Ready To Get Caught Up a Bit

Since the New Year, life has been turned upside down a couple of times around here - if that's possible. My s-son had been enduring some pretty bad situations and relationships at his bio-mom's house. Things were never great or healthy there, but in a combination of him becoming fed up and the circumstances getting worse, it all reached a head. There's lots of details and tangents to the story that I could share, but I don't think I really want to. I've talked about this quite a bit in the last month and a half...with the husband, friends, colleagues, and even in family counselling. Suffice to say that we are still in the middle of a custody battle, but luckily everything in the courts so far has been going our way. The husband and I have had to band together and adjust quickly to everything that has been happening. There's been a new level of closeness to our friendship because of these circumstances. I'm grateful for that, I can't imagine if it was headed the other way and this transition was pushing us apart. After going to family court and listening to the cases of other families being heard, I have decided that if I were in charge of things, every couple who had a baby would be required to sit in family court and see what people go through when their relationships fall apart - the pain they feel, the mess they create and the problems they pass on to their children. I like to think that most people would treat the act of becoming parents together with the sacredness it deserves if they could see first hand how badly it can turn out. I'm a child of a broken home, my parents fought way to much in front of myself and my siblings for far too many years. After seeing the mess their marriage became, and after being up close to witness a couple of my peers go through divorces, I have always sworn that divorce was a life experience that I never want to go through first hand. I think even further than that, I am learning that having a child with my husband would be like marrying him all over again, but at a different level. It's a bond and a level of commitment that goes further than marriage. We've talked about this lately, it's good and it's humbling. We are learning on the fly how to be full-time parents together of a 13 year old that belongs to him, but only sort of to me, in many ways I can imagine it's much more complicated than going through a pregnancy and then having a newborn. But, it is our life and I'm grateful that I have the man that I do as my husband...it's worth the stress and the anxiety that we're going through.In the meantime, I'm still working like crazy. I had to ask to have some of my responsibilities hedged back for my part-time online teaching job because I was becoming too overwhelmed...and my brick and mortar teaching job has not let up any - if anything I'm doing more there and maybe just learning how to manage my work load better.

So why am I even taking the time to sit down and blog if life is so incredibly busy? Well, fortune of fortunes, we are on our second snow day in a row, so I've been home for a bit. We spent some time playing in the snow yesterday and today, and the rest of the time I've been working on a paper (that's technically "due" today) that I need to get done for my National Board certification. Last fall when I had the opportunity to sign up for the National Board's Take One! program, I thought that it sounded like a good idea. I still think it is, in theory, but right now when I'm still four pages of classroom video analysis and reflection away from finishing a 12 page paper, I'm not too happy with myself for the added stress. The thing is, if we hadn't had these snow days, I wouldn't have had it done at all. I mean, yes, I would have still been able to submit my work for this entry, it's not actually due to the National Board folks until April 15th, but I would not have met the due date that the facilitator of the program set up. The due date that allows me the chance to have my paper read by others, critiqued, and edited before I send it in. Two days ago I had decided to be fine with that - after the last month and a half of crazy stress and life changes, I wasn't going to worry about not finishing a paper on someone else's due date. But with the time off, the worker bee in me has to take advantage these days to get it done because that is the right thing to do...so back to my paper I will go. But, maybe I'll be back in the next couple of days with more to say and more snow pictures to share - you never know.

Busy, Busy Life

There's so much to say and yet I don't have the desire or the energy to even sit down and put everything that's been going on into words. Know that I miss blogging, I still will compose potential blogs in my head from time to time...I'm just too busy and overwhelmed right now to follow through. I'll be back. Not sure when. But I know that life can't continue at this pace. It will slow down at some point.

Sleep Saga

It's the end of the weekend and once again I'm feeling that Sunday night angst...it's worse than normal because last week was particularly rough. I had some pretty serious insomnia 4 out of the 5 week nights. It was bad. Even with Tylenol PM in my system was still waking up around 2 am and immediately my mind would switch to go mode and it would be impossible to go back to sleep. When it happened again early Friday morning, I laid in bed for a couple of hours, once again tossing and turning, then I decided to get up. I ended up downstairs and worked for a while at some of my online job responsibilities while watching re-run episodes of "Saved by the Bell - the College Years" with Figaro at my side. That was a low point. Since when does sleep elude me? I love to sleep! Earlier in the week there were a couple of nights where I had Bambino to blame. After coming off of our couple of weeks of winter break and sleeping in, his sleep patterns were completely off. He was barking to be let our to pee in the middle of the night. Even after the husband or I would let him out and then put him back to bed in his crate in the garage, he would inevitably start back up with the barking...it was starting to feel like we had a new born. Laying in bed one night, listening to him bark, knowing that he was barking for attention - he'd already been out to pee - I had an epiphany. I shared my idea with the husband: put Bambino's crate - with him in it - in the back of the jeep in the garage. The husband literally got up and moved the dog, crate and all, right then. It worked, the sound of his barks were muffled by the jeep's insulation. So that was great, but the next night it wasn't Bambino's bark but the husband's snoring that woke me up. It had the same effect though, once I was slightly awake my mind turned on and it was impossible to fall back asleep. By the time I went through the Saved by the Bell morning, I was ready to pull my own hair out. So the past couple of nights (over this weekend), I have been keeping up the Tylenol PM regimine, Bambino is still sleeping in his crate in the back of the jeep, and I've added ear plugs to the mix. Normally I hate earplugs, I don't like anything going into my ears, I also don't like how they amplify the sound of my own breathing. When I was in my last year of college I had a roommate that snored like a family of bears put together. I actually missed a flight to go to a job interview because I was wearing earplugs and didn't hear my alarm go off - she also didn't hear it over her own snores. I didn't get the job, though I didn't hold it against her because it wasn't because I missed the interview. I think the experience stayed with me though because I've avoided earplugs for years. Until now. They have been my salvation this weekend. The husband is going to be on duty to listen for my alarm in the coming mornings - it's a good thing he can hear over his own snores! So here's to a busy work week with lots of restful nights of sleep!

A Year In Headers

2010 has been full of many suprises. There have been many blessings and many challenges. Back in January when I decided to give my blog a new banner every month, I figured it would be easy to keep up with this idea. I didn't imagine that I'd get as busy as I have been this fall. Even still, I did manage to keep my commitment. I think in 2011 I'm going to stick with seasonal banners, that way I get to enjoy a new "look" on a regular basis, but I won't feel the pressure to not fall behind each month, afterall, our seasonal changes here in the Pacific Northwest typically pretty "soft" and rarely coincide with the equinox and solstice dates on the calendar. So I thought that the perfect way to end the year would be to display my twelve banners...

Have a very blessed and peaceful New Year!

Christmas Closet Organization!

Several weeks ago when I was straightening up our master bedroom, I complained to the husband that I didn't have a good way to organize my shoes. For the last few years I've been keeping my shoes on the floor on my end of our walk in closet. This means that typically my shoes have been in a giant heap without order except for maybe a few weeks a year after I got a cleaning bug and straightened them into rows. The pile below is what the shoes looked like after I'd moved them out of my closet recently, but the shoe pile in my closet before I'd moved them was a pretty similar sight. Trying to find the right pair of shoes in the morning when I'm in a hurry to get ready hasn't been easy. I've developed the bad habit of not putting shoes away in the closet, leaving them on the bedroom floor made them easier to find in the morning. Well, the husband heard me and decided to fix my problem...he is a skilled cabinet maker and has a full cabinet shop - I'm not sure I ever got around to mentioning it, but we built a shop on our property this year where he was able to relocate all of his equipment and machinery. He made me the shoe shelf...I'm pretty pleased with it. I can't imagine what we would have paid to have someone make this custom shelf for us...and I love that it matches the other closet units he's made in the past.

Getting the new shoe organizer of course made me go through my shoes with a pretty critical eye - when I was done I had a nice little donate pile. As you can see below, if I want to keep my shoes off the floor - and I do - I don't really have the space for any more shoes. I guess I could go with the option of storing off-season shoes that I know I won't wear for several months...and maybe I will eventually. I also think I'll make a point of trying to get rid of a worn out pair of shoes when I bring home a new pair. I like having my shoes up off the ground because I can better see how worn they are. Maybe because the light to the floor of my closet is blocked by hanging clothes, I was kind of suprised at the kind of shape some of my shoes were in. I just hadn't noticed.

It can't be good for shoes to be kept in a big heap either, I'm sure some of the "wear" that I was noticing could have probably been prevented if my shoes had been stored properly.

To have a clear floor in my closet is wonderful, it makes using the closet and putting things away so much more pleasant...being as busy as I am, this really was the perfect gift. I appreciate anything that makes life feel more organized and manageable in the midst of my very busy schedule. The husband "gave" me this gift a few days before Christmas, he was very excited to get my reaction. Once the shelf was in, it inspired quite a bit of further cleaning and organizing. I appreciate anything that makes life feel more organized and manageable in the midst of my very busy schedule.

Speaking of busy schedules, I have loved having the last week off, I needed the chance to rest and catch up. We had a wonderful Christmas day...fun times playing new board games together, good food, lots of laughter. It's also wonderful that I still have a week left before returning to work. This time of rest will make pushing myself easier. I can't imagine life always being this busy, as a matter of fact, I have found myself saying just that in conversations with friends recently. Even though I love what I'm doing, I know I couldn't continue at this pace for forever. But for now, I am grateful to have a job that is both fulfilling and well paying.

I'm sure I'll be around here sometime in the next few days, I hope the rest of 2010 is as restful for you as the past week has been for me!

A Visit From Flat Stanley

Have you ever met Flat Stanley? He is a part of a wonderful children's story. Stanley was a normal boy until a bulletin board fell on him and made him flat. Rather than being sad about his new look, Stanley has taken advantage of it and has traveled (he fits very easily into envelopes, so traveling is inexpensive). Recently he was sent by a little boy named Colby, the son of some dear friends of mine, to visit us. He was lucky enough to arrive as we were heading down to spend a day in Seattle. After a quick stop to get Stanley some appropriate clothing, he came with us to see the Seattle Space Center and Pike's Place Market. Below are some pictures from his visit.

This is Stanley in front of the Seattle Space Needle.Here is Stanley in front of a huge fountain. During the warmer parts of the year,

children play in the fountain.

As a matter of fact, Flat Stanley's friend Colby has been to this very fountain and

played in it when he has visited Washington. Stanley was excited to arrive at Pike's Place Market, he'd heard that it was a neat place to visit, very busy with locals and tourists like himself.

This is Stanley in front of the original Starbuck's coffee shop.

He was amazed to find out that the huge corporation started in such a simple space.

Seeing the variety of seafood made Stanley hungry...

There was more than just fish, lots of yummy looking fruits and vegetables also.

Some of the produce was like none that Stanley had ever seen before. He was impressed.

Stanley was most excited when he arrived at the fish stall where the employees, called "fishmongers", throw the fish back and forth. In the picture below, there is a fishmonger standing behind Flat Stanley.

Flat Stanley would like to be a fishmonger himself one day.

Flat Stanley had such a fun day, he decided that he liked the Pacific Northwest.

A couple of weeks later, Flat Stanley drove with his host family to Mt. Hood in Oregon. The plan was for him to learn to snowboard, but unfortunately the temperature on the mountain wasn't very cold and so rather than snow falling, it was rainy that day. Both Stanley and his hosts felt that it was wise for Stanley to avoid getting wet. It was a bit disappointing, but Stanley did enjoy seeing snow for the first time.

Right before Christmas, Flat Stanley climbed back into his traveling envelope and made his way back down to California and to his friend Colby.

Visit These Places

Places to visit in Portland:





flutter......and lark press





In Seattle:





The Pink Door (restaurant)