Words....

Last night, Benjamin was working on his homework.  I told him he needed to write his name on his paper.  This turned into a very interesting conversation between B, Jim, and me.  We began talking about names, what we had considered for names for Benjamin before he was born, the discussion of the name Theodore and that Jim likes that name, but my Dad doesn't. (For those reading this, my dad's name is Theodore)  Jim said to B, "If your first name was Theodore, we could call you 'TB' ".  Benjamin asked, "What is TB?"  I explained it was a disease of the lungs.  Benjamin said, "Oh, I thought that was vangina". 

Well, I'm sure you can imagine the laughter that erupted from me.  After I calmed down, I had to explain that "angina" is a heart condition, but TB was a lung disease.  I did NOT address the other "v-word" at this time.  :)

3 and 1/2 Weeks

3 and 1/2 weeks....that is how long Benjamin's lunch box was "lost" at school.  Yesterday, he found and brought home his lunch box that he had misplaced on October 14th.  It wasn't empty, either.  He had taken a "hot lunch" in his thermos.  I don't remember what it was (maybe spaghetti) and didn't hang out on the porch when Jim opened the lunchbox, then the thermos.  Benjamin had also taken apple juice in a plastic water bottle that day, but he had only drunk 1/2 of the juice.  Do you know what happens to apple juice left in an enclosed bottle for 3 1/2 weeks at room temperature?  OH BOY!  The bottle had expanded and was nearly football shaped, but had not burst yet, thank goodness.  We didn't open the bottle up, but I can imagine what that concoction would smell and taste like!
I have to admit, it was a little funny, but mostly disgusting and I certainly hope Benjamin does not do that again!

Over the River and Through the Woods

Well, not exactly over the river, but definitely through the woods!  Can you guess where we went by looking at these pictures?

Some sort of animal skull and a jawbone of a deer or dog, we think

Treasures!  Coal, granite, and railroad ties.  :)

We brought home an animal skull and a jawbone, some coal, granite and railroad ties.  Yep, we went on a hike through the woods and down to the railroad track.  We then followed the tracks for a couple of miles to a side road, then out to the main highway (Route 41) and climbed back up to Ridgetop...up the 4% grade...what a workout!  But we had a great time and hiked over 6 miles! 

Jim and Benjamin inside the tunnel

Just an offshoot of one of the paths we took that I thought was really pretty

Do you see the butterfly?

We took the fun way down the hill

This tree completely blocked part of the path we take to the railroad tracks - Benjamin is 4'9" and is standing by the root of the tree!

Fall Break 2011

The new Pool Boy at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS

Benjamin and his girlfriend

Add caption

So where should I park?

Johnny's Po-Boys in New Orleans...so good!

Grammar Snob

The past few weeks, I've been reviewing resumes, hoping to find someone to hire to work with me.  It's very hard for me not to be too critical of the resumes.  I have had a lot of experience with writing resumes and taken some classes to learn more about resume writing.  However, if an agency is sending resumes like some I have received, I really have to start questioning their abilities.  

I admit that I am a grammar snob. I don't always get my own grammar correct, I realize that. However, if somoene is typing a business communication, such as an email or resume, he or she should take some time to proofread the document or have someone else proofread it. At the very least, run it through Microsoft Word Spelling and Grammar Check! 

Sometimes, the mistakes are funny.  Last Friday, one such resume made me laugh so hard that I cried.  It still gives me a chuckle when I think about it.  The sentence reads, "...the ability to solve issues, and finish projects in a timely manor."  I read this sentence about 3 times before I was postitive that I was correct in thinking the proper use of the word is "manner".  And then I really started laughing because I thought to myself, "Hmmm, I want to have a timely manor in which to finish MY projects rather than working at my desk."  I got the giggles all over again, especially when I envisioned what my "timely manor" would look like. 

Ironically, we interviewed the person who wrote this resume and have hired him to work for us.  I can help someone with writing and grammar if they will help me take care of my network. 

Obituaries

Almost every day, I read the obituaries in our newspaper.  Yes, I realize I am only in my 40s and you might find it morbid that I read the obits daily.  I find it interesting and informative...and sad.  Interesting when I read about someone 100 years old or older dying.  I think, "What a long life they lived!" and  "Imagine all the amazing (and not so amazing) changes they saw over their lifetime."   I have also realized that loved ones of friends have passed away, giving me a chance to reach out to them as I may not be in touch as often as I once was.  And then I ran across an obituary last week that brought back memories of when I was in high school.  There was a notice that a woman had died and as I read her name, I thought, "That name sounds familiar and her face is familiar, but I cannot place her."  I read through her column and there it was - the reason I knew this lady.  Back in the 80's she taught water aerobics at the YMCA where I worked.  She must have been in her 60s then and I always loved it that an "older" person worked with me doing the same things I did, even though we were years apart in age.  Annie (not her real name) was such a kind woman with a great sense of humor.  I didn't really know her all that well, but working with her gave me a new respect for "older" people and their abilities.
I will continue to read the obituaries and hopefully not be able to recognize too many people I know too soon.

Suprise!

On Saturday, we were coming home from shopping and decided to stop at the neighbor's garage sale.  As we walked up the drive, they said, "We have one kitten left - free to a good home".  I said, "We already have too many, but thanks."  I then went to see it, of course.  No harm in looking.  It was a cute, fluffy, gray furball of sweetness about 5 weeks old.  Just as cute and loving as could be.  I walked towards the books to see what I wanted to take home and Jim walked over to the kitten and took it out of the little cage it was in.  He was holding it and I was listening halfway to the conversation he was having with the owner, when I heard him say, "We'll take him".  I was totally floored.  I think if we had won the lottery I would have been less surprised.  So now we have another kitten for a total of 5 kittens and 5 adult cats.  The funny thing is that "Smokey" was the one that was hissing and carrying on when we first introduced him to the other cats.  ALL of the other cats just accepted him as if he'd been there the whole time, more or less ignoring him.   Oh, our "Mama" cat had that look on her face like, "Is THAT another KITTEN?  Are you KIDDING?"  We told her to chill out and she didn't give Smokey too much trouble.

By Sunday afternoon, I was in stitches watching the 4 older kittens romping around, attacking each other, and generally having a grand time.  I'll have some pictures soon if this little furball will ever sit still.

My Smart Alec Son

My son can be a smart alec.  If you have spent at least 10 minutes with him, you know this for a fact.  Most of the time, he's really funny when he's a smart alec.  The other small percentage of the time he's "not so funny".

Yesterday, he was a funny smart alec.....at my expense....and yes, I laughed.  We were driving in Franklin, TN and I have not driven downtown on Columbia Avenue in years.  There was a HUGE new building on this road and I was trying to figure out what it was.  Benjamin looked at me and said, "Mom, that is the police department." and pointed out the HUGE lamps out front that said "POLICE".  I had been looking at the building itself while trying to drive and completely missed the obvious.  We continued down this road, stopping at all the red lights, and each building we passed or stopped at, he would say, "and there is the bank...and there is the church....and that is a gas station."

I have to admit it was pretty funny hearing him tease me.

Annual School Fundraisers - UGH!

I've been thinking about our annual school fundraisers.  Yes, my son is selling cookie dough and coupon books.  While I think it is important for kids to learn that it takes money to run the school programs, it's very difficult for me, my family, and my friends to support each other's schools.  I mean, how many candy bars, coupon books, and popcorn tins does a family need?  And not ALL the money we pay for these items goes to the school - only a percentage of the sales is directed into the school. 

At Benjamin's last school, they requested a donation from each child and/or family - not mandatory, mind you.  They suggested $65 payable to the school's PTO to be used for various needs at the school.  While it was so easy just to write the check each year, I realize not all families can spare $65...or even spare $5!  Additionally, just having the parents write a check doesn't really teach the students about supporting their school.  Oh, the school also had a fundraiser where families would donate items or services and ask area businesses to do the same.  Then they would have an auction and dinner in the spring.  Yes, this is another expensive way to raise funds, but the money did go directly to the school because all items were donated. 

So I have been thinking about all these school fundraisers and how we could possibly approach this differently.  I recall as a teenager, there was a "slave day" at the church, where families would be able to take home a teenager to do chores around the house and yard.  They would pay money to the youth group instead of paying the student for his or her time...hence the term "slave day".  With most kids at a school living in nearby neighborhoods, this probably wouldn't work too well.  And again, many families just don't have the money to donate to schools. 

Another thought I had was to have a child sign up for a chore at the school and have a specific Saturday in the fall and spring set aside for things like cleaning the desks, cleaning up the school grounds, washing windows, working in the flower beds, etc.  Parents, neighbors, grandparents, etc. could "sponsor" a child for the time or chore they completed.  This way, the student builds pride in his school and works to get the money sponsored for their chores.  Students would solicit money from parents, grandparents, neighbors, businesses, etc. for either the number of hours they put in or the number of chores they did or something like that.  There could be a prize for the student who rasied the most money, one for the student who put in the most hours or completed the most chores, but these prizes should be limited to something small to eliminate spending a lot of the proceeds destined for the school on the student. 

Am I crazy?  Does anyone else feel this way about fundraising? 

Treasures

Life is full of little treasures.  Most of the time, they appear when we least expect it.  A few years ago, Benjamin, Jim and I were on a hike near our house and found a Tennessee Box Turtle shell.  It was in perfect condition and we still have it at our house.
A couple of Saturdays ago, I went on a walk around the block.  As I was nearing the end of the sidewalk, I just happened to look down and see something at the edge of the sidewalk next to the grass.  It was a 5 dollar bill.  At first, I thought it wasn't real, but when I examined it more closely, I saw it was a 1963 5 dollar bill in fantastic condition - as if it had never really been in circulation.  It's sitting in our firebox until we can determine if it's worth more than just $5 or maybe it's a good-luck charm and we should go buy a lottery ticket with it.  ;)
Last week, Jim went to a garage sale and got some really cool treasures.  He got 10 books, a pencil holder, a lava lamp and a waffle iron.  This was no ordinary waffle iron, though.  It was an old one, but in really great condition.  The cord is wrapped in cloth, but not frayed.  He cleaned it up and looked up the serial number online and found it was made in the early 1950's!  It works great too!  He paid $5 for it and found a place online selling similar ones for $50 - $150!!!  I think we'll keep this one, though.  It makes fantastic waffles because it gets REALLY hot, so the outsides are really crispy and the insides are "just right"!  :) 

So be on the lookout for treasures in your life...they come along when you least expect it!

Cars

When I was in college, I had a Pontiac Sunbird.  We called it the Sunturd, but it was a pretty good first car.  I had some trouble with it right after I took it to college the first time, but after a few hundred dollars, it was working fine again.  A few years later, it started doing some really strange things.  First, every time I started the car, the windshield wipers would wipe the windshield 1 time.  And if I used them in the rain, I had to get them to a very specific point between off and on to turn them off.  If you actually put them in the OFF position, they would go REALLY fast...faster than the "fast" setting when they were on.  One day, I noticed to odomoter was going backwards very quickly.  When I stepped on the brake, just to slow down a bit, it stopped and began going forward at a normal pace.  I actually drove from Nashville to Memphis and back one time and ended up with 3 miles less on the odometer than when I started out.  Crazy car!  I learned how to change the oil and change a distributor cap on that car.  Dad labeled the spark plugs for me and showed me what to do so I would not screw up the engine.  I went to some auto store to get a "Cap and Rotor".  When I asked for a "cap and rotor", the guy looked at me like I had 3 heads...I actually had to say, (slowly) "Distributor Cap and Rotor" before he understood what I needed.  Maybe he was just surprised that a girl was asking for parts to fix her own car. 

My current car is a 2002 VW Passat.  I love this model of this car.  It's just the right size and has a lot of electronics in it.  However, the electronics are becoming an issue.  My sunroof can either open wide or tilt up.  Occasionally, it will tilt up on its own.  I'll be driving down the interstate and hear it open.  I have to turn the knob to open it, then close it to get it to close.  Yesterday, it was REALLY hot as I left work.  I got in the car and started my journey to pick up Benjamin.  I realized that the AC wasn't cooling.  I looked at the console and saw it said "-- C*" where it normally says the temp (105 F*).  UGH!  The electronics are starting to malfunction.  I drove to get Benjamin and turned the car off.  I waited about 10 seconds and turned the car back on - still no air.  I grabbed a pair of shorts and tank top I just happened to have in the car, preparing for a HOT ride home.  I changed clothes and B and I got into the car.  I told him to go ahead and take his shirt, shoes and socks off because it was going to get hot.  When I started the car, the AC kicked on!  WOO HOO!  We had a nice, comfortable, clothed ride home yesterday.  Hopefully, the electronics will calm down and I can keep this car for a bit longer.  It has just over 101,000 miles on it.  Just turned over 100,000 miles a week and 1/2 ago!  (Yeah, I drive a lot of miles every day)

A Possum, a frog, and a mouse

No, it's not the beginning of a dirty joke...or a clean one either.  I am referring to my interactions of these animals over the past few weeks. 

First, the possum.  A couple of Sundays ago, I went outside and noticed that something had been in our trashcan and torn up the trash bag to find something good to eat, I suppose.  I went over to clean it all up and as I went to push the empty trashcan from a leaning position to an upright position, I saw a possum in the bottom of this trashcan and he just looked up at me.  I didn't stick around long - jumped back, said a few choice cuss words and went inside.  Realizing the possum wasn't getting out anytime soon, I went ahead and went about my business, waiting for Jim and Jim Jr. to wake up.  Finally, I talked Jim Jr. into taking the possum in the trashcan over to the woods to release him.  Hurray for guys!  :)

Last week, I was getting into my shower and noticed a tree frog in the tub.  He was SO cute!  He was light green with black eyes and about the size of a half-dollar (remember those?).  I was able to get him into my hands and take him outside to the flowerbed.

The mouse was not as lucky as the possum and the frog.  We had to set a trap for him last night and this morning, he was not among the living anymore.  He was pretty ugly.  He had some nasty long teeth!  YUCK!  Of course, I took him out to the cats and they didn't want it, but the kittens decided he was worth fighting over.  They were really funny to watch with this dead mouse.  Maybe they will take a hint and catch live ones before they get into the house!

Flight of the Bumblebee

In keeping with the musical theme of my family's blogs yesterday, I will tell you about the time I wanted to quit piano lessons. 

I started taking piano at the age of 8 from Mrs. Degenhart (sorry if this is spelled wrong) in Normal, IL.  It was just something my family did - take piano lessons.  I guess I liked playing, I never really thought about it until I got into Jr. High.  By then, we'd moved to Carmel, IN and I was taking lessons for $7 or $7.50 per 1/2 hour from a lady who was very strict, but also VERY good.  In 7th grade, I asked my folks if I could quit lessons.  Dad told me that I had to learn "Flight of the Bumblebee" before I could quit.  Somehow, I got the sheet music for this piece and talked my teacher into helping me learn it.  I did not tell her WHY I wanted to learn it, though.

Little did I know that I would fall in love with the runs on the keyboard and speed of this piece.  I mastered this piece as much as a 13 year old can master it and memorized it for my spring recital.  I loved playing this song and was pretty good at it if I do say so myself.  After the recital, I decided I really didn't want to quit.  I asked my parents if I could continue taking lessons and they said yes!  Thank goodness!  I continued taking lessons and learning "fast" pieces until 10th grade when I quit because of sports, band and after-school jobs.  I have the old, wonderful, memory-filled piano in my house now.  It's out of tune and not played nearly enough, but I love having it near me.  Maybe I'll start playing more and learn something new...or re-learn the pieces that brought me so much joy in my youth.

Shadow Puppets

This school year, Benajmin starts school at 7:20am.  This means we must leave the house by 6:15 at the latest.  Right now, the sun is just rising as we're leaving the house.  Today, as we were travelling on the interstate headed South, the sun was coming up and shining through the car, casting a shadow of our car on the cement retainer wall to our right.  Benjamin began waving his hand and then did a little shadow puppet show and then got really tickled about it.  This might be one of those things that "you had to be there", but if you know me and B, you might also get a chuckle.  ;)

The upside of leaving so early is there are rarely any backups on the interstate.  There is a lot more traffic than I expected there to be this early, but at least we're moving at a good pace.  The other upside is that I get to leave the office at 4:30 to go pick B up.  Of course, by then, there IS a lot of traffic, but we're not on a deadline to get somewhere, except home where we want to be. 

Crossing Paths

Over my short life, I've crossed paths with many people - sometimes more than once.  I was thinking about that this morning and thought it would be kind of neat to see how many times we have crossed paths our current friends and acquaintances. 

See, this all started when I was in high school.  When I was a senior, I was taking a speech class and one of the guys in there gave a speech on the Cubs and said something about growing up in the midwest.  After class, I asked him where he had grown up.  He said "Illinois".  I asked him what town.  He said, "Oh, you've probably never even heard of it."  I said, "Try me."  He said, "Normal".   Of course, I told him that is where I was born.  It turns we were in morning Kindergarten, but had different teachers.  He said that he had moved after Kindergarten, so I asked him where he had lived.  He started naming a few more states and when he got to "Indiana", I stopped him and said that I had lived in Indiana for 4 years.  Turns out, we were both in Carmel at the same time, but went to two different Jr. High Schools.  And then we were in high school together in Tennessee.  We ended up going to our Sr. Prom together and hung out the summer after we graduated high school.  He came to visit me one time in college, but I have not heard from him since then. 

I also thought about meeting my 1st husband by chance.  We had both lived in Indiana at the same time, but opposite sides of Indianapolis.  We had gone to different high schools in Tennessee in neighboring towns, but we were at UTK at the same time and had been going to Belmont at the same time when we met through a mutual friend. 

And I am sure that Jim and I crossed paths at some point years ago.  Mom used to take us down to Music Row, which doesn't exist anymore.  Jim had a shop called "The Hat Closet" and I am sure we were in there or near there at least once or twice. 

Yes, I think these random thoughts a lot.  Do you have random thoughts?  ;)

1st Day of School

Benjamin's 1st day of school is today.  He is starting not only a new school in a new district, but is attending "Intermediate" school.  That means it is for 5th and 6th graders only and it's like a Jr. High with lockers and everything!  He was a bit nervous about using a locker and changing classes.  I think he was afraid they would expect him to know all about it and wouldn't help him at all.  I tried to reassure him all week that the teachers would work with him like they did in 4th grade when they started changing classes and would tell him exactly what he needed to know.

He did just fine this morning - didn't seem nervous at all until we got to the school.  I, on the other hand, got all teary-eyed after I left him there.  Thank goodness I waited until I was in the car to show my emotions. I'm sure he would have been mortified to see my tears in the school. 

So far, the experiences at the school have been positive.  Registration went great and this morning, everyone was very friendly and helpful.  I think this is going to be a good year and also a growing year.  His last school was pretty protective and I think this school will put more expectations of responsibility on him, which will be good.

Here are a few pictures of him this morning:

Numbers

My doc gave me some numbers last week.  90, 50, 184, 52, 70, and 104.  These are all GOOD numbers.  For instance, my fasting blood sugar level was 90.  That's good.  My Vitamin D level is 50.  Well, DUH!  Have you seen my tan?   HE HE!  My total cholesterol is 184, Triglycerides were 52, HDL was 70 and LDL was 104.  I have to say I am very pleased with these results.  Pleased and relieved.  I know I am not as healthy as I could be, but I do try to eat right most of the time and I have really good genes.  Thanks, Mom and Dad! 
I had some other appointments with tests run and the results they sent me said I am "Normal".  Okay, they didn't really say *I* was normal, but the results were within the normal range.  I guess if they had said I was normal, I would have probably reported them to whoever handles docs who don't know what they are talking about.  HA HA!  The only thing normal about me is where I was born, and I'm really proud of that!  :D

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

No, I'm not talking about the Simon and Garfunkel song...I'm talking about the actual spices.  I cannot cook...or rather, I don't enjoy cooking.  I've never been able to understand how spices and flavors work together.  I can't even conjure up the idea of these flavors in my head.  Oh, sure, I know what garlic, salt, and pepper taste like, but not anything more than that. 
Additionally, I almost always burn myself if I am using the oven.  I almost always touch the elements on the top of the oven or the racks in the oven when I am pulling items out after they are done cooking.  Yes, I use towels and/or potholders and STILL burn myself.  I did the same thing last night.  Jim had put the iron skillet in the oven to keep the chicken warm.  I was up, so he asked me to take it out, warning me to be careful and use a potholder to take it out so I wouldn't burn myself.  I took a dishtowel and folded it up to wrap around the handle.  My pinky on my right hand did not have any protection and I touched it to the handle as I started removing the skillet from the oven.  The good thing is that I did not drop the skillet.  I actually had enough sense in my head to put the skillet back in the oven, remove the dishtowel and put it on the counter before heading to the sink to run cold water on my pinky.  Whoa is me!  HA HA! 
I'm just very thankful and lucky that I have married a man who is extremely skilled in the kitchen, both with combining spices to make food taste incredible and has the ability to not burn himself when using the cooking appliances.

The Official Guide to Marrying a Tingley Woman

In 1995, my sisters and their first husbands wrote (and I use this term loosely) a book to give to my first husband (I sense a theme here) before we got married.  The title was "The Official Guide to Marrying a Tingley Woman" and if you have ANY knowledge of the Tingley Family and the TU Organization, this book is hysterical.

This is the title page - it's fading, but still readable.  And you already know the title.  I love the picture, though!

These two pages are fading as well.  The part on the left says:

"© 1995 by

Tingley United Press, Inc.
Worldwide publishers of quality Tingley promotional materials.
Note: All artistic renderings are purely fictional. Any resemblance to real individuals dead or alive, is pure happenstance and entirely unintentional, in no way reflecting the abilities or talents of the artists."

On the right side of the page above, there is a picture of a girl with a Barbie doll.  She is rubbing the boobies down so that Barbie's clothes wouldn't be so tight.  The text in yellow reads:

"(The rumors that Lorena Bobbit carried Tingley genes are not true!!!) "

I think the rest of these pictures are readable, although you may want to click on them so you can enlarge and read them better.

Busy!

Has it really been a month since I last blogged?   It's been busy, both at work and at home, but things are settling down a bit.  At work, we migrated our network connection to an MPLS network.  Basically we switched how we connect to our offices and to the internet.  Yeah, that is a basic overview.  It's much more complicated than that, but I won't bore you with all the details. 
The migration did not go as smoothly as we had hoped.  Not only were we in the office 4 hours longer than we expected to be on the night of the cutover, but it has taken 3 weeks to resolve some pretty strange issues with faxing and remote connectivity.  At least things are getting resolved and we can start looking ahead to new projects.
At home, over the past few weeks, we were preparing for a party at our house.  There was a lot of work to be done to get the place ready for all our family to arrive, but it was worth every minute of preparation.  I know I did a lot of work the day of the party, but I really did enjoy the time we all had together.  I think next time, we should gather at a hotel like we did in 1997 and just go bowling.  HA HA HA! 
So between trying to figure out a bunch of weird IT issues with our new network and preparing for a gathering of my family, I guess I haven't had much time at all to blog.  Well, I'm back now.  Aren't you all so excited!  :D

Ben is TEN!

Benjamin was born a decade ago today!  Yes, my little boy is 10 and growing up fast.  Here are some pictures to see how he's changed and grown over the years.

This was taken right after Benjamin was born

1st Birthday

"Happy Self Portrait"

Benjamin took this picture above himself.  It's one of my favorties.

Icing Face

B was eating an iced cookie and really enjoyed it!

Driving

3rd Birthday

Benjamin making a wish in New Orleans

Benjamin in Biloxi

Standing on the ice in our pool in February 2009 on a warm day!

Benjamin, Miss O'Brien, and Jakob

He's already driving!!

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

Happy Father's Day

I have sent my dad a Father's Day card, wished him Happy Father's Day on Facebook, and now am writing a blog to honor him.  I'll call him later just to be sure he's having a good day.  :)
I could sit here and write a bunch of words about Dad, but I think I'd like to share my memories via photographs.  Enjoy!

This is Dad when he was a little boy. 

This is Dad and his brother Gale when they were young

Here is Dad and Gale in 2010

This is Dad with his beautiful family in the early 60's.

This is me and Dad in the 70's

Dad and Mom - what a handsome couple!

Benjamin and Grandad.

We were in Oklahoma in the picture above and there was music playing outside.  Dad kneeled down with Benjamin and began singing to him.  I was lucky enough to capture the magical moment.

Do I really need a caption for this picture?  I think the T-Shirt says it all.