Way Back Wednesday

So this is March 1987.

And yes, we look just like this now. Really, we do...in my head. Again, nice hair I am sporting and WOW! Big Guy hasn't had that much hair on his head for a while now. On his back--you bet.

We had been dating a little over 3 months at the time this picture was taken. I am pretty sure we were at a church function. Cake and punch with some nice mints along with mixed nuts.

Do you believe me? Really.

Do you see how my husband looks in this photo? He looks like this in 90% of the photos his mother has of him as a child.

Need I say any more about the fruit of his loin? (See post below)

Goofballs....these children are not my fault

I wanted a new spring pic of my little lovelies.....



and I realized during church they were all color coordinated....



So I thought today is it! We can hit a couple of my favorite spots while the Dad is fixing dinner......



But this is what I got from my little lovelies so I gave up and drove them home............



Someday they are going to regret being pains in my buttocks over taking pics...........

Concert

Last night was our community high school's major spring band concert. They are both in band but this concert is the best of the best and since that takes practice and I haven't seen a flute or a trumpet in a long while--I do have a bill for a broken trumpet--Frick helped with lighting and Frack was an usher. Here is a shot of Frick and Frack before the concert.....and yes,

...she is wearing Converse's with her dress due to the fact that a knee injury wouldn't allow her to wear the 4-inch red hooker heals that she really wanted to sport! But they are glitter-covered so they really are meant to be worn with formal wear. (this isn't the greatest pic but we were in a rush!)



The theme for the evening was songs and songwriters from the 70's.....it was fantastic! I knew every song and all the words....it would have been a great opportunity for me to share my karaoke expertise but my kids being there saved everyone from that show.

Here is a short video of our select singing group singing and dancing (sort of) to one of the greatest songs from the 70's......




And here is one of the band performing their version of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia". This was a lot of fun...the crowd loved it!

Way Back Wednesday

This is us in August, 1992. We look soooooo good.

Stop laughing. Right now. I mean it. Stand up and wipe your eyes. Are you done?

We are standing in front of the first school I ever taught in....McKinley School. Our mascot was the Redcoats. And it was the greatest feeling....and I looked good. That was some awesome hair I was sporting....and how about Big Guy's socks? He was hot. Back off, ladies...he's all mine. Oh yeah, College Girl was 2.


I was hired to teach 7th and 8th grade. Pretty scary...for the kids, that is. I had no absolute clue what I was doing but they didn't know that....well, at least that is what I am going with....if any of you want to argue...I'll see you in detention.



This was the greatest school building....it smelled so good. You know that school smell--it's the best smell. And that new book smell...mmmm...love it. A superintendent laughed at me one day when I cracked open a new book inhaled deeply and came up smiling. What????

Anyway, this building had 3 floors and lots of stairs. Kids all over it because we had too many kids for the space we had. My average class size was 30 with my largest class being 36. I loved every minute of it....well there was that one time...um, I'll save that for another day.

Isn't it gorgeous? My room was on the third floor clear to the right. When I stood in my room and looked out, I could see the most wonderful little town full of very special people.

I could also open my windows. Not everybody in the building could open their windows....as you can see there was one air conditioner for the office. Remember heat schedule? Ahhh, those were the good ol' days.


Here is College Girl sitting in one of the many desks my room had in it. Aren't those floors beautiful? I miss wood floors in my classroom. I don't miss chalkboards. Fingernails on chalkboards? Ew.

And that is a typewriter in that back corner...and I used it. A lot. Crazy isn't it...that was only 17 years ago. Now I have a computer cart with 10 laptops on it in my room. Look at those desks in rows....I actually had black X's on the floor so they would know where the desk was supposed to be. I am not anal. Really, I am not.

This last picture is kind of sad to see. This is the gym and it burned down in 2004 (I think that is the year....may have to print a correction...kind of like our local newspaper does daily)--and I mean it BURNED down. It was an incredible sight to see. The windows melted. A lot of stuff went down in that gym....volleyball matches, basketball games, junior high dances....good memories.

When I see these pictures I am reminded of those first kids I taught....those kids are grown ups now with jobs and kids and lives and it is completely utterly incredibly amazing to me that I get to say....

I was her teacher. I was his teacher.

Lucky me.

My Husband's Secret Addiction

Nope...It's not me. I know that's what you all thought.

And nope...it's not sports related. Breeeeatheeeee. I know its hard to believe but its not.

It's this:



Guitar Hero. It really gets him....he sucks at it. Our kids get him to play just so they can laugh at...I mean...with him. He has all kinds of excuses....his pinky doesn't work. His middle finger just doesn't bend that way. Frankly, he just sucks. The boy is whitewhitewhite. Not a stitch of rhythm.

Here is Frack patiently waiting her turn and trying desperately not to laugh at him. It won't be long now......

He thinks he plays better if he sits down. Not so much....

She is the master of this game in our family.


Oh yeah....I suck at this game more than he does. I suck so bad that I won't even play. Just sayin'.

Sunday Drive

My mom used to take my brother and I on car rides on Sunday afternoons. We would get all ancypancy late in the afternoon so we would load up, drop by the DQ to grab an ice cream cone and cruise around. We loved it.

Today the twins were ancypancy (OK...it was just Frack. Frick could sit in a chair in front of the TV until the cows come home)--so I loaded 'em up, dropped by the Sonic and headed for the country. With my camera, of course.

So we drove east then north then east then north then east. Imagine our surprise when we came upon this:



Yep...them thar are buckets on fence posts.

Frantic

There seem to be some issues with my blog. I am working on it.....dang it.

Way Back Wednesday

...OR NOT. Good intentions paved the road to hell...that's always what my mom claimed. Guess I am going to hell...or not.

Way Back Wednesday may have to happen on Thursday.

Or not.

Homemade Lotion

The ingredients.....2 bottles of ON BRAND baby lotion....any flavor. I happen to like this shea and cocoa butter flavor a lot. 1 jar of petroleum jelly...off brand is good. 2 jars of vitamin e cream....our local Dollar General sells this for $3.75. And containers to put the lotion in when it is all mixed up. I usually need 10 so I buy 8 and recycle the vitamin e cream containers.


Put the petroleum jelly in first. I use a rubber spatula to get it all out of the container.

Next, add the vitamin e cream.

Finally, empty the lotion bottles into the bowl. Turn them upside down on the counter and let them sit while you begin to mix.

Add more lotion. Some people cut open the bottles to get all the lotion out....I don't. I tried to cut the bottles open but due to my lack of super human strength...um well, it was just doesn't work out for me.

Keep mixing. It is a little lumpy due to the petroleum jelly so just keep mixing. I use my whisk attachment to mix this lotion up. And I turn my mixer up pretty high....I don't get to turn it up high very often because it makes a mess when I do but this doesn't splatter. It's fun. Try it.

The lotion should look like frosting when its done.

I line my containers up to fill them. I use my rubber spatula and just kind of spoon it in. Fullish but not.

It looks good...don't you think?

My mom has people in her office that I make this for....they love it. Really, I think they just like me best so it doesn't matter what I make. My husband uses this on his hands because he wears latex gloves all day and they irritate his skin. I use this on my feet....and if you have ever seen my feet you know they look good.


This lotion makes great gifts....and really, it's pretty affordable. The on brand lotion costs $3.75 a bottle, the vitamin e cream is $3.75 and the petroleum jelly is $2. The containers are probably more expensive--$3 for 4-- than they need to be but I really like them because of the lid--it screws on. I have used smaller containers when I need to give more gifts...like at Christmas.

So for a batch of lotion it is around $20. If you divide that by 10--which is how many containers I filled--then it is only $2 a container. Not bad. And people love getting homemade gifts!

Broken

It's Broken!

But now it's fixed. Hmpf.

Last Wednesday the heating element caught on fire....it's a pretty cool fire....and we had to make half-cooked frozen pizza in the toaster oven. I passed on that meal....and had a grilled cheese.

Ran into my favorite electrician's wife at the grocery store ( I was buying fried chicken from the deli for a potluck--NO OVEN--had to buy already made food--don't judge me!) and mentioned that my 1954 pink oven had a little problem and she generously sent her husband to fix it on Friday. Parts had to be ordered.

So no oven over the weekend. No dinner in the oven for after church. No cookies. Dang! It sucks to be me.

Forced to have food on the grill for Sunday dinner--which means somebody else cooks it because I stink at grill cooking. Dog doesn't even want to eat it. I was also forced to eat Girl Scout cookies from the freezer.

My favorite electrician showed up today and in 5 minutes I had a working 1954 oven.

He didn't clean the oven and he didn't leave a bill. He'll mail me a bill.

I am sure it will be less than what a 2009 oven costs. Lucky me.

So Excited!!

On Saturday......We are going to KC so that we can go to the Apple Store so I can get one of these:

OK...that's a lie. I am not going to buy it.

I am just going to hold it in my hand and smell it and rub it and memorize every little thing about it.

I am not buying anything. Really.

My son has saved and saved for a camera so we are stopping in Topeka to look at camera's.

We are going on to KC so we can take my youngest child's ipod touch to the Apple store to be worked on. We hope it can be worked on. I am not buying anything. Really.

And we are going to hang out at Cabela's and Nebraska Furniture Mart and probably Old Navy. I am not buying anything. Really, I am not.

And we are going to eat out. At a real restaurant....where they bring your food to the table.

Way Back Wednesday

Ok....so you have probably noticed that I have started to post Way Back Wednesday on Tuesday night. Don't judge me....I just can't seem to pull it together in the mornings anymore. And this week my 3rd graders are taking their first state assessments and life isn't real rosy. And to prove it, I have a GIGANTIC cold sore on half of my bottom lip and it is spreading to my face/chin. Not one 3rd grader mentioned it and pretty much anyone who sees me is patting me like I am on my way to crazyland. Too late, just sayin'.

So anyway, next week is spring break so maybe I can get myself pulled back together. Good luck with that is what my people will tell you.

Rambling on .....last week I posted a picture of my freshman basketball team and asked you to guess which one I was and to leave your guess in my COMMENT section. 5 comments(whew--hard to keep up) later....a few people guessed I was number 31. A good friend of mine and her lovely husband were trying to guess. He chose someone and she pointed out to him there was no way that was me because and I quote, " her boobs aren't that big NOW let alone 27 years ago".....hee hee she was right.

This week it is still all about me (no surprise there) and so I am sharing my second grade class picture.
And I am not going to make you guess this week.....I am the tallest person in class. (And if you scroll over the picture you can make it larger so you can see my really great homemade dress and awesome hair.) Striped shirt boy was almost there....and mean old Angie was pretty close, but I was the tallest person in my grade until 4th grade when stupid Larry caught me and passed me up. We were a motley crew.....but this woman was and still is a saint. She loved each and every one of us--we all felt like we were her favorite (really it was me--she liked me best just like everyone else in my family does) and we would fight at recess over who was her favorite.


She is my most favorite teacher of all time. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and after I had her, I wanted to be just like her. Not sure I am there yet, but I am working on it. She just had a way with kids like me...and Mean Old Angie...and Red Shirt Boy...and Plaid Paul. When I look at this picture, she had a load to deal with every day but we never knew it....we just knew that we were special to her. And we showed up every day ready to do whatever she asked us. We prayed every day before we went to lunch and she turned our jump rope and pushed us in the swings.

I am sure that we learned stuff from a "book" but the relationship she built with each of us meant so much more to my life than anything she taught in a "book".

We celebrated her birthday...she is the only teacher I ever had that did that. She turned 48 the year I was in her class. She brought treats and everything.

For all my Mizpah readers....this teacher is Pastor Nancy's mom. No kidding.

Yesterday, I showed my third graders this picture and asked them to guess which one is me. After some attempts....several of which were clearly boys....one little blue eyed boy very quietly said, "You're the tallest person in the class." He looked around at the rest of the class and gently said, " She told us on the first day of school that she was the tallest person in her grade until she was in 4th grade." WOW....someone was listening to me.

Scary.

hmpf

IT'S COLD OUT AND THIS WEATHER SUCKS. A LOT.

No Word Monday

Wisdom

The Wisdom of Larry the Cable Guy......

1. A day without sunshine is like night.
2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
13. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
14. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
15. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
16. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
17. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
20. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?
21 Why do psychics have to ask you your name?
22. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering 'What the heck happened?'
23. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
24. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
25. Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

Way Back Wednesday

The 80's called...again...and they want their uniform back.....
We hosted a sub state game on Tuesday and our Spirit Boys showed up in this uniform.
It was hilarious!!
I happened to be sitting next to someone who attended our high school and
she kind of thought she might have worn this uniform to play basketball!
He looks GOOD......not so much. He lasted until halftime and he slid into his regular clothes. Praise God.

So I got to thinking, I bet I have picture SOMEWHERE of me in my glory days....the 80's.....and after some serious thinking and some serious digging to the bottom of my cedar chest (which is a whole 'nother post--why do I have every birthday I have ever gotten?????) I found just what I was looking for. This picture.....

Can you find me?

If you click on the picture it will enlarge so you can REALLY see!! Be careful...it's scarier than you think!

Leave a comment to let me know!

No Word Monday

Pre No Word Monday

So on Mondays, I post a picture and I always title it...No Word Monday. Most of you know that the whole no word thing is a KILLER for me. It is nearly impossible for me not to comment....and it is commenting, not complaining....on anything.

So I am posting this info tonight so I can use words to tell you this......I HATE WINTER! I want summer! And it's not because I am a teacher....it's because I like warm. A lotlotlot.

I want winter to be over so that there can be kids playing and water here.

Can you guess what my picture is going to be? Tune in on Monday to find out!