So, this is what happens when one starts to think to much -
Jeff and I are going on a LONG awaited trip to Washington DC in July. We leave in 6 1/2 weeks. It can't come fast enough. I've been busy planning, writing and rewriting our itinerary, checking and rechecking reservations, etc. etc. etc. But today, I started to think about the flight. I hate flying. I am dreadfully afraid of it. I had a panic attack last time I was on a plane - a really bad one! When I start thinking about how scared I am of flying, I feel like canceling the whole trip and staying home! I think I am so frightened of flying because I am a control freak and being in a small space with someone else at the helm doesn't give me much control. But really, this fear does consume me - more and more the closer we get to the trip.
So why is it that we as humans, fear such small things, that have such a minute chance of harming us? Compared to flying, the statistics of driving are much worse. Same with the bird flu. I remember the panic of that in 2005. But we don't get all concerned about influenza which kills 20,000 Americans a year. We fear shark attacks, when a bee or wasp sting is much more likely to do great harm. There was a very interesting article last fall about this very subject. I found it interesting, simply because I worry about everything. Laura will remember my total freak out worry session freshman year, after a long (and terrifying, mind you) conversation with a super-conservative, nay, fundamentalist! Yikes!
So, I need to pull out that article (which I did save!) and reread it so that I can remind myself not to worry. In the end, I can't worry, shouldn't worry - I'm not in control. And I feel good about that, because I know Who is. (And I don't need to terrify anyone in saying that! LOL)
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Other Blogs
"If each man or woman could understand that every other human life is as full of sorrows, or joys, temptations, heartaches and remorse as his own...how much kinder, how much gentler he would be."
- William Allen White
The title for today is a result of the wonderful reading I have been experiencing on blogs. Let me start by saying that everyone should blog. This coming from someone who, until January had never really heard of a blog - not kidding! I knew that Erin had one, but I thought of it more as a website. But, when Laura sent me the link to hers, I thought I'd jump in and start my own. Now, Julie is in the works of starting a blog and I think it's fantastic.
So why do I think everyone should blog - a few reasons. I like blogging because as I look back at my past posts, it's a great way to remember what was going on, how I was feeling, etc. I love that I can look back and reflect on what and why I wrote. For someone who is a self-confessed anti-journaler (is that a word???) this has been a gift to me. I never, I repeat, never, would be keeping track of my daily life if I had to do it with pen and paper. Isn't that sad? I feel that written letters and correspondence are so important, but in this day and age, they've been lost to email and posting. In many ways, that's a gift, because we can communicate instantly, However, I do find that I don't communicate as often with people who aren't online. I think I send out one Letter a year - at Christmas, and when called for, Thank You cards - but otherwise, I don't write. So blogging has been a blessing for me.
I think blogging is great, too, because it allows us to see what others are up to, what they think and an opportunity to keep track of those we don't see very often. I love that I can read the blogs of my friends, and feel like we still have a front row seat in each other's everyday lives, even though we are busy and apart. I know when Erin lived in AK, it was always nice to see what she and Bill were up to - and now as they travel Ireland, I get to see places and hear about things that I may never experience myself. And, I love Laura's because I have always been so appreciative of her view of life, and how she sees things. I love hearing about her daily goings on in the classroom, and her thoughts and perspective of life. It's awesome, because it opens my mind to a different appreciation of life, every time I read. So, thanks to Laura and Erin, for letting me stay connected and into your world!
On that note, I hope that you all are getting a taste of my daily life. As humans, we don't often take the time to think about other people, sympathize, empathize or just connect. Its so easy for life to get lost in the shuffle, and humanity to become lost - replaced instead by TV, technology, entertainment, work, etc. I hope that by getting a taste of my experiences, you can better enjoy and reflect on your own. I know that by learning about other people's experiences through blogging, I have definitely explored the world and human nature, and gained a new appreciation for my friends and family.
- William Allen White
The title for today is a result of the wonderful reading I have been experiencing on blogs. Let me start by saying that everyone should blog. This coming from someone who, until January had never really heard of a blog - not kidding! I knew that Erin had one, but I thought of it more as a website. But, when Laura sent me the link to hers, I thought I'd jump in and start my own. Now, Julie is in the works of starting a blog and I think it's fantastic.
So why do I think everyone should blog - a few reasons. I like blogging because as I look back at my past posts, it's a great way to remember what was going on, how I was feeling, etc. I love that I can look back and reflect on what and why I wrote. For someone who is a self-confessed anti-journaler (is that a word???) this has been a gift to me. I never, I repeat, never, would be keeping track of my daily life if I had to do it with pen and paper. Isn't that sad? I feel that written letters and correspondence are so important, but in this day and age, they've been lost to email and posting. In many ways, that's a gift, because we can communicate instantly, However, I do find that I don't communicate as often with people who aren't online. I think I send out one Letter a year - at Christmas, and when called for, Thank You cards - but otherwise, I don't write. So blogging has been a blessing for me.
I think blogging is great, too, because it allows us to see what others are up to, what they think and an opportunity to keep track of those we don't see very often. I love that I can read the blogs of my friends, and feel like we still have a front row seat in each other's everyday lives, even though we are busy and apart. I know when Erin lived in AK, it was always nice to see what she and Bill were up to - and now as they travel Ireland, I get to see places and hear about things that I may never experience myself. And, I love Laura's because I have always been so appreciative of her view of life, and how she sees things. I love hearing about her daily goings on in the classroom, and her thoughts and perspective of life. It's awesome, because it opens my mind to a different appreciation of life, every time I read. So, thanks to Laura and Erin, for letting me stay connected and into your world!
On that note, I hope that you all are getting a taste of my daily life. As humans, we don't often take the time to think about other people, sympathize, empathize or just connect. Its so easy for life to get lost in the shuffle, and humanity to become lost - replaced instead by TV, technology, entertainment, work, etc. I hope that by getting a taste of my experiences, you can better enjoy and reflect on your own. I know that by learning about other people's experiences through blogging, I have definitely explored the world and human nature, and gained a new appreciation for my friends and family.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Puppy!!!
Yesterday morning, we set out for Hawley to meet out new puppy. On the way, Jeff was so worried about how to choose the best one, what to look for, etc. When we got there, we realized we really didn't have anything to worry about. First of all, the person we are getting the pup from is the Principal at Hawley, so we know that it is coming from a good family/breeder. (When we got to their house, his daughter, who I had as a student when I was a Student Teacher, was there. It was great to talk to her!) Second, every puppy looked the exact same! Not one difference! All cute as can be!
There were nine dogs in all - four males, five females. We played with the pups for quite a while. Lucas just loved them. He kept picking them up and carrying them all over. He had a little harder time setting them down - he kind of would drop them in his attempt to get close enough to the ground to nicely set them on the floor. Alex wasn't interested in the pups at all! When we got to the house, he found a big basket of balls - so he spent the time throwing basketballs around the garage! In retrospect, I hope they didn't think our kids were crazy nuts! :) We'll get to pick up our puppy on June 25! We are getting a female. We're still debating the name, but I think it'll be Molly. Here I am with the pup we chose - yes, Molly seems like a good name!
There were nine dogs in all - four males, five females. We played with the pups for quite a while. Lucas just loved them. He kept picking them up and carrying them all over. He had a little harder time setting them down - he kind of would drop them in his attempt to get close enough to the ground to nicely set them on the floor. Alex wasn't interested in the pups at all! When we got to the house, he found a big basket of balls - so he spent the time throwing basketballs around the garage! In retrospect, I hope they didn't think our kids were crazy nuts! :) We'll get to pick up our puppy on June 25! We are getting a female. We're still debating the name, but I think it'll be Molly. Here I am with the pup we chose - yes, Molly seems like a good name!
Friday, June 1, 2007
Doesn't Feel Like June -
It is so gloomy and rainy today, I am having a hard time believing it's actually June. Normally, June arrives sunny and gorgeous. Not so today. It's been really gray all week. At least today it's actually raining, which makes me a little more okay with the cloudy skies. It's just when it's gray with no rain, I get pretty depressed. We could use some sun, though the rain is good for my garden.
Speaking of which, this is the first year Jeff and I have had a garden, and it's going well. The corn is all up as are the zucchini and summer squash plants. The peas and Brussels sprouts are looking great. And, my peppers and tomatoes seem to have made a miraculous resurrection from the family of rabbits that ate them! The only things that didn't make it up where the onions. I tried those from seed - next year we'll use sets. It will be really fun as the plants grow and start producing veggies - it will be neat for the boys to see how you can plant something, watch it grow and get such wonderful rewards.
Tonight, Jeff and I are going to try to get out on a date. It's been a long time since we have gone out, and though we'll be on a week long date to DC in July, that's 7 weeks away! So, hopefully, we can get to a movie and enjoy a quiet dinner!
Have a great weekend. I know we will. We get to meet our puppy tomorrow. We won't bring her home for another few weeks, but it's definitely something to look forward to.
Speaking of which, this is the first year Jeff and I have had a garden, and it's going well. The corn is all up as are the zucchini and summer squash plants. The peas and Brussels sprouts are looking great. And, my peppers and tomatoes seem to have made a miraculous resurrection from the family of rabbits that ate them! The only things that didn't make it up where the onions. I tried those from seed - next year we'll use sets. It will be really fun as the plants grow and start producing veggies - it will be neat for the boys to see how you can plant something, watch it grow and get such wonderful rewards.
Tonight, Jeff and I are going to try to get out on a date. It's been a long time since we have gone out, and though we'll be on a week long date to DC in July, that's 7 weeks away! So, hopefully, we can get to a movie and enjoy a quiet dinner!
Have a great weekend. I know we will. We get to meet our puppy tomorrow. We won't bring her home for another few weeks, but it's definitely something to look forward to.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Kitchen's Done
After stripping wallpaper, spilling a quart of paint all over the floor, cutting in for 3 hours, painting 3 different colors, figuring out where to hang "stuff" and what to get rid of and putting the new border up, the kitchen is - DONE! Yea. It turned out well. We had changed the chandelier and all of the cabinet hardware when we moved in, as well as taking cabinet doors off the cabinet to make a bookshelf for my cookbooks and Willow Creek collection.
Here's a before (not from when we moved in just, before)
Here's during -
Above, Ive stripped the wallpaper and taken down the vertical blinds. Below is just the general chaos of redecorating!
And AFTER!
This is looking into the kitchen, standing in the dining room. We painted the sofits a gorgeous red color "Posh Red" from Lowe's- the picture really doesn't do it justice. Under the cabinets we painted a cream color, that runs through our entire living room/hallway/foyer.
In the pictures below, if you were to pivot and face the other way from the view the pics above were taken, this would be the view -in the first picture, you can kind of see how the room is laid out. We continued the cream color "Churchhill Maple" (Lowe's again). We also hung curtains, which really make the room look like a room. It doesn't always look this put together- the closet doors are my laundry "room" so on laundry day it's a mess! Which, for those of you who don't have kids - is every day!
Finally is my "Butterscotch" wall! We painted the entire facing wall this beautiful color, and again, the picture does't do it justice - it really is a pretty color! We were going to continue the wall border on this wall, but it made it look too busy, so I think we'll leave it! This color - "Butterscotch" - was the quart of paint I spilled - all over the dining room floor! What a mess!
Now, all that's left is getting my curtains for my kitchen window. I bought two panels online that match the drapes on the slider, and will use those to make the curtain for the kitchen and a runner for the table. We also need our fridge to die so I can get a black one with the freezer on the bottom. My parents and cousin have that kind - it's really nice!
It's good to be done!!!
Here's a before (not from when we moved in just, before)
Here's during -
Above, Ive stripped the wallpaper and taken down the vertical blinds. Below is just the general chaos of redecorating!
And AFTER!
This is looking into the kitchen, standing in the dining room. We painted the sofits a gorgeous red color "Posh Red" from Lowe's- the picture really doesn't do it justice. Under the cabinets we painted a cream color, that runs through our entire living room/hallway/foyer.
In the pictures below, if you were to pivot and face the other way from the view the pics above were taken, this would be the view -in the first picture, you can kind of see how the room is laid out. We continued the cream color "Churchhill Maple" (Lowe's again). We also hung curtains, which really make the room look like a room. It doesn't always look this put together- the closet doors are my laundry "room" so on laundry day it's a mess! Which, for those of you who don't have kids - is every day!
Finally is my "Butterscotch" wall! We painted the entire facing wall this beautiful color, and again, the picture does't do it justice - it really is a pretty color! We were going to continue the wall border on this wall, but it made it look too busy, so I think we'll leave it! This color - "Butterscotch" - was the quart of paint I spilled - all over the dining room floor! What a mess!
Now, all that's left is getting my curtains for my kitchen window. I bought two panels online that match the drapes on the slider, and will use those to make the curtain for the kitchen and a runner for the table. We also need our fridge to die so I can get a black one with the freezer on the bottom. My parents and cousin have that kind - it's really nice!
It's good to be done!!!
Monday, May 28, 2007
Children's Museum
Today we took the kids to the Children's Museum. I decided that since Jeff had the day off, it would be nice to get the kids out of the house and do something as a family. We headed to Yunker Farm, which wound up being a fun couple of hours. Of course, Lucas was obsessed with the train, and Alex found a neat ball room, so he was happy too. They have a couple of cool exhibits with music and art, so it was fun. After going to the Museum, we headed to the mall for lunch, and then went home. Luke and Alex both took nice long naps - which they REALLY needed!
Jeff and I did a little bit more with the kitchen and got my Curio cabinet set up. Because of all the moving, we haven't had it in our house/possession for over a year, so I've had boxes of special items laying all over the place. Jeff's mom has started collections for all of the kids, and Lucas' is Snowbabies, so we got those into the curio, along with some special crystal pieces I have received over the years. Now, with it set up, I finally (!) feel like we're unpacked - and that the items are a little more safe. This evening, we are going to my mom and dad's for dinner, with a couple of stops for errands and an ice cream cake on the way there! Here's some pics of our Museum Excursion - have a great day!
Playing with the Ball Slide
Ringing the bell -
Jeff and I did a little bit more with the kitchen and got my Curio cabinet set up. Because of all the moving, we haven't had it in our house/possession for over a year, so I've had boxes of special items laying all over the place. Jeff's mom has started collections for all of the kids, and Lucas' is Snowbabies, so we got those into the curio, along with some special crystal pieces I have received over the years. Now, with it set up, I finally (!) feel like we're unpacked - and that the items are a little more safe. This evening, we are going to my mom and dad's for dinner, with a couple of stops for errands and an ice cream cake on the way there! Here's some pics of our Museum Excursion - have a great day!
Playing with the Ball Slide
Ringing the bell -
Sunday, May 27, 2007
All Done
Being on the road. Being Sick.
We just got back tonight from Iowa. What a LONG weekend. The drive today took 10 hours, giving time for 4 stops to accommodate the boys' need to get out and stretch. I would say that it was a great weekend - for Lucas, Alex and Jeff. Not so much for me. I got terribly ill - terribly!
On Friday night we got to Albert Lea, MN and stayed in a very nice hotel. We checked in, unpacked quick and got into the pool. That was so much fun. We got Lucas water wings and he was floating and swimming up a storm. Alex had his own little pool toy and he floated and swam around...it was a lot of fun. We got back to the room, ordered dinner (which turned out to be a HUGE mistake) and enjoyed a good sleep.
Then Saturday came. We hit the road for Iowa and and really did have a fairly good drive...but then something didn't feel right. Referring back to the HUGE mistake - we ordered Friday's dinner, and I got fish, which I didn't realize was not completely cooked until AFTER I had eaten most of it. As a result, I ended up being a 15 week pregnant women, nauseated from the drive and stricken by a bad case of food poisoning. I managed to squeeze in 1 hour of Nya's grad party, before I hurried back to the hotel room for a miserable day. I have never, ever, ever been that ill before, that I can remember. Oh, my gosh, it was awful. I got so nervous at one point I made a long distance call to my doctor to make sure the pregnancy could withstand how ill I was. One $17 phone call charge later, I felt a little better just knowing #3 was okay, but that didn't last long.
I remember Katie (my cousin) telling me about a bad case of food poisoning she had after Chinese food when she was pregnant - and that she can not even eat Chinese food anymore - I now know what that's like! It was awful, and really depressing. I had really been looking forward to seeing all the Paulson clan again. They are so much fun, and instead, I ended up stuck in bed in a nice hotel bed with crappy cable, a bucket close by, 10 hours from home...icky. But, Jeff really had a great time with his cousins, I did get to see Nya for a few minutes, meet Grace, and talk to Ginny (Nya's mom) so I am happy about that. And fortunately, they were all very, very understanding of how I was feeling!
Speaking of pregnancy, I had my Dr. appointment on Friday morning before we left, and all looked good. Dr. D says that we'll see him again in 4 weeks for the ultrasound. We also learned that paying 3.29/gallon isn't that bad. He, his wife and kids just got back from Europe - 6.00/gallon! Ouch. He said they used public transportation - lol.
Tonight and tomorrow, we have QUIET planned, with no more traveling. I think tomorrow, we'll take the kids to the park, and tackle the laundry that built up this weekend. No need to clean house - it's already done! (Refer to "I've Been Tagged" post for that one :)
Have a great Memorial Day!
We just got back tonight from Iowa. What a LONG weekend. The drive today took 10 hours, giving time for 4 stops to accommodate the boys' need to get out and stretch. I would say that it was a great weekend - for Lucas, Alex and Jeff. Not so much for me. I got terribly ill - terribly!
On Friday night we got to Albert Lea, MN and stayed in a very nice hotel. We checked in, unpacked quick and got into the pool. That was so much fun. We got Lucas water wings and he was floating and swimming up a storm. Alex had his own little pool toy and he floated and swam around...it was a lot of fun. We got back to the room, ordered dinner (which turned out to be a HUGE mistake) and enjoyed a good sleep.
Then Saturday came. We hit the road for Iowa and and really did have a fairly good drive...but then something didn't feel right. Referring back to the HUGE mistake - we ordered Friday's dinner, and I got fish, which I didn't realize was not completely cooked until AFTER I had eaten most of it. As a result, I ended up being a 15 week pregnant women, nauseated from the drive and stricken by a bad case of food poisoning. I managed to squeeze in 1 hour of Nya's grad party, before I hurried back to the hotel room for a miserable day. I have never, ever, ever been that ill before, that I can remember. Oh, my gosh, it was awful. I got so nervous at one point I made a long distance call to my doctor to make sure the pregnancy could withstand how ill I was. One $17 phone call charge later, I felt a little better just knowing #3 was okay, but that didn't last long.
I remember Katie (my cousin) telling me about a bad case of food poisoning she had after Chinese food when she was pregnant - and that she can not even eat Chinese food anymore - I now know what that's like! It was awful, and really depressing. I had really been looking forward to seeing all the Paulson clan again. They are so much fun, and instead, I ended up stuck in bed in a nice hotel bed with crappy cable, a bucket close by, 10 hours from home...icky. But, Jeff really had a great time with his cousins, I did get to see Nya for a few minutes, meet Grace, and talk to Ginny (Nya's mom) so I am happy about that. And fortunately, they were all very, very understanding of how I was feeling!
Speaking of pregnancy, I had my Dr. appointment on Friday morning before we left, and all looked good. Dr. D says that we'll see him again in 4 weeks for the ultrasound. We also learned that paying 3.29/gallon isn't that bad. He, his wife and kids just got back from Europe - 6.00/gallon! Ouch. He said they used public transportation - lol.
Tonight and tomorrow, we have QUIET planned, with no more traveling. I think tomorrow, we'll take the kids to the park, and tackle the laundry that built up this weekend. No need to clean house - it's already done! (Refer to "I've Been Tagged" post for that one :)
Have a great Memorial Day!
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