Nearly two months since my last posting. Where does the time go?
In the month of May I moved around furniture in nearly every room of my home. Stephanie moved into an apartment over the mountains in Buena Vista, which made her bedroom and its furniture available. We finally fixed the electrical problem in her bedroom - it was caused by some idiot reversing the polarity on the first outlet in a series, and when it shorted out, the rest of the room was dead too. A couple of new outlets and everything was as good as new. Since the repair didn't involve tearing out drywall, the way was clear to paint her bedroom - now a bedroom for Steve and I. Steve gets the closet all to himself because my stuff is still taking up all the closet space in our former bedroom, now an office. When Pam moves out to go to college , Steve and I will move into her bedroom, and the room we now occupy will become a guest room. For the first time in 3 years, Steve and I now have a door on our bedroom and for the first time in 10 years we have a ceiling fan in our room.
Now that all the computers and desks are in the office, I actually have a living room! Just bookshelves and places to quietly sit and think. The piano is still in there, of course, and now the instruments can come out of the closet. Maybe they will be played more often now that they are visible. We also have a small fish tank in there, but no fish in it yet. And no phone - so it is a place to read comfortably or have uninterrupted adult conversations.
In the month of June, I was assigned to attend a career workshop so my days were full. I learned some valuable information, especially concerning how things have changed over the last 20 years. Instead of having one resume, employers expect your resume only to address the particular job you are applying for. They like them short and succinct.
I am also taking advantage of our Medicaid coverage and taking the kids to the doctor and dentist. Wendy has been approved for braces, and got her top braces installed this week. They all went to get their teeth cleaned for the first time since moving to VA, and all three have no cavities - great news.
So far the summer has been very busy. The week after the kids got out of school, they took a trip with the youth from our ward to Washington DC to do temple work and see some sights. The next week, Pam and Wendy went with a larger group of youth from our stake to Palmyra. They saw the temple there and visited church historical sights there, including a testimony meeting in the sacred grove. Pam spent the following week in Buena Vista at EFY, and then David went off to Boy Scout camp for a week in the Blue Ridge Mountains after she got home. David has been seizure free for more than a year now and he got to enjoy all of the activites at camp without restrictions. He has two months left to be active in his troop to qualify for his Star rank, and is well on his way for his life rank. He received his rowing and swimming merit badges and has a couple of partial badges to work on. Wendy went over to her friend Kaziah's house and rode horses in the country all this week. Next week Wendy is off to EFY, and we have one week where we are all together before the girls and I go to Young Women Camp for a week. Things will slow down in August until the kids go back to school and Steve starts classes in the Engineering Program at CVCC on scholarship.
I hope to spend time this summer painting the foyers, landings and gallery of the house, and possible the living room if there is enough paint remaining. There is still piles of stuff needing to be gone through and stored in the attic. My goal is to have the sunroom cleaned out before Christmas. Most importantly, I am hunting for a job daily and learning how to adjust to the lifestyle of a diabetic. I am changing the family's diet, and we are working out every day at the YMCA, where we received a scholarship toward membership. We all need to get out and moving around for our health, and the YMCA makes it easy and convenient.
I have become increasingly aware of the passage of time. It seems to just whoosh by and I constantly feel behind. I don't know how much of this feeling is real, and how much is just a perception of age because I have always felt this way in varying degrees my whole life. Too much to do and not enough time to do it all. I have learned lessons about prioritizing and delegating, sometime painfully so, yet still time marches on leaving my list of things to accomplish longer. For every thing that I cross off the list, three seem to take its place.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
What Happens Now?
Now that I am graduated, and the focus of the past 5 years has been accomplished - what do I do? For the rest of the month of May, I am supposed to spend 35 hours a week looking for work. I have a home that has been relatively neglected since I moved in 3 years ago that is screaming to be put into order and thoroughly cleaned. I have to prepare for girls camp - I am the certification specialist, and there is an overnight and pre-camp clinic this weekend. It is not that I think that I will be bored and have nothing to do, it is the opposite. I have so much to do, I don't know where to begin. I have made my lists, of course, but I am feeling kinda overwhelmed by it all.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Time to Catch my Breath
Today I finally got my midterm paper in Professor Jones and finished my Business Law test. Those were two major bites taken off my plate, but it is still full. If I don't get some writing done on my senior paper soon, Professor Armstrong will flog me with a wet noodle.He's up there with my mother for the guilt trip dispatcher of the year.Why is it so annoying to hear someone you respect tell you that you are not doing what you know you are supposed to do?
I took a break last night and filled out a note on Facebook where you ask your kids to answer some questions about their Mom. I learned a few things:
1)When you are the primary picture snapper in your family there aren't many pictures of you with each of your children individually for you to post on Facebook. There are group pictures of varying configurations, but not many of you. I have decided that for my graduation present, I want to have a picture taken with each of my children.
2)My kids don't know me very well.They think they do and act like they do, but they don't.I really need to invest some time connecting with my kids and help them know more about me.
3)My kids see me as someone who is always busy doing something and incapable of just sitting still. Interesting!
4)When asked what we do together, the unanimous answer was talk. I always thought it was important to make myself approachable enough to my kids that they felt they could talk to me about anything. Mission Accomplished, I guess.
5)When asked what cartoon character I reminded them of, none of the characters they mentioned were funny and all of them were from old cartoons - sigh!
Well, that is enough standing still for me. My senior paper is screaming to be written.
I took a break last night and filled out a note on Facebook where you ask your kids to answer some questions about their Mom. I learned a few things:
1)When you are the primary picture snapper in your family there aren't many pictures of you with each of your children individually for you to post on Facebook. There are group pictures of varying configurations, but not many of you. I have decided that for my graduation present, I want to have a picture taken with each of my children.
2)My kids don't know me very well.They think they do and act like they do, but they don't.I really need to invest some time connecting with my kids and help them know more about me.
3)My kids see me as someone who is always busy doing something and incapable of just sitting still. Interesting!
4)When asked what we do together, the unanimous answer was talk. I always thought it was important to make myself approachable enough to my kids that they felt they could talk to me about anything. Mission Accomplished, I guess.
5)When asked what cartoon character I reminded them of, none of the characters they mentioned were funny and all of them were from old cartoons - sigh!
Well, that is enough standing still for me. My senior paper is screaming to be written.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The lost art of customer service
Tonight I bought 3 tickets for two different movies at 3700 Candlers Mountain Road (700). My experience for the first film, seen at 5:30pm, was all right considering that there was only one young man responsible for ringing up tickets and running the only open concession stand. When I asked if the theater was hiring, he said that 6 people had just been hired, but I only saw two employees.
When I returned to see the second film, which began at 9:55pm, I was late arriving at the theater. Before going to see my movie, I stopped to get my refill for my extra large tub of popcorn. The only open concession stand was starting to tear down for the night. The young lady behind the counter told me that she would make a fresh batch of popcorn right away, and then began cleaning out the soda fountain instead. I stood there for a few minutes watching her clean the soda machine, and then left my teenage daughter at the counter to wait for the popcorn while I met up with our party in the theater. A few minutes later, my daughter came into the theater and told me that she was told that the popcorn machine was heating up, and they would bring our tub of popcorn into the theater when it was ready. It never came.
I wanted the management to know how their employees treat customers who inconvenience them by desiring popcorn after the final showing of a movie starts. It seems to me that when someone buys a tub of popcorn that may be refilled once, that the popcorn would be available at least until the movie was half over - especially on a 50 cent movie night where the bulk of your profits for the evening are made in the concession stand where patrons pay $6.25 for a tub of popcorn.
I am currently unemployed and 50 cent night is really the only time my entire family can go and see a movie with all the trimmings. I purchased 6 tickets, an extra large popcorn, and three extra large drinks. It would have been worth the money if I would have gotten what I paid for and cheerful service from employees who demonstrated that they appreciate my business. I am unlikely to purchase concessions from this theater in the future because of my experience tonight.
When I returned to see the second film, which began at 9:55pm, I was late arriving at the theater. Before going to see my movie, I stopped to get my refill for my extra large tub of popcorn. The only open concession stand was starting to tear down for the night. The young lady behind the counter told me that she would make a fresh batch of popcorn right away, and then began cleaning out the soda fountain instead. I stood there for a few minutes watching her clean the soda machine, and then left my teenage daughter at the counter to wait for the popcorn while I met up with our party in the theater. A few minutes later, my daughter came into the theater and told me that she was told that the popcorn machine was heating up, and they would bring our tub of popcorn into the theater when it was ready. It never came.
I wanted the management to know how their employees treat customers who inconvenience them by desiring popcorn after the final showing of a movie starts. It seems to me that when someone buys a tub of popcorn that may be refilled once, that the popcorn would be available at least until the movie was half over - especially on a 50 cent movie night where the bulk of your profits for the evening are made in the concession stand where patrons pay $6.25 for a tub of popcorn.
I am currently unemployed and 50 cent night is really the only time my entire family can go and see a movie with all the trimmings. I purchased 6 tickets, an extra large popcorn, and three extra large drinks. It would have been worth the money if I would have gotten what I paid for and cheerful service from employees who demonstrated that they appreciate my business. I am unlikely to purchase concessions from this theater in the future because of my experience tonight.
Friday, January 30, 2009
What a week!
This past week has just flown by. I didn't do too well on the blog this past week, did I? I won't take much time tonight, because I caught a cold in NY City this week, and I don't want it to get worse, so I need to stay in bed under my wonderful electric blanket instead of typing at my computer under the drafty window.
The weather was looking pretty nasty this week, so Monday night after I picked up Stephanie from work, we drove to SVU and stayed with Cathy for the night. I needed to leave for my trip to Washington DC and New York City at 8am Tuesday and I didn't want the pending freezing weather to keep me from going.
We left at 8am and arrived in Washington DC around noon. We attended a presentation at the CATO Institute discussing eminent domain in connection with a book published by Professor Jeff Benedict called Little Pink House. It tells the story behind the Kelo vs New London Supreme Court Decision of 2005 allowing eminent domain to seize personal property for public benefit. Following a luncheon and book signing, we drove to New York City. We arrived at about 8pm, so plays were not an option. I ate dinner in Times Square at sbarros with Joe Bouchelle and his daughter Katherine. We went back to the hostel and made it an early night.
We got 3-4 inches of snow overnight and it rained all day Wednesday. That makes slush, and I didn't have proper footwear for shushing through the streets of New York City. My coat kept my body warm from my knees to my head (thanks to the hood), my cashmere scarf kept my neck warm, my ski gloves kept my hand warm, and my fleece earwarmers kept my forehead and ears warm, but I was wearing loafers and hose which meant my feet were cold and wet all day long. And to make matters worse, my umbrella had holes in it so, I didn't use it. LIFE LESSON LEARNED:Mom is right when she tells you to keep your feet warm and dry. My jacket took on about 5 pounds of water and I was wet through to the skin from the back of my neck to the middle of my back. I didn't dry out until after lunch when I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Then I took a cab to Columbia University School of Law to attend another presentation about eminent domain featuring Professor Benedict and Susette Kelo. Following the presentation, we left the City. We got back to Buena Vista at 3am. I found the Geo with frozen glass and no ice scraper. To add to my misery, the driver side door froze shut, so I had to crawl in through the back hatch in order to start the car and heat it up to melt the ice on the windshield so I could drive to Gayle's for the night. I slept like a rock - a cold rock. The next morning I had a tickle in my throat and my shoes were still wet. I could not wait to get home to my own bed.
While I was gone, the family had an adventure of its own. We have been without a working furnace since @ the 15th of January. Remember how I said I left late Monday night to avoid freezing on the roads - well it got pretty cold that night. Tuesday morning, the power went out at our home in Lynchburg - and stayed off until 9am on Thursday. No power in an all electric house is not fun during freezing weather. We lost most of our fish and had to BBQ in freezing weather to eat. All is now well except the furnace is still out, so only 1/2 the house gets heat.
Time to go and eat dinner. I don't want it to get cold.
The weather was looking pretty nasty this week, so Monday night after I picked up Stephanie from work, we drove to SVU and stayed with Cathy for the night. I needed to leave for my trip to Washington DC and New York City at 8am Tuesday and I didn't want the pending freezing weather to keep me from going.
We left at 8am and arrived in Washington DC around noon. We attended a presentation at the CATO Institute discussing eminent domain in connection with a book published by Professor Jeff Benedict called Little Pink House. It tells the story behind the Kelo vs New London Supreme Court Decision of 2005 allowing eminent domain to seize personal property for public benefit. Following a luncheon and book signing, we drove to New York City. We arrived at about 8pm, so plays were not an option. I ate dinner in Times Square at sbarros with Joe Bouchelle and his daughter Katherine. We went back to the hostel and made it an early night.
We got 3-4 inches of snow overnight and it rained all day Wednesday. That makes slush, and I didn't have proper footwear for shushing through the streets of New York City. My coat kept my body warm from my knees to my head (thanks to the hood), my cashmere scarf kept my neck warm, my ski gloves kept my hand warm, and my fleece earwarmers kept my forehead and ears warm, but I was wearing loafers and hose which meant my feet were cold and wet all day long. And to make matters worse, my umbrella had holes in it so, I didn't use it. LIFE LESSON LEARNED:Mom is right when she tells you to keep your feet warm and dry. My jacket took on about 5 pounds of water and I was wet through to the skin from the back of my neck to the middle of my back. I didn't dry out until after lunch when I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Then I took a cab to Columbia University School of Law to attend another presentation about eminent domain featuring Professor Benedict and Susette Kelo. Following the presentation, we left the City. We got back to Buena Vista at 3am. I found the Geo with frozen glass and no ice scraper. To add to my misery, the driver side door froze shut, so I had to crawl in through the back hatch in order to start the car and heat it up to melt the ice on the windshield so I could drive to Gayle's for the night. I slept like a rock - a cold rock. The next morning I had a tickle in my throat and my shoes were still wet. I could not wait to get home to my own bed.
While I was gone, the family had an adventure of its own. We have been without a working furnace since @ the 15th of January. Remember how I said I left late Monday night to avoid freezing on the roads - well it got pretty cold that night. Tuesday morning, the power went out at our home in Lynchburg - and stayed off until 9am on Thursday. No power in an all electric house is not fun during freezing weather. We lost most of our fish and had to BBQ in freezing weather to eat. All is now well except the furnace is still out, so only 1/2 the house gets heat.
Time to go and eat dinner. I don't want it to get cold.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
An atypical Thursday for this semester
It was tough to get up this morning. Even after 2 phone calls, and the alarm going off three times, I still could not wake up and kept falling back into REM sleep. We left a tad late and then got behind a slow moving logger truck on the winding section past the bridge, so being on time to class went from possible to impossible. Then I got to my Business Law class just in time to have them go over the answers to the quiz they just finished taking (meaning I got a big zero on it).
I went to the library to organize my research for my contemporary issues presentation before my partner arrived. He had not done any research at all, so I showed him what I had. We divided up the remaining research - he will research arguments for and against the policy, and I will research the legal aspects of the issue. My partner doesn't even know anything about how various contraceptive devices and methods work. sigh!
Then I grabbed my bag of crocheting and went to Stephanie's class with professor Card. I enjoyed his lecture and found myself frequently nodding my head in agreement. His lecture was about truth in fiction and how fiction authors are able to make assertions in their stories that are non-refutable. Statements about what characters are thinking, and about customs and rules of their make-believe world cannot be argued to be false by the reader, because what the author says, goes.
Then I drove home and worked on menus for the next two weeks. I visited awhile with Richelle McDaniel, and then it was time for dinner. We had stroganoff. Then I took David to dispose of the recycling, and we picked up some groceries at Kroger and came home and made brownies for dessert. They are just coming out of the oven, so I have got to get me some warm brownies and ice cream. So it looks like my day that did not start off very well, will end on a high note.
I went to the library to organize my research for my contemporary issues presentation before my partner arrived. He had not done any research at all, so I showed him what I had. We divided up the remaining research - he will research arguments for and against the policy, and I will research the legal aspects of the issue. My partner doesn't even know anything about how various contraceptive devices and methods work. sigh!
Then I grabbed my bag of crocheting and went to Stephanie's class with professor Card. I enjoyed his lecture and found myself frequently nodding my head in agreement. His lecture was about truth in fiction and how fiction authors are able to make assertions in their stories that are non-refutable. Statements about what characters are thinking, and about customs and rules of their make-believe world cannot be argued to be false by the reader, because what the author says, goes.
Then I drove home and worked on menus for the next two weeks. I visited awhile with Richelle McDaniel, and then it was time for dinner. We had stroganoff. Then I took David to dispose of the recycling, and we picked up some groceries at Kroger and came home and made brownies for dessert. They are just coming out of the oven, so I have got to get me some warm brownies and ice cream. So it looks like my day that did not start off very well, will end on a high note.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Too tired to think
Today was quite cold and I really didn't want to get out of my nice toasty bed this morning. I was late to my Ancient Ethics class this morning, but managed to contribute to the discussion about how things like power, wealth, good looks have no value in themselves, but can be good or bad for people who use them depending on whether the person has wisdom or ignorance to guide them.
Next I went to Cathy's room to help Stephanie finish preparing for her presentation in Classics of Western Literature and to complete by Bibliography for my senior paper.It was not until I sat down in my Philosophy of Religion class that I remembered that we had a homework assignment. Lucky for me Professor Jones gives us a 5pm deadline. We discussed the deficiencies in the arguments against the existence of God and The problem of Evil for the Christian theists.
I went to the business office to put money on my card so I could have a hot lunch. I slammed some buffalo hot wings, grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate milk. Then I went back to Cathy's room to study and give her quarters for laundry. After a brief Phi Alpha Theta meeting, I drove home. Then it was the "get the kids to their activities" hoe down with Steve and research for my project and paper in Contemporary Issues. I am learning a lot about metropolitan area contraception policies for middle schoolers.
Steve called as he was bringing the kids home asking for tuna casserole when they got home. Tile floors get really cold in the winter - just in case you didn't know. My toes have just now thawed out. Now off to bed with articles to read myself to sleep.I think there should be a special place in heaven for the person who thought up electric blankets.
Next I went to Cathy's room to help Stephanie finish preparing for her presentation in Classics of Western Literature and to complete by Bibliography for my senior paper.It was not until I sat down in my Philosophy of Religion class that I remembered that we had a homework assignment. Lucky for me Professor Jones gives us a 5pm deadline. We discussed the deficiencies in the arguments against the existence of God and The problem of Evil for the Christian theists.
I went to the business office to put money on my card so I could have a hot lunch. I slammed some buffalo hot wings, grilled cheese sandwiches and chocolate milk. Then I went back to Cathy's room to study and give her quarters for laundry. After a brief Phi Alpha Theta meeting, I drove home. Then it was the "get the kids to their activities" hoe down with Steve and research for my project and paper in Contemporary Issues. I am learning a lot about metropolitan area contraception policies for middle schoolers.
Steve called as he was bringing the kids home asking for tuna casserole when they got home. Tile floors get really cold in the winter - just in case you didn't know. My toes have just now thawed out. Now off to bed with articles to read myself to sleep.I think there should be a special place in heaven for the person who thought up electric blankets.
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