Stupid media

So, the media is full of weather hype, which can only lead to disappointment if you are a student of USD 501 or Washburn University.

Even though I am not a student, I must admit that the prospect of a snowday still thrills me and delights me. Knowing full well it takes a major weather incident to cancel class, I still stayed warm under my covers longer than I should have.

I blame the media. All the hype in the world does not close these two organizations. And, to add insult to injury, we are forced to scroll through ALL THE OTHER CLOSINGS before we reach the two that never close.

AAUUUGGGHH. Stop talking about the "severe" weather, mr. meterologist, cause I'm not buying it!

8,114 words

Yes, I have 8,114 words. And, yes, that's a few shy of the 50,000 required. I'm behind, but I'm still plugging along.

Oh, well. I am having fun writing it. I need to upload my pages, but I like to update it here as well. I am enjoying the story so far, but I have yet to show anyone.

Monthly madness

So, I had a wellness coaching session Monday. It went well, but I am already doubting my ability to stick with a plan that is to my betterment.

After watching a bit of Bridget Jones for the second time in three days, damn cable tv to hell, I find myself identifying with Ms. Jones.

Oh, I've got some of the equation right. I have a fantastic husband and two great boys. I have a job I love as well. It's just ME that I seem to have a problem with.

I do not desire to be a super model. OK, I have "accepted" the fact that I am no super model. I mean, who would turn down super-model-dom? Surely, not me.

At any rate, Ms. Jones constantly resolves to do better in a few key areas and then battles herself as she attempts to stay within the limits she has for herself.

I eat crap. I gain weight like crazy. I hate shopping for clothes because it only illustrates how completely unsuccesful I am at losing weight and I totally lack fashion sense.

The coach asked me a lot of questions that got me thinking. One stands out. She asked me what benefits I got from eating at McDonald's. Huh? Benefit? Well, she said there had to be one or I wouldn't do it. Hmph!

I really want to lose weight as the result of living a healthier lifestyle. Mostly because I want to be a good role model for my boys, and I don't want them to find me to be an embarrasment either. And, I don't want them to have to struggle with food choices forever.

A friend of mine argues that motivation, self-control and discipline are pretty close concepts. Ha! Not to me. They might as well be an ocean away from each other.

At the result of this meeting, I did make some goals, which I shall share. I'll keep you posted.

By the end of February, I Regina Anne (yes, note the 'e' at the end) will be exercising two days a week (specifically in the a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays), drinking (would be lots more fun to stop here) 62 ounces of water seven days a week and limiting my eating out at lunch to two times per month.

But, by the of one week, which ends Nov. 28, I was to become an SRWC member (check!) and drink 32 oz. of water for at least 5 of the 7 days (let's see, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Oooh, I can still make this one, too!)

She also said that one should keep the number 3,200 in mind. That's roughly 100 calories a day to a pound. Decrease 100 calories and lose 1 pound in a month. Or eat the same amount and increase burning of 100 calories (yes, this would be exercise. She said walking about a mile would do this.)

Think about it, you eat four Hershey's kisses, about 100 calories, and it takes 1 mile to burn it off? Hmm. How does that work out with time? If you are slow and do a 10 minute mile, that would be 10 minutes to work off 10 seconds of eating. NOT FAIR. NOT FAIR. NOT FAIR. NOT FAIR. Tantrum is over, on to writing on my novel.

Conferences

2006 has not been a good year. In fact, I would likely give it a D+ overall. Now, it was not without its ups, but I will not be sad to see it go.

Lately, as the stress mounts and the work piles up, I have been thinking about my job and my future. Juggling a life as a full-time wife, mother and teacher is challenging and even overwhelming at times.

But, God has a great way of putting things back into perspective for me. A few weeks back, one of my students suggested that I pull my feature writing class in for individual conferences. I generally do this earlier in the semester, but I had honestly forgotten.

I only have eight students in the class, but it's a great class. The whiner in me often wishes that I could remove one student from each of my classes each semester. In this class, however, I find them all delightful.

I love reading their blogs, finding out what they hope to achieve and getting to know them as individual writers. I have been impressed numerous times this semester, and I hope they will leave with a positive experience.

They have a major story due, a test and their reading assignment all due before I assign them a grade in three weeks, so it might take them some time to take me off their most wanted list.

At least I hope they will take me off there.

Now I'm the weak link

Or was, rather.

Jared has had the stomach flu. He threw up three
times Tuesday and managed to generate almost three loads of laundry
just himself. Last night was my turn. My momma came over yesterday from
KC to watch Jared, who I still didn't feel was quite back to himself,
and I had planned to work Thursday night and get up early Friday to
head to work before my dentist appointment in Lawrence.

Ha. Ha.
I am miles behind and anyone who knows me knows how much of a baby I
can be when it comes to throwing up. Gene took good care of me last
night, and I even encouraged him to go ahead and sleep with Jacob. I
spent all morning in bed and the afternoon on the couch. Now I'm trying
to fake normalcy b/c Jacob was convinced that the flowers he and Gene
brought me would heal me completely. I love them both so much.

And then there's Gene, who might be wishing he had slept with Jacob right about now. He had to go to a b-ball game in Emporia and was supposed to be on the radio tonight. He thought throwing up in the parking lot would be more fun.

Well,
I'm a bad mom, too. I ordered Pizza Hut for the boys tonight. I hope to
spend the rest of the night quietly with the boys. I'm praying
fervently that Jacob does not get this crap, too, especially after
cheese pizza!

After Jared goes to bed, perhaps Jacob and I can play a stimulating game of Candyland, Dora Explorer style, until it's his turn for bed.

Wow. What a Friday night, eh?

Community

I've decided that the holidays are a perfect time to make anyone who might read this aware of some needs that you might be interested in meeting. This comes from the Battered Women's Task Force of Topeka.

Thanks! Regina

** I do use labels on my blog. To see other community-oriented blogs, you could just click on the Community label. (This is the first post, however)



Good afternoon everyone!

The BWTF 2006 Holiday Wish List is below. Please help us get the word out to the community about our needs over the holiday season. YWCA Battered Women Task Force relies upon the generosity of our donors to provide gifts for the women and children we serve. In keeping with the YWCA BWTF mission, no violent toys, games or movies please. All donations should be new and unwrapped.

Baby and Children?s Wish List (ages 0-10)
Non-violent toys
Hats, gloves, scarves, jackets
Diapers and wipes
Leapfrog learning toys
Bouncy seat
Building blocks or Legos
Movie gift certificates
Board games
Arts and craft supplies (coloring books, crayons, markers, etc.)
Dress-up sets
Books
Bicycles

Preteen & Teen Wish List (ages 11-17)
Gift certificates for video games or movies
Hats, gloves, scarves, jackets
Portable cassette or CD players
Sports equipment
Young adult books
Board games
Electronic games
Computer games
Journals & Planners
Hair accessories
Jewelry
Science Kits (ant farms, chemistry sets, rock tumblers)
Movies
Teen Room Décor (Posters, Lava Lamps, Door Beads, Pillows, etc.)
Art Supplies (colored pencils, sketch pads, paints, etc)
Bicycles

Women?s Wish List
Gift certificates (clothing, food, movie rentals, gas)
Perfume (no sample sizes please)
Jewelry
Watches
Journals
Phone cards
Makeup (no sample sizes please, especially for women of color)
Bath robes & slippers
Candles
Throw Blankets
Picture frames & photo albums
Purses & bags
Gift baskets
Small kitchen appliances

Other
Gift boxes & gift bags
Wrapping Paper
Ribbon
Tissue Paper
Stockings
Batteries

The BWTF Holiday Wish List is also online at: http://www.ywca.org/site/pp.asp?c=8nKFITNvEoG&b=1188691

6, 851 words

After a long conversation with my sister tonight, I had to write on my novel. She gave me lots of great things that I could work in. I didn't work on those parts tonight, but I did add a few words.

Yes, I know I am dreadfully behind, but I am hoping I can write some over the break. Perhaps my hubby will bring home the laptop for me to use. Not that I enjoy typing on a laptop.

Wish me luck as my novel continues to unfold. I'm not sure how long before I'll let anyone read it. It's a very personal thing. Writing about real life is one thing. It really happens. Making up a world forces you to question whether it's believable, entertaining and "real."

Desperation

A stack of unopened mail conceals the hairbrush underneath. Walking through the small house once again, she is getting angrier by the second that not one of the three hairbrushes is anywhere in sight.

The baby comes running down the hallway. "I see you found a hairbrush," she says, trying to snatch it away quickly.

Not taking the loss well, he stomps his little feet and knocks over the tub of toys in the hallway. Next, he goes into attack mode and bites his mom as she tries to run a brush through her now semi-damp, semi-styled hair.

"Oh, forget it," she mutters handing the brush back to him. "Happy?" His grin disarms her somewhat. Walking back toward the toys, she bends to scoop them back up.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees her oldest charge down the hall, knocking baby and brush into the wall.

Breathing deeply, she reminds herself that children are a blessing. Scooping up the hysterical one, she takes him to the sad place in the hallway and lets him bang the heck out of the chime that hangs just out of reach, perfect for occasions such as this.

"Please be careful and watch for your brother," she warns the offender, who spies the brush that has been abandoned. Picking it up, he banged his way down the hallway. Seeing his brother take away his prize causes more fits.

"It's only 9:30 a.m." she says to herself. She release the baby and watches as he heads to the back room. She sinks down and finishes the toy task.

Hearing the washer, she rushes to change the load before she forgets. A pan skids across the kitchen floor as her precious baby has found a new way to pass the Saturday morning.

From her vantage point, she sees the dishes from breakfast covering the counter, the pans and most of her plasticware strewn about the kitchen floor, the pile of toys carelessly tossed next to the toybox in the front room and she doesn't even have to look to know all the toys in the backroom have been dumped out as well.

"It's only 9:35 a.m." she repeats as the phone rings. Grateful for the distraction, she hears her mom's voice.

It's only a quick call, but the new destruction to her house is quickly apparent.

Thinking back to a few days before when she had worked hard to clean her house, she really wanted to cry. Such a crappy cycle, and I'm stuck in the middle of it, she thought.

Losing all interest in cleaning, she sits down and tries to concentrate on her adorable boys. Now that the house is trashed and she is sitting down to play with them, the pair has decided to play quietly on their own.

The minutes tick by until she decides to make an early lunch. One way or another, she was taking a nap today. The laundry, kitchen, piles of toys, the upopened mail and unbalanced checking account would have to wait.

This momma needed some rest.

My boys

Jared and his favorite toy

Jacob and his favorite girl, Addison

Jacob being a silly boy

Jared and the chocolate pudding

Jacob and his pudding

Success

I'm not sure how I managed to delete the text of my first post on this title, so here I go again.

Now though, I'm feeling lazy and will offer only the highlights:

1. Jared's ear tube procedure was an amazing success.

2. I will return to work Thursday (yeah)

3. I owe a big thank you to my mom-in-law for coming to stay with Jacob.

4. I also owe a big thank you to my dear friend Anna, who came to wait with us at Single Day Surgery, even after first going to the hospital. Apparently, I had failed to mention the location of said surgery. (sorry, Anna)

5. I am very behind on my novel as I have felt pretty crappy most of the day.

6. At 8 a.m. tomorrow, I will find the cost to do a complete remodel on my bathroom, which I hate with a passion. Pray that the cost is in the Cassell budget.

Technology

So, last night I spent a little bit of time putting some songs on my ipod. I'm behind in my novel-writing attempt. In my effort to blur the lines of my family life into ficiton, I find myself questioning the way I've portrayed my family, who have received new names, of course.

I am terrified at the thought of anyone actually reading the words as they are at this moment. Hmm.

Anyway, so I have strep throat, it's past the point when I should be in bed, and I say to my husband, "Hey, honey. Can you dump my ipod off the desktop and save a copy of my novel to my jump drive?"

Then it just hit me that a few years ago, that question would have seemd ridiculous. Ipod? Jump drive? Give me a break.

Ranting, pure form

So, I worked my butt off Thursday night so I could sleep in a non-destructo home (when you are ranting, grammar and real words are optional)

Tonight, instead of redoing all that I did on Thursday, I watched TV. Yes, I watched TV. Now, my deck is clean and my yard looks fairly nice, but my kitchen is beyond wrecked.

And, I have two clothes baskets full of clothes that need to be put away. I hate washing three loads of laundry and already having two the very next day. aaauugggh.

There are toys everywhere and most of my plasticware is also spread throughout the house as that's my sons favorite play thing. He especially likes to wear the strainer on his head.

I did spend good quality time with my kids all weekend, but I truly feel as though I accomplished litle else. What is the secret for doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over without LOSING YOUR MIND?!

Well, I must think about going to bed as it is now 11:25 p.m. and it's another big week in the big old world -- whoo-pee!

Saturday

My blog is becoming a diary of sorts, only for the masses (wishful thinking) to read.

Today was Saturday. The ending to my oldest going to bed at 5:30 p.m. was his arrival in our bed at 5:30 a.m. Wait, it gets better. He was also sort of throwing up, not really because he had not eaten for quite awhile. Poor guy. He threw up off an on until about 8:30 or so when Gene finally decided to get up. I think Jared and I slept (sort of) until 9:30-10ish.

Made a trip to Sam's Club, very exciting. Jacob wanted to eat at the "chicken" place where you get "chicken, Cheetos and a drink." Turns out, he wanted KFC.

Gene had to work at 2 p.m. and has yet to return from his two-sport day. Yet another sport day will follow tomorrow. I'm sure you can sense my joy about this fact.

Jacob and I had a busy afternoon while Jared napped it away. We raked leaves, cleaned gutters and "found" the deck. It looks so pretty now. I'm not sure how I'll feel to wake up in a few hours and likely discover it covered in leaves again. I hope raking counts as exercise b/c I drank soda and ate chips today.

Then I took Jared for an after-dinner haircut, and to top off our BIG Saturday night, we went to Wal-Mart. Yeah, me.

I did not write in on my novel today because I am feeling a bit out-of-sorts and almost rebellious. Maybe I should just go to bed.

Oh, yeah. I almost forget. I bought a new razor at Wal-Mart. Big splurge. I had to buy a new one because my old one was so old that they are no longer selling blades for it. I told Jacob and Jared they were lucky not to have to shave their legs. They just looked at me like I was nuts.

Little Spooks

Jacob, our little pirate

Jared, a cross between, a bat, a cat and a burgular

Weighing In

So, a friend of mine is wondering if it would be appropriate to confront overweight people about their weight the way smokers are often confronted about their nasty habit.

Claiming its basically the same thing, he wants to be able to tell the scale-tippers to stop frequenting buffet lines, all fast food establishments and to exercise good judment when ordering in restaurants.

In the end, I think we agreed that we are all slaves to our addictions, whether it be eating, smoking, consuming alcohol or massive amounts of caffeine. We all have to deal with these "afflictions" on a daily basis, so perhaps it's best to encourage each other in love.

I personally wish someone would hold me accountable for my food and exercise choices. When it comes to self-control and discipline in those areas, I sort of SUCK.

He sleeps

My oldest son was not a very nice boy at preschool today. He was
hitting and kicking his friends at preschool which is not a "safe"
choice.

And, apparently, he is a monster at nap time. They only need him to be quiet for 20 minutes so that the other children can go to sleep. Umm, this is not happening.

And, I believe it's important as parents to stay consistent with punishment and I was pretty much determined to take away privileges at home.

Turns
out, he decided to take them away himself. He feel asleep in the car.
I'll have to let you know how the story ends. Generally, I am a bit
concerned with my 3-year-old goes to sleep at 5:30. I kept thinking he
would wake up, but this has not been the case.

5,034

Right on schedule. Of course, it's only day 3. I'm wondering if my story is going to run out before I get to the correct word count. I have a pretty good start now, but I sometimes have to go back and recall what I've named certain characters. Oops.

Maybe I need to make some cliff notes or something.

Unless you've been reading my blog, you likely have no idea what I'm talking about. If you would like, click on the NaNoWriMo label for full disclosure.

2,592 words

I didn't quite make the 1,667 words today, but that's OK. I'm at an average of 1,200. Before I sat down to write, I cleaned the kitchen, ran the vacuum, folded clothes and put away laundry, found my bed and picked up after small group tonight.

Oh, and I also had to pay bills. I feel pretty good about my productivity. I hope to spend a couple of hours writing this weekend to perhaps store up some words, so to speak.

Now, I'm off to bed. Hooray.

1,673 words

I have written 1,673 words of my November novel. It's called Boxed In. For those of you who know me, you will no doubt get the little joke in the title.

My sisters would likely follow it with uh-uh.

At any rate, it's harder to write this novel than perhaps I anticipated. I have the idea, but I've always written in newspaper and/or essay style. Dialogue is new for me, but essential for my story.

It's going to be interesting. November = 50,000 words. Maybe I'll finish early over Thanksgiving break.

It's gonna be a draft. A very rough draft, but it's something.