My To-Do Lists Gone Wild...

I am not sure why, but it seems that I make time to do "stuff" and then I completely overfill it with my lists and ideas. I have next week off work, my hubbie and oldest boy are headed to Pennsylvania for wrestling camp, and I took the week off while they are gone so I could get the house painted. But it has progressed from redoing my bedroom and bath, to doing the other bathroom as well, and the entryway and hallway, hopefully the kitchen and then maybe, just maybe, the living room. At that point, if I could conceivably get that all done in one week (along with the paper I need to finish for school, the strawberry picking, the tri-training and the day at the beach with my other two kids) that would be practically 9/10 of my entire main floor. I know I will do at least one bathroom, since I already stripped the wallpaper, there is no turning back now...

Anyway, I'll try to fit it all in, and I'll try to post pictures of my new "colorful" house. Most of the rooms have been "eggshell white" since we built it in 1998. I could never be an interior designer, the color samples and schemes and matching is way to much for my brain. I've been on color overload the last couple weeks since I decided to paint. I've ordered new bathroom stuff from the internet that didn't look at all what I expected, so I returned it an found the "perfect" sets for both bathrooms at Target. Then, I found the perfect comforter set on Amazon.com. Once I decided to actually attempt the kitchen, I found new rugs at JcPenney.com for 60% off! It's like Christmas in July (well almost July). Since everything has been in our house for 11 years now, it is so fun to go pick out new stuff! Of course, the hard part again... is finding the colors to go with what I find. I thought about just picking out colors and painting first and trying to find matching stuff later, but I was afraid of the "what if I can't match it" scenario. So, regardless to say, I've spent more than two weeks looking on the internet for the stuff I like, then trying to match them all to paint samples.

The paint samples, to me, are a living nightmare... I didn't realize the infinity of colors. Avacodo, Olive, Sage - those being the normal names. I found Coffee Bean and Peanut Brittle along with Desert Camel that all kind of match my new bedroom outfit. Then there is Wheat Field, Beehive, Bulgar Wheat, Dakota Hills, Cherrywood, Rhubarb, Fresh Tomato... the list is neverending. These are just the names that have been haunting me. I've read through so many color names that my mind now thinks in those terms. It's scary to watch tv and think, "she has a 'rhubarb' shirt on..." Ah! And when it becomes overwhelming, I remember exactly why it was that I painted it all "eggshell" white so many years ago. Because on top of building the house, picking out carpet, furniture, fixtures, etc... the paint colors WAS too much for me. I tried back then and I think I short circuited an hope for finding enjoyment in the process of color selection for the rest of my life!

I'm all excited to do it though. I love painting, I love manual labor. After my brain has been drained of all the work I do everyday (along with the above color selection process), the thought of manual labor is actually a dream. And I can't wait for my husband to come home to the finished project. But trying to squeeze it all in has me thinking that I will need to go back to work to recover from my vacation! If only work could be considered such...

Why I Like Busy...

Tonight was quiet and relaxing. I had a lovely, peaceful two hours to myself after work when my daughter left for a friend's house, my youngest was at his aunt's after Y camp, and my husband took my oldest son to soccer practice. I can't even remember the last time I was home all alone.
And while it was very nice and peaceful - I got stuff picked up, some extra work done, and one TV show deleted off the tivo box - I think I enjoyed the hours after they got home all the more because of it.

My youngest came home wound up like some crazy kid on a sugar kick straight from Willy Wonka (what in the world does the Y camp feed them when they are there??). He rolled around on the floor laughing insanely at the dog trying to get his rope (my son was of course either laying on it or hiding it somewhere on his person)... It was one of those laughs that just makes you smile, and realize that I wouldn't trade one minute of his laugh for hours and hours of quiet, alone, peaceful serenity.

Then, after my husband left for work, we watched Disney's "Game Plan" on TV. It's such a "feel good" movie, made me cry of course, I'm a baby with any Disney movie. But again, it made me realize that the little bit of quiet that I had earlier, with me actually in charge of the remote, wasn't as great as it felt at the time.

I think I now know why I am constantly busy delving into some other kid sport, function, activity, school work or what not... because, I would rather be busy living any day than sitting by myself "enjoying" quiet time. Because, as it's been said before, there's time to rest when your dead... Right now, I am going to keep on enjoying my crazy busy life, because there is no other way that I would want it.

Drive In Movie Night

We decided to take a family outing to one of the few remaining drive in theaters. My husband used to go all the time as a kid with his family, and I had never been to one, so we packed up the mini van full of kids (two extra - niece and nephew), treats, chairs, blankets and coffee for me, and headed to the Capri Drive In in Coldwater, MI.

It's a good hour away, so it gave the kids a chance to take a little nap on the way down ...

The drive in is actually pretty economical. I was surprised that the ticket prices were cheaper than a normal theater PLUS the cost was for two movies not one. We picked the "Land of the Lost" and "Night at the Museum" combo. It got a little wet at the beginning and the kids and Darrell all ended up in the van, while I tried to keep dry sitting on the bumper under the hatch...

It ended up staying mostly dry, and the kids had a great time. Now the drive in is the only movie they want to see!

Already June?

Wow, I can't believe it is June already. I feel like the summer has gotten away from me and it hasn't really even started yet. It's crazy... One kids' soccer season is done, the older two both have one more week and then a tournament next weekend, and then we can wrap up that sport, for a few months at least.

Football and cheer sign ups are forever ongoing. It seems like the sign up forms trickle in daily into our mailbox, but I cannot complain. This year we added 3 more grade levels and a flag football league, so we now run the league for Kindergarten - 8th grade. And, it seems like we keep adding other stuff to it as well. We are trying to add community involvement into the mix for the kids. Last year, we took the older players and they helped at the local assisted living home in town. I'm hoping this year's project will be to get a team together for the Relay for Life event in our town.

I am also working on getting actual "non-profit" status for us, which I found out will probably, also, be my research project for my bachelor's degree. I have a 6 credit, 250 hour, 50 - 200 page research project due next June... "How to obtain "Non-Profit" status" for our organization looks like what my research will be on. The application alone is scary, but thinking that I need to write a 8 chapter, probably 100 page paper, is even scarier! Again, someone remind me why I didn't finish school when I was 22? But, at least the work I do for our league this year can duplicate work that I need to do to finally get that degree.

So not much else has been going on... work, school, summer break... I'm still running, my sister has me on a "program" for this triathlon, and she informed me she is running another marathon (the whole 26 mile shabang) in October. I'll cheer her on in spirit, my legs were not made for a 3 - 4 hour run (of course for me that would be more like 7 - 8 hours I'm sure). I'm hoping to make it to 6 miles though, I told her I might, or rather MIGHT, try and run the 10k instead of the 5k with her in August, again let me emphasize M-I-G-H-T!!! It does feel good to run again though, the first mile is a killer and then after that it seems to get better - of course I'm only up to 2.5 miles!! I'm sure it gets worse again at some point. And, I've been trying to run with my oldest, who is more than willing to sprint ahead and leave me in his dust. But I have gracefully accepted that I am indeed getting old.

Oh, and I found out that I only have 2, yes TWO years, until he will be taking driver's training! If I didn't feel old before, I am definitely feeling old now! I also found out yesterday that he is now too old for his mommy to follow him around... I chaperoned his class trip to Michigan's Adventure. 225 middle school kids, running free as can be, around the park; five buses full of kids, who managed to intake a lot of sugar and candy right before time to leave... wonderful trip!

Such is life right? Anywhooo.... I guess that's the nutshell recap of the last month, since I've been too busy to keep up to date on this! I have a lot more planned for June as well, including some much needed SCRABOOKING!! It has been forever since I have done anything creative, and I ordered 368 pictures, and all the paper and "stuff" to go with it... Ladies, I do believe that it is time to get this party scrappin'!

Night all... ;-)

Summer Vacation...

I started to make plans earlier this week for a weekend camping trip for our family. Well, low and behold, practically our entire summer is booked already! I had to make up three different summer list/calendars as I kept missing something. Let's see, it's starts the week after school gets out with Ycamp and Football camp, and then there is soccer camp and speed camp. Next, is wrestling camp, quarterback camp, then flag football starts. Then, there is Lake Ann/Church camp, the second session of speed camp, then soccer and football start. Finally, my brother's wedding and Labor Day weekend, and then Thank Goodness SCHOOL STARTS BACK UP!

Crazy! Luckily we were able to get one weekend away in June to go to Petoskey and Mackinaw, and there is always the 4th of July weekend. But for the rest of the summer one of the three kids is busy at one time or another. I think I need to plan better, or at least find camps that collect my kids for me all at the same time! I have high hopes that it will be a good summer though. Busy as always, but good.

Other than that craziness, life has pretty much gotten back to normal since getting back from vacation. No developments of swine flu for us. I finished my last night of my writing class tonight, and will email my final paper to her next week, so I will get a one week break before my Organizations and Environments class starts (eww... business stuff). I plan to read another book, order some new scrapbook stuff, maybe order my vacation pictures, and clean... My poor house, she has been neglected for the last couple weeks! I know big plans to fill my one week, 4 hour section of freedom... Gotta dream big and I'll be glad if I just manage to get one or two of those things done! Oh, and more soccer games.

Here is the latest picture of our youngest kiddo at his last soccer game...

Mexican Vacation...

Wow, what a week! We arrived back home at 2am on Monday after travelling for almost 12 hours from LA... who knew that waiting around airports all day could be so tiring! However, the week we had was incredible. We took a Mexican Riviera Cruise (I knew nothing of swine flu until the day we got home) and stopped in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. It was an amazing week. After the craziness of life, that seems to surround me day in and day out, it was a much needed week. Darrell and I spent some fantastic "us" time together, and after 3 kids and 14 years, that in itself is much needed.

We did so many things during the week-a jeep trip through the Sierra Madres, a Catamaran ride in Cabo, an secluded island getaway-and it was all amazing, but I haven't quite recovered enough to blog about all of it. But, here are a few pictures!

Cabo San Lucas, and all the rock formations (covered in sea lions), was my favorite place!

And yes, the infamous pyramid, which we do on every vacation. Although we were much younger when we started taking vacations!

My dear hubbies note to me in the sand.... awwwww.... not sure how many years it's been since I received a love note from him!

My favorite sunset picture of the Pacific Ocean....

My most favorite dinner date of all!

One Year...

We found out yesterday that I have one year from today, and then those of us in the Michigan office will be receiving our 90 day termination letters. Our office will be closing in July of 2010 (Michigan economy really, really stinks right now). We kind of new it was coming, we thought it was possible, but we hoped otherwise. I love the people I work with, I love the flexibility of my job, and the balance it is giving me between home and work. I can try and keep a job, I have to reapply, and I would be based out of Ohio, and I'm not sure I would be given the opportunity to work from home for another unit, and there is no way that I am moving to Columbus.

The timing works out well. We couldn't ask for more time. A whole year plus the 90 days. I will graduate in June of next year, and will finally have my bachelor's degree. So, when the time does come, if I haven't found a transferable job within my company, I will have a degree in my pocket while looking for a new job. The part that stinks is that I don't think I will ever find a job that allows me the freedom that I have right now. I can work 10 hours a day, but it can be from home, and my lunch hour can be spent doing laundry or dishes. I can pick my kids up from school, go to their school events, and still put in at least my 8 hours if not more.

But, I'm trying not to dwell on the bad. I'm trying to focus on the fact that I have over a year to finish my degree and keep my fingers crossed that I can find something that will allow me the same freedom that I have right now... I'm trying to have that Faith that will allow me to breath and relax, and know that when one door closes that He will always open a window!

Mission Statement

So for my class, one of the projects is to create our Personal Mission Statement. I've gone through a few different versions. But I believe that this is my final one. I figured where better to post it than here. So here it is, my Mission in Life....

Personal Mission Statement
I will live my life deciding each day to face the day with a smile on my face. I will choose happiness and love in my life; I will share this love and happiness with my family, friends and with the community around me. I will grow old with riches beyond measure, the eternal types of riches – love, Faith, family, friends and happiness. And, when God unleashes a thunderstorm, I will marvel in the beauty and the blessings of his work, and put my worries in His hands.

Mr. Right

I blogged a while back, over a year ago, http://thoughtsofval.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-one-person.html, about My One Person, My Dear Husband. Now, I know as well as most of you that in almost 14 years of marriage that we all give a lot of ourselves, and we also give up pieces of us to make the whole that much stronger. God gave us our partners in marriage because they make us the complete person that we are. I know I would be lost without my other half. I look at couples that have made 30, 40 and 50 years of marriage, and I know that is what I want. I want to know that I can stick through all the ups and downs and when I'm 85 years old and dancing at my grand kids weddings that I will still be dancing with the love of my life.

I am thankful everyday for the husband that I have. Not that marriage is perfect, if you know the secret to a Perfect Marriage, make sure to let me in on that, but I really believe that the whole give and take balance is what makes it work. You have to give some to get some, or something like that. So recently, my husband found something he wasn't comfortable with, it is nothing "bad" in any sort of way, but it wasn't something that he felt good about. And asking me to give that portion of my life up was part of the give and take of our relationship. I was shocked at first, taken aback, but when it came down to it, I knew that if I approached him in all honesty about something that I wasn't "comfortable" with, that he would love me enough to do the same.

I also know that in today's world, when half of my friends are divorced, facing divorce, or single parents from the get go, that keeping my marriage happy, secure and focused on each other is the only way to secure that in another 14 years we will be so close to that 30 year mark. That we will be able to look at each other and know in our hearts that each and every sacrifice that we have made has taken our marriage to a new level, and that we will make the best out of the relationship that God has blessed us with, and in doing so, we will teach our children how to treat the ones that you love and care for.

On the Praise and Coffee site (see my blog list), she had a video posted, "I'm Singing"... I'm Singing right now because I have a husband that I am proud of, who loves me, and who I love in return.

Wrestling

Yes, I will admit, that I am a fan of wrestling. Not the WWF stuff, but real school wrestling, folkstyle they call it. I've been around the sport almost 2 decades between watching my husband in high school, then my brothers, then watching my husband coach my brothers, and now my son. And, I have to say that it is a tough sport. Think hand to hand combat with technique and rules.

I know I posted before about the sportsmanship aspect of some of the tournaments - http://thoughtsofval.blogspot.com/2009/01/sportsmanship.html and, there will always be parents and kids, coaches and refs that may not always act as they should. I could name more than a handful of incidents from the last two days of sitting in gyms; however, I also feel that this unfortunately happens with every sport. Anyway, today and yesterday, it was the "good" things that hit me about the tournaments and the sport.

I saw one of my husbands favorite wrestlers, fight off his back and turn around and pin his opponent. It was so great, because it was a JV kid that my husband pulled up because he has a heart the size of Texas. This kid will give it 110% all the time, and while he is not even close to having a winning record, he earned a spot yesterday based on his heart alone. This kid is, too put it nicely, height challenged and a little on the heavy side. All of his opponents are much taller and built stronger than he is, but for the life of them, they cannot pin this kid. He may lose, but he will last the entire three periods and give it all he has the whole time. We all love this kid, we love to watch him wrestle, win or lose, just to see the display of guts that he has. I think a lot of his opponents are shocked after they go three rounds with him, as I know some of them initially think, "easy pin ahead," and then find it's not so.

When this kid one, the whole crowd cheered, one of our coaches had tears in his eyes and jumped about 18 inches off the ground. It was such a "feel good" moment that all the other stuff that is usually annoying at tournaments just didn't matter anymore. It was all worth it to see that one kid get a win.

Now, as a female, I don't remember that many individual matches. My brain just doesn't function that way, whereas, all the guys can say remember 25 years ago when so and so wrestled so and so, at such and such school, and won 5 - 4... What? Who remembers that stuff? Like I said, not many female brains work that way (generalized gender comment maybe, but I believe it is fact). But this match, I will remember. I will remember seeing this kid gut it out, and give it all. As they say, "The first period goes to the kid with the best technique; the second period goes to the kid in the best condition; and the third period goes to the kid with the biggest heart."