe show right now.

Larry is busy with the Little League Board, LTC drama (at church), Troupe Board, and oh, yeah, Work. His schedule makes Me tired.

We're the family with too much going on!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt, February 14th

Today's theme is nautical, and this is as close as I've gotten! I don't live near the water, and we haven't vacationed much near the ocean, so I'm not around boats and such. This picture is from Captain Sundae's in Holland , MI. We had fun at this loacl hangout eating ice cream, of course. My dad and the pirate are great friends.

And J was a friend of his, too. ;-)
I'm cracking up at how little J was in this picture back in June of 2005.

If you have some nautical pictures to share join right in! Go to TNChick's site and see other nautical photos, too. Next week's theme is warm.

GWDG

I was browsing through some of my favorite blogs and came upon this one post at Virtue Alert that had an acronym for just the thing I've been experiencing in my life: GWDG. It's Growing Weary Doing Good. Ug. I have filled my time with good things, and stuff I am weary doing. Also need to sloooooooooooow dooooooooooown as she mentioned in the article!

The blog has some good parenting advice for teenaged kids. It's the kind of stuff I am encountering as J enters this up and down time of life. Advice about texting, info about teen virginity pledges (whether they're really worth it or not)---the stuff of my real life.

I did this past week let go of two responsibilities, and I am in the mood today to let go of ALL THE HOUSEWORK.

I rested yesterday in sickness. My hubby says, "I'm proud of you" after I told him I hadn't done anything but sleep and watch TV before noon. But this morning, with the fever gone, the floors really dirty around the dog crate, and laundry becoming ever more wrinkled in a basket by my bed, It's still overwhelming. It's bothering no one but me. So it has to be done by me. ??? I am still tired, so it's still not getting done. But I will do something, a little thing.

But slowing down is not an option in some ways. Softball season is here, and as much as it is NOT my thing, I am obligated to go and do because I just have to. I can't disappoint B, most of all.

I've slowed J down---but it's been because of his poor choices at school, academically and socially. Big Sigh. My brain will never slow down thinking about the kids. He's content to be at home, though. B just better be glad school is going well for her! She'd be so mad if she was grounded.

There's my brain on your computer screen. A slice of it, anyway!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt, February 7th

This week's theme for the PhotoHunt is Bridges. Now I thought of Lloyd Bridges, but not having any personal photos of him, I had to pass on that idea.

My thoughts first went to the bridges in Memphis, TN---the M Bridge, as my sis and I called it, and the Old Bridge. But I am not finding my pictures of those bridges this morning.

So here are my honeymoon bridges, abridged. I had a few more!

This is during the first full day of marriage after we crossed the bridge from Texas to Oklahoma. We were on to our next stop in Tulsa, OK.This one was in OK as well. The McDonald's is on the bridge that crosses the highway! I had written that it was the largest McDonald's in the world. That may not be true anymore?

And this last bridge was the one I was thinking of when I got out this album to scan. We had stopped for a break in Ohio, near Cincinatti, at this scenic overlook. We saw many more bridges on that 3-week trip across the US and into Canada.

Next week's theme is nautical. Go to TN Chick's website to see more bridges and get involved with the photo hunt yourself.

Support your local Girl Scouts by buying some cookies this month!!