Home Improvements...

Why does it seem to be so hard to get things done? I guess it's because there are too many distractions and I seem to be ADD sometimes. I got quite a lot accomplished this weekend, but not nearly as much as I wanted....I guess that's the perfectionist part of me coming out. The master bath vanity area is cleaned and pretty much organized (except for the 5-6 more loads of clothes I didn't get to with the 7-8 loads I did wash yesterday). I had hoped for so much more, but I guess I need to set smaller, more attainable goals (and stay off the computer more?!? lol).

So, this week I plan to do more each day to get where I want to be by next weekend:
Monday--kitchen, dining room, livingroom
Tuesday--Elisabeth's room (since it's her b'day)
Wednesday--master bedroom
Thursday--Nick's room
Friday--spare room (needs MAJOR organization)
Saturday--bathrooms, pantry and laundry
On top of that, Monday and Saturday's items will use a "10 second tidy" nightly, and the beds will be made daily. Somewhere in there, I need to figure in yard work and gardening along with two trips to the allergist each week, tutoring and band practice. I REALLY need to get back to making lists and staying on top of my schedule! Can't wait for the HGTV organization challenge to start, that should help immensly!

A Procrastinating Perfectionist...

Okay, because of life being so busy, the house is in disarray. I need to get on top of everything, finish unpacking/reorganizing everything, and make my home serene and sane again!!! I'm not a very "organizational" minded person. I have no idea where to start in getting things organized, especially when it comes to my school stuff and Jerry's youth stuff....neither of us have an office or classroom to put all of it in right now, so it's sitting here taking up space. I've decided that March is the month for me to start getting more organized around here, and thankfully I have HGTV to help get me motivated. Last year I wrote a blog topic on the fact that I am a perfectionist AND a procrastinator. So then today I was looking at my "favorites" folder and clicked on "Organized Home" and came to a personality assessment. Hmmm...it was really hard to pick just one, can I say they're all me? LOL Actually though, the procrastinator and the perfectionist are both me the most!!! So, here I start my trek to get organized. I have a BIG box full of stuff to go to charity....tomorrow! And I have a big pile of clothes to send to a friend or go to the school clinic....tomorrow! Yeah, I need to get off the procrastination ride and I'd be doing fine, but what if it can't be perfect?!?

So I need a plan. I guess I'll work on one room a day until I get it organized and as near perfect as possible! Since it's the weekend and I have more time now that soccer season is over, my plan is to do the "normal" weekend cleaning (vacuuming, mopping, dusting, etc.) and then I will start at one end of the house and work my way to the other end in the areas of organization. My room seems like a great place to start, since the "unorganized" part of it is the laundry. So, my goal today is to clean the house and organize my room. If I get that done, then I'll make my way to Nick's room. (He still has unpacked boxes in the closet! That should be a fun walk down memory lane for him!)

So here I go, I'm going to stop procrastinating today, I hope!

Bad To The Stone...

Yeah, I wrote that right. I have to brag on Nick a little bit here. His class is studying the different kinds of rocks, and they're working in groups. They were instructed to come up with a way to present information about the 3 types of rocks they're learning about. So his group decided to make up a song to the tune of "Bad to the Bone". Last night he wrote the lyrics. Then he pulled out his saxophone to do the "dum da da dum" part and couldn't quite get it to work. So he put the sax away and pulled out his guitar (which he just got for Christmas) and figured it out, and practiced it for a little while.

Today they had to present their information to their class. Their teacher was so impressed, that she called her daughter's teacher whose class is studying it too, but on a primary level. That teacher happens to be on the team I work with, so I got to see his "performance" (with his group singing). It was pretty good and the younger kids (1st graders) LOVED it! Since all of the students will eventually be learning this same theme in Science before summer, we're going to see about either letting them perform it for other classes as they request it, or having them do it for a taping to show on the school's news show.

I just had to brag a little bit! This kid could be a musical genius if he put his mind to it.....and if we could get him some lessons. LOL

Carpe Diem...

Not sure why, but I was really thinking about this song and wanted to post it on my MySpace....but alas, it's not found on there...maybe I'll have to find a video of it sometime.

Anyway, this is where my thoughts wandered today, so seize the day...."Carpe Diem"...

SEIZE THE DAY...

I know a girl who was schooled in Manhattan
She reads dusty books and learns phrases in Latin
She is an author, or maybe a poet
A genius but it's just this world doesn't know it
She works on her novel most every day
If you laugh she will say

chorus:
Seize the day, seize whatever you can
'Cause life slips away just like hourglass sand
Seize the day, pray for grace from God's hand
Then nothing will stand in your way
Seize the day

Well I know a doctor, a fine young physician
Left his six-figure job for a mission position
He's healing the sick in an African clinic
He works in the dirt and writes home to the cynics
He says "We work through the night so most every day
As we watch the sun rise we can say

chorus

Well I know a man who's been doing some thinking
He's as bitter and cold as the whiskey he's drinking
He's talking 'bout fear, about chances not taken
If you listen to him you can hear his heart breaking
He says "One day you're a boy and the next day you're dead
I wish way back when someone had said

chorus

Well one thing I've noticed, wherever I wander
Everyone's got a dream he can follow or squander
You can do what you will with the days you are given
I'm trying to spend mine on the business of living
So I'm singing my songs off of any old stage
You can laugh if you want, I'll still say

chorus

Last Soccer Post of the Season...

Yeah, I know it's a little blurry (sorry, new camera and I'm still getting used to it), but here's Nick taking the ball up the field.

It was definitely a good game, as Nick's team played in the championship game today. They were down 0-1 at the half, and came back to score and were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. Yep, you guessed it, it went to a shootout...like we didn't have enough drama with Elisabeth's team last week!!! We scored, they scored, we scored, they scored....on the last set of kicks, we missed, they scored....they won. It kind of peeves me that it ends in a shootout when you end a game in a tie. If you added another 10-15 minutes of play, it might end and then truly the best team wins....not just some kick that "luckily" gets past the goalie.

Oh well, I'm proud of both of my kids and how well they played this year, and with the class of having good sportsmanship too. I can't wait for the next season to start now! Elisabeth did so well this year compared to two years ago, when she was 3 going on 4...it was too much for her at the time. Go Bolt kids!!!

Nick and Jerry after the game.

Elisabeth's team during their shootout last week. (I couldn't get the camera to work during the game...sorry!)
Here's Elisabeth's team at the pregame practice at Coach Jeff's house. (She's the one kneeling next to the goalie.) It was cold and windy, and it was great fun trying to spray purple sparkly stuff in their hair! hehe

We have a bit of a sports break for a few months, (unless Nick decides to try out for the traveling team, but that might be a long shot....60 kids wanting on a 12 player team) I'm not sure what I'll do with my Saturdays now! (And having the evenings mostly open instead of going to practice!) British Soccer camp is in June, and then flag football and cheerleading starts up in July or August...it won't be "that" long!

Three Day Weekends....I LOVE them!!!

Well, one more work-day and we'll have a busy 3-day weekend. This evening Nick has his last soccer practice of the season. Tomorrow is his championship game (and thank goodness it will be warm this weekend). Sunday is preview service #3 for our church, and Nick has a birthday party to go to at Grand Prix (putt-putt/go carts, etc.).

So Monday will be stay-at-home-day! I have a ton of laundry to catch up on, and lots of things to do. I'm starting the SELF Challenge on Monday, and this year I'll stick with it because no major life changes are going to happen this Spring! (Like they have the past two years...) Also, starting in March, I'll be joining the HGTV "Get Organized" challenge, to do my Spring cleaning and all. I figure everything seems to be finally falling back into place for us, so it's time I get my health and my home in order. (I still have boxes to unpack and reorganize from our semi-recent re-relocation.)

Things are really going well. I feel like my normal self, and I haven't stressed over anything this week....which seems really abnormal for me now, but it's how I used to be two years ago, and I'm back!!! We are forming a plan to continue to make things better for our family, both short-term plans, and semi-long-term plans. (Like some changes to make NOW, and some steps to take to make things be at a certain place in a year, and in two years....that's as long-term as we can get for now, but it's a start.) I'm excited about how God's blessed us lately, and how He's just allowing our lives to be at peace for the first time in awhile. God is good, and after you've been through some trials you can see where He was leading...some steps have to be taken, even if they are painful, to get you going down the right path. There have been several treacherous bumps in the road along the way, but had they not happened, we'd still be sitting in our little parsonage, living our little life of complacency and wouldn't be starting out on this great adventure we're embarking on right now.

Speaking of journeys and adventures...it's time to get ready to go to work, which is always an exciting day when you work with a couple hundred kids!

Soccer, Love, and Allergies....

Soccer first, since that' s been the most recent theme...
First let me say that it was FREEZING on those soccer fields! The wind was blowing consistently at about 30 mph and it was in the 50's on Saturday and in the 30's on Sunday...though it warmed up to the 40's while we were there.

Elisabeth's game was first. They played a team they'd lost to twice in regular season, who also scored 10 points on them in those games. The team did an AWESOME job! The game ended at regulation with a 0-0 tie. They went into a shootout, and ended up having to go to extra kicks after that. They ended up losing 2-1, but it was nothing to be ashamed of! It was such a stressful game to watch! I couldn't leave to see Nick's game until it was over because it was so nervewracking.

Nick's game was good too. At the half, they were losing 1-0. But they came back and won the game 2-1 and are going to the championship game this weekend!!! The coach said he'd put Nick in 4 different positions in two days and he played well wherever he was placed. I'm so glad it's going to be pushing 80 this weekend, no more freezing our tushes off at the soccer fields....this season!

Love...
Valentine's Day was nice. It could've been better had I not gotten a migraine, and hadn't ruined supper because of it. Jerry got me some pretty roses and we rented Elizabethtown....which we didn't get to watch because of my lovely headache. Sorry I ruined the evening hon!!! I love you! (He was really sweet about it all though!)

And Allergies...
Nick went in for his 2nd round of allergy tests. He's allergic to tons of pollens, molds, dust mites, and pets. He's got "sensitivities" to 15 foods (peas, tomatoes, oatmeal, salmon, oranges, peaches, pecans, pineapple, crab, shrimp, lemons, grapefruit, cantaloupe, watermelon, and green peppers) ...so we have to cut out all of the above from his diet for two months and then add them back one at a time. We've decided tomatoes will be the first to return and try because he can't have BBQ, pizza, ketchup, spaghetti, etc! Next will be oatmeal, because he loves his "Honey Bunches of Oats"!!! Poor kid, loves seafood too! Hopefully we can get him figured out and nothing is major with the food allergies. He likes almost all of the named items! One of the pollens he's allergic to is Orange Blossoms.....coming soon to fields everywhere!!! Yeah, this will be fun. We're going to see about putting up a fenced area for the dog to get him outside too, at least we've been good about keeping him from the bedroom areas for the most part! "sigh"

Well, that's what we've been up to the past few days.....FUN! :)

Woot Woot!!! Round 1 is OOOOver!

I love soccer!!! Today BOTH of my kids did a freak'n awesome job playing soccer!

Elisabeth's game was at 8:30 this morning (after I was a night-owl until 4:30----YAAAAAAAWWWWWN!!!), so we got there bright and early. It was a nice cool morning, pefect for soccer. Elisabeth got in there and stopped the ball almost every time it came her way, and she had an wicked serious game face.....FOCUS!!! Team Fusion won 2-0 in round one, and go on to play their nemesis the Crush tomorrow afternoon at 2:30. But we're going to crush the Crush and it'll be "easy breezy orange-y squeezy"! (Yeah, I wish, they've beat us twice this season!)

Nick's game was at 11:30 this morning, so we ran home for a little bit and returned to the fields to watch the Mutiny win over the Wizards, 2-1. So they play tomorrow afternoon at 3:00. Nick's just stoked that he's on a winning team and moving on to round two! We have no idea who we play because none of the U-11 teams had a bye game. Guess we'll be checking the website for updated tourney brackets this evening.

Quite a conundrum we have here...So I'll get to watch about 30 minutes of Elisabeth's game and then will have to go over to Nick's game while Jerry stays to help coach the Fusion. When her game is over, they'll join me in cheering on the Mutiny. Afterward is Nick's team party at Winners, where they'll receive their trophies and we'll know whether we're planning for Championship games to be played next weekend. (The winning teams receive extra medals for the Champs.)

Woooooooooooooooo!!! Go kids, you WROK!!!

Being a Night Owl...

for the past two nights, not sure why. I've been doing searches on MySpace and Xanga and have found some cool past connections, and some surprises with what people are doing too.....strange how things turn out MUCH differently than you assume they will! (But we all know what ASS-U-ME means, right?)

I'm not sure what the deal-e-o was about that dream the other day, but I'm over it. It was just weird.

Anyway, as long as Jerry gives his acceptance to Jeff, it's official that he'll be on staff with Grace Community starting in April, which is when we have our launch. I'm so excited about our new church and how God brought us back to Wesley Chapel. Things were crazy after the move (well honestly, they have been for the past 2 years, but it was growing time...) and sometimes I wondered what the heck God had in store for us. We're starting to reconnect with old friends, connect more with old acquaintances, and make new connections with new friends, it's really exciting.

I don't know what it was, but today I feel like I've been lifted out of my "2 year funk". It was weird because it didn't happen until this evening. After school today, I ran to the bank (payday wroks) and then to the house to get Nick's soccer practice gear. Once he threw on his soccer clothes, I took him to a teammate's house where he had dinner and they took him to practice. Then, I dropped Elisabeth off at Jeff and Heather's where she was going to hang out with their crew for the evening (eating pizza and watching "Bambi 2"). At this point I had one hour to drive home (in Friday rush-hour traffic), take a quick shower (mostly to wash my hair), get dressed and drive back through more traffic. Yes, I was late (what's new, seems to be the norm these days), but I met up with Jerry (no kids for the first time since moving back here in August) and we joined a few others for "Couples Night Out" with Grace Community. It wasn't a huge turn-out, but we had a good time drinking frozen and hot cappuccinos, eating yummy desserts, and getting to know new people. (And I got to bring home a half-dozen red roses and at least that many pieces of Dove chocolates!!!) I met the president of Jeff's seminary and his wife, they were missionaries in Taiwan for 20 years, which I thought was so cool. Anyway, this event just made it more apparent that we're in the right place. Along with the connection we're making with a friend of mine from school (Nick's teammate's family), it seems to be becoming a good thing. Those things along with a really silly vanity thing, seemed to just be what I needed to end my major funk.

The vanity thing, you ask? I don't know if anyone else thought so or not, but I felt like for the first time in what seems like forever, I looked good. No, not because I've lost tons of weight in the past couple of weeks (though I have lost about 5 pounds now---yay me!!!), but because I actually liked the way my hair looked this evening! (Dumb, I know.) I donated 11 inches of my hair to Locks of Love in July 2004, and have barely cut it since(only had it cut twice since then), and it's just now at a length that makes me happy. It's kind of a sign/symbol to me...it's taken almost 2 years of regrowth to get to where I feel steady and secure, even though life isn't ever really certain.

So yeah, hopefully this is a new thing....feeling positive and not negative. Feeling good about myself, my life, my family, my church and my surroundings. I need to have more connection time with God, but just to get out of my funk for one night might be what I've needed to get myself to where I can work on that again too. I've felt abandoned by Him, and now I feel like I can finally try to approach Him and let Him back into being an active part of my life. Not because of any major "spiritual experience", but just because I feel like the funk is gone!

Wow, I feel so unstressed at this moment....if only this feeling could last! (Now to get some sleep before a day of soccer---8:30 a.m. game thankyouverymuch---and buddies joining Nick for milkshakes and a movie. Night owl life is going to catch up with me....gonna have to drink a bit of coffee tomorrow!!!)

"Sigh"....

I had a dream this morning I can't shake. It's been almost 6 months, things are turning for the better.....but still I have this feeling of sadness about what could've been if things weren't so stupid. Oh well, it's in the past. I just had a weird dream that made me sad, there were many good things amidst the struggles and stupidity....but it wasn't up to me, was it? Is it ever? I'm just along for the ride in this thing we call life and youth ministry. I try to take the wheel at times, but the road never goes where I think it should, and it's a much rougher road than I had mapped out. I miss being uber-immersed in full-time ministry, taking up all of our spare time and extra energy. Yes, we're on the verge of doing that again, and that will probably help things have a better perspective. But until then, my desire is to do that and yet we're not. I miss being "the youth pastor's wife". I miss having my kids being around great older kids whom they look up to....kids who are pretty good influences on my own children. I miss the silly stories, and funny episodes of throwing socks in people's cars in downtown Orlando, drinking Green Tea, everyone yelling "safety" (yeah, I know, that one makes me sound pathetic)....I'm just a big kid really and I miss hanging out and having a positive influence on the youth who are led into my life. I miss it and when it starts up again, it won't be soon enough.

Doesn't it seem weird, how when you're in the midst of all of the stress and crap that youth ministry can deal out you think about other things you could be doing that would make your life much less chaotic....but then when you're not doing it, you can't think of anything you'd rather do than be in youth ministry? Youth ministry....such a weird animal!

Hopefully in a month or two we'll be drowning in activity and I won't have weird dreams that make me sad!

Can't believe I forgot to brag...

on my kids and their report cards!!! They came out the week before last, but then we all got sick...

Elisabeth (a "Kindergartener", kind of) got her first report card with grades. In our county, they get E (excellent), S (satisfactory), N (needs improvement) or U (unsatisfactory)...this is for Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Anyway, she received all S's (I guess a "B" average) in all of her FIRST GRADE LEVEL classes, except for Math, where she received an E (aka "A"). She is doing first grade work as a Kindergartener, and still basically making A's and B's! She's an awesome reader, and knows her math!

Nick (a 5th grader) got all A's in all subjects, except 6th grade math, where he received a B. But considering it's a grade level higher than his age, I'm proud of him! He's been reading a LOT and has a lot of reading points (each book has a computer test and is worth points based on the difficulty of the book). His goal for the school year is 200 points, and I think he's almost half-way there. His writing and drawing is fantabulous, and he's just doing awesome, compared to his rough start in the first quarter. He's still in band, playing the saxophone, and really enjoys it along with learning to play his guitar. (No lessons yet, but he's pretty good at figuring it out!)

Both kids are doing awesome in soccer this season. Nick's team only has one loss and was tied for 1st until this past Saturday when they lost their game 0-1 and fell to 3rd place. They still have a shot at the championship because they have awesome coaches. Elisabeth's team is in 3rd place and worked their way there from 5th or 6th, I believe. Jerry and our new pastor are coaching her team and doing a great job.

Okay, yeah...that's my little brag! :)