So...the weekend of craziness is over. Friday started out with a bang. Megan had a field trip to the "school of the deaf". I decided to be cool and left the school early to pick up coffee for a few of the moms and said i would meet them there. I spent my first hour at the school wandering around the entire campus. I thought that 25 6 year olds would be a sound easy to pick up considering i was in a school that was stone silent. It was like being in a horror movie. It was errily quite for a school. And i somehow ended up in the basement which had these rooms that looked not unlike padded cells. I finally (the last five minutes of the tour) found them...in the greenhouse?
Than it was off to help at the lasagna dinner. This was an all afternoon, all evening event. Good times had by all. I sung a song for the talent show. I changed the words from "mad world". It was funny. if i don't say so myself.
i left that at 10 (skipping clean up...scandalous i know) to go home and get in bed because i had to get up at 6:00 to go pick up mike and get to the half marathon.
we pulled into downtown and there were TONS of people. i have never been to something like this before. i started making fun of those people that run before the race. you see them jogging around and think "dude, you're about to run 13 miles...take a break!". of course mike was one of those guys. ha! (i guess when you're shooting for 6.15 minute miles you MIGHT need a big of a warm up :) anyway, i left his group of running freaks to meet up with the other two people i knew running. both of them were named mike as well. when we were all in homegroup together it got very confusing :) anyway, i ran the race with mike carroll. i like to think i could have gone faster, but he sprinted at the end and beat me. it was windy and rainy and everyone was soaked by the end. the people who were there to cheer everyone on were worth it just to watch. i loved it.
i finished in about 2:12. that is about 10 minute miles. i was shootin for that. i left to meet up with everyone at bob evans and while attempting an illegal turn got smashed by another car. so than i look like a total dork dripping wet with a wrecked car. good thing i'm such an old hand at these kind of things. the woman who hit me didn't have insurance. since we only keep minimum coverage on our cars it wasn't really a big deal, and she was profously happy when i told i didn't need to call the cops. she hugged me and told me i was her gaurdan angle. ha! the tow truck guy had a little scrappy dog in his truck that commadeared my lap when i got in for the ride and remained there for the ride home. justin told me that i would NEVER EVER EVER be allowed to own a motorcycle. sad.
by now it's about 12:30 and time to head to the "baily bash" which is the school's big fundraiser. I spent two hours braiding little girls hair. we than walked home (i love walking home from school), packed up michael and left to drop him off at a sleepover. (where the turned on indiana jones: temple of doom...the one where they cut the guys heart out with a knife? michael FREAKED. they turned it off. seriously. temple of doom for 7 year olds? oh my.) anyway, at this point i am starting to experience first hand the theory that when you run a long race, your immune system shuts down. i had a sore throat in the morning. by now i have lost my voice. we head to a friends graduation from college/birthday party. i stand around justin and listen to him talk about cars. since i can't strike up a conversation of my own. ha!
we come home and i fall into bed. sunday morning is "neghiborhood clean up day". it's raining. so i get a text that it's cancelled. but at 11:00 when i emerge from bed i see them all out there working. i go out and help. still no voice. the rest of the day is wash. i lay in bed. emmet pees all over the hosue. i feel horrible and exhausted.
monday i felt ok again. tuesday i work the polls. you have to be there at 5:30 am sharp. i set the alarm. the alarm doesn't go off. i wake up at 5:25 and SPRINT. when your day starts with an exclamation of "OH SHIT!" it is sure to be interesting :) seriously, it would have been impressive to see a person get going as fast as i did. i make it in time. spend the day playing the young whippersnapper with the old peeps who are working the polls with me. i love old people. they have the best sense of humor. they know what's funny and when to laugh.
and that...in a nutshell has been the past week. good times. good times :)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Things from april
so april has been a good month... and will end in crazy caios. this weekend is the youth group's annual lasagna dinner, my half marathon, the "baily bash", michael's sleepover, and another good friends college graduation party... and that's all within friday and saturday. sunday is empty. thank goodness :)
last weekend was megan's baptism. we drove up to grandma mary's house for the BIG event. megan was beside herself excited about this. she had a smile all day. it was really pretty adorable. i had had three beers beforehand at a birthday party for a friend and felt like i was going to die the night we drove up. i remained in the fetal position on the car drive up and went to bed as soon as we got there... and it's wierd caz it's not like i was drunk. but i felt awful. and was so bummed i couldn't stay up and hang out with my aunt whom i don't see often. it was rediculous...
there was a coo in the neighborhood last night. the girls (megan, remi, and kate) were spreading a visious rumor that michael had broken a nest worth of baby bird eggs. michael came in the house SOBBING because the girls were telling everyone lies about him! this is how you know he wasn't guilty. the tears. so i asked him
"did you touch the eggs?"
"NO!"
"well why are the girls saying that?"
"well...i only touched one! but i didn't break any!"
so i head outside to track down the girls. at this point, there was a large mob of children walking over to my house with displeased looks on their faces and ice cream cones in their hands (the ice cream truck had just come). i met them at the end of the driveway. i told them...
"hey guys, you need to stop saying that michael broke the eggs. he says he didn't and that he only touched one."
"well...michael lies somtimes" pointed out ty (neighbor boy)
"well, everyone lies somtimes...but how do you know that the eggs didn't hatch? maybe that's why there were broken egg shells?" (this tidbit of genius in my arguement i cannot take credit for. aunt becca was on the phone coaching me and it was her point :) my arguement was met with a pondering silence. having quited the mob i told them again "you can't blame someone for something you didn't know for sure they did and than tell everyone about it..."
ahh the drama...
all the neighbor women got together last night and i played bunko for the first time. that was fun. and interesting ;)
in other news...i am going to be doing a cleanse next week. i know i am in very good shape right now. my pants fit and i'll be running a half marathon in two days, after all...but i'm at least 10 pounds higher than i should be. and i am doing an experiment on myself. i am going to try a cleanse. and when mom comes home i am going to try eating macro. i will see which i feel better on. so i will be documenting this next week... so that should be interesting :)
i have tried uploading pictures, but i'm not sure if it worked...so there may or may not be pics with this... cheers!
last weekend was megan's baptism. we drove up to grandma mary's house for the BIG event. megan was beside herself excited about this. she had a smile all day. it was really pretty adorable. i had had three beers beforehand at a birthday party for a friend and felt like i was going to die the night we drove up. i remained in the fetal position on the car drive up and went to bed as soon as we got there... and it's wierd caz it's not like i was drunk. but i felt awful. and was so bummed i couldn't stay up and hang out with my aunt whom i don't see often. it was rediculous...
there was a coo in the neighborhood last night. the girls (megan, remi, and kate) were spreading a visious rumor that michael had broken a nest worth of baby bird eggs. michael came in the house SOBBING because the girls were telling everyone lies about him! this is how you know he wasn't guilty. the tears. so i asked him
"did you touch the eggs?"
"NO!"
"well why are the girls saying that?"
"well...i only touched one! but i didn't break any!"
so i head outside to track down the girls. at this point, there was a large mob of children walking over to my house with displeased looks on their faces and ice cream cones in their hands (the ice cream truck had just come). i met them at the end of the driveway. i told them...
"hey guys, you need to stop saying that michael broke the eggs. he says he didn't and that he only touched one."
"well...michael lies somtimes" pointed out ty (neighbor boy)
"well, everyone lies somtimes...but how do you know that the eggs didn't hatch? maybe that's why there were broken egg shells?" (this tidbit of genius in my arguement i cannot take credit for. aunt becca was on the phone coaching me and it was her point :) my arguement was met with a pondering silence. having quited the mob i told them again "you can't blame someone for something you didn't know for sure they did and than tell everyone about it..."
ahh the drama...
all the neighbor women got together last night and i played bunko for the first time. that was fun. and interesting ;)
in other news...i am going to be doing a cleanse next week. i know i am in very good shape right now. my pants fit and i'll be running a half marathon in two days, after all...but i'm at least 10 pounds higher than i should be. and i am doing an experiment on myself. i am going to try a cleanse. and when mom comes home i am going to try eating macro. i will see which i feel better on. so i will be documenting this next week... so that should be interesting :)
i have tried uploading pictures, but i'm not sure if it worked...so there may or may not be pics with this... cheers!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
8 years and kalahari hookie day
so justin and i celebrated our 8 year annaversary by going out to this little resturant in german village called "thurmans" where they are famous for the "thurmanator" which is this gigantic burger with everything from mushrooms to bacon and onions and cheese and 2 pounds of burger. we split one and were both stuffed to the gills by the time we had finished our halves. eviently they started making them when some guys from the arnold fest came to that place and ordered two different burgers and ate them both. people are nuts. anyway, we ate, walked around victorian village, went and got coffee, and met up with jennifer and a couple in our homegroup to see a show where i ran into an old friend of my brothers who took one look at my blond self and said "you're aaron may's sister!?" gah!
than on tuesday we let the kids skip school and took them to kalahari, which is "the worlds largest water park" for the day. justin and lindsay took emmet.. (and evidently he cried all night at their house...poor baby!) justin got distracted on the drive up so it took us an extra hour, but we took the secnic route :) the kids had an absolute blast. we didn't get too many pictures caz it's a water park, and camera's don't do too well with water... we played from 1-9 and the kids wanted to get up and go back the next morning! (which we couldn't do caz justin had to work at noon...) michael's favorite part was the hot tub that went outside and you could look at the moon. this would have been relaxing if there haden't been for all the kids swimming around (and worse...pubescent boys/girls...truly a horrible breed to be around when the girls are all wearing bikinis...but don't get me started...) megan loved the roller coaster like water ride. we got stuck on it the first time. they had to get on their walkie talkies and have someone come and get us off the part we had gotten stuck on. it was pretty cool. that was our first try. megan wanted to get right back on after that and we rode it several times after. (justin had been behind us in line and thought we had flown out of the shoot when the ride stopped and was freaking out evidently...at least that's what he said...which means he was probably worse than that :) we all jumped on the hotel beds and ate crumby things and i didn't have to clean any of it up. we ate at ryan's steakhouse, which always reminds me of grandma ruth and school shopping. we slept. and the kids didn't want to leave... good times had by all.
and now i have 160 bags of mulch to lay (plus 40 at the rental..)hopefully it won't rain today... :)
than on tuesday we let the kids skip school and took them to kalahari, which is "the worlds largest water park" for the day. justin and lindsay took emmet.. (and evidently he cried all night at their house...poor baby!) justin got distracted on the drive up so it took us an extra hour, but we took the secnic route :) the kids had an absolute blast. we didn't get too many pictures caz it's a water park, and camera's don't do too well with water... we played from 1-9 and the kids wanted to get up and go back the next morning! (which we couldn't do caz justin had to work at noon...) michael's favorite part was the hot tub that went outside and you could look at the moon. this would have been relaxing if there haden't been for all the kids swimming around (and worse...pubescent boys/girls...truly a horrible breed to be around when the girls are all wearing bikinis...but don't get me started...) megan loved the roller coaster like water ride. we got stuck on it the first time. they had to get on their walkie talkies and have someone come and get us off the part we had gotten stuck on. it was pretty cool. that was our first try. megan wanted to get right back on after that and we rode it several times after. (justin had been behind us in line and thought we had flown out of the shoot when the ride stopped and was freaking out evidently...at least that's what he said...which means he was probably worse than that :) we all jumped on the hotel beds and ate crumby things and i didn't have to clean any of it up. we ate at ryan's steakhouse, which always reminds me of grandma ruth and school shopping. we slept. and the kids didn't want to leave... good times had by all.
and now i have 160 bags of mulch to lay (plus 40 at the rental..)hopefully it won't rain today... :)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
quick update
i will post some picture next time...i promise.
i start chem 100 next week. i will be a college student...again ;) i am torn between getting a two year degree in surgical nursing and getting my mba. it would be about the same time either way since i already have an associates in business...so i am kinda leaning toward mba...today at least...
the past few days have been amazing and beautiful. megan and i have been going on adventures. we will go to the park or take a walk and always manage to find a creek, pond, stagnant body of water...at which point megan will take off shoes and sox and pull her pants up to her butt and wade in. inevitably getting almost entirely soaked... yesterday i am pretty sure she pooped outside of the bathroom at the park. she claimed she couldn't find the door and assured me that everyone would just think it was dog poop. oh megs....
michael continues to work hard at school. he brought his report card home yesterday. school isn't that important anyway :)
i have been trying to stay on task with the running and incooporate lifting classes with my training. i was at a class yesterday where i overheard a woman (who lifts at least twice what i do in the class) talking about working out as you age. she said when she turned 60 she hired a personal trainer thinking "lets see what the body can do"..she is now 66. ha! she has a body better than most 20 year olds...and certainly better than mine! she is considering signing up for a marathon this year. geesh!
justin is good. this weekend is the mens confrence at church where there will be arm wressling, riding bulls, and one very jealous wife at home...i am thinking of consoling myself with watching gi jane :)
emmet is starting to develop a very "nana" (from peter pan...the nurse dog) like personality. he will go outside with me and megan and look at us. if either of us move or make a peep he is staring at us wating for something bad to happen that he can deal with. it's pretty funny. the house training is going well. we have started letting him sleep outside of his little room. last night he woke me up to go out and slept on the floor on my side of the bed the rest of the time. as long as you make sure he gets a chance to poop before you leave in the morning he's usually good in the house. so progress is good.
i start chem 100 next week. i will be a college student...again ;) i am torn between getting a two year degree in surgical nursing and getting my mba. it would be about the same time either way since i already have an associates in business...so i am kinda leaning toward mba...today at least...
the past few days have been amazing and beautiful. megan and i have been going on adventures. we will go to the park or take a walk and always manage to find a creek, pond, stagnant body of water...at which point megan will take off shoes and sox and pull her pants up to her butt and wade in. inevitably getting almost entirely soaked... yesterday i am pretty sure she pooped outside of the bathroom at the park. she claimed she couldn't find the door and assured me that everyone would just think it was dog poop. oh megs....
michael continues to work hard at school. he brought his report card home yesterday. school isn't that important anyway :)
i have been trying to stay on task with the running and incooporate lifting classes with my training. i was at a class yesterday where i overheard a woman (who lifts at least twice what i do in the class) talking about working out as you age. she said when she turned 60 she hired a personal trainer thinking "lets see what the body can do"..she is now 66. ha! she has a body better than most 20 year olds...and certainly better than mine! she is considering signing up for a marathon this year. geesh!
justin is good. this weekend is the mens confrence at church where there will be arm wressling, riding bulls, and one very jealous wife at home...i am thinking of consoling myself with watching gi jane :)
emmet is starting to develop a very "nana" (from peter pan...the nurse dog) like personality. he will go outside with me and megan and look at us. if either of us move or make a peep he is staring at us wating for something bad to happen that he can deal with. it's pretty funny. the house training is going well. we have started letting him sleep outside of his little room. last night he woke me up to go out and slept on the floor on my side of the bed the rest of the time. as long as you make sure he gets a chance to poop before you leave in the morning he's usually good in the house. so progress is good.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Mostly pictures...
so...my grandma gave me tickets to disney on ice. i took amanda, aislyn, kaycie, and megs... good times were had by all.
this is the first of two steps in dying my hair. i feel like i need to walk around with a sign on my neck that says "yes, i know it looks bad...i'm not finished yet!!!"
we had 18 CRAZY kids running around at michael's birthday party. it was a 'break dancing party' complete with strobe light, a fog machine, and glow sticks... it was pretty awesome...
this is the first of two steps in dying my hair. i feel like i need to walk around with a sign on my neck that says "yes, i know it looks bad...i'm not finished yet!!!"
and emmet is getting bigger...
and the sun is out today (not that i'm one of those whiners that has been constantly complaining about the grey weather...i kinda like it...but i also like the fact that the kids have been running around in the front yard (shooting water guns!) for most of the morning...)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
big dog...big poop (and shopping)
emmet currently has grown up dog size paws and grown up dog size poo. he has gained 5 pounds every week since we have gotten him. he is going to be so FREAKING HUGE!!! (i love it!)
in other news...last week was "justin works and than has something to do in the evening" five out of six nights in a row. this left a deranged hilary by sunday...and so needless to say i had a few hall passes laying around and used one, in a moment of epic stupidity, to go shopping...which is to say "i used a free afternoon in self inflicted torture" :) i always forget that i hate shopping for clothes. i ventured out into the "grown up" part of filines basement...for the first time in my life. and than i felt kinda rediculous that this was the first time i have been clothes shopping not in the juniors section.. and than i decided to try on swimsuites. i always enter this endeavor with optomisum...and end with dispair. i have swimmers arms (muscular is how my mom puts it...), rediculous boobs, and a waist that has been so streched by babies that even my ob commented "oh wow...you have a LOT of strech marks!" thanks dr. devoe ;) (i think that was payback for when i first met him and told him that he had delivered me..i make you feel old...you make me feel streched out :) anyway...top that all off with my "may not butt" and nuddest beaches sound better and better... needless to say i found nothing... (other than a pair of skinny jeans for 7 bucks..in the junior's section :)
in other news...last week was "justin works and than has something to do in the evening" five out of six nights in a row. this left a deranged hilary by sunday...and so needless to say i had a few hall passes laying around and used one, in a moment of epic stupidity, to go shopping...which is to say "i used a free afternoon in self inflicted torture" :) i always forget that i hate shopping for clothes. i ventured out into the "grown up" part of filines basement...for the first time in my life. and than i felt kinda rediculous that this was the first time i have been clothes shopping not in the juniors section.. and than i decided to try on swimsuites. i always enter this endeavor with optomisum...and end with dispair. i have swimmers arms (muscular is how my mom puts it...), rediculous boobs, and a waist that has been so streched by babies that even my ob commented "oh wow...you have a LOT of strech marks!" thanks dr. devoe ;) (i think that was payback for when i first met him and told him that he had delivered me..i make you feel old...you make me feel streched out :) anyway...top that all off with my "may not butt" and nuddest beaches sound better and better... needless to say i found nothing... (other than a pair of skinny jeans for 7 bucks..in the junior's section :)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Life goes on
so christmas came and was wonderful and is now over.
michael has started at the new school. his teacher seems very sweet and he says he likes this class better. the reasons are the following:
-he has his own desk with a cubby
-he has an extra recess
-he has WAY less homework
-his teacher is better (read: prettier...although if you ask him he will say it's because she isn't fat!!)
i have put him and megan in tae kuan doe. the first class was monday. after about five minutes of streching, megan raises her hand and asks when do they start with the kicking and punching? this is a girl who will be able to take care of herself!!!
i am now the proud owner of an english mastiff. this particular type of dog is known for being loyal, layed back, and easy to train. so far emmet (yes...i named him after a character from the twilight books) has been amazing. he is totally sweet and hardly ever barks. everyone loves him. and his paws leave bigger prints than dogs twice his size...and he is only three months. his father weighed 220 pounds :) the potty training has it's ups and downs. although he's at the point now where if he has an accident it's usually my fault because i didn't take him out when i should have. the tricky part comes when he poops in the house because you have to catch him quick or he will EAT IT!!! uggg! maybe he is just ashamed of himself and is doing his part in cleaning up...anyway...gross :)
i spend the week turning the "we have so many rooms what do we do with all this space...espically the ugly burnt red room off the laundry room" room into the "library" i kept it nutral put am putting bright colors in it. i got the kids each a bean bag which they love. i brought all their books down from upstairs. megan was reading in it the first day it was finished and said "this is a great room. i love it"...so that's been the big prodject around here...
not much else to report. justin works. i clean. michael and megan grow like weeds. they are so fun. last night was "keys family party" which is really just us eating dinner and watching a movie or playing a game together, but the kids LOVE these nights. we watched "hook" and michael thought all the slap stick funny parts were hilarious... anyway...this is all for now... i will upload some pics later from the other computer...
michael has started at the new school. his teacher seems very sweet and he says he likes this class better. the reasons are the following:
-he has his own desk with a cubby
-he has an extra recess
-he has WAY less homework
-his teacher is better (read: prettier...although if you ask him he will say it's because she isn't fat!!)
i have put him and megan in tae kuan doe. the first class was monday. after about five minutes of streching, megan raises her hand and asks when do they start with the kicking and punching? this is a girl who will be able to take care of herself!!!
i am now the proud owner of an english mastiff. this particular type of dog is known for being loyal, layed back, and easy to train. so far emmet (yes...i named him after a character from the twilight books) has been amazing. he is totally sweet and hardly ever barks. everyone loves him. and his paws leave bigger prints than dogs twice his size...and he is only three months. his father weighed 220 pounds :) the potty training has it's ups and downs. although he's at the point now where if he has an accident it's usually my fault because i didn't take him out when i should have. the tricky part comes when he poops in the house because you have to catch him quick or he will EAT IT!!! uggg! maybe he is just ashamed of himself and is doing his part in cleaning up...anyway...gross :)
i spend the week turning the "we have so many rooms what do we do with all this space...espically the ugly burnt red room off the laundry room" room into the "library" i kept it nutral put am putting bright colors in it. i got the kids each a bean bag which they love. i brought all their books down from upstairs. megan was reading in it the first day it was finished and said "this is a great room. i love it"...so that's been the big prodject around here...
not much else to report. justin works. i clean. michael and megan grow like weeds. they are so fun. last night was "keys family party" which is really just us eating dinner and watching a movie or playing a game together, but the kids LOVE these nights. we watched "hook" and michael thought all the slap stick funny parts were hilarious... anyway...this is all for now... i will upload some pics later from the other computer...
Saturday, December 19, 2009
CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!!
so the past few weeks have been insane for us. justin has been working. michael has been struggling in school. every day he would come home with a note saying "michael was disruptive" "michael wasn't paying attention" "michael was distracting others" and when he broke down one night while we were doing homework (which typically involves 3 pages of math, reviwing spelling words, praticing sight words, and reading for 15-20 minutes) michael broke down into tears saying "i am bad at spelling!!! all the other kids always get smily faces on their tests and i always have a lot of words wrong i have to rewrite" and michael is an easy going boy, for something like this to bother him so much bothered me a lot. and we have been working with him a lot the past few months. anyway, after lots of talking and praying, we have decided to move him to the local school (which is a dublin city school with is an AMAZING school district, and since we moved, we are literally three houses from the school). our thought behind this was that a public school would not quite so intense and the format is a little more modern (aka...where michael is now, they sit facing the front of the class, and seem to sit for a lot of the day and at dublin, there is an extra recess, and hardly any homework at night ect...) this was a really hard decision to come to because we really like the school michael is at now, but it just wasn't the right place for him. we are going to leave megan there to finish the year with mrs. patch, than probably move her over next fall as well.
with all of justin's work, and crazy christmas stuff to do, i have resorted to getting him addicted to coffee and we have been getting up an extra 20 minutes before the kids to have a mini coffee date in the morning...which has been really cool.
megan continues to be a big mouth. she asked her ballet instructor the other day "are you married yet?" turns out the ballet instructor was just getting out of an ugly break up with her fiance of six months and had just moved back in with her mother. nice meagn...nice! :)
and i want a dog. and justin has the next 8 days off of work. so we are enjoying that. merry christmas!!!
with all of justin's work, and crazy christmas stuff to do, i have resorted to getting him addicted to coffee and we have been getting up an extra 20 minutes before the kids to have a mini coffee date in the morning...which has been really cool.
megan continues to be a big mouth. she asked her ballet instructor the other day "are you married yet?" turns out the ballet instructor was just getting out of an ugly break up with her fiance of six months and had just moved back in with her mother. nice meagn...nice! :)
and i want a dog. and justin has the next 8 days off of work. so we are enjoying that. merry christmas!!!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Dear Santa
so...for anyone interested...here's my christmas list ;) (hey! you will not get what you want if you don't ask!!!)
-a running water belt (this is a belt you use for long runs and has several small bottles you strap on a belt)
-ceramic coffee mug (this is white and basically looks just like a cup you'd get from a coffee shop, only it's reusable and ceramic with a plastic lid)
-new moon 2010 calender :)
-shirt from urban outfitters that says "save the wild things" (justin can help you with this)
-cute gloves from urban outfitters (justin knows which ones)
-clinique lipgloss. this come on a keychain of three different shades. i'm not sure how else to describe it...
-aromatherapy "sleep" scent from bath and body works of bubble bath or lotion
-a metal sign that says "you can do it!" at half price books (justin knows which one)
-regular and mini spatulas, william sonoma has some really cute mini ones in a set of yellow, orange, and green... (i seem to only have one left ;)
-an oven mitt (i seem to have lost mine)
-a cool looking liquid measuring cup (mine seems to have cracked from excessive use :)
books:
wake - lisa mcmann
fade - lisa mcmann
beauty: a retelling of the story of beauty and the beast - robin mckinley
gift card places:
half price books
carabou coffee
coco and lily
charlotte rouse
-a running water belt (this is a belt you use for long runs and has several small bottles you strap on a belt)
-ceramic coffee mug (this is white and basically looks just like a cup you'd get from a coffee shop, only it's reusable and ceramic with a plastic lid)
-new moon 2010 calender :)
-shirt from urban outfitters that says "save the wild things" (justin can help you with this)
-cute gloves from urban outfitters (justin knows which ones)
-clinique lipgloss. this come on a keychain of three different shades. i'm not sure how else to describe it...
-aromatherapy "sleep" scent from bath and body works of bubble bath or lotion
-a metal sign that says "you can do it!" at half price books (justin knows which one)
-regular and mini spatulas, william sonoma has some really cute mini ones in a set of yellow, orange, and green... (i seem to only have one left ;)
-an oven mitt (i seem to have lost mine)
-a cool looking liquid measuring cup (mine seems to have cracked from excessive use :)
books:
wake - lisa mcmann
fade - lisa mcmann
beauty: a retelling of the story of beauty and the beast - robin mckinley
gift card places:
half price books
carabou coffee
coco and lily
charlotte rouse
Monday, October 26, 2009
life...post flu
so the past few weeks i've been a bit sick. nothing deadly, just the sort of thing that never goes away. justin (who will hereafter be mentioned as "hypocondreac man") kept saying, " you need to get some medicine" blah blah blah. and we all know, women who chop wood and resurface driveways, do not ever need medicine. so finally when i started hacking up pea green goo, i asked my mom (who thankfully is a nurse, otherwise i would probably NEVER listen to her) who told me to get an antibiotic. so i did. and now i'm fine. but i still think i would have been fine eventually...
it's fall. my favorite season. we have been (too) busy with life and church stuff. i think we are going to cut back on a few things. i just didn't anticipate how percious time in the evenings would become when justin started working fulltime and michael was in school all day. it's like liquid gold!
halloween is this week. we haven't even gone trick or treating and already we have bags of candy... needless to say, after this weekend, i don't think we will ever need to buy candy again... i will be sure to post pics of the kids.
not a whole lot else to report. i am starting to dread the raking that will be starting today and probably end when i fall to the ground, convinced that death is better than raking anymore. i love all the huge numerous oak trees in our yard. but we have a big yard...and a lot of trees...
welp...this is all for now.
it's fall. my favorite season. we have been (too) busy with life and church stuff. i think we are going to cut back on a few things. i just didn't anticipate how percious time in the evenings would become when justin started working fulltime and michael was in school all day. it's like liquid gold!
halloween is this week. we haven't even gone trick or treating and already we have bags of candy... needless to say, after this weekend, i don't think we will ever need to buy candy again... i will be sure to post pics of the kids.
not a whole lot else to report. i am starting to dread the raking that will be starting today and probably end when i fall to the ground, convinced that death is better than raking anymore. i love all the huge numerous oak trees in our yard. but we have a big yard...and a lot of trees...
welp...this is all for now.
Friday, October 2, 2009
i'll chop wood, but i won't wear flannel
i have memories of my dad chopping wood. i remember watching him do it. and it looked like a lot of fun. and now, i have my own grown up house, and it has a grown up fireplace. and there are some rather large logs in my back yard that need chopping. and i have been thinking about how much fun it would be to get an ax and cut them myself. the old fashioned way... i wasn't sure how to get an ax. it's kinda one of those things you don't really know where to get, because it's one of those things you already have...and have always had. at least that's how i precieve an ax. and suprisingly there wasn't one at home deopt. not suprisingly there was one at wall mart (?), but it looked cheap, plastic, and was 20$. anyway, bob found out about my dreams of axdom and he (of course) had a few in his garage he said i could borrow. he thought i should just use a chain saw...but i would have none of that. andrew (my brother in law...visiting last week) and bob thought this was very funny. and no, doubt, the picture of me chopping wood in my (snobby dublin) backyard (which backs up to a semi busy road...as well as the bike path) is one that may be humorious. but i was determined. and so...bob handed over the ax with many cautions. and off i went, ax slung over my shoulder, huge smile on my face...
i had the chance to chop wood that very night. i went to the back. and started. now, i don't know how the experts do it, but i'm having a little trouble with doing much. i have figured that, in order to really get a good wack in, you have to swing with complete abandon. but swinging with complete abandon throws your aim off...slightly. if i could have managed to hit the same spot twice, i might have been able to do some real damage. i did succeed in completly chopping one log into fireplace size pieces, but the other logs seem to not want to split. justin came out to watch, and i was making it look so fun, that he gave it a try. when he was not any better than i was at it (actually, quite a bit worse) i enjoyed laughing at him and calling him a "city boy"
chopping wood is hard work. and i wonder what all the passers by are thinking. they certainly are thinking something...because they are all probably getting neck strains from staring as they go by. and i am thinking "this would be a good way to get out any frustration a person might have...but i'm not frustrated..." but upon reflection, i have been very frustrated the past week. and i have been chopping (a phrase here which means, hopelessly pockmarking large pieces of wood) whenever it's not raining. and why my frustration? over something that is the most reasonable, logical, subconcions thing to be frustrated about. your childs performance at school...of course. pathetically common...
now i have smart kids. they're smarter than me. and i know that most people are dumber than me. so that makes them pretty high up on brains. but michael...sweet, compliant, loving, pleasing michael, sucks at 1st grade. he's so bad, 99% of kids scored higher on the "national achievement test". it's so bad that the teacher is "very concerned" and she has never had a student "do so poorly"...in all her years of teaching. and i would probably be less worried if i knew that he was a slow little boy...but he's not. which means that he's just not paying attention. and yes, he is probably a little A.D.D. and i refuse to be one of those parents who hangs all their ideas of self worth on how their little darling does in life. but it's frustrating when your brillant kid is sucking at school... and so...i chop wood. :)
i had the chance to chop wood that very night. i went to the back. and started. now, i don't know how the experts do it, but i'm having a little trouble with doing much. i have figured that, in order to really get a good wack in, you have to swing with complete abandon. but swinging with complete abandon throws your aim off...slightly. if i could have managed to hit the same spot twice, i might have been able to do some real damage. i did succeed in completly chopping one log into fireplace size pieces, but the other logs seem to not want to split. justin came out to watch, and i was making it look so fun, that he gave it a try. when he was not any better than i was at it (actually, quite a bit worse) i enjoyed laughing at him and calling him a "city boy"
chopping wood is hard work. and i wonder what all the passers by are thinking. they certainly are thinking something...because they are all probably getting neck strains from staring as they go by. and i am thinking "this would be a good way to get out any frustration a person might have...but i'm not frustrated..." but upon reflection, i have been very frustrated the past week. and i have been chopping (a phrase here which means, hopelessly pockmarking large pieces of wood) whenever it's not raining. and why my frustration? over something that is the most reasonable, logical, subconcions thing to be frustrated about. your childs performance at school...of course. pathetically common...
now i have smart kids. they're smarter than me. and i know that most people are dumber than me. so that makes them pretty high up on brains. but michael...sweet, compliant, loving, pleasing michael, sucks at 1st grade. he's so bad, 99% of kids scored higher on the "national achievement test". it's so bad that the teacher is "very concerned" and she has never had a student "do so poorly"...in all her years of teaching. and i would probably be less worried if i knew that he was a slow little boy...but he's not. which means that he's just not paying attention. and yes, he is probably a little A.D.D. and i refuse to be one of those parents who hangs all their ideas of self worth on how their little darling does in life. but it's frustrating when your brillant kid is sucking at school... and so...i chop wood. :)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
the motherland
so the time to take our trip to greece arrived. aaron and candy took us to the airport. and off we went. instead of trying to write out all the detials...i will summarize...
worst part: sleeping on the floor or the gatwick airport...not as bad as the time i had to sleep on the bench at la...but probably ranked up on the top 5 sleepless nights
craziest person: mom...was like a bloodhound on the scent when we arrived at aberdeen. the city was BEAUTIFUL. and we tramped around looking for the golfcourse, which we found. it was next to the sea. and we wondered why old grandpa gibb ever left scotland in the first place
funnest thing: justin's suitcase broke pretty early on in the trip. he rigged up a high tech coat handle and spend the remaining 8 days carring it around that way...
most annoying: "POLIOGISE!!!" what the "albanians" would yell in the morning on the loud speaker when they were trying to collect trash (that they would go recycle to make some money)
prettiest place: these three hills...the "three sisters" or something like that. this was somewhere in the highlands of scotland...sooo beautiful!
most shocking for hilary: waking up in the middle of the night to see a complete stranger strip down to his underware and climb onto the bottom of my bunk!
most shocking for justin: something simular...but worse :)
nastiest moment: when the toilet on the bus taking us back to london flooded...this was an 8 hours trip
best meal: probably a tie between fish n chips in london, and sardeens at mom's house... unless you can count baklava as dessert...in which case, that would win hands down :)
worst meal: haggis...with a little black pudding (made with pigs blood) but you have to try it right!
coolest castle: eddenborough
most beautiful moment: when michigan beat notre dame!!! (yes even in greece these things are important)
biggest challange (for mom): making megan's princess dress... i thought the pattern looked easy. evidently i was wrong :) but mom trudged through!!! and it was so worth it! (right mom? :)
anyway...the trip was great. and now it's back to life :)
worst part: sleeping on the floor or the gatwick airport...not as bad as the time i had to sleep on the bench at la...but probably ranked up on the top 5 sleepless nights
craziest person: mom...was like a bloodhound on the scent when we arrived at aberdeen. the city was BEAUTIFUL. and we tramped around looking for the golfcourse, which we found. it was next to the sea. and we wondered why old grandpa gibb ever left scotland in the first place
funnest thing: justin's suitcase broke pretty early on in the trip. he rigged up a high tech coat handle and spend the remaining 8 days carring it around that way...
most annoying: "POLIOGISE!!!" what the "albanians" would yell in the morning on the loud speaker when they were trying to collect trash (that they would go recycle to make some money)
prettiest place: these three hills...the "three sisters" or something like that. this was somewhere in the highlands of scotland...sooo beautiful!
most shocking for hilary: waking up in the middle of the night to see a complete stranger strip down to his underware and climb onto the bottom of my bunk!
most shocking for justin: something simular...but worse :)
nastiest moment: when the toilet on the bus taking us back to london flooded...this was an 8 hours trip
best meal: probably a tie between fish n chips in london, and sardeens at mom's house... unless you can count baklava as dessert...in which case, that would win hands down :)
worst meal: haggis...with a little black pudding (made with pigs blood) but you have to try it right!
coolest castle: eddenborough
most beautiful moment: when michigan beat notre dame!!! (yes even in greece these things are important)
biggest challange (for mom): making megan's princess dress... i thought the pattern looked easy. evidently i was wrong :) but mom trudged through!!! and it was so worth it! (right mom? :)
anyway...the trip was great. and now it's back to life :)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
school shopping, drug dealing
so yesterday was a day filled with excitement and adventure. i have discovered a new form of torture. namely, school shopping. now maybe i have had my memories replaced, or maybe my kids are just bad, but i remember school shopping being a pleasant experience. grandma ruth always met us at wall mart in mt. vernon. we always loaded up the cart with school supplies that we may, or may not, have needed, and were allowed to get whatever we wanted really. than grandma took us out to eat as much as we could possibly stuff into ourselves at ryan's. we were happy. we were pleasant. it was one of the days we looked forward all summer. now lets fast forward about 10 years. (ok...maybe 15) picture this. screaming children. an irritated mother who is trying to focus on the list of supplies she needs to get, as the kids toss random things into the cart (because michael saw this commerical for these "cool" crayons...he tried to convince me why we should buy them) which i (almost...but not quite) just as quickly tossed back out. megan had picked out the most un-megan like backpack, which myself and grandma kathy were trying to convince her was not something she wanted. while she whined and was completely unreasonable. i don't suppose this episode was as good as it could have been considering we had just returned home from a five day trip (in which i...and only i... took the kids down to atlanta to see rebecca) that had totaled 16 hours in the car, and i was not exactly in my best mood either... anyway... when i was a kid, i don't remember it being quite like this...
later that night, at 10:30 i drove down to my interview at ups, also known as the countries largest drug dealer.... this is a job i am thinking would be good because:
-the pay is decent
-the job has a late night shift (10-3) so i could theoretically still get the kids to school in the morning if i had to
-i would be getting a workout in every shift...and i like jobs where i feel like i'm actually working
-tuition reimbursement!!! this means i can go back to school for free!! (the only way to go to college i think...college is, after all...a scam ;)
so first we were corralled into this yellow lined "pasture" where most of the potential employees shared looks not unlike dumb sheep, and i was seized with the urge to laugh. another woman and i kept grinning at each other like fools...probably thinking the same thing. than we were divided into two groups and brought into the office for a briefing on how the job worked ect ect... when they opened the floor up for questions at the end. long haired man raised his hand. "is this (pointing to his long hair) ok..or do i need to have it up? no, long hair is ok, said friendly hr person. another fashion concerned man asked "can i wear shorts in the winter...caz i like to wear shorts...i don't get hot" (don't have to tell me :) no mr. fashion sense, people can wear whatever they want. mr. fashion sense asked another question. "what about chains?" what about them indeed! no mr. fashion sense...chains are pretty dangerous around heavy machinery... "any more (stupid) questions?" asked ms. hr...
than we were shown what our job would be. we could either unload the truck...which is doing pretty much what it sounds like...or load the truck...also pretty much what it sounds like. so i wait to see it they call me back for a second interview, which is an actual interview, as opposed to this, which was more like a tour. good times... good times :)
and other random news bits
-school starts next Wednesday...THANK YOU GOD!!!
-justin brought home hermet crabs for the kids from his trip on the beach...i told justin our pets are getting lower and lower maintenance. the next pet is going to be a rock!
-lastly but most exciting...the greece trip is in... 18 days!!! i am so excited to have some time with justin...without the kids. with him working so much, i see him way less... oh which reminds me of one more thing...
-justin got the job as a banker. he will start training for this when we get home from greece and they are putting him in an even better branch than he had interviewed for. another THANK YOU GOD!!! (with slightly less sarcasm in it ;)
and here's some pics...
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
wow!
WOW...so, i've been busy. but now here i am. the word "wow" will forever remind me of costa rica. not because of the scenery, or the poverty, or the people, but the fact that i was the hearer of that phrase COUNTLESS times. it became a joke when someone would make fun of someone else...they would say "wow!" in a really loud obnoxious way. and i suffered by looking out the window of the bus (where these type of conversations inevitably took place) and make grown up jokes with myself...mostly silently in my head...mostly...
so other than the trip. the month was filled with other memorable events with the most noteworthy probably being when michael learned the importance of wearing underware to the doctor's office. when the kids were told to strip to their underware for their yearly exam, michael started to panic. i don't have to tell you how happily megan tossed her clothes to the floor. and when mom and i tried to reason with michael that he only had to take his pants off, not his underware, he responded with "but i'm not wearing any!" to which, both mother and grandma burst into laughter. the sort that makes you cry you're laughing so hard. evidently this happens more often than you think, said the doctor... in fact, she had a simular case with another boy last week...a 14 year old one :)
here's some pics of what we've been up to...
oh, and the driveway is finished!!! it's the most beautiful thing i've seen in awhile. (sentemental sigh)
Friday, July 17, 2009
like a man...but not
one of the people who knows me best once described me as "like a man...but not." and espically recently i seem to have been surrounded with men like activities. with justin working full time, i came to the quick realization that (dispite the dislike of sounding cliche) if you want something done right (or at all) you have to do it yourself...
we recently had a entire weekend sans children and while part of it was spend at my aunt's house, doing activites entirely too scandalous to report here, another part of it was spend at the "clubhouse" working on MY bike with the hopes that it would start running... the clubhouse is basically a huge garage where all the guys from the local ducati forum come and hang out and drink beer and watch races and work on their bikes, and where our bike is currently parked... i spent the afternoon watching men wander around the garage looking for "that part" that no one could locate (personally i think this is because there were no women to find these mysterious missing parts) and telling tall tales about their bike escipades... the women that were there were all, as i like to call, "acessories" (women who don't actually own or ride a bike but are happy to ride on the back of their mans...needless to say i hold some degree of scorn for such women...and justin is not a little dissapointed in my harsh rejection of the idea of riding on the back of his bike with him...such women are described as "my wife" and "my girlfriend" with names unknown)
than there is the driveway... if having two bosses is bad...having "boss jeff" and "boss bob" is one hundered million times worse... don't get me wrong, i am happy for the imput. but they both have entirely different ideas as to how a driveway should be resurfaced, and i am starting to realize that a big part of all this confusion is that i have absoutley no idea what i'm doing... granted that has never stopped me from doing something. the first step was powerwashing it clean. i ended covered (literally) with mud and stickey tar (which will come off eventually...when your skin does!), but feeling quite proud of myself. anyway, without going into numurous detials which will, no doubt, bore you, it is almost finished and it still looks like crap. but once i put the topcoat on...theoritically...it will look (almost) like new... my fingers are crossed.
and as bob has found an amazing deal on some exerior paint, i see the large demon of a prodject (we shall call it...PAINTING the ENTIRE house) looming in the distance. and after all this complaining, you should know, that i really to love this stuff :) nothing beats it when you tell your girlfriend about your day resurfaceing the driveway and they look at you bewildered and say "is there anything you don't do?!?"
we recently had a entire weekend sans children and while part of it was spend at my aunt's house, doing activites entirely too scandalous to report here, another part of it was spend at the "clubhouse" working on MY bike with the hopes that it would start running... the clubhouse is basically a huge garage where all the guys from the local ducati forum come and hang out and drink beer and watch races and work on their bikes, and where our bike is currently parked... i spent the afternoon watching men wander around the garage looking for "that part" that no one could locate (personally i think this is because there were no women to find these mysterious missing parts) and telling tall tales about their bike escipades... the women that were there were all, as i like to call, "acessories" (women who don't actually own or ride a bike but are happy to ride on the back of their mans...needless to say i hold some degree of scorn for such women...and justin is not a little dissapointed in my harsh rejection of the idea of riding on the back of his bike with him...such women are described as "my wife" and "my girlfriend" with names unknown)
than there is the driveway... if having two bosses is bad...having "boss jeff" and "boss bob" is one hundered million times worse... don't get me wrong, i am happy for the imput. but they both have entirely different ideas as to how a driveway should be resurfaced, and i am starting to realize that a big part of all this confusion is that i have absoutley no idea what i'm doing... granted that has never stopped me from doing something. the first step was powerwashing it clean. i ended covered (literally) with mud and stickey tar (which will come off eventually...when your skin does!), but feeling quite proud of myself. anyway, without going into numurous detials which will, no doubt, bore you, it is almost finished and it still looks like crap. but once i put the topcoat on...theoritically...it will look (almost) like new... my fingers are crossed.
and as bob has found an amazing deal on some exerior paint, i see the large demon of a prodject (we shall call it...PAINTING the ENTIRE house) looming in the distance. and after all this complaining, you should know, that i really to love this stuff :) nothing beats it when you tell your girlfriend about your day resurfaceing the driveway and they look at you bewildered and say "is there anything you don't do?!?"
Thursday, July 2, 2009
update via photo :)
so the summer has been busy so far...
rebecca came to stay...
we have spent lots of time at the pool with uncle aaron and aunt candy...
michael's best friend from kindergarden met us at the park one day for some activities...
i did candy's hair...
for the wedding of...
my beautiful cos larisa...
and spent some quality time with crazy grandpa tom...
and grandma mary, and aunt bonnie, and grandpa jeff...
and grandma teen...
rebecca came to stay...
we have spent lots of time at the pool with uncle aaron and aunt candy...
michael's best friend from kindergarden met us at the park one day for some activities...
i did candy's hair...
for the wedding of...
my beautiful cos larisa...
and spent some quality time with crazy grandpa tom...
and grandma mary, and aunt bonnie, and grandpa jeff...
and grandma teen...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
and it's july...almost
well we survived a month with rebecca and are now preparing for the second wave of lovley craziness...mom comes home thursday!!!!! this week is vbs which is perfect timing because i (introvert that i am) and loving the free mornings to myself which have been composed of mostly laying around aaron and candy's pool (aka...burning my skin to a crisp :) and running at the gym...although i might actually do something productive this morning and go grocery shopping...ahhh good times!
justin (much to my dismay) has joined a ducati forum where he has publicly stated that HE owns a bike. the unaccuracy of this statement is astounding and i have had to join the forum myself (likley making me the sole female duc rider) simply to refute these henious claims! it's MY bike thank you very much... at least you all know the truth!
and last...michael and megan are now swimming without their floaties. they are just tall enough to stand in the 3 foot section of aaron and candy's pool and this has given them the push to try the swim thing on their own. michael even (gasp) does cannon balls into the water. jumping off the side of the pool! MICHAEL!!! i am shocked, but pleased with their progress, and it just goes to show that nothing you do as a parents helps your kid at all. they all just do what they want to when they want to...
Thursday, June 11, 2009
aunt rebecca
aunt rebecca arrived on thursday much to the delight of everyone involved. she is teaching down in atlanta these days and has the summer off so will be up in ohio for june. she spent the first few days taking michael and megan on dates. when she asked michael where he wanted to go for his, he had trouble choosing between going to bob evans or getting ice cream. aunt rebecca said "michael, you can do both!" but michael said "i don't want to go to both places, because that would cost too much money"!!! aunt rebecca assured michael that SHE would be the one paying and that cost was of no concern...
justin continues to work full time. ugg! the hardest part about this is that i'm home all the time and i feel like he goes to a job that's hard for him, and i get to stay home and play with my kids and cook things...and read...a lot... but come fall i will probably try to get something part time and i think than i will feel like i'm contributing a little more...not that sleeping in every day and reading books is something i'm complaining about...
this weekend michael and megan are having "graduation parties" because i thought it would be fun. and i like to have people over. i plan on making lots of water balloons and setting up games for the kids and eating some good cake....michael's is saturday, megan's is sunday...and that's pretty much it for now...
oh yes...one more thing...bryan, one of the guys that goes to the youth group and is an incredibly gifted artist, has agreed to desisn our gas tank!!! so...here's what he's done so far...
justin continues to work full time. ugg! the hardest part about this is that i'm home all the time and i feel like he goes to a job that's hard for him, and i get to stay home and play with my kids and cook things...and read...a lot... but come fall i will probably try to get something part time and i think than i will feel like i'm contributing a little more...not that sleeping in every day and reading books is something i'm complaining about...
this weekend michael and megan are having "graduation parties" because i thought it would be fun. and i like to have people over. i plan on making lots of water balloons and setting up games for the kids and eating some good cake....michael's is saturday, megan's is sunday...and that's pretty much it for now...
oh yes...one more thing...bryan, one of the guys that goes to the youth group and is an incredibly gifted artist, has agreed to desisn our gas tank!!! so...here's what he's done so far...
Thursday, June 4, 2009
in summary
so i have been meaning to sit down and write out some random stories...but have not had time...so in short...
motorcycle safety school...was a blast. i passed. lost a pair of gloves. dropped the bike twice. spilled my coffee all over the parking lot. almost missed the class by 90 seconds. oh...and justin bought me a bike. a ducati monstor 750. thank you very much :)
shot day...megan had to get her shots. she told the nurse on no uncertain terms "you are MEAN!" and kicked her. i had to pin her to my body to get all FIVE in. humiliation abounded...
school...is over as of tomorrow. horay!!!
rebecca...is in town. she stays with us for about a month! than mom comes. cheers to terrific company and a summer that will pass by crazy fast...
motorcycle safety school...was a blast. i passed. lost a pair of gloves. dropped the bike twice. spilled my coffee all over the parking lot. almost missed the class by 90 seconds. oh...and justin bought me a bike. a ducati monstor 750. thank you very much :)
shot day...megan had to get her shots. she told the nurse on no uncertain terms "you are MEAN!" and kicked her. i had to pin her to my body to get all FIVE in. humiliation abounded...
school...is over as of tomorrow. horay!!!
rebecca...is in town. she stays with us for about a month! than mom comes. cheers to terrific company and a summer that will pass by crazy fast...
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