Busy Monday, March 30

Menu

• Monday - Whatever I throw together - I'm up in the air about today I may just do some hamburger helper or I might come up with something inventive I haven't decided
• Tuesday - Lasagna
• Wednesday - Grilled Pork, Baked Potatoes, Baked Beans
• Thursday - Curry & Rice
• Friday - Pizza
• Saturday - Go to Cookout (we may end up leaving early though so I'm just going to grab something like a ready made meal to stuff in the cabinet just in case)
• Sunday - Ham, Mashed Potatoes w/gravy, corn and yeast rolls

This Week's 'To-Do' List

Monday - Taking the day off. I'm still recovering from this weekends trip and I need time to catch up on things like the shopping, paying bills, cleaning up the house and other things that there just has not been time for.

Amazingly my schedule looks pretty easy this week over all. The only thing is because I took today off of work I'm going to be working extra hours Tue-Thurs because Friday is a holiday at work so I'll be paid part of my hours but not all of them because of how I flex things so I'll be making up the rest.

Friday is a holiday like I said so I will be off of work and that is the first day of Spring Break for my kids so they will be home. We might figure out something fun to do together. 

Last Week

Last week was a mess... truly a mess with a lot of stress. 

Not only was I working long hours that week (well long for me pretty much 8 hr days) but during one of the days I had to take an unexpected lunch break and go down to the school to see my youngest she had a 3 meltdowns that morning and then the teacher found her writing 'suicide' repeatedly on a paper. Needless to say I left work and went and had lunch with her at the school and we had a long talk and I really tried to connect and understand her and I'm not sure if it is good or bad but I can relate so many things she's feeling and going through I can relate to and it makes me cry just thinking about it because I remember. She's a good girl but she wears her heart on her sleeve and for most people it is hard to understand that. Most people are very centered on themselves with no real perception of those around them they have very small 'monkeyspheres' while people like myself and my daughter have very broad ones we don't fall into the general idea of monkeyspheres because we extend our perception, acceptance and acknowledgement to all around us seen or unseen. When a normal person drives down the road they don't think about the passengers in the other cars on the other side of the divided highway unless their brights are on. To the normal person these other people don't matter while to people like myself and my youngest these people have a huge sway in our thought process. We wonder where they are going, do they have a family in there, what are they feeling, do they notice us... And we do this repeatedly for that passing car where the driver most likely never even gave us a second thought. It causes a lot of anxiety and makes us emotional people. We're the people that while watching a tv show if one of the actors or characters (in the case of an anime) starts crying then we'll start crying, if there is an embarrassing moment we can't watch we turn red and leave the room or cover our heads we are in the place of those characters. We are very intelligent, high functioning empaths for the most part. I don't mean that as some mystical power but rather it's how we absorb the world. The problem is most of the world is not on that same page which means we come across as being 'different' or 'wrong' and people see it as a mental disorder because it's hard for them to comprehend. It is NOT a mental disorder but rather who we are and it is very hard as a child to be like that to feel judged constantly like that and it becomes overwhelming. Over years and learning about ourselves we can learn how to suppress outbursts most of the time unless it's a long period of continuous stress then we'll snap and then go back to an even level again. That's it we snap, we get it out and then we can move on. I'm trying to help my youngest with outlets because right now that is what she needs she escapes to books but that gets her in trouble too. She needs to learn how to bottle then release and I'm really trying to encourage her to do some journal writing but most of all I just want her to know I'm here and that she's not alone and there are people that understand because that was the worst thing growing up is feeling as though no one truly understood why I felt like I did and how powerful those feelings were and how hard it was to really let go.
Anyways yeah that was part of last week. Wednesday actually.

Thursday things went smoothly at the school I assume. I took that day off of work so I could do all the packing for the D.C. trip. I worked on cleaning the house, shampooing carpets, catching up on laundry and bedding and also had lunch with the ladies from work. Thursday night we left for Washington D.C.

Here's the next several days and over 15 miles of walking.

We got on the bus at 5:10pm Central Thursday night and arrived in DC around 7am Eastern. It was a long and uncomfortable bus ride but we made it.
We were actually behind schedule though so we did eat breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe but we did not get to go to Ford Theater like had been planned.

"I Hate War"

 We went to the Roosevelt Memorial which I have way too many pictures of to even think of posting. Over all on this trip I took over 300 pictures myself.
There were a lot of inspiring quotes put on the walls and each section went through a term of his presidency.

 We also went to the MLK Jr. Memorial. It really is quite large and there is a wall of quotes there. To get down to it you walk down through these massive stones.
Interestingly our guide told us that the rock came from china the sculpture was actually made by chinese workers and the the entire thing was put together and in its place by chinese workers.








The Jefferson Memorial was another place we went and Katherine read every word on the walls and she really tried to continue this even through the National Archives which got us in a bit of trouble because  you really don't get much time in there (which you won't see pictures of there because there is no photography allowed inside)

 We also went to the Smithsonian though we didn't have a lot of time there so Katherine and the the other girl I was chaperoning decided to go to the Natural History Museum. If you did not know the Smithsonian is made up of several buildings and each building I could see easily taking a day or more especially if you were trying to read things.
Katherine really wanted to see the live bug exhibit and she wanted to do the live butterflies but the line was too long. Her friend wanted to look at the ocean exhibit.
Of course we saw the dinosaurs and many many other things including the Hope Diamond. We spent so much time in there that we had to literally run to our meeting place to get back to the rest of the tour group.

 We walked through Arlington National Cemetery and watched the changing of the guard.

At the Vietnam Memorial the kids took rubbings of name of people from our town that fought and died in the war.  

Of course we saw the Washington Monument the next day we actually saw people flying kites there too because it was the one day a year where they were allowed to fly kites on the lawn and it was the start of the cherry blossom festival though sadly we only saw a couple trees where the cherry blossoms were in bloom.

We went to the Lincoln Memorial and again Katherine was taking in every single word. She was absorbing this stuff like a sponge.  I was just so amazed and proud of her.

We also went to the Korean War Memorial and that was interesting. They had statues of soldiers out in a field (well low bushes) and there was a large wall that had engraved faces all over it of real people.
Really when you come away from these war monuments you realize the insane cost of life all these wars, police actions, and other engagements cost us.

 We went into the capitol building though the capital building is under construction trying to get ready for the next presidential inauguration. What you see is the top dome though much of it was covered by a doughnut and the scaffolding outside all around the dome.

 We also went to the Holocaust museum but we went to the childrens story side because the rest of the museum is extremely powerful and graphic.

Even going through this I wonder if the kids full could grasp what was going on and horrific this event truly was.

One of the few pictures I have where I'm with Katherine. We are standing outside of the White House.
We couldn't get very close because of that idiot that jumped the fence awhile back so now they have a secondary fence. Idiots like that ruin things for everyone and keep pushing us further back and more out of touch with those we've placed in power.

We visited several other places and as I said I have a few hundred pictures but I didn't think I should post them all on this blog that might make this excessively long especially if I go through and explain each one.
It was a long trip though and I'm glad to be home and I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things.

Just Catching up.

So yeah. I've been feeling guilty for not checking in. My excuse for Monday? Well it was 78 degrees out and it was much too pretty to stay cooped up. I made phone calls to family instead, had lunch with my hubby and did a few needed things like groceries and such.

We had our first meal from the grill for this year and it was much needed! Food from the grill tastes different even than from the foreman and also brings with it different foods because come on now we all know brats from the grill are the best!

Sadly it has gotten cold again so what I got done outside and such looks to be it for a little while longer. First day of spring or not... speaking of which I should take some pictures all my daffodils are in bloom they're really pretty.

Last weekend was fun and I kind of celebrated my birthday the whole time. Friday I went out to drinks with some awesome ladies another one of them is a March baby too so we drank martinis and enjoyed some time out even though it was raining like cats and dogs. Saturday I dragged Peter all around gods green earth and Johanna and her Fiance showed up and wandered around with us and we had a good ol' time doing a lot of window shopping. I also bought a bunch of stuff to work on my garden with still trying to deter those evil squirrels. Now I just need time and a nice day to work on it.
Sunday was my birthday and truthfully I can't remember what I did during the day just that we went out for dinner as a family and then I came home and made laundry soap... it needed to be done birthday or not.

I've been heading out to the gym every day this week but I think I'm going to take today off due to the house falling so far behind. There really just are not enough hours in the day.

Saint Patties day isn't something we really celebrate too much but I do make corned beef but it's the only day a year I do it because Peter doesn't like it and apparently one day a year is long enough in between that the kids asked, "What's that?!"
I had to do it in the crock pot though so it was different. I had to go down to the school that day and talk with the advisor about Brielle's schedule which I haven't had a chance to talk to her again because she needed to see another advisor due to the fact her schedule is so funky that it is making things really hard.

Wednesday I threw crockpot chicken tacos in and then ran out the door for work and then after work I got down to the gym for just long enough to do my 2 miles then ran to the grocery store (well drove) and got cheese I forgot then zoomed over to get Kat & then home to get Brie & drop off the cheese then zoomed them off to 4-H STEM club where they made catapults.
They had a lot of fun shooting marshmallows across the room.










Thursday was my first day off from not running around so I spent some extra time at  the gym, as much as I hate the gym (and I really do I absolutely hate going I'm not one of those excited feel good people when I exercise) I know all this pudge isn't going to go away by itself.

Today it sounds like Peter is going to play cards which I hadn't 100% planned on so I may just pick up dinner for tonight.
I think I'm going to skip the gym today too and get home and work on the house.... Oh yeah Monday I had planned to do spring cleaning instead now I remember where I spent a chunk of my time... cleaning out my van.

Saturday at 5am I have to have Brie down to the High School so she needs to pack tonight she leaves Saturday at 5am for Chicago on a school trip and then will be home Sunday night.... I wonder if I should get her a disposable camera or something.
Also Saturday we arranged for Katherine to spend the night with a friend so Peter and I are going to play cards together down at the game shop and then after go stop by a friends house who is having a St. Patties party that night so we'll going to stop in and say hi is the plan.

Sunday Peter plans to play cards that night, that afternoon I'll be meeting the ladies for Bitch 'N Stitch and late that night Brielle gets back from Chicago.

That's pretty much what's been going on other than me being stressed out too because one of our engineers quit at work so it's thrown a lot of things into chaos so since my supervisor is out since he broke his leg and the contract engineer quit it means I don't have a 'supervisor' or someone to verify my work which means now I'm under the company presidents thumb which adds a whole new level or stress. Speaking of which I wanted to get a post out there so badly that now I'm running behind so I better scoot!

Busy Monday, March 9

Today's 'To-Do' List

• Get everyone out of the house on time... Yup I put this down as something accomplished after another LONG break getting up at the right time is an accomplishment. 
• B-12 Shot @ Hospital
• Lunch with Hubby
• Groceries
• Brielle's Orthodontist Appointment
• PTO Homework Diner

Menu

• Monday - Homework Diner
• Tuesday - Breaded Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Peas
• Wednesday - Chicken Nuggets & French Fries/Fish Sticks & Tater Tots
• Thursday - Tacos
• Friday - Eat Out - Peter & Kat have to be out the door by 5:45 and I have to get Katherine ready for the Daddy Daughter Dance so yes taking the easy way out on this one.
• Saturday - Pizza
• Sunday - Eat Out - Yup eating out again it's my birthday that day so it's family tradition to go out to eat.

This Week's 'To-Do' List

Sunday was Daylight savings... I'm still grumbling over that one. I didn't get to bed until midnight because I just wasn't ready so I guess that means I'll be pretty tired for tonight. 

Monday well... See the list above.

Tuesday-Thursday is pretty standard nothing planned but I will be going over Katherine's clothes with her and see if she wants/needs a new dress for what will be her last Daddy Daughter dance and how she is on the shoes and tight situation so I'm guessing there will be a shopping trip somewhere in there.

Friday is the Daddy Daughter dance. (I need to get FNM off the list since Peter can't very well be in two places at once). We'll be busy doing hair, makeup and other girly stuff. I'm guessing another haircut probably earlier that week too will be in order for at least Katherine (truthfully it wouldn't hurt for me to get one either). 

Saturday is just family time though I may go out and see some friends for a drink for an early birthday celebration. Nothing set in stone I'm not too worried about it one way or the other.

Last Week

Oh goodness last week got weird. So I worked Monday-Wednesday. I was going to work Thursday but the people over me got it confused and told HR I would be out Thursday too so I kind of crammed most of my time into Tuesday and Wednesday because I only had put in a couple hours Monday not knowing that was going to happen. This past week was suppose to be my DC trip. Key thing is 'suppose to be'. 

Wednesday they kept the kids out of school for the weather moving in. By time I left work Wednesday my car was coated in ice from the freezing ran. Then the snow came. We got 11" of snow fall which doesn't say much about how high the snow drifts got.
Thursday I spent a good part of the day just getting the walkway and half the driveway shoveled and then I called it good enough after that. It was so bad Peter had to have a friend come pick him up that had a 4-wheel drive because we live down a private drive with only 2 other houses so the plows don't come down it... ever...

Needless to say our Washington DC trip was postponed and Brielle's trip to Huntsville, AL was rescheduled. It is a good thing too I was watching videos and seeing pictures of I-64 in Kentucky where people were stuck in the cars for insanely long times and the National Guard had to come out to help and they were getting people out of cars to get them to go to a hotel and towing the cars off the interstate... It was a mess! I feel blessed that the call was made to postpone all trips.

So there I was with a menu meant for only Peter & Brielle for 3 days. Things got interesting. We did get out Tuesday night and I had picked up some premade chicken cordon blue that was good... spendy but good though our real reason to go out was I wanted hamburger from Sam's... guess why we bought chicken? Yup they were out of hamburger.
We weathered through alright I tried another new recipe called "Impossibly Easy Pizza Bake" which is basically a Pizza casserole using bisquick as the 'dough'.
It was pretty quick and kids and Peter seemed to enjoy it. I actually just happened to have around all the stuff for it which is why it got made.
I was being very stubborn not to go out driving on the roads Thursday and Friday so I started piecing together meals and our cabinets are looking a bit bare even of things we've had sitting in there for a long time. I was out on the roads Wednesday because of work and then a friend needed a ride but after I had to honk my horn as I slid through a red light that was the end of me going on the roads. I know how to handle myself in ice but coming down a hill even at less than 10mph well I would have needed another 50 ft minimum how I was sliding on that ice.

I tried to do some sewing Friday and it was all going horribly... if it could go wrong it was going wrong to the point some patch items became trash items. At that point I put away my stuff and refused to touch it again. I need to get back to it soon though I've got a lot of fabric ready to be used and I just haven't been doing it.

Saturday Peter & I went out that evening to see some friends for a little while. It's nice having a teenager so you can step out for a little while without dragging the kids every time. -- Though we were late going out I was getting a bit irate with Peter he had gone out to play cards earlier in the day and kept saying he'd be home early... this after I had to call one of the other guys because Peter had his ringer off which was a bad thing since he was on call.

Sunday Peter and I did some running around and I picked up some planting soil I needed and I got 124 seed pods planted, 2 indoor containers also and I'm still not done. I did something different this year though instead of multiple seeds in case one doesn't come up I have such a hard time thinning things that I did one seed and figured if I get half to come up then I'm in good shape and I won't have to thin things.
Also Sunday we received a flat of strawberries that we had ordered from a fundraiser. I expect sometime this week I'm going to be very busy processing strawberries to get them froze, dehydrated, or ate.

I think that is pretty much the jist of things. I'm starting to feel bad I haven't posted up a craft project for awhile now. I haven't felt much inspiration lately so I hope that changes at some point.

Have a great week folks!

Busy Monday, March 2

Monday I just didn't feel up to it... still don't... tired. 6:20 Tuesday morning, working on drinking coffee ... so want more sleep

Menu

• Monday - Left overs from last week
• Tuesday - Chicken, Rice, Veggies
• Wednesday - Tacos
• Thursday - Pete & Brie fend for selves
• Friday - Pete & Brie fend for selves
• Saturday - Pete & Brie fend for selves
• Sunday - Meatloaf

This Week's 'To-Do' List

Monday I went to work... then I went to bed... I've been very tired.

Today (Tuesday) I go to work and get in as many hrs as I can. After I pick up Kat tonight we are going to the grocery store if there is time. We need snacks for the trip. Also plan to start packing.

Wednesday work and make any final purchases needed for the Washington DC school trip.

Thursday I go to work and then that evening Kat & I grab a fast food burger and then get down to the charter bus we leave at 5:10pm.

Friday Kat & I will be in DC. Pete will need to drive brie down to her field trip I think she has to be on the bus at 5am she's going to Huntsville for the aerospace stuff.

Saturday Kat & I will be running our tails off in DC taking in the sites. Pete is probably going to be playing cards and not sure what he's got planned for Brie yet.

Sunday Kat & I arrive back on the charter bus at 6am. I expect to go home and sleep.

Last Week

Oh you saw the break down last week not much more than that other than Saturday we ended up eating out (or rather take out) as Kat's pokemon league was canceled so Peter took the girls iceskating and ended up seeing an old family friend so the old friend and his son came over and the kids played and the adults played a board game and we just picked up some mutton & burgoo for everyone. 

Sundays meal plan went out the window as I got an itch to cook so I made "Make-Ahead Meat-Lovers' Lasagna Roll-Ups". They were alright though we found them a bit bland so the next time I do them I'm going to have to play with the recipe to give it some oomph. We've got several of these freezed though so Peter plans to have some more later this week while Katherine & I are gone. Which is amazing he'd volunteer to eat something with spinach in it. I'm quite happy with that.

Thin that's about it other than I did get out to the chiropractor Friday I had this massive headache come on at work and my neck was stiff so I went in and come to find out I had a lot of things out of place. Saturday I also had a friend over that is in school for massage therapy and she got some of her required practice time on me. Been awhile since I've been on a massage table.
Oh did the planned stuff like the dentist & the PTO event. We won a picture from the guest speaker who is a cartoonist so I need to get like a super large frame or something. Or rather I won mwah ha ha he asked the question according to a recent USA Today poll how many Americans have and use their library card. I got it straight on the dot with 3%! I'm one smart cookie.

Oh and no pictures of it but Saturday I also made a peach cobbler that turned out pretty well I think. It needs a few more tweeks but I took a crockpot recipe and used a sugar alternative, my super sweet home canned peaches and made it up for baking in the oven instead of the crockpot. I'll have to share that out again sometime.