American Pop Culture

For those of you that did not continue to college and finish with some kind of degree and you are not married, newly married, or married without children - go back and get it done. I wish I had gone to school when I didn't have so much other stuff that needed to be done. Now for those of you that know me well, know that I am not the best at getting most household jobs such as folding laundry, cleaning floors, or exercising done, but now I don't do my class work to clean my house, fold laundry, or go for a walk. My bathrooms have been cleaned once a week for about a month now. I don't do bathrooms. I make dinner every night. I never did that before. Anything to get out of writing a paper about the influences of American Pop Culture on other countries or whether a teacher should have the right to boot a kid out of class that is disruptive.

So Sad :(

The envelope containing the information to renew the Disney Annual Passports came today. I am so sad to rip it up and throw it in the garbage. I may have to pin it to the wall for a couple of days before I actually do it. Or maybe I will let the kids put it through the shredder. Pray for me, I need the extra strength.

Allynn is getting old.

This month, Allynn will have her 11th birthday. I am shocked at how old she is. She is a great helper. She is so smart. Her teachers are so impressed with her. Right now she is addicted to the Twilight books. A book report was assigned to her class on a work of fiction. This was assigned in early September with the due date of October 15th (tomorrow). For two weeks she struggled with what book she was going to read. Then she saw the Twilight books on the shelf and asked if she could read that for her book report. I actually tried to discourage her and offered to help her find a smaller book so she could get the reading done quickly and finish the report and project early. NO, she decided that Twilight was the book she was going to read. So we sat down and looked at how many pages there were in the book and decided that if she read 100 pages per week, she would finish with over a week to work on her report and poster. She is amazing. Not only did she finish the book and her report, she is already in the middle of the third book of the series. I tell you this because she is such a great child! I cannot explain how much I love her and how important she is to this family. Today while I was looking through some old files on the computer, I came across this old email that I thought would be fun to reminisce about.

Tuesday, August, 27, 2002 (The first days of Allynn going to Kindergarten in California)

We have made it through the second day of school without incident.
The first day, I would like to do over!!

We got up at the time we needed and everything was going very smoothly until 730 when we should have been leaving but Austin was upset. I decided to nurse him for 5 min then we would leave. That still gave us 15 min to get to school. Then we got
to the Jr. High and I realized I had forgotten her paper that needs to be pined to her for the first 2 weeks. I contemplated whether or not to go back for it. My mistake was going back for it. Then I threw everyone in the car and took off. It takes longer to drive to school than to walk!! I could not find a place to park so I thought I was going to have to tell Allynn to get out and find her class when I saw our friend Erinn Hansen. She jumped in the car with Sydney and Austin and I was able to take Allynn to her class and take a few pictures. It took me a while to calm down after that. I was so upset that I had not been better prepared. I was frustrated and wanted to cry but Allynn was wondering what was wrong. I told her I was having trouble getting her to school, so she started yelling at me that she wanted to go to school. But, now all is well and she really likes it.

Today she said that her teacher was not nice to her, and left it at that. When we got home I asked her more about it and it turns out that her teacher would not let her be the leader of the line out to the pick up point. She got over it real fast. She said she would still go back tomorrow.

Oh, our wonderful Allynn.

It's cold and I'm in school.

Class distractions

It's that time again. Week 6 of my 9 week class. The time that should be used for last minute research, outline tweaking, and the start of the rough draft for the final paper. Time that if spent wisely would result in a better final grade. But since that is what I am supposed to be doing - of course I have found something else entirely different to spend my time.

Yesterday was Jason's first day of work (and he really enjoyed it!!). I found myself with no one to talk to except for Kelsey and Renni. Not the most intelligent conversation, but at least I am not talking to myself. While they were playing nicely on the floor, I thought I would take the time to clean out the two cupboards above the bar-counter. I have been thinking about this for a while and decided it was time to just get it done. These two cupboards had become the "junk draw" of the kitchen.

Then I had a thought about a cabinet left over from closing Jason's office. I wanted to know if it would fit under the stairs to create more storage in the kitchen. I managed to measure and get it moved into place without much fuss.

Now I have the cupboard empty and new storage under the stairs - the next thought was - "What need do I have for this cupboard anymore?" Good question. Jason checked in with me at one point in the afternoon by texting me. I texted back that I was attempting to demo the kitchen. His reply was "SEND PICS!" so I did. The pictures were not scary, but I am sure his mind was racing at the thought of coming home to a demolished kitchen. I tried to take the cupboard down myself, but stripped the screws. So when Jason got home about 5:30, he looked at it and then used the saws-all to cut the screws! It was great. The cupboard came down nice and neat and in one piece. Now my kitchen is open. It was a rather eventful day.

New Post

I know - no new posts for a while. I always want to know what is going on with everyone else and now it is my turn to get something written. I am in the 5th week of my current block of classes and I am struggling. This education class and the humanities class talk a lot about philosophy and how we are all shaped by the philosophy we live by. I am having trouble understanding where the the line is between religion and philosophy. The Western philosophies are logical and scientific. The Eastern philosophies are spiritual and introspective. I have religion in my life - doesn't everyone? What more do I need? I am so confused. I am hoping the next 4 weeks go by really fast and I pass with a C in each class. I am so confused that I think this post is confusing.

We are glad it is October. Allynn is counting down the days to her birthday when she will turn 11 and she and I get take her birthday trip to Disneyland. We are excited that we get to go. We were lucky enough that Jason had a left over Southwest ticket from when he was flying to So. Cal once a month and we are using his hotel points he accumulated all last year. I am excited for a break. And it comes at just the right time, my class finals are due that Sunday, so I am attempting to work ahead so I will have everything turned in by Thursday morning before we leave.

Our grass is still growing in nicely. That has been a great highlight to this year!! And now for the best news of all - Jason has been offered a position at Integra Telecom!! YEAH!!!! He starts on Monday in the Customer Service department which is where everyone starts with this company. The two men he interviewed with have been with the company for 6 and 8 years and were very encouraging about the growth this company expects despite the economy right now. We are excited. They ask that he work the customer service department for one year and then he is eligible to apply to other positions in the company. His office will not be 2 mins. down the street but it is in Reno and we are grateful for that!

Thank you for all the prayers and help we have received from friends and family. We have been strengthened by your love for us!!

Mom - I don't think we will be moving into your basement as soon as we thought. Maybe next time! :)