When it rains...

Abi sent this picture to me this morning. I believe this cat and I are kindred spirits. Lately, this is how I feel so much of the time. I'm trapped, I'm being bombarded with things I don't like but there isn't anything to do but stay where I am and find something worth smiling about through it all.

So Tom and Katie are wanting 'Kathi' posts...I'm not sure I remember how to post about 'me' anymore, all that I have going on is subbing and my kids.

Last week we had a bit of a mess on our hands, well, that would mostly be my hands. Last Monday Casey and I drove to Fort Worth to visit TCU. As much fun as we had there, we had more fun on the ride, I think. Casey is the best company, he's funny and considerate, I simply enjoy him. I drove. Now, there are those that would argue that I'm not the best driver but I beg to differ, offering my record as my defense. I've never had a ticket of any kind...not even a parking ticket...ever. Yes, I totaled 4 or 5 cars in my youth, but in the last 27 years I've not even had a fender bender, nothing. That sort of record isn't by accident, I'm a decent driver. With that said, I get lost easily...and I tend to always be in the wrong lane to get off. However, I don't try to make an exit when I'm in the wrong lane, I simply get off at the next exit and make my way back. Okay, sometimes it takes a few attempts, but I've learned to leave early. Casey took this in stride, and even laughed at it. That's a great person. That's my kind of person. On the way there, and take note that it was rush hour going through Dallas and Fort Worth, I missed about 5 or 6 exits and on the way back, I don't even know how many because we got lost completely after finding ourselves nearly back in Fort Worth about 45 minutes after we'd left Fort Worth, so we just aimed in the general direction and a couple of hours later we're home.

The next morning I'd gotten up early as I wanted to get in to work early. That wasn't going to happen, because our oldest dog, Daisy (she's about 13 years old) had had diarrhea during the night and after using every drop of cleaner in the home on my carpet, I was about 15 minutes late to work. I was subbing in the library, which I normally love. This day, though, was the end of the book fair and I put up the entire book fair alone. I boxed about 30 boxes of 20 ~ 40 lb boxes of books not sold and shelved them on shelves taller than I am. After about 4 hours, my back was in a lot of pain. After I was done with this, I shelved books for about 4 hours. I was so ready to go home, pick up a couple of movies and trade them in at Blockbuster, go back home, order pizza and watch some movies in bed eating pizza while on a heating pad. That was what I was ready for. What happened was that when I got home, the house was covered from one end to the other in diarrhea and vomit. I walked in, got my movies and walked back out. I daydreamed about all the places I could run away to, but ended up in Krogers to rent a carpet cleaner. After pricing the machines, I decided to buy one. I walked over to Blockbuster and got a couple of movies and then got back into my car to go buy my own carpet cleaner. My car wouldn't start. No sound, no nothing. Never happened to me before. I thought about crying, then I thought about how glad I was that this didn't happen the day before when Casey and I were in Fort Worth. I called my friend, Mac, and she came to pick me up. We tried to jump it (which was a funny sight because neither of us had ever had to jump a car before and I had to call Mark to explain to me how to use the jumper cables) but it didn't show any sign of cooperating. I took Mac home, borrowing her car to go find myself a carpet cleaner. Mark worked on my car, taking the battery out and replacing it with a new one for me. I really appreciated that because Goodyear quoted me $183 to have it towed and the battery replaced.
I did buy a carpet cleaner, and I'm in love. I can't believe the difference it made in Charlies room. I got up early the next morning, the day after the dog fiasco, and tried the cleaner on Charlies carpet, which I was considering pulling up because I had never been able to get his stains out. His carpet looks practically new now. This is my new favorite toy!

I was going to share my yesterday in this post too, but it's gotten too long. I'm honestly like a Lucy looking for her Ethel. I can find myself in the middle of a mess without knowing how I got there before it's much too late. Fortunately, I've got a decent sense of humor and I don't subscribe to the victim mentality.

My Child

Casey had to write an essay for TCU, and he wrote it about me. Now it was my turn, as I was required to write one about him for his counselor at high school before she could write a recommendation for him for colleges. Here is mine:



Casey was a miracle child. After having seen every sort of doctor and tried every available procedure, I was told that it was physically impossible to ever have children. I spiritually never accepted this, and Casey was born out of faith on July 25, 1989. He has been a complete blessing since.

Casey has always been kind, considerate, and extremely honest. It amazed me, that even as a child, he would tell the truth when he knew it would get him in trouble; it just wasn’t in him to lie. Casey is someone that you can depend on and trust to do the right thing. He has always held up for others, especially when there was someone that couldn’t hold up for themselves, whether it was against other kids or adults.

At the age of four, Casey began taking Tae Kwon Do and he gave it every thing he had for several years. He has enjoyed and poured himself into sports since. He started playing football for ASA at six years old, eventually playing for the school when he was old enough, and has played every year since. He voluntarily gets up early every morning to work out before school and has taken the Performance Course the last four years during his summer breaks. I’ve never heard Casey complain once about not sleeping in, or missing summer vacations because of his work outs. When Casey commits himself to something, he follows through, always. He isn’t a complainer, never feels sorry for himself and, in fact, enjoys giving 110% of himself.

Casey became a Christian at a young age, requesting to be baptized around 7 or 8 years old. Since he has been able to drive, he volunteers most of his time at our church, Fellowship Church of Plano. He has worked on building sets for children’s vacation bible school until 5 a.m., being the only teenager volunteering. He attends teen fellowship every Wednesday night, works coaching kindergarten through 4th grade every Saturday night and one service on Sunday morning, attends one service with his family on Sunday and attends another church’s teen fellowship on Sunday nights. He is also assisting in establishing a teen home group for our church. All of this, plus his athletics, his responsibilities at home (which he does have chores he is responsible for regardless of what goes on outside of the home) and, still, he maintains a 3.5 average in school.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention one of Casey’s greatest attributes, his sense of humor. Casey loves to make others laugh. He has no problem making fun of himself to put a smile on someone’s face. He has such a quick wit, too…he is smart and funny.

I am proud of Casey. He has always had his priorities in good order, always been there for his family and has always put the need of others before his own. I believe that whatever he sets his mind to do, he will accomplish. He always has and I have no doubt that he always will.

Monday At TCU

Casey and I visited TCU (Texas Christian University) . One Monday a month they have potential students visit...which is why it's called 'Monday at TCU'. :)

We left home about 6 a.m. and after taking several wrong turns and backtracking, we got there about 10 minutes before the 8 a.m. check in. After we registered, they had a huge breakfast served to us. I had a scrambled egg, cheese and potato burrito with salsa, along with some pineapple and honeydew melon. It was the best breakfast burrito, I've got to try making these at home! Anyway, halfway into the burrito, I somehow managed to flip my plate over splattering eggs, potato and salsa on a few of the people around me.

They had us divided into groups assigned to student tour guides and we visited several areas around the campus including the dorms, library and rec center. I really want to go back to school. Completely awesome.

They had 7 different classes, from which we could choose 3. They were very informative. Around noon they had a great lunch buffet with some key faculty speakers, and then we continued the tour of the campus.

We were all divided up again depending on the student's major. Casey is thinking about double majoring in marketing and e commerce, so we met with the Dean of Business. Around 3:30 we attended the closing reception...where there was more food and some student speakers.

Casey and I had such a great time. No matter what is going on around us, Casey makes everything fun. This kid is so friendly, always talks to everyone and just has the best sense of humor. There's never a moment I'm not proud of him.

The only negative thing that happened today was when they quoted the yearly cost of room, board and miscellaneous...$34,000. Please look for my new blog 'How To Contribute to Casey's College Education', coming soon!

Homecoming

Casey and his date for Homecoming.

How many can you find?

If you have a couple of minutes, check this out.
There are two pictures nearly identical to each other and you have to find three differences. This was tested on 8000 people, and only 19 people out of 8000 found the three differences. I was only able to find 2, but that's still pretty good. I'm going to give you a hint, look close at the valley and the town.
Some computers may be able to play the background music but it is real low/quiet, so you may want to turn your sound up a tad. Let me know how you do.

http://members.home.nl/saen/Special/Zoeken.swf

Great weather and holidays

We had the most wonderful cold front come into Texas yesterday afternoon. Around 5ish it dropped from the mid 80's to the mid 50's. I love the cooler weather! Not cold, but cooler. Feels great outside, and for the first time in 20 some years I can sleep with the windows open! I have a california king bed, and yet, still, I woke up with 3 cats and my dog all cuddled up around me, having me practically pinned. My dog is practically as tall as I am, laying down, and he has taken over what was Marks side of the bed...but last night, he couldn't get close enough to me.

I'm excited about the holidays coming up. Thanksgiving I always cook, so I'm already looking for new recipes and getting the old ones out. Charlie has put in a request for numerous pumpkin pies. I know Thanksgiving and Christmas will be different this year, but I'm excited about it. The boys and I are talking about what we want to do for Christmas. Charlie has asked that we stay home for Christmas this year. Christmas eve is Charlie's birthday, and I can't remember the last time we were home for Christmas because we usually take our vacation during Christmas break. So, this year we're staying home...having a tree and the whole bit. Yeah, I'm excited.

I've been working a lot. Tuesday I had the worst classes I have ever had. I subbed for an art teacher and apparently she gives her kids full reign of the class. There was one class I couldn't get to quiet down enough to answer attendance and she didn't believe in seating arrangements, so I couldn't even account for who was there. The entire day I thought, this will be my last day of subbing...ever. But then I remembered how my kids like to eat...so, that wasn't a realistic option. When classes are this bad, it's not so much the student's fault as it is the teachers. Apparently this was the norm for her classes. Sad. I made it a very early night Tuesday.

As far as things with my family situation...it's pretty much all good. The boys are good, Mark and I are *fingers crossed* getting close to this all being over and we all seem to be settling into a pretty decent routine. Life is pretty good. Spending a LOT of time on Casey's college applications, getting the schools all the information and test results they need...and searching and applying for every scholarship available. Thanks for checking in with me and for your prayers. I'm thankful for all of you. Hugs!

Booooo

Well, it's happening. I'm the 'not so much fun' parent.

Charlie was with his dad today, and for as long as Mark and I have been married, we've never believed in celebrating halloween. Casey has never wanted to, but Charlie has. We use to take the kids to the Church alternative parties, and they had fun.

Charlie did buy himself a mask a few weeks ago, and we talked about opening up the garage to Charlie and some of his music buddies on halloween night and letting them play their music as people walked by, and his wearing his mask if he wanted.

Back to today. Apparently Mark and his girlfriend are celebrating halloween and he was telling Charlie how great the house looked with all of it's ghosts and skeletons hanging all over the house and the yard. Charlie said that it was way over done, but that his dad was really excited about halloween this year. I don't get it, for 22 years we both were in total agreement, to not participate in halloween, and now he's taking Charlie to show off what he's doing and what Charlie can't do?

He also took Charlie to a halloween costume store where Charlie said his dad picked up over $50 in masks, gloves, bones, creepy music and things for his and his girlfriends halloween together. In the meantime I'm having to explain to Charlie why we can't afford to have pizza delivered. So...Charlie came home a bit bothered and then after he talked to me...I was bothered.

Charlie said that he thought his dad wanted to do things like this, things that we don't do here in our home, and maybe that's why he left. I hope he doesn't think that his dad being able to play dress up for halloween is more important to his dad than he and Casey are. But, his dads actions aren't helping to prove otherwise, and teenagers are smart...and sensitive. They may have adult bodies, but they're still children.

After Charlie came home, he and Casey went to teen fellowship. The meeting on Sunday evenings in the teens home is a new thing (2 weeks old) and when they grow to where there are too many to meet at one home, we're offering to be the second teen fellowship home. I'm looking forward to that. Casey would head it up himself, and I'm proud of how excited he is about it.

Short post, because I'm irritated. Sorry. Being angry or irritated doesn't lead to anything positive, so I'm just going to spend some time on my knees and get my mind refocused.
Hugs to all.

* Thanks for all your comments.

Casey's Essay For TCU

My Mom

All my life I’ve been around people whose parents didn’t care about them. I’ve been extremely blessed to have a mother who cares more about the well being of my life than that of her very own. She has taught me every life lesson worth teaching. The biggest impact she has made in my life has been teaching me the word of Jesus Christ. She’s shared with me her sense of humor, morals and priorities, work ethic, and strength. I came to Christ at a very young age, and the person who led me through the acceptance prayer was none other than my mom. At the age of seven, I was baptized for the first time. The person baptized before me, again, was my mother. She has been by my side leading me through my walk with Christ just about every step of the way. Aside from her spirituality she maintains a great sense of humor. She has always taught me through example that it was all right to laugh at ourselves. She has instilled in me good morals and values through her examples. Through out my life she has shown kindness and compassion by being both incredibly kind to complete strangers and showing compassion to those who have wronged her. She has taught me a great work ethic through her work as an accountant early in my life, priorities by giving up her job to stay at home until my brother and I were enrolled in school, and then becoming a substitute teacher for my school district so that she could have the same hours and vacation days as we had. I have applied her example of dedication to my effort and persistence in the 9 years in which I’ve played football. Now she is teaching me how to stay strong in times of trials and hardships as she finds herself in the midst of a divorce after a 22 year marriage. She continues to show me that in the Lord I will always find the strength I need. I will remember the things she has taught me for the rest of my life.

*note: the guideline was for the essay to be 300 - 500 words. His is around 400.

Got A New Crush

I decided to stop watching reality shows. No real reason, personal choice. No more Survivor, Amazing Race, Bachelor...whatever. However, the other night I was doing some painting in my room and the t.v. was on, annnnddd Dancing With The Stars came on. I started to turn it, but there was honestly nothing else on...and then...Joey Lawrence came on. The guy has shaved his head, and I have made no secret how attracted I am to shaved heads. OH MY GOD...little Joey has became such a man.
I watched Rest Stop on Sci Fi this weekend with the kids and it had Joey Lawrence in it, and I thought then, well....hmmmmmm, Joey looks good. Real good. Then he was on this show. On Dancing With The Stars Joey takes his shirt off and again, OMG, he has arms to die in, uhm, I mean for. :) He just looks good. I started recording that segment of him dancing immediately and I'll bet I've watched it a couple dozen times. I'm smitten. Gonna add Joey Lawrence to my list of crushes.Mmmmm, baby, baby, baby! Ladies, if you haven't seen the show, rest your eyes on Joey Lawrence...you're welcome!

















































I repeat, have mercy, check out his arms!

Change For the Better

Y'all know that I'm going through some changes. Changes do not necessarily mean bad times, just something different. We all go through changes. Sometimes we wish things would change, sometimes it seems like our life is stuck, stagnating. If there is anything that time teaches us it is that change happens. It may not happen when we want it, but it happens. The trick to adapting to change is to have peace. Peace of mind, peace in your spirit...peace.
I'm a child of the 60's. We introduced the word PEACE, along with the symbol and the gesture (In all fairness, the symbol was created was designed in 1958 by Gerald Holtom). Somewhere along the way, we've forgotten what the word means. Here's a refresher course from Merriam-Webster; PEACE
1 : a state of tranquility or quiet: as a : freedom from civil disturbance b : a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom
2 : freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
3 : harmony in personal relations
4 a : a state or period of mutual concord between governments b : a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity
5 -- used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell
- at peace : in a state of concord or tranquility

One of the subjects that Casey was allowed to choose from for his essay to TCU was to find a social solution to our worlds problems. We discussed this, and one thing that we talked about was parents teaching their children to love others more than themselves. We live in such a 'me' centered society, taught from a young age to take care of ourselves first and others with what is left over. Unfortunately, with this mentality, with this emotional selfish attitude, we find ourselves not wanting to part with the left over either. I'm not only talking about financial left overs...I'm talking about love, I'm talking about time out of our lives and I'm talking about anything we have that others need.
I've raised the kids with few 'hero's'... Nelson Mandella and Martin Luther King, Jr. are the only two that I can ever remember reading to them about, whose pictures I have up in my home. Men of peace. Men willing to give up themselves for the good of others. Men who chose to speak well of others, even though they had more right than most to speak ill of what was done to them and by whom. Still, they chose to walk in peace, they chose to live in a state of peace.
I don't know what any of you have gone through in your life, and I promise you that I don't mean to minimize your lives, your situations. Yet, I find it difficult to believe that many have suffered as Nelson Mandella, sacrificed as Martin Luther King, Jr., or above all, Christ Himself.
When all around them was unrest, they chose to walk...to live in peace.

The antonyms of peace are: conflict, contention, discord, dissidence, strife, trouble; tumult, turmoil, unrest, upheaval; fighting, warfare.
Do we do ourselves any favor by choosing to live in any of these? Do we do our children any favors by teaching them that this is the norm for their lives without an alternative? Do you see any of these in your life? Are any of the antonyms of peace the norm for your life?

Without any doubt, I am not an expert on anything but my own life. However, I encourage you with all of my heart, that if you find yourself without peace in your life, that you would re-evaluate what you are letting into your heart, your mind...and your spirit. There is peace, it's a choice, but it's definitely there, along with hope...trust...love, and of course, forgiveness. If you need someone to help you along the way, I am here for you.

A Little Catch Up

First day back to school for the guys. I made a huge batch of pancakes this morning and it wouldn't surprise me to get a call from Charlie saying he has a stomach ache. He put some pancakes away.
I ended up with something irritating my right eye and a tooth ache, both, on Friday. By Friday evening, after trying to wash the eye out with out any good results and having went through searing pain after trying Visine, I put a patch on with a cloth folded underneath it to keep the eyelid shut and keep it from scratching the eye any worse. I had, also, used so much Ambesol on my tooth that day, without much results, that I got the idea of trying to inject Ambesol into the tooth using one of those little things that the vet had given me to shoot medicine down the cats throats. Yeah, I know... When I tried this, there wasn't really anywhere for all the Ambesol to go but back out of my mouth covering my lips, numbing most of my mouth. So, late Friday evening I'm talking out of the corner of my mouth, unable to keep fluids from dribbling down my chin and wearing a patch that barely hides a folded up cloth covering my eye. Just my luck...all prettied up and nowhere to go.
The boys went to the Texas State Fair Saturday, and they had a great time. Casey drove them to the train and they took the train to Pearl Station in Dallas, which supplied a shuttle to get them to the fair. I get a text from Casey about 2 hours after they left asking me where they went when they got off at St. Paul. I felt my heart skip a couple of beats thinking they're down in Dallas, lost, but when I called them to tell them to try and catch a train back to Pearl Station, where they were suppose to get off, Casey answers the phone laughing. It was a joke. Not a funny one, but a joke. They got home that night with some great stories and both of them laughing a lot. I'm so glad they had a good time...by themselves. They both needed that. Later on Sunday when Mark was over, Charlie was telling him that after the Texas ~ OU game ended (which is there near the fair grounds and the crowd just piles into the fair) there were a lot of fights breaking out everywhere. I stopped in my tracks. Somehow they'd forgotten to tell me this. When I told Charlie 'you didn't tell me that', he just shrugged and said 'well, I wasn't in any of them'. Small blessings, but blessings all the same.

Casey is finishing his essay for his TCU application, and he's writing it on a significant person that has meaning for him. It's titled MY MOM. The first time I read it, I cried. When he's done with it, I'll put it on here. I am so thankful for the life that I have.

Weekend Fluff

Butchie taking it easy this weekend, she has such a hard life. :)

Fall Break

The boys and I are on Fall Break this week. Somehow we've managed to stay busy doing very little. I don't know how that happens, but it does. We can't really afford to take a vacation with the divorce and all, but we've been entertaining ourselves.
Yesterday we cleaned out the garage. We had thrown away everything that wasn't of use anymore about a month ago, so all we basically did was take everything, yes...every single thing (except the spare fridge), out of the garage, sweep and clean the garage and then put everything back in a rearranged and orderly state. It could pretty much be a guest room now (and no, don't take that as an invitation), it's that clean.
The boys and I have decided that once a week, one of them will have 'their' day. One week we will have a 'Casey's day', the next a 'Charlie's day'. Putting to use some of the things I learned at the Parent Seminar. The boys need to have the focus on them and not on the divorce. I try to do that 99% of the time, and to me, I think we're doing okay. But, one thing I learned at the seminar is that even at their age, they're not only children of a divorce, but children...period, and they need to have life revolve just around them sometimes. Anyway, their day could be what we watch on t.v. (together), or have for dinner (together). Yesterday, after cleaning out the garage, it was Charlie's 'day'. He wanted sushi. Casey and I hate (though I don't think that word is quite strong enough) sushi. However, it wasn't about what we wanted yesterday.
There are about 5 - 6 sushi restaurants within a few miles of us, and a new one just opened down the street, which is where Charlie wanted to go. Charlie wanted to sit at the bar, or whatever that area is called that goes around where they prepare the raw, disgusting food. I can't prove it, but there is just something in me that yells "unhealthy" when I see raw meat piled up on top of rice. Casey and I searched and searched for something that was cooked on the menu, and finally had to ask for help. The short version of the story: Charlie had a huge and filling meal....Casey and I, not so much.

For those of you who might be thinking of going back to college or have kids going to college in the next few years, I wanted to tell you about a place on the web where you can fill out your information, profile and such, and it will keep you informed about any scholarships you might be eligible for. It's at www.fastweb.com, and it will inform you about any scholarships that you'd qualify for and keeps you updated on when their deadline is. It's an awesome site for anyone needing financial help with an education...and yeah, that would be us. Casey has his heart set on going to Texas Christian University, $32,000 a year, folks...$32,000 a year! So, pray for many, many scholarships to come his way.

Thanks for all the sweet comments on Butchie (she is NOT posing for kittie porn, you goof's, she's just naturally appealing). She is the sweetest kitten we've had. She loves to be loved on, our kind of cat! However, let me make this perfectly clear (*tom*), she is our last cat. Well...at least for another 11 months. :)

Just chillin'

Butchie, my sweetie.

Keeping it real...

Thanks for sharing Lisa, love you muchly.