Weekly Preview

Saturday - Groceries, Book Club
Sunday - Beach
Monday - WORK (4 hrs daily), VBS (J,S)
Tuesday - WORK, Soccer conditioning (E), Library Program?, VBS (J,S)
Wednesday - WORK, VBS (J,S)
Thursday - WORK, VBS (J,S), Youth Event (E,D),Movie in the Park?, Moms Night Out
Friday - WORK, VBS (J,S)
Saturday -

This past week didn't look exactly as I had expected. David went home with a friend on Tuesday after the book sale. I had planned to get him back Thursday night for a pick-up soccer game. However, his friend invited him to go to Michigan's Adventure (amusement park), so our plans changed and he headed over to Muskegon with his friend's family. He's still with them now. I MISS HIM - will get him back tonight.

Both of the youth events from last week ended up not happening; I assume due to rain.

I started this post on Saturday, I believe, but never published. Oops. Gonna do so now, though I did have more I could write.

Weekly Preview and RECAP

Saturday - Fun Stuff!
Sunday - Church & a movie?
Monday - WORK (4 hrs daily), Soccer Board Meeting, Set up for Book Sale
Tuesday - WORK, Soccer conditioning (S,J,E), Youth Car Wash (D,E), Co-op Registration & Book Sale (L,B)
Wednesday - WORK
Thursday - WORK, Beach Day, Pick-up Soccer (D), Movie in the Park
Friday - WORK, Movie night at an area church?
Saturday - Book Club

This week I have to finish listening to part 1 of Little Dorrit (Dickens), which is more interesting than I thought it would be (but not as interesting as Sizzling Sixteen will be! lol).

Also, I have to whip the soccer stuff into shape. I better start on that today because during the week, I get so busy that I just don't have time.

I've been taking extra hours every week (except camping week) but it really maxes me out when I do. If they are offered this week, I don't know what I will do. The extra money is very helpful, but extra time is vital too.

I was so exhasted this past week. There were times I just wanted to crawl into bed and nap which is NOT like me. I didn't nap though, because I just did not have time to do it. Hopefully that was just a carryover from my UNrelaxing camping trip and this coming week, I will have my normal reserves of energy. Teenage struggles tapped me out too but there are no guarantees with that.

I want quite earnestly to read Sizzling Sixteen (Evanovich) this weekend. It would be ever-so wonderful if the library would call RIGHT NOW and say it is waiting there for me. I'd run right over and snatch it up. But I am #163 on the list (as of yesterday) so it isn't too likely.

I'm going to go to some yard sales now with James and Suzy. My teens are still abed. They miss out. They can do their chores when they arise. And maybe they'll miss the other fun stuff!

Weekly Preview and RECAP

Saturday - Camping
Sunday - Camping
Monday - WORK (4 hrs daily), Farewell Party
Tuesday - WORK, Soccer conditioning (S,J,E), Library Program (J,S,B)
Wednesday - WORK
Thursday - WORK, Youth Program (D,E), Running Club?, Movie in the Park
Friday - WORK
Saturday - No plans!?

Thankfully this is a rather quiet week. I am having trouble mustering energy to accomplish anything other than work. The laundry is nearly caught up from camping and most of the camping stuff is put away.

James says his ear is bothering him. Hopefully that stops.

I have a mound of soccer stuff to get done this week and co-op registration is next week, so I have some things to get ready for that. (though the bulk of that prep belongs to someone else now!)

I picked up 4 extra hours this week to make up for the 4 I did not work last week. We were only required to work 16 last week because of the holiday Monday, but that shorts my paycheck of course. I had hoped to still work 20 last week, but I just couldn't. I ended up using my friend's Mi-Fi hotspot and another friend's home internet connection to work at camping. Thank the Lord for good friends!

Hoping to do a camping post on Cornerstone, but no promises. :-)

I could say tons more but I am done with my first cup of coffee and I need to get a shower and some work done. I didn't manage a run this morning - soooo exhausted.

Weekly Preview and RECAP

Saturday - Chores & wedding
Sunday - Church & church picnic
Monday - WORK (4 hrs daily), Swim Lessons (J&S)
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK, Swim Lessons, Soccer conditioning (S,J,E), Dr Appt (L)
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK, Swim Lessons,
Thursday - Lessons, WORK, Swim Lessons,
Friday - Lessons, WORK, Leave for Family Camp
Saturday - Camping

We are going to Family Camp the next week, so this week will be filled with camping preparation. Getting clothes ready, making menus and shopping lists, finding everything we need. We are borrowing a camper thanks to a very generous friend.

I will be working still while we are camp and I am stressing slightly over how that will work out. Thankfully there are kids and youth programs there to keep the kids busy. I will likely be working during those programs (meaning I also will miss my programs, but oh well). Bob is not staying for the week this year; he will come home and go to work as usual. And hopefully get some stuff done around the house.

James and Suzy did one week of swim lessons and have another week to go. Suzy stayed in the level we chose for her, but James moved up to the next level after the first day. They are both doing very well. I took some photos yesterday, so I will try to post those.

VBS was this past week at our church. Suzy went three times and James only made it once. Nighttime VBS is just so hard for us. I totally forgot to send them on Monday. Special thanks to my good friend Sarah who picked them up and brought them home.

James spent the night with a friend last night and will be there all day. David will babysit the others as Bob and I are going to a wedding for one of Bob's nieces.

Beach Day last Thursday was lovely. We really enjoyed the day, even though we got there late due to swim lessons and errands. It's always so nice to get together with our friends.

I need to go get ready, so enough rambling....

Weekly Preview

I think the only reason I keep writing these Weekly Previews is that it helps ME to keep my week in order. But that's a good enough reason. I hope you still find them useful.

Saturday - Chores & book club
Sunday - Father's Day (decided against the day away due to the long drive)
Monday - WORK (4 hrs daily), Swim Lessons (J&S)
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK, Swim Lessons, Soccer conditioning (S,J,E)
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK, Swim Lessons, Meeting
Thursday - Lessons, WORK, Swim Lessons, Beach Day
Friday - Lessons, WORK, Project Day
Saturday - Wedding

This is VBS week at our church (and a whole lot of other churches); however, I am not sure we will be attending. I did put our names on a list, but the week is hectic enough and VBS is only 90 minutes long. They can't go Tuesday night and probably not Friday anyway.

James and Suzy will be doing Swim Lessons this week and next. Suzy has never done any and it's been about 4 years for James.

We went to some yard sales this week. Two of them had all the clothes for a quarter. I got quite a few things for Suzy. Bought a Japanese dictionary for David for 50 cents. My kids found a Legolas pen for me for a dime - I think that was the best buy! I used to have one (different design) that I bought at Hot Topic years back. I kept it so long that I wore all the design off the outside. LOL So, now I have a new one. It writes! The same garage sale had a Legolas binder filled with Legolas notebook paper (and some POTC paper) for another dime. That paper was about $2-3 for 50 sheets back in the day. OK, I know I am a geek fangirl.

Took the kids to the dollar matinee in a nearby town to see Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief. Love the dollar movie. Enjoyed the show, but it was far too intense for Suzy. I should have thought about that ahead of time, but I just didn't.

We also picked strawberries at a nearby farm this past week and I put some (not enough!) in the freezer. Our freezer is small though, so I guess that's OK. The kids were not all that excited about the picking and I remember all those fruit picking outings we used to go on and wonder how in the world the adults dealt with all our bad attitudes! Or did we just enjoy it because we were with our friends?

There was apparently a home intrusion that turned into a stabbing of a teen girl here in Dryden. I only know the details from facebook (!) so I don't know the official version or the outcome, but the girl surprised an intruder and he grabbed up a hunting knife and stabbed her then she fought him off and he knocked her out. In Dryden village, people. Dryden! Eeek! We are a bit freaked out.

Only two more weeks before we go camping! We are borrowing a camper since we have not found a suitable camper for the money we have. We may decide to save up a little more money through the winter and buy a nicer one next spring.

The daylilies on the west side of the house are in bloom. I just love those, and they are no work at all! LOL

We may be putting up our pool this week. Today?

Lisa

Weekly Preview

Saturday - Spending time with family
Sunday - Spending time with family
Monday - WORK (4 hrs daily), Soccer Board Meeting
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK
Thursday - Lessons, WORK, Suzy has a party to attend
Friday - Lessons, WORK, our anniversary, Church youth event,
Saturday - Book club
Sunday - Father's Day, Going to an Alumni picnic for Spring Arbor (at their resort!)

One of the days this week, I will take the kids to the dollar matinee to see The Lightning Thief.

Soccer registration is over and now it's on to creating teams and ordering uniforms.

Time to go!

Weekly Preview and RECAP

Sunday - Relaxing Day (party being rescheduled)
Monday - WORK (4 hrs daily), Homeschool Support Meeting
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK
Thursday - Beach Day, WORK
Friday - Lessons, WORK
Saturday - Nothing on the agenda! Lots to do!

Whew, the week went by in a blur. Memorial Day was really nice. Bob did have to work, though, which was kind of a bummer. We went uptown to see the little parade and watch the ceremonies - one at the four corners in which our pastor gave a short message, and another at the cemetery with a 21 gun salute, some spontaneous patriotic singing, and a (slightly delayed) flyover. The rest of the day was just relaxing. I could have worked, but I just didn't want to.

I was able to pick up 4 extra hours throughout the week though, which made up for Monday off. So Tues-Fri, I worked 5 hours each day. That extra hour really does max me out.

Twice this week, I helped the new Seeds of Faith coordinator work out the fall class schedule. Since this is her first year in the saddle (solo, anyway), she wanted some help from me. We have some exciting classes coming up! And I am very pleased to leave SOF in such good hands!

On Thursday, we were signed up to attend a field trip about 90 minutes away, but another more local opportunity arose on Friday and I took the time to organize a group to attend that instead. So, we passed on the far-away Thursday trip, though James was able to attend with a friend.

The opportunity I organized was the chance to attend a Civil War Encampment in Lapeer - a great experience. I will post more about that on Cornerstone, along with some photos.

What else? Bought a new shower curtain. Got it out of the package and part of it is transparent, which one could not tell from the photo. Can't have that. We have only one bathroom, so bathroom-sharing is a regular thing here. So, back to the store for a white liner to go behind the see-through curtain. Going to put that up in just a few minutes.

Bob and James (and a little of David) got the sidewalk mostly finished in the backyard. Looks nice!

David is mowing right now. He and Emily take turns every other week. Next year, James will learn how.

Bought some new socks, since mine seem to have mostly vanished.

Got a notice from the library - return Echo in the Bone MP3 or pay $65.00. Sigh. I am Not Done Yet. I need to finish it - just about 17 chapters to go! I listened to it all the way through the grocery store on Thursday night. LOL Got some odd looks, but I don't care. Better than Muzak and store announcements.

Rescheduling my Tomboy Tools party - apparently everyone in the world has something to do this Sunday. (except me and Christy - LOL)

Made reservations for homeschool camping week. We have two camping weeks on the schedule again - family camp with the church and homeschool camping. Yes, we sold our camper. No, we haven't bought a new one. However, a friend said we could borrow her pop-up if we haven't found something suitable. We may need to spend the camper $$ on a vehicle for Bob, or maybe we should save a little more before buying one.

My fitness blog - go visit!

Walk & Treat

Conversation with a Teenager

Setting: Gorgeous sunny day - about 81 degrees.

Me: (to teenage son): What would you like to do today?
Him: Play x-box, eat, sleep.

Brief pause

Him: Why? Were you planning to do something?
Me: It's such a nice day!
Him (whining): I don't want to!

Longer pause, while I am on internet

Me: I need to get you a job.
Him: I'm perfectly happy without one.
Me: Yes, that's the problem.
Him: You don't want me to be happy??

Weekly Preview

Sunday - Relaxing Day (and catching up),
Monday - Memorial Day, I can WORK if I want to (4 hrs daily), Bob has to work 8 hrs
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK, Meeting
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK, Art Class (E,J,S?)
Thursday - Field Trip, WORK
Friday - Lessons (or field trip), WORK
Saturday - Nothing on the agenda! Lots to do!
Sunday - Tomboy Tools party - all are invited!

James and Suzy are both finished with soccer now. They had a great year!

My Getting Fit blog is here.

Had a very nice Friday night/Saturday at a friend's house. So relaxing. Totally needed it. Did not get much sleep, however. LOL

Hard to believe May is just about done. Where in the world did it slip off to? I realize that with my work, I need to be more intentional about how I spend my time. The important things (relationships) are getting overlooked in favor of the urgent things (errands, phone calls, lessons, the actual work hours, etc...). Going to work harder on this in June. Not quite sure how to go about it, but trusting God will show me. I'm not all that great at personal relationships in the first place, but I'm trying.

No garage sales this weekend. Drove past a BUNCH! The weekend's not over, I guess! Still time.

Bob found a bat in the house last night while we were gone. REALLY glad we were gone. HATE bats in my house. Love them out in the yard, doing their "thang" - you know, catching skeeters.

Can't find my favorite yellow jammies anywhere. Where in the world did I leave them? Did one of the kids put them someplace?

A/C in my car - not working.

Finished Little Women today (book club tonight). LOVED it. I think I must have read the abridged version years ago; I do know I read it, maybe even twice. Read the unabridged version this time and it was great. Watched the Winona Ryder film tonight at book club and dripped tears the whole time. Very good. And to think I didn't want to read/watch this. Would have totally missed out on something wonderful!

Another friend is moving away.

Weekly Preview

Sunday - Relaxing Day (and catching up),
Monday - Spanish (LAST ONE!), WORK (4 hrs daily)
Tuesday - WORK, Bob's Birthday, Field Trip
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK, Soccer Game (J)
Thursday - Lessons, WORK, Soccer Game (J)
Friday - Park Day, WORK,
Saturday - Open House, Book Club

Sunday is the 8 year anniversary of Bob's accident.

James scored a goal today and so did Suzy - ask them their stories. Maybe I'll video them!

Gonna go to a movie tomorrow afternoon- wanna come along? I need some time away from here.

Looking at campers. Trying to decide what to get.

Deciding how best to communicate expectations to my family so that I don't have to oversee every little bit of their lives. I mean, should I REALLY have to say to my teenagers - did you brush your teeth? Are you wearing clean underwear?

Going to work on soccer paperwork this afternoon and also some lists for the kids for lessons and chores. I love organizing things. This should be fun.

Spanish is done this week - hurrah! Ole! My Mondays will belong to me again.

Took an elegant Suzy and her doll to a tea party yesterday and then Emily and I went to JoAnn Crafts and shopped. Bought some neat new scrapbooking paper packs and then went for ice cream cones. Nice day out with my teen girl.

Suzy's 8th birthday (Wed) was nice, but low-key. We ate out at a Chinese buffet after the field trip Tuesday, getting an early start on her celebration. She opened her presents in the morning, before Bob went to work, and her dear friend spent the night. James had a soccer game and the weather was lovely, so the girls went along and hung out at the field. We had homemade pizza afterwards and cake and ice cream. Suzy insisted on white cake with white frosting, but she didn't really eat it. She doesn't really like cake. Her friend stayed with us most of the day on Thursday and we went to a bunch of garage sales.

Here's some of what I bought: a cool lap desk, a mini fridge (for camping; $10!), some clothes and shoes for everyone, a purse (now I need a wallet), a smiley face coffee mug, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (VHS), Sequence game, some perler beads, a comfy office chair (but it doesn't fit at my desk; boo-hoo), a nice winter coat for Suzy for next year (or the year after). Probably some other stuff, but I don't know now.

A Little Update - What Goes First

Sarah wrote: It would be nice to devote more time to blogging, but when life is crazy, it's the first to go.

Actually, when life is crazy, first exercise vanishes, then sleep. Reading comes next and blogging comes somewhere after that. So if I've made it all the way down to mostly not-blogging, then you can tell I'm crazy-busy.

I will devote 1 more minute to posting and then I need to work.

James and Suzy both had soccer games last night and James had one the night before. I love watching soccer in this weather. Soccer registration has morphed to mail-in at this point, but my work is just beginning. Paperwork! Entering player ratings from this year. Entering new players. Updating returning players. Matching coaches to teams. Ordering uniforms. Calling back people about late registration. Updating the phone message.

Enough about soccer. The weather has been gorgeous. Wish I could spend more time in it! Then again, who am I kidding? I've never been outdoor-sy!

I am reading Little Women for book club. Didn't really want to read it, but am enjoying every page. Emily read it for her lessons, so she will be attending book club with me this month. I don't think she'll be the only girl there either.

We went to a great field trip on Tuesday and Suzy had a nice birthday on Wednesday. Thursday was garage sales and getting David to his last dissection class (late! argh!).

OK, that was 2 minutes. I'm off to work. (Seeing as I don't actually GO anywhere, that's a figure of speech! lol)

Oh yeah, I'll have photos soon.

Weekly Preview

Sunday - Relaxing Day (and catching up)
Monday - Spanish, WORK (4 hrs daily)
Tuesday - WORK, Suzy Soccer Practice, DPW Field Trip
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK, James Soccer Game, Suzy's Birthday
Thursday - Lessons, WORK, Soccer Games (J,S), Dissection (D)
Friday - Lessons, WORK, Suzy going to a party
Saturday - Soccer Games (J,S)

I know, my blog is boring lately. I just have been exceedingly busy but same-old, same-old - so really nothing interesting to write. Maybe I could do some stream-of-consciousness posts.

Weekly Preview

Sunday - Church
Monday - Spanish, WORK (4 hrs daily),
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK, Suzy Soccer Practice,
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK, Nature Center classes (J&S), Soccer Registration
Thursday - Lessons, WORK, Suzy soccer practice, Kickball game
Friday - Lessons, WORK
Saturday - SOCCER GAME, Soccer Registration

Stop the Merry-Go-Round!

Stop the merry-go-round!

I'm kidding.

Sort of.

But life is very very busy lately. I still make time for the fun things - garage saling (today), visiting friends (yesterday), watching DVD's (late at night usually), but other things have gone by the wayside. No more Word Twist. No reading (really!). Exercise has become so much less a priority that it worries me and I am trying harder to add it back in -takes a lot of thought to get it all fit into the day. No calorie counting (it's more work than one might imagine). Not as many DVD's despite my previous comment. And less structured school (but hopefully not less actual learning!).

Life is work and kids, kids and work, and soccer and then the occasional fun event. Like Wednesday we spent the day at Maryann's for the annual Cinco de Mayo celebration. Which was GREAT. We actually went over Tuesday night and stayed through Wed afternoon. But that meant 4 hours of work when I came home Wednesday (as well as squishing in 4 hours of work before we left on Tuesday).

Usually work gets done somewhere around 11pm. And who wants to go right to bed after work? I wanna relax! And have a snack! Like right now - off to make popcorn and watch an episode of Eli Stone. THEN bed.

Getting Fit with Lisa

My blog for getting fit - Getting Fit with Lisa.

I was tossing around the idea of having some guest bloggers there and we could encourage each other. Let me know if you are interested in blogging there occasionally or regularly.

Wait, One more.... No, Two More Things.....

Two things - 1 that I forgot and 1 that is a further development.

1 -I forgot to mention I dyed my hair quite a bit darker.

2 - Suzy's swollen eyebrow has turned into a bit of a black eye.

Weekly Preview

Sunday - Church
Monday - Spanish (only 1 class this week), WORK (4 hrs daily), AYSO board meeting
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK, Suzy Soccer Practice, Keepers Ending Party
Wednesday - Cinco de Mayo party, WORK, James Soccer Game
Thursday - Lessons, WORK, Suzy soccer practice, David Dissection
Friday - Lessons, WORK, Rollicking Readers Movie Night
Saturday - SOCCER GAMES

This past week went by so fast! Can't believe April has turned into May and that I've already seen lilacs blooming.

I worked 24 hours this past week and taught two Spanish classes. They're ALMOST over - thank the Lord.

We went to a lovely homeschool park day on Thursday and on Friday I took the girls and two friends to see a ballet. A local dance troupe put on Cinderella and it was a very professional production, but LONG- nearly two hours. Suzy and her same-age friend were done after Act 1. lol After I dropped off the friends, we hung out at another friend's house. She's been working as many hours as me (or more) but for longer, and she needed a play day. So we scrapped and chatted and ate chocolate and watched Kate & Leopold and the kids ran around and socialized. (Ours are not the stereotypical unsocialized homeschooled kids, lol.) Then I came home and finished my hours for the week.

A thunderstorm early this morning required the 9:00 games to be rescheduled - James's game will be Wednesday night at 6. That's a bit annoying since we will be at Maryann's Cinco de Mayo party on Wednesday. Suzy's game was at noon today and it was not raining and was in the upper 60's and overcast. She played hard and, at one point, crashed heads with a big kid on the opposing team. She now has a nicely swollen eyebrow.

Right now we have two friends over - one for Em and one for J. I have laundry hanging on the line drying quickly in the brisk breeze. David is playing a library-borrowed game on his XBox 360. (yeah, I caved.)

I think David is going to play soccer again in the fall, thanks to Maryann who promised David that Alex would play if David played. AWESOME! I am considering putting Emily in the volleyball team the same sports organization sponsors. She is NOT thrilled about that. Of course, Suzy and James will play AYSO again next year. Both are moving up a division; he will be U12 and she will be U10 (and will have to learn the offsides rule!).

I am going to go get some things done - maybe sort through some stuff to get rid of. I have a TON of books that need a new home. Anyone want to look through them? At this point, I really just want them to go to a good home. I keep thinking I should call the two used bookstores in the area that take books on consignment, but I haven't managed to accomplish that.

Weekly Preview

Sunday - Lazy Day
Monday - Spanish (only 2 classes now), WORK (4 hrs daily)
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK, Suzy Soccer Practice, homeschool, meeting
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK, James Soccer Practice
Thursday - Park Day, WORK, Suzy soccer GAME
Friday - Lessons, Cinderella Ballet (E,S,L), WORK, swimming?
Saturday - SOCCER GAMES

Not much happening on this blog - is anyone still reading it?

Life is so hectic. On Wednesday, my neighbor came over and said he accidentally knocked the cable for our internet/phone down with his backhoe-loader. No internet. ACK! How do I work? Charter couldn't come out until Thursday morning. A quick review of my options showed that heading to a nearby library was the likeliest solution for still being able to accomplish my work that day. So, off I went, leaving David in charge.

The kids didn't think about James' soccer practice, so he missed it that afternoon. Oops.

And the next afternoon, while I was working, I forgot about Suzy's practice! Double oops. At least I remembered the games on Saturday, eh?

Um, what else? During the girls last Keepers meeting on Tuesday, Darlene and Maryann and Erin and I went to the park and walked a loop. I also did one Couch-to-5K with the kids.

On Thursday I stopped at a garage sale and got a brand new, still in the box food mill. $5

Our last co-op of the year was Friday. Always bittersweet to see it end.

Friday night Bob and I went to a fundraiser banquet at the Christian school where I taught briefly a couple years ago. The Calvarymen quartet was the entertainment - they are Bob's favorite. Unexpectedly, two couples who are friends of ours were there and we sat at the same table and enjoyed some nice conversation.

Can't think of much else and I have some paperwork to handle, so I'm going to close.

Weekly Preview

Have barely time to breathe anymore. LOL Life is: work, deal with kids, work, check email & facebook for five minutes, work, run, work, deal with kids, make dinner, work, check email & facebook, work, take soccer calls, work, eat way too much, etc....

Saturdays & Sundays are a welcome break from work! Today I am going to a movie with a friend. The kids have the goal of getting their rooms all tidy.

Sunday - Church
Monday - Spanish (only 2 classes now), WORK (4 hrs daily)
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK, Suzy Soccer Practice, Keepers (E&S)
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK, James Soccer Practice
Thursday - Lessons, WORK, Suzy soccer practice, David dissection class
Friday - LAST CO-OP of 2009-10, WORK, Banquet
Saturday - SOCCER GAMES, Rollicking Readers Book Club

Yes, Bob and I are going to a banquet! Can you believe it? A local Christian school is putting it on and having Bob's favorite gospel quartet as the entertainment.

Saturday is also a homeschool book sale, but between soccer and book club, I don't think I'm going to make it there. It's an hour away.

This week marks the end of the co-op year. The kids are always sad to see it end. Park Days & Beach Days will take its place, though.

OK, off to oversee some chores and then take Suzy to her game. She is SUPER excited!