Firsts and Opposites

First fire in my fireplace:



First dinner cooked on my stove:



Hamburger Helper: No side dishes (that's for Tricia and Rich)

First coat I needed to buy for a pet:



No, I'm not crazy. He went with me on my Christmas trip to Arizona. We went from this:



To this:



From this:



To this:



If the pictures don't speak for themselves we went from clear blue to smog so thick you couldn't see the mountains. From 60 degrees to 9 degrees. The dog still needs shoes--we can't stay out too long--his feet freeze. Poor thing! Oh do we long for Arizona!

What You Have Been Waiting For

I have kept you anticipating my move--right? Well-here are the pictures.

Outside of the house:



Inside of the house:












This room has six closets!








Here are some bonus items with the house:


A swiveling TV-yes, it has a cable hookup-and yes, it has a picture tube that blinks on and off with that little circle--feels like when I was a teenager! We can watch at the dinner table or the living room lounging in front of the fireplace.








This is from the master bedroom through the laundry room and out to the enclosed patio. Can you see the gas line near the floor on the other side of the laundry room? Yep. Gotta remember to step over it--no walking out there without contacts.



This is the makeshift desk and work area.
I have two more file cabinets! It is complete
with a broken cabinet door!















View from kitchen window






Yes, deer poo-to prove they come in my yard!

State Fair

I remember as a kid the fair was the place to go. We would go often enough that I have good memories of it. As a teenager, you went to the fair with your friends. If you got to go without your parents, you were cool!

Austin doesn't remember ever going to a fair. Although he did go once with his cousins in Arizona. The boys all got to jump with a harness on and they had fun. However, I think the oldest boy was about 6.

This week the Utah State Fair started. I decided that we would go. Austin wasn't real happy at first because he thought it would be boring. He was wrong! He had fun. Of course it helps when mommy buys things!

Remember the big slide in Michigan that used to be at Sears? The "Super Slide". When Mom and Dad would take us there it was the best. It didn't stay there though. There's a reason for the reminiscing--

Here is our top 10 things to do at the Fair:

10. Watch an old lady try alligator meat.
9. Look at the photography entrants.
8. Go into the Nintendo DSi trailer and play with the camera and sound.
7. Eat pizza at our favorite pizza place(The Pie Pizzaria.)
6. Purchase a green and black belt. (Coolio!)
5. Eat cinnamon sugar coated pecans
4. Pay only $25 for a one night stay in a five star hotel (Actually they want to sell us a time share)
3. Buy the book, The Runelords
2. Meet the author, David Farland, who signed the book.
1. Take a ride down "The Super Slide".

Decisions Part Two

Fingerprints? Check

Money order to pay for fingerprint processing? Check

On to the next step. Yay!!!

Decisions

I have come to the conclusion that I need to move to Arizona sooner than later.



I am going to actively make preparations to do so. I'm hoping this will make some of my family members post comments to my blog. Nonetheless I am at this point making some plans.

For example, I have posted a resume on the following site listed on the Arizona State Department of Education web page.



I am also going to get my fingerprints done this week at the police station. Then, on payday I am going to get a money order and send the fingerprint info to the state.



The next step financially is to sign up to take the tests required by the state of Arizona in order to get my certification current in the state. This one costs a lot of money so I will probably do in January or February since I have to pay when I make the reservation for the testing spot.

I am planning on going to AZ for part of the holiday break.




When I do, I am considering renting a small uhaul and bringing some things down with me. I will get a storage unit, and try to pay for at least six months in advance.

After that, I just need to take the tests, apply at school districts and see what happens. I would consider moving without a job if a family member was willing to let me, Austin, and the dog stay with them.



I'll have to see how it goes though. I can always substitute for a while if I need to. I will finish this year with the school district I am with.

Of course there are other preparations too. For example, Austin. He will have to decide where he wants to live. Then, I will have to speak with his father about the ramifications. This part will be the hardest. There will be a pay cut of course, but hopefully I could make a lot of that up by having a cheaper apartment and cutting down my expenses. If the move and timing are right, everything will work out for the best.

Lists

I have always been told that keeping lists is a great way to stay organized. I have resisted the idea for 46 years, but decided I would give it a try. I started keeping a To Do List today. Take a look at how it is going so far:

Original List:

1. Make zucchini bread
2. Cash a check and put the money in the bank
3. Take the dog to the groomer-he smells
4. Stick to my diet
5. Clean my bathroom
6. Sweep and mop all the tile floors
7. Do homework

Here is what has really happened today:

1. No zucchini bread-but when I do it will have chocolate chips in it.
2. Cashed the check-spent most of it
3. Forgot the dog at the groomers
4. Took my friend to lunch and had ice cream for dessert
5. Used the bathroom
6. Looked at the tile floors
7. Homework? Really? Do I have to?
8. Enjoying a repeat episode of iCarly

Maybe it would help if my list was portable and in front of me. Maybe I should go buy a notebook.

Oh and don't worry about the dog. I didn't really forget him. He is sitting on the reclining chair between my feet right now.

That's So Random Episode 1

Check out this podcast made while I was on vacation. I think you all will like it.

Click to Play

I Love Summer!!!

On Friday it was sunny so I decided I was going to do some real live exercising. (I don't really know what fake exercising it, but I'll let you know when I discover it). Not to bore you or anything, but I am going to list what I have done this weekend for exercise.

Friday: After work I went to the batting cages and hit 25 balls. I did pretty good too! I don't think I've hit a ball in 14 years, so I was impressed that I hit about 18 of them. Of course, when you do slow pitch softball it should be pretty hard to miss that huge ball! When I pulled in to my garage I decided it was a great day to ride my new bike. So-I took it for a little ride to check the seat height. It was too low so I had to fix the seat. Then, I put on my little dog carrier and buckled Kirby in. I then took another short ride to see if he would stay in. However, since he felt like hanging his front legs out he kept falling. So-he had to go back in the house. I rode for only about a mile. When I got back, I took Kirby on a two mile walk.

Saturday: I went for a two mile bike ride then came back for Kirby and took him on a two mile walk. Whew. Riding a bike for the first time in 13 years makes one very sore--in some unmentionable places. So-now I have a sore arm, shoulder, calves, and you know where else.

Sunday: Luckily, church is at 1:00 so I got up and decided to go for a walk. I drove my car to one entrance of a trailhead. I had Kirby with me. We started walking but he got tired after about 1 1/2 miles. It's pretty bad when you have to carry the dog because he gets tired from the walk. So-I went a half mile out of the way and walked him home. Then I walked back to the trail and went to the end. I stopped there, drank some protein drink, then turned around and headed back to the car--at the other end of the trail. All together I walked seven miles before church. Of course after sitting for an hour in church I could hardly move.

I think tomorrow I will take the day off--well maybe I'll walk the dog. I just love being able to get outside. It would be better if I had someone to walk with, but for some odd reason no one wants to walk with me now. Oh well. Really this is the first summer I have gotten out and done some outside exercise. I have to thank my son, sisters, neices, and nephews for this. When we went hiking at Christmas time I finally felt that I could do stuff. That was the first hike I had been on since lung surgery. Now I believe in myself a little more and feel like working a little harder. Thanks!

Lacrosse

Have you ever known anyone who played Lacrosse? It is a brutal, give a beating to whomever you can game. They are almost better shielded than football players. The players carry a long stick with a net at the end and throw this little hard ball to each other to make a goal. I wouldn't want to get hit with the stick let alone the ball.

I have had quite an education in Lacrosse this week. My 13 year old decided he wanted to play this year. The season starts in April. OK. Being the good mom I start looking up equipment prices. Cleats--$60, shoulder and chest pads--$75, arm pads--$40, gloves--$80, stick--$69, head for the stick (the part with the net)--$125, helmet--$250, balls--$10, registration fees--$100.

I'm the kind of mother who is thinking: Well, a sport is better than drugs, drinking, or too much time being bored and hanging out with girls. It will get him outside and active. It will give him the sense of playing on a team and being part of something bigger than himself. All good things.

No one tells you when you have a kid that you may need to have money set aside solely for their team sports or musical instrument interests. Of course, I love him and really would like to see him benefit from playing a sport. Who knows-if he likes it and continues he could end up with a college scholarship. Not many people play this sport. If that were to happen that would make up for the $500 I would put out.

Maybe it's time for him to have a new beginning in something too.

football

Well, my family are all football freaks. If you look at my brothers blog you will see that he and a number of my siblings as well as my parents are University of Michigan fans. I used to watch football back in the day too. Then life sort of happened and football took the back seat to things like raising kids. Since my divorce I have been trying to bring fun back into my life. This meant the reintroduction of football. My 13 year old son has just decided in the last couple of years that he also enjoys watching football. So this year I started taking him to high school football games. One of my friends has a son who plays for Layton High. So we have been attending those games. We also watch a lot of Cowboy football games on television. This week has been the lead up to the BYU vs UTAH game. I decided to be a good alumni and root for BYU. I wore blue to work on Friday and guessed the score to win a printer. I told my friend Angie that if the Utes win I would buy lunch. Things were going as expected until the third quarter. I finally turned off the TV with six minutes left. I am feeling blue and now owe Angie lunch. Oh the pain of placing a bet.

Speaking of new beginnings-I went to a Madonna concert last weekend. Now-you may think like I did that it was pretty risque to go to one of her concerts. But let me surprise you. I would rather have my son go to a Madonna concert than a Bette Midler concert. It was far less graphic and it was rare to hear poor vocabulary. I know--it surprised me too. Of course the last row at the top of the stadium was row R and I was in row Q so I may have missed quite a bit of inappropriate dance moves. Of course my favorite song was dedicated to the girls. I just love those songs written for women who have been wronged in love!

Birthdays

Every birthday is a new beginning. I'm trying to be philosophical as I think about my son turning 13. His birthday is Monday. This is a new beginning for him. He is becoming a teenager (Oh No!) He doesn't know what he thinks about becoming a teenager. Yesterday he said if there was a teenager that was bugging me I could just get even by calling him or her smart. I kind of looked at him funny and then he explained that smart meant super mental and retarded teenager. I laughed and he said, "At least you can't say that about me." Then, after a pause he said, "Oh, the t could stand for 12 year old." Then I said, "But on Monday you will be a teenager. So-thanks for giving me a heads up. That way I can practice it for a few days to get it in my brain."

We tease like this all the time. This is something I couldn't do with the other kids, so it is a beginning for me each time we can tease back and forth. Another beginning for me is that I have a teenager who is fun to be around-well, most of the time. He is pleasant and respectful. I love it. I didn't really think having a teenager could be pleasant. Now, in reality it could all change as he gets older. I have enough experience to know that 14 is a turning point for young men and their feelings, behavior, and attitude. I'm hanging on to the thought that 14 with this one will be another beginning.

In the Beginning

In the beginning I was. The beginning is a place I do not remember. Beginnings come frequently. From birth throughout life beginnings happen every day. Each beginning brings blessings. Whether we accept those blessings or not, they happen. Give thanks for the beginnings. Without them there are no blessings.

This is the beginning of my blog site. Where will it lead? What path will it open? Will it connect me to loved ones? Will it allow friends to meet? What will this beginning signify? What blessings will come into my life simply by using this blog site? Only time will tell.