Trick-or-Treating

I took the kids trick-or-treating tonight. My friend and her son came along with us. It was so nice to have someone to walk with! I persuaded David to trick-or-treat with us. He hadn't planned on it, but the threat of work if he didn't join us made it worth his while.

He made his costume from duct tape and cardboard. In case you're not a Halo fan, he's a Spartan warrior. (It's a video game.) He got a LOT of positive comments on his costume, mostly from young guys in their 20's. That meant a LOT to him, I know. Of course *I* told him it was cool, but I'm his MOM. Anyway, he mostly said it was hot in the helmet. lol

Emily was a nurse again. James was Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars) and Suzy was a princess. I let Suzy and Emily wear makeup. I did Suzy's eyes quite heavily and I was amazed at how HUGE and DARK her eyes looked all night! (I didn't tell her that! lol I don't want her to want to wear makeup every day.)

We walked around town for the full two hours and the kids all got a LOT of candy - mostly really good candy too. I'm going to try to ration it out.

Oh yeah, and this was the warmest Halloween night I can remember!

Church Harvest Party

I didn't get a good pic of James at the church party.

Six Words Long

Flashback from the 80's



In case you weren't around in the 80's, here's the original, so you know what he's making fun of.

Pictures from a Long Day

Here are the pictures I promised from yesterday's three activities - TV station field trip, Walmart with 6 kids, and raking service project. I posted more pix of the field trip over at Cornerstone too.

PBS, Walmart, Raking, Steak

I found pumpkins at Walmart today for $1.50.

Went on a field trip today to the PBS station in Flint. VERY cool field trip!!! I learned a lot. We were there for about 90 minutes! I took 2 of my friend Donna's kids since she is without a vehicle at present. So I had 6 kids (hers are 9 and 11). Then we went to Walmart and did about an hour of shopping.

After that, we headed over to a house in Lapeer to rake the yard for a service project for the girls' Tuesday night group. Yes, I made the boys help too. There was a good group of people there, not just us. It was COLD but not too bad. We got it all raked and bagged in an hour and then it started to rain/snow. Great timing!

Tonight was a relaxing night, with a late dinner. Bob broiled some steaks and baked some HUGE potatoes. Yum! I read about half of the latest Artemis Fowl book, which is overdue at the library.

Will hope to have pictures up here tomorrow of today's activities. Wow, it's midnight! Am I a pumpkin?

Cackle

Our neighbors just put up the cackling witch! EEEEEEEEK!

Miss Finney

Emily was invited to an American Girl Mystery birthday party. The American Girl is Kit (1934). Emily had to dress up as Miss Finney, a nurse. She did her costume all on her own, except I bought the skirt at the thrift store and I put her hair in a bun and stuck her hat to her head. I think she looks awesome!

Crazy Schedule

FRIDAY
9:15 Leave for co-op
3:00 Home from co-op
4:30 Leave to pick up Leah and drop off David (James and Suzy riding along)
5:10 Drop off Emily and Leah
5:30 Shopping with James and Suzy (groceries and birthday gift)
7:30 Home with James and Suzy - make some mac and cheese, do costumes and gift
9:00 David returns and I chat with Donna for a while while the boys run around in the drizzle

SATURDAY (if weather permits)
Finish getting costumes ready
Eat breakfast
10:00 Leave for soccer
10:30 James and Suzy soccer games
After soccer - trick-or-treating at local merchants (between 11-1)
Emily come home at some point
Take David to a different friend's house
1:00 James to a birthday party
during the afternoon, make food for Book Club
4:00? Go get James
5:00 Book Club
After Book Club, get David and bring him home

thursday thirteen

Thirteen Things about Lisa 1.... I just organized my computer table's cupboard - put the earbuds in baggies, wrapped the USB cords with rubber bands, put all the manuals in a large bag, added two baskets to hold the stuff - VOILA - an organized cabinet. No more tangles! 2.... My sheets are hanging on the line to take advantage of the (relatively) warm weather, sunshine, and breeze. (Plus, my dryer is not working right.) Those will feel good tonight! 3.... I am taking my soccer team out for hot chocolate after practice tonight. Thought that would be more seasonal than ice cream! lol 4.... In a few minutes I am going to go get the winter coats out of storage. 5.... I need to buy two birthday presents tonight. When am I going to fit THAT in? 6.... My NaNoWriMo merit badges came in the mail on Monday. Those were pricy, but, oooh, how I wanted them! Can't wait to earn each and every one and sew it on... what? a totebag? a jacket? my purse? 7.... I will be reading aloud two Irish versions of the Cinderella tale tomorrow to my Glass Slipper class. 8.... David has voluntarily read 225 pages of a novel. WOO HOO! Granted, it is a Halo3 novel, but I am excited nonetheless. I think this is only the second novel he's ever CHOSEN to read. The other was Revenge of the Sith. 9.... I should be outside walking around enjoying crunchy yellow leaves, blue skies, and sunshine. I am not too outdoorsy, so instead I am sitting here. 10.... I framed and Bob hung up our family portrait this week. It was taken in August at our family reunion. I also framed the cousins pic and the extended family pic and set those on the piano. 11.... My living room is piled high with winter coats, snowpants, mittens and hats, and other sundry items taken out of the upstairs storage closet. I am sorting coats right now (well, I am watching Emily try on the coats that could possibly fit her) and then I am heading to soccer practice. 12.... There is a roast in the slow cooker that Bob prepared earlier today. Yummy! 13.... Tonight I need to type Emily's story for her co-op writing class. She wants me to type it but not read it. lol

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A Little Update

Took the girls to their meeting tonight. Brought James along so we could get him some pants at the thrift store. He tells me he has no pants. I find that hard to believe, but .. hey, the kid needs something more than soccer shorts (his fav!) to wear. It's COLD out there!

Got James 3 pairs of pants. Also got a pair of khakis for David, an outfit for me and several shirts, a skirt for Emily's costume, and a dress for Suzy. James used his own money to buy a couple toys.

On the way home, I hit an opossum. THUNK. The kids were adjusting to that idea when.... THUNK again! Less than a minute passed and I hit a raccoon! Yikes! What in the world??

We brought the bunny into the back room today - fixed him up a little cage back there. He'd be happier in something bigger, but it's either outside - cold in a bigger cage or inside - warm in a smaller cage. That's all we've got.

I'm giving some thought to the suggestions of a divider of some kind and noise-cancelling headphones. I can't move into another room here because of the internet connection. The main problem is the noise. I can't take calls or make calls with the loudness in the background, so I do need a separate room if I am going to try to run my business the traditional way. I may try to scrape up some business on the internet instead - and be totally an online company. I haven't gone to a lot of effort promoting the business or trying to get assignments because of the work environment here. It's worse now that the weather is cooler. And I had higher hopes of Bob corralling the children upstairs. That's not going to work out. Anyway, rest assured I am thinking about the ideas! Thanks for sharing!

I haven't forgotten to share about Bob's disability hearing results. We are still waiting.

We are trying to make some decisions on health insurance. We have also been doing our assignments for Financial Peace University, although it is hard to do a "budget" when you have no real income. lol

Flowing Around Me

The work-at-home thing needs some tweaking. I cannot accomplish much of anything sitting at my computer in the living room, while life flows on around me. IT'S NOT WORKING.

Must think on this situation.

Soccer Report

Weather - Only about 45 or 50 when we left, but sunny and not bitingly cold. Warmed up into the 50's and stayed sunny. I took off my sweatshirt to coach, but I wore a long sleeved shirt underneath my uniform.

Suzy and James both had a 10:30 game. Suzy played hard - she had one moment where I thought she was going to score a goal, but it didn't happen. The other team scored just fine - 3 times - but we did block lots of goals.

James apparently played well too; Bob watched him play. His team won 2-1.

"I" meme

Saw this meme on Jen's blog.

I am: unable to focus on anything tonight (So, let's see if I can finish this.)
I think: constantly
I have: popcorn!
I dislike: dental problems
I miss: overnights at Maryann's
I fear: that my kids won't turn out well
I feel: the line-dried flannel pants I am wearing
I hear: The Tudors on DVD
I smell: slightly burned popcorn
I crave: DIET COKE!
I cry: at sappy commercials and every sentimental movie
I usually: stay up way too late
I search: for pencils daily
I wonder: Will my Egyptian story sell? Will I have to go back to teaching? Will the disability judge rule in our favor? Will James or Suzy score a goal tomorrow?
I regret: not going to Mexico in college
I wish: Bob would go back to work
I love: my family
I care: about punctuation and grammar
I always: do two things at once
I worry: about our future
I am not: employed
I remember: riding in the back of a dump truck
I believe: that Jesus is the Way
I sing: loudly and often
I don't always: do the right thing
I write: as much as possible
I win: sometimes
I lose: sometimes
I listen: to TV while I type sometimes
I don't understand: why people don't like to read
I can usually be found: sitting right here
I need: to learn to visualize when I read
I forget: things if I don't write them down
I am happy: because I am free

HEAT!

WE HAVE HEAT!

Bob fixed the furnace! So far it's working fine!

Whew!!!

Fall Fun

NaNo Reward Ideas Needed

I need some ideas for NaNoWriMo rewards. I have a few, but I'd like 3 more to fill in the blanks.

What I plan is to have word count goals and something to do or get when I reach them. For example, last year, I ordered the NaNo shirt when I hit 10,000 words.

Any ideas for me??

I ordered the set of 10 merit badges tonight too. I REALLY wanted those last year and I can't wait to get them and sew them on... something. Those aren't tied to word count, though, so I need some other prizes too. They don't have to be big or expensive. Just motivating.

Suzy soccer photos

Notice David is refereeing. He is wearing a black sweatshirt. Suzy is #8.

It's Yellow!!!!

Tuesday Toodles (ok it's corny)

I feel better today.

Finally finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which I liked very much, but it wasn't a light read at all.

I am going to read something fluffy before going on to Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. At least I think it will be fluffy. It has a picture of a cupcake on the cover. lol Can't remember the author or the title.

I went to Walmart with David last night. Lots of school supply clearance! I bought a lovely notebook in which I will be writing fiction, as well as some brightly colored felt pens that I'll have to hide from my kids. lol David bought duct tape and then proceeded to annoy me happily all through the groceries section. I thought there was a RedBox movie kiosk in our Walmart but if there is, I don't know where. Anyone? Anyone?

We also went to Home Depot and got 5 more gallons of Melted Butter. Or paint. :-) It was on sale! That was a lovely surprise! (I'd even say serendipitous, if I didn't think I'd get teased for using big words. lol)

I have boxes of stuff to sort from my girls' room and I am going to go help Bob paint in a little while.

Soccer Report

Weather - Sunny, not too chilly. Started off with a jacket, but took it off.

Suzy's game was at 9. They lost 0-1, but played well. The details escape me now. Suzy fell down in the 3rd or 4th quarter and after that she was just moping around. I called her over and asked her what was wrong and she showed me a red spot on her hand. I kissed it and told her to go run and she did - with renewed energy. The power of a healing kiss! lol

James played at 10:30, which meant I could watch the game. It also meant David could ref the game, which he was not overly thrilled about. James played solidly. He got one clear shot at the goal, but the goalie caught the ball. Great for their goalie, not so good for James. Ah well. He's always where he needs to be and improves in his skills daily. The other team had a player that was so far above everyone else in skill that it was almost unfair. I was sitting by our coach's wife and she told me about a player from last year who complained that one of the opposing players was too good. The coach asked him, "What are you going to do after the game?" The kid said, "Probably watch TV." Coach replied, "Well, THAT kid is probably going to go home and practice soccer." LOL Good point.

Oh yeah, the score? I'm not sure but they did lose.

Don't miss the new post below this one - two posts in one hour! lol

Monday Miscellanea

I didn't feel well at all yesterday when I woke up and so we didn't go to church. I sent Bob over there with the Sunday School book and an apology. I wonder if the teens did the "worship" again this week. I'm getting pretty tired of it. Maybe that sounds grumpy, but it's not the kind of worship service I care to attend.

By afternoon I was feeling somewhat better. I was supposed to go to a baby shower, but I was pretty dragged out and not presentable at all.

Instead I worked on painting the house a bit. Maybe we can get a pic up here. It's about half painted yellow now. It will probably need another coat, but we'll do that in the spring. I was just so worried about going another winter with peeling paint. I really felt like it was going to harm the siding. So, now it's got a coat of primer and a coat of yellow paint, so that should be good protection. I LOVE the color. While Bob paints (or both of us), people that walk by tend to give good feedback. :-) That's encouraging! (And also, a little frightening - how bad must it have looked! lol)

David went to a laser tag birthday party yesterday and he ADORED it. We are considering a combination party for David and James in December doing laser tag. I missed their half-birthday celebrations this summer, so they never got a party at all. Neither did Suzy. It was just so hard to get them scheduled when I didn't know what would be happening with work - would I work a Saturday? Would I be laid off? Where could we do a party on a Sunday that wouldn't be crowded? So, I procrastinated too long and then it was closer to their next birthdays. Sigh.

Today I woke up with a huge sinus headache. I took some kind of meds that Bob gave me and 2 cups of coffee later I'm still a bit headachy. I need food.

I also need to buy groceries. David wants to buy some duct tape for a project he is making. (See my Cornerstone blog for a sneak peek.) Bob thinks we may need to get more paint.

Our furnace is still not running. Bob is kind of stumped. That's not a good thing.

The dryer is also broken. It needs a part we can't get. Bob must improvise or trash it, I think.

I am thinking I want to get the second disk of The Tudors.

Story Submitted, and the Rest of My Life

It's been a full week - writing, editing, getting caught up from being gone all weekend. No reading really, no movies til tonight. Watching Iron Man right now - what cool devices! We watched Speed Racer earlier this evening as a family. Oh wait! I did watch Miracle Match earlier in the week - a soccer movie.

Co-op was today - going well. Will post on that at Cornerstone - I do post at least two times there every week, so if you aren't checking it, you may want to do so.

Weather was gorgeous yesterday and today!

House is all primered white now - going to start on yellow tomorrow. I will probably help some now that the story is written.

Let's see - hay ride tomorrow evening at Bob's family's farm. Soccer games in the AM; they are at different times so I can coach Suzy's and then watch James play.

I finished the story and submitted it for publication today. Please pray they buy it!

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of anything else just yet. Oh, except I am getting pretty good at WordTwist on facebook, so come there and play with me!

More Pix from Scrapping Weekend

More photos from the scrapping weekend! Donna took these with her cell phone, I believe.

This is Ann's van all stuffed to the gills.














Donna stood in the loft to take this pic. There I am, way in the back corner. (Next to the TV - a coincidence? I think not! lol)














And here is the kitchen. Note we took over the island for the Cri-cut machines. Ann scrapped there too. She likes to scrap standing up.

Story Edited, Ready at 14,320

I finished editing the Egypt story tonight. A dear friend read it and gave me some feedback. I made a few more changes and am just about ready to send it off. I need a title and have to write a cover letter.

The final word count - 14,320. Awesome! Still under 15,000!

Oops, it's 3:00 AM. Dang.

Don't think tomorrow (whoops, that would be today!) is going to be an early-start day! ROFL

We also have to do our budget for Financial Peace class sometime tomorrow. Oh joy.

Off to bed now. Perchance to dream. About pharaohs?

Pix from the Weekend

This is the interior of the house. I was sitting off to the left across from Darlene who was taking the photo, so my area is not in the pic. The stairs are near the front door, which is in the very back of this pic.













This is the backyard of the house. See? It's right on the lake. Back row - Donna, me, Ann, Jane, Maryann, Tammy, Rochelle; front row - Jen, Debbie, Darlene

Ten Women in a Cottage

Scrapping was a TOTAL BLAST!!!

My good friend Donna mentioned several months ago the possibilty that she would be able to borrow her sister-in-law's cottage in Houghton Lake (about 2-1/2 hours north) for a group of us to scrapbook for the weekend. When she was able to arrange it, I was thrilled, especially because it was a weekend that would work for me!

So, on Friday, ten of us found our way "up north", as Michiganders often say, our minivans loaded to the ceilings with suitcases, folding tables, and scrapbooking supplies. The van I was in with 3 others arrived sometime in early afternoon. (I did not bring a watch and did not much care about time the whole weekend). Three other women arrived at just exactly the same moment, although we had not been caravaning.

We hauled our enormous amount of gear into the "cottage", which is really a huge A-frame house with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The doorwall on the back of the house looks out over the lake. I ended up with 2 other ladies upstairs in the master bedroom. We dragged the furniture around and set up our folding tables in a long row right down the middle of the living room/kitchen (open floor plan). Quite soon the room was a bona fide scrapping palace! We had THREE Cri-cut machines and about 9 (10?) different cartridges for them.

Scrapping was the only order of business for the whole weekend, although we did make a couple trips to Walmart and a field trip to a huge craft store. On Sunday, several of us went for a walk to enjoy the gorgeous fall day.

I love scrapping with this group of ladies - we share, we tease, we chat, we sing, we work far into the night. We cook amazing things and we eat candy like there's no such thing as calories. A fair number of us adore watching movies while we scrap and so the TV was playing most of the weekend.

Movies we viewed included: Sahara, Martian Child, Penelope, Dan in Real Life, National Treasure, Pride and Prejudice (new one), No Reservations, Speed, 13 Going on 30. Maryann and I had our Colin Firth fix by watching selections from Then She Found Me on a portable DVD player. lol I would recommend any of these movies. The whole room pretty much stopped scrapping to watch Penelope, Dan In Real Life and Martian Child.

Every time someone broke out into song, Darlene or I tallied it up and I believe we broke 50. That's fifty different songs that were sung at least in part throughout the weekend. We also wrote down a bunch of memorable quotes that people said throughout the weekend. They won't make sense to people who weren't there, so I won't subject you to any, but trust me, they were FUNNY. lol

By Sunday afternoon, we were winding down, packing up, cleaning the house, and driving away. I arrived home about 8:15pm to several very excited children. Before sending them off to bed, I took time to show them each of the 51 pages I completed over the weekend. They were duly appreciative!

I think that this was the best scrapbooking weekend I ever attended, and I have been to quite a few!

Scrapped!

Scrapped all weekend with 9 very wonderful women! Got 51 pages scrapbooked. More on that tomorrow.

Also, I am giving up Diet Coke for an indeterminate amount of time starting Monday. Yikes! I know! Lisa without Diet Coke? No worries though - not giving up coffee. Just trying to save some money. 12 packs of pop are up to $5 now! That's just insanity. So, I'll be giving it up entirely for a bit, trying to kick the habit, and then I'll just have it now and then, as desired. Notice I changed my profile pic?

I edited only a few more pages in the car on the way home from scrapbooking. So, I need to finish that tomorrow afternoon.

For now, lesson plans!

James Sets It Up

Video is about a minute long. James is #9. He is on the white line at the beginning of the video and runs out of the frame briefly before the amateur videographer caught on. lol

Do note that one of the opponents James evades is the goalkeeper. He was SO FAR out of the net that if one of our players had shot, it should have been an easy goal!

Ah well. James was doing HIS job there!



Took this with the Flip camcorder and I was zooming, so the quality isn't great, but I think you can get the idea.