True Sequence of Events

Okay, I realize that I'm tired, but still...

Monkey Girl's several trees worth of first day paperwork are awating me on the table. I get a good start wading through all the course outlines and info pages and turn her loose reading the one for math class, for which we both need to sign that we've read. While she's reading, I grab the pan from dinner and go to put it in to soak. (Step One.)

(Step Two.) Realizing that I've left the refrigeration bags from my medicine in the sink to thaw - I got a refill of my Byetta today and it always comes with cold packs - I decide to put them back in ther styrofoam cooler shipping container and send the lot to Goodwill.

(Step Three) Go to back porch to get cooler, bring it in a fill it from the cold packs in the sink. Take back out to back porch.

(Step Four) Realize that the laundry has piled up a little and maybe I should toss in a load to wash. Begin sorting out a load and doing just that. By this point I have forgotten the pan completely. Realize that I should check behind our bedroom door for what laundry is there.

(Step Five) Head into bedrooma nd realize that someone has scatter the load that Mr. I. put there this morning across half the bed. Go to interrogate children as to which one is responsible. They blame the dog, but it doesn't look like his work. Youngest thinks it might have been her, but she just moved some of it around.... I roll eyes and pray for patience.

(Step Six) Head back to bedroom to deal with the scattered laundry.

(Step Seven) Head back out to table to see where MG is with her part of paperwork - that she's complaining about having to do. (No sympathy here. Did she SEE my pile of stuff?) Remember I need to check for a three-ring binder for her and a folder to put in my "keep at home" stuffs.(1)

(Step Eight) Head back towards bedroom and see the pan sitting on the edge of the sink. I remember what I was doing originally. Set pan in sink and half fill with water to soak.

(Step Nine) Go in bedroom and get dirty laundry from behind door. Take to back porch and get the load started washing.

(Step Ten) Remember binder and folder. Head back to bedroom for them. MG approves folder. Tell her I'll dig out some 5-tab dividers (2) in a bit. Realize she's still got my pen for her paperwork, so I do it now. Sit down, again.

(Step Eleven) Remember that I also needed a sticky note to attach to one of the forms. Can't read what they don't send and I'm trying to teach MG that if she's signing a form saying that she's read something, then she should have read whatever it was. After all, she's claiming responsibility for having done so. *sigh and roll eyes - at myself this time* Head back to bedroom for blank sticky note.

(Step Twelve) Polite note written and attached to form. Go to continue with paperwork and remember that I need her SS number for one of the forms. Head back to bedroom.

(Step Thirteen) Sit down to share this before I forget any of it, because it's too pathetic and funny not to let others laugh at.

(Step Fourteen) Get SS card and hope I haven't forgotten/get sidetracked by anything else till the danged paperwork is done.

1. We have an open, walk-in closet in our bedroom where I have a small office space set up.
2. I've collected a ridiculous amount of office supplies. It's an illness really.

A Quickie

One more quick little post. Guess what I finished last night? Yep, my full-length, complete edit of Glimmer of Sight, written two years ago during NaNo. It was very exciting. Now I just need to do a wee bit more polishing, add more info in a couple of spots, check one possible continuity problem, swallow hard, put on my big girl pants, and send it off to some potential agent. Why do I think the hard part is just starting?

Boris kept me company while I finished.

He was very excited to have his story told.

A Little Show and Tell

It's that time of year - Back To School!!!! Yes, I get a little excited this time of year. I almost always have, except for when I wasn't in school and didn't have kids to send to school. This is like my personal new year, full of new opportunites and new beginnings. I love it! And this year I had my own first day of school, thanks to the wonderful principal at Chauncey who pestered me into taking a job there. I started back today and was seriously giddy about it. It was really quiet ridiculous, but there ya go. I'm such a nerd.

Anyhoo, Monkey Girl sets off for her first day of middle school tomorrow (7th grade) and she'll be riding the bus. A big adventure all around. Mr. Incredible has the task of getting her up and out the door this year, since he's already up and she needs to be at the bus stop even before he leaves for work.

My wonderful sister, Amber, gave her some money to spend for clothes and such for back to school, on top of what we'd already gotten for her. So, she decided she wanted her hair cut before school started and she wanted a special outfit. You can check both out just below:

Yes, she really is that silly. And don't the pink socks just make the whole outfit?

A better view of the new shoes, with new, colorful laces, and the cute new haircut. Honestly, these pics aren't doing the cuteness justice. I may need to haul my butt out of bed in the morning in time to do more than just give her a good-luck hug...

Oh, and she needed earrings to go with this lovely ensemble. Mom to the rescue! (I mean, come one, what's the fun of having parents who can make jewelry if you can't take advantage of it on occassion?) I made myself make do with what I already had on hand, but I think they turned out pretty fun. And more importantly, Monkey Girl approved of them. I'll try to remember to stick up a quick tutorial how-to later this week, but I'm not promising anything with this being the first week of school. I'm bad enough about things like that normally...

Aren't they cute?

Being modeled. You get a lovely view of the side of my neck...

Wedding Pics

I recently had some very dear friends take the offical plunge into married life and I couldn't be happier for them. If the crowd at their wedding and reception were any indication, there isn't anyone who knows them who couldn't be happier at their marriage. :-) It was so much fun helping them celebrate and enjoying how happy they obviously were. Here are a few photos, mainly so my family, who aren't on Facebook, can enjoy it as well.

The VERY happy couple. They smiled like this the entire time!

Zack and Levi. If you know anything about Zack, then you know he had to have a suit for Perry's wedding - he used to wear them to gaming nights because they were comfortable. So, we had to outfit him somehow with a suit. So...off to Goodwill. About $15 later and he's this sharp dressed young man you see in the pic.

Monkey Girl and Drama Queen, looking frightenly grown up.

Christian, Zack, The Kate, Levi, and Graham

He looked amazing in the purple shirt and tie!

Levi gettin' his groove on. I think that's Perry on the far right.

Don't ya just love that "Oops! I've been caught!" look on Zack's face?

I absolutely LOVE this pic of good friends Paul and Vicki. I'd forgotten how much Paul liked to dance. (Mr. Incredible even danced with me a couple of times as well. :-)

Christian, Graham, Perry, Miriam, Levi, and Zack. Sometime tells me that Miriam just gained a bunch of new brothers. :-) Best of luck you two!

Coloring Mandalas Around the Web

The girls in my spiritual journaling workshop at Phyo CYF this year really got into coloring the mandalas I'd printed out for them. There was even a request for ways to get more. And since I Phyo love the kids from Phyo, I feel compelled to comply. :-) Therefore, forthwith, here's a small gathering from Shala at Don't Eat the Paste. She is just wonderfully creative and talented and I love snagging stuff from her blog. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a link to this post today...Yep, mandalas. And they are gorgeous!
http://www.donteatthepaste.com/2011/01/mandalas-coloring-pages.html

And here are some more from Shala:
http://www.donteatthepaste.com/2011/04/april-showers-mandala-coloring-page.html

With snails!
http://www.donteatthepaste.com/2011/06/snail-mandala-coloring-page.html

Stars and Strips:
http://www.donteatthepaste.com/2011/06/stars-and-stripes-mandala-coloring-page.html

A couple of Valentine-themed ones:
http://www.donteatthepaste.com/2011/02/valentine-mandalas-coloring-pages.html

Okay, that's it for now. I'm sure there are more floating around on her blog, but my computer decided to get all security-paranoid on me when I kept clicking to new links. Grrrrrrr..... I'll get to it again later. In the meantime, enjoy!

Off to Camp

I’m at PHYO Christian Youth Fellowship Conference this week, where I’m teaching a daily class called the Will of God AND leading a workshop on spiritual journaling. CYF Conference is essentially the teen camp for youth in the Disciples of Christ denomination. So far it’s been a great week and I have every reason o believe that it will continue to be so. I mean, that’s pretty much how it’s been the past two years. (Last year was horrifically hot.)

So, what exactly does a CYF counselor take to camp for a week? You should have seen my van after we packed for my drive up. As you can see, there’s quite a bit on my list and not everything is actually written down – if you can believe it.  Fortunately I didn’t have any kids with me on the ride up and I’ll only have one on the way home. The kids totally need to make sure they put a good dent in all those snacks I brought so I can back stuff in those spaces on the way home. ;-)

Reflections

Wow! The beginning of the year was some ride. I'm trying to remember the last time I was that busy for that long and nothing comes to mind. It wasn't even adjusting to the new job - which I absolutely love - but to everything going on as soon as I got off work. Most afternoons had at least one apointment I had to rush off to, if not multiples of things going on. I was in physical therapy for my lower back (and then I hurt my knee on top of that!), Monkey Girl started therapy to strengthen her back, Drama Queen started counseling therapy, both girls started orthodontics, and then there were regular doctors appointments. I think there were a couple of weeks where I was in our doctor's office three times in one week! (Her husband was our physical therapist.) I really like the Rettos's, but was starting to feel a little like I was living there, at least part of the time. And getting lunch was always an interesting prospect.  Fortunately, we got through it. The only currently ongoing office visits are the orthodontist and DQ's therapist.

So, I've survived my first end of the school year as an employee. Yeah!  Those last two weeks are insane, what with everyone knowing that the end is in sight and itching for it to get there. Teachers have far to much to do as the end approaches. They need to finish getting papers back to the kids, fill out grade cards before the last day, prepare awards certificates ( as well as fill them in and sign them), deal with students eager for summer break, pack their classrooms, for cleaning at the very least. All of those end of the year picnics, field trips, and movie days actually are sanity savers for everyone. Trust me - about three weeks from the end, the amount of learning you can get done starts to drastically diminish, in spite of how hard the teachers may try.

This week the girls are at church camp. We had a total of FIVE kids from the Hocking Valley Parish attending Chi Rho (middle school-age) camp this week. It is so wonderfully quiet in the house - just what this frazzled mom needed right now. I'll be very happy to see them come Saturday, though. And I hope Drama Queen naps on the way home, since she and I will be going to a cookout and ghost hunt with the Mid-Ohio Valley Ghosthunters that night. *grin* We are so looking forward to it.

I also spent some time redesigning the layout of the blog this week. I hope you like it. When I find a few extra minutes, I'll redo the banner as well. I've also got a few more topic-specific posts that I want to write, including one for the Oak and Olive blog.

Till I can grab some more time,
Melinda