DO NOT OPEN 'TIL CHRISTMAS

Dear Lands End: I enjoy your products and love the convenience of ordering on-line. However, I would like to make a suggestion regarding your mailing labels. When someone, let's say in Utah, is mailing a package to someone, let's say in Washington, and that said package is a CHRISTMAS present, PLEASE, P.L.E.A.S.E put in BIG writing DO NOT OPEN 'TIL CHRISTMAS. Because the person in Washington is probably busy doing Christmas shopping on-line and when the packages start arriving, well, it is very difficult to know exactly which one the person in Washington should or should not open unless there is written in LARGE PRINT...DO NOT OPEN 'TIL CHRISTMAS. Thanks, A disappointed customer

Where's Alice?

Wanted: Mother's Helper Job Description: Grocery shopping, laundry AND ironing for a family of four. That's it. Everything else is handled by either mom or dad, just need someone to keep food in the house and clean clothes for our bodies. Pay: Negotiable Start date: Immediately

Just plain tired

Whew! I am so ready to put an end to this busy week--and we even had a day off on Tuesday! This was one of those weeks when I found it particularly draining to be a working mom. Wednesday was especially bad--not returning home until 9:00 p.m. after starting the day at 4:30 a.m. So the 4:30 a.m. start is completely my choice, but if I don't get my workout done in the morning, it doesn't get done at all. I would give you a run down of the week, but everything but a few poignant moments are a blur. Moment #1: meeting on Wednesday when, in the presence of my supervisor, director, and director's director, I totally called out a colleague--this is not a great way to relieve tension in an already tense meeting, by the way. Moment #2: Sleeping in until 5:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. Wednesday was a really looonnngg day and I just couldn't drag myself out of bed on Thursday morning. And you know what? It was wonderful to sleep in one morning! And I hardly felt any guilt about missing my morning workout. Moment #3 and #4 wrestle-mania. Yes, Carson has started the junior high wrestling season and had two matches this week. One was on Wednesday and the other on Thursday. He won both, but I can't remember if both were won by pins. Thursday's definitely was and he pinned the guy 21 seconds into the 1st round. Video of these awesome matches soon to come (i have to find my cords for the camcorder cuz that is just the kind of week that it has been). Thank heaven for a wonderful, supportive husband who gently wakes me up from the family room floor and ushers me off to bed--can you imagine how stiff and cranky I would be if he left me there every night because every night this week I have been asleep there in front of the fireplace by 9:00 p.m. Here's to maybe a quieter week, next week.

My name is NOT Chef Graham

What do you get when you take peanut butter, rice krispies, and old marshmallows? Something completely inedible because it is hard as a rock. Didn't know you could screw up Rice Krispies, but I totally did and now the whole world (well at least the 5 people who read this blog) know that I am a failure at impromptu treats. I should never venture far from a recipe book--I was trying to improvise the peanut butter rice krispie treats David's great-grandma used to make, which he absolutely loves. She uses corn syrup instead of marshmallows, maybe that's the trick. Or maybe it's really important to not use marshmallows that have been in the pantry for awhile and are only marginally soft to begin with.

Oops, Soap Box Post

I will not be watching the election coverage tonight. No, it is not because David has forbidden me to do so; although, he might have if I didn't have another commitment to attend to tonight. Tonight I will be doing Parent Preview night for Human Growth and Development. Generally this is not a big deal. You go, show the video, ask if there any questions, and quickly wrap things up. This year may be different. Washington State passed a law last year stating that if a district teaches abstinence curriculum they must also include information that is medically and scientifically accurate. Now I want to know, what is medically inaccurate about abstinence being the only 100% effective way to prevent pregnancy and transmission of STD's? I'm frustrated because on this issue, we are given the edict that no personal values may come into play. Now, maybe I should be grateful for this because, let me tell you, there are some of my colleagues that I would not want teaching my children because of their personal belief system. HOWEVER, I strongly believe that children need to hear that it is not "normal"(yes, the feelings are natural, but following through on those feelings before marriage should not be part of every day routine), nor OK, for sexual activity to be a part of their lives. They are not ready for the commitment and consequences of such an act. Almost everywhere children turn these days, they are bombarded with scenes of sexuality and behavior. It is so prevalent, that it is easy to assimilate these beliefs into their lives--remember how many swear words you heard as a child, teen-ager, and young adult and how conscientious you needed to be to make sure that those words did not slip into your own vocabulary. I find it ironic that we (being educators, teachers, school personnel) spend a lot of time, effort, and money on "character building and education programs". Programs that focus on responsibility, respect, integrity, honesty, kindness, friendship, etc. And then on this issue (sex ed), they want to keep it about "biology and science" only. Why?! This gives the children a perfect chance to use all of those "character" skills that we have worked so hard to build. But no, we cop out and take the easy road because, after all, we don't want to impose our values on anyone else.

Smile

I was going to blog about how I was a tortured soul yesterday during Fast and Testimony meeting and how it had nothing to do with the actual testimonies that were being born. No, I was tortured by the toddler sitting next to me c.r.u.n.c.h.i.n.g every so LOUDLY on his goldfish crackers. Those yummy, baked cheesy goodness that I will never be able to eat again. Oh how I wanted to rip that bag right out of his chubby little hand and eat everyone of those crackers. But I didn't. I just sat there, trying to focus on the feeling the Spirit, all the while ignoring my stomach and my head, which was almost mocking me with "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, you can't have those". That was what I was going to blog about, but then I thought how would that make me sound? So instead I want to share with you another simple joy. Tonight in yoga the instructor asked us to think about what the best part of our day was. At first I thought it was the beautiful stars that were shining in the sky when I was running this morning (I've mentioned this before), but then another thought came into my mind. The best part of the day was when J (student at one of my schools) smiled at me. J has autism. He is non-verbal and most of the time you aren't sure if he completely understands what is going on. Today I greeted him as I always do, but this time he paused, turned to me and smiled. It was awesome. I loved that part of the day. Another simple joy to add to the memory bank to draw upon on those days when things are a little rough.