Angie's tag and other fun stuff

This blog will be random but there have been some fun things happen this week.
1. I saw a guy totally crash on his bike in the Coates parking lot trying to ride up from the road to a sidewalk. He also had this enourmous backpack on and he WIPED OUT right beside me. Did I laugh a little...

2. I have a interesting fellow in one of my classes that talks about/in military time. He will be an educator one day. Probably of your kids.

3. Go now and rent the movie "Mama's Boy" with Jon Heder. (Napolean Dynamite) Hilarious!

http://www.mamasboymovie.com/

4. Angie's tag:
A- Attached or Single? Attached? Is that Anglo for married? Then I'm married
B- Best Friend: My 2-6 numbers on speed dial on my phone. John, Julie, Ginger, Marie, and Jeanne
C- Cake or Pie: Cake
D- Drink of Choice: COFFEE, Coke Zero, and bottled water. The occasional iced tea at supper.
E- Essential Item: My doughnut pj's
F- Favorite Color: Red
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Neither. I hate that kind of candy
H- Hometown: Historical Richmond, KY
I- Indulgence: Television. I would watch TV not stop if allowed. I(John) tries to hone this down in me by making a speech on how the mind will grow if we just stop watching it. I just say, "Simmer down or SHHHHHHH"
J- January or February: Both have a holiday to miss school, so I'm indifferent
K- Kids: 3 of the most amazing you'll ever meet
L- Life, for me, is incomplete without: Christ, John, Grant, Ella, Molly, running
M- Marriage Date: 7-93, i can't remember if its the 23 or 24
N- Number of Siblings: 2
O- Oranges or Apples? Oranges, clementines
P- Phobia/Fears: Falling into an open body of water in a car...
Q- Favorite Quote: ? This puts a lot of pressure on me.
R- Reasons to smile: Grant, people falling off of things, John trying to dance
S- Season: Deer
T- Tag Ten: Summer, Shannon, Jeanne, Ragan, Marie, Amanda, Ashley, Alex, Becca, Dr. Moore, Dr. Moehler, anyone else.
U- Unknown fact about me: I adore the show "The Nanny" Love Fran Drescher!
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? Check Y
W- Worst Habit: John says procrastinating. I'll think of one later and let you know.
X- X-rays or Ultrasounds? Had both, prefer neither
Y- Your Favorite Foods: Yes
Z- Zodiac: Sagitarius (sp?)

5. I carry so many books at a time on campus because I don't get a break that my backpack stands like 2 feet off my back. I will rupture a disc before I pull that luggage thing around on campus, but I now know why they're doing it. It also smashes my pb@j and orange because it's so heavy. Anyone feeling sorry for me?

6. Grant has an ant farm.

7. Female Vice Presedential candidates ROCK!!!!

8. about 3 kids in class have called me maam. Sweet them.

Happy Labor Day!

Shortest blog in history

Taking 21 hours is stupid.
The End.

Cause a lot of wags want to hear it...

I started this Saturday sending my sweet little family out the door to the zoo and work as I made a list of errands to run until they get home. One of my to-do's is to take the kids comforters to the laundrymat here in Richmond because they are too big for our washing machine. Ok, so I pull up and the door is unlocked like the business is open and I'm dragging these big black lawn and leaf bags into the Mexican laundry mat (well, there is always a hispanic woman running it and her children run around barefoot which is real cute)and I realize no one is in there. NO ONE. I start saying, "Hello...". Nothing. Not even the sound of a cockroach scurrying. I'm still dragging my bag across the floor to the huge machines and yell again, "Hello...". (insert sound of crickets for movie affect). So I stand there and debate on whether to throw my stuff on in the machine and stay in the creepy abadoned laundry mat. In what seemed like a long time but was actually like 30 seconds I ponder why this place might be dead empty. Is there a drug bust going down out back? Did the kids have an emergency visit to the pediatrician because the black won't come off their feet? There is a Chinese resteraunt next door so maybe they're moonlighting? I feel the creepy increase and start to drag my bag back out. Then it dawns on me that this is the same bag they use in the movies when someone has been murdered and one is trying to dispose of a body. So I stand there again wondering if this is an episode of Punked or Candid Camera( I know that show hasn't been on since I was like 5, but you get the idea). Before I open the door, I look to see if anyone I know is around and drag my body/comforters to the car that is still missing a hubcap and looks criminal. I wanted to curl up in the fetal positon upon realizing I told Molly I would have her comforter cleaned by tonight so I stopped for a Diet Coke at MyTime, checked my email, and decided to share my Saturday with you thus far. I still have to find a laundry mat. Isn't there such a thing as a Chinese laundry?





I also looked at the pictures of the 38 year old Olympic Marathon winner and read about the marathon hopefuls who didn't win. It inspired me to keep on trucking and don't give up running a marathon by the time I'm 40. They didn't even expect her to be in the top 5! Awesome! Constantina, although you looked like an old skeleton running that finish line, I want to run like you. Hurray for older runners! and as a side note, she ran her full marathon shorter than my half time. Sigh.

I read Sarah Guin's latest post that bragged about her not starting school this week and I was glad for her in a "I'm jealous kinda way" as Me, Marie, Ashley, and the other 18,ooo students start our fall semester this week. That reminds me, add to the to-do list, Buy Books.

Thankful list:
1. Redemption
2. John
3. Grant's braces are off (we'll take a picture of his mouth and I'll post it!)
4. The Office and Biggest Loser Family will be on soon!
5. Cold weather is coming so running will get easier.
6. Ginger is soon to be not sick
7. Buck Run Baptist
8. Podcasts
9. Nutella on white bread!

Good luck starting school all EKU Colonels. It's going to be great(i'm shaking my head no while typing :-)

addendum to below...

so, i'm posting again today. sue me. i'm having this fun banter with lasslo about how all the exercising she wants is becoming "trendy" and that makes her not want to do it anymore. so i thought, while i'm sitting in eastern's library in between an ortho appointment for Grant and picking up Ella from basketball to go to her soccer game, that the new sport we should come up with is cynicalates. Yeah, it's like stetching while you make fun of a real sport or physical activity. she is mastering this and I want to be schooled by her. julie, i made up some training for it. We could write this in a book and publish it...

Day 1: wake up at 8:45 a.m. late for masters work and think of all the people who have got up at 5:00 a.m. and ran 10 miles, without sweating or gatorade, and write down your cynical comment

Day 2: wake up at 7:00 a.m., thinking you'll get it in a bike ride but low...your $150 bike looks jank up against the bikers who have $2,000 dollar bikes AND helmets that mommies and dadddies bought for them, and its not really fixed like the bike shop said. instead, one must attend MyTime for caffiene and couch bends for hours before heading to class, meetings, games, and not exercising at all. (insert:being a grown up is hard)

Day 3: Rest...because we stayed up to watch the Olympics until 3 a.m. Watching exercise always motivates you, doesn't it?

Day 4: Try sprinting a 200 like the Olympic women from the night before but blow your hamstring because you didn't stretch enough. Riiiiiggghhhhtt....

Day 5: Rest...it is Friday after all.

Day 6: Church meetings take most of the day, and everyone asks you,"Hey, you know you should really start hiking cause I hear its good for your hamstrings or something like that..."

Day 7: Thank Goodness for the Sabbath. Rest and keep it holy.


julie, i'm going to go run some tonight after supper and laundry and putting the kids to bed, finishing the last chapter of my new book I'm not dependant, and last but not least, watching the Olympics.

John says hello.
:)

Can I be this tired already?

I called one of the parents of one of the players on Ella's basketball team and basically word vomitted all over her about being tired. I sound like I'm whining all the time, but seriously, sometimes I wonder if meds aren't a good idea for me to deal with things that most rational people don't seem to have a challenge dealing with. I joke with Jeanne that running is my Xanax (sp?, who cares) but I'm just not wrapping my head around how active your life can become with teenage children. That stabs me in the heart even to say, "Teenage children". This life is so fast. And if Jesus could come back really soon, like before the week Ella has a soccer and/or basketball game every night of the week, I would be much less stressed.

Ok, I'm whining.

I'm trying to download photos right this instant of fun stuff that has happend in the last few weeks of summer like Kings Island and the MidSummers Night Run. I miss being lazy and not having a set schedule. I appreciate schedules and do get much done when given a time frame, but I just want to be spotaneous and open to flexible schedules. Maybe that could be a dissertation I can write, "Kids assessment scores increase due to flexible school schedules". I told John the other night I would like to pursue my education track, if possible, to be able to teach college. We'll see. It's funny to anticipate planning that when we don't even know where we're going to live next year. I'm ready to have my house again, but am thankful our home in Chattanooga is being used by a couple who is also trying to make some of the same decisions we are. Let's hope they love our house and want to buy it!!!!! If you're in Chattanooga, tell them that house is great!

Speaking of Ella playing soccer/basketball, she is doing amazing. She is fun to watch and the other night I watched her ram into a little girl on the soccer field. The girl bounced off Ell and smacked the ground. Ella was more concerned with making sure the girl was ok than getting back to the ball within a half second. She shows grace and compassion to people in ways I'm learning from. I love watching her. She always sees the positive and is such a go-getter. Her first basketball game is next week. WOO WOO!

Well, I'm going to polish off this cup of coffee(3 so far today, that's awful), and work on soccer booster minutes. Pictures soon hopefully.

There is always something there to remind me...

I'm sitting at MyTime for the fourth day in a row with Molly and getting to be on the internet for no purpose but to browse. That doesnt' seem to happen to often and there is some crazy stuff you can find when you are mindlessly looking. Ella is at basketball practice and I'm waiting her out so I can then take her to soccer practice. She loves to be overly active and we are enabling this need for her this semester. Two sports, two-four hours of practice or games or both four days a week, and the rest of the family being good members by rooting her on and painting our faces for games and Grant taking off his shirt at games and dancing crazy...well, that hasn't happend yet, but it will! Grant's birthday is next week and we are celebrating this weekend at the local mini-golf place. He has an eclectic guest list ranging from family, his teen-age friends, and his married college friends. I think he wants some competition and maybe having two Tyler Kings there will bring the heat.

The kids and I all start school next week and we are regretfully saying farewell to sleeping in until 11:00 am every day. I used to think this was a dreadful habit, but when my body just kept sleeping and I was delightfully happier with 11-13 hours of sleep a day, I decided its not laziness, it's healthfulness. Yeah, everybody should be doing it. When other moms found out about my habit and scoffed I would tell them I didn't want to interrupt my kids sleeping and if they would sleep until noon I would let them. That seemed to get them off my back some. Anyway, we are missing that and haven't figured out a way to get in bed by 7 p.m. to keep the habit going, so we will forego this until next summer, or at least Labor Day morning.

Speaking of sleeping, Big Whirl was asleep in the shade across from Long John Silver's on the bypass this morning. My kids were freaking out and saying things like, "does he know he's in the middle of town?". There is really no reason to mention this other than it goes along with my sleeping notion. Maybe he's trying to get 13 hours a day too!!!

Some people's blogs have mentioned things that are going great in there lives so I thought I would do that too:
1. Kings Island tomorrow
2. My semester of college paid for because I got the teacher's scholarship form KHEAA
3. John and the kids are healthy and we laugh a lot at home at night! John and the girls should go on the road with there Paramore interpts they perform.
4. Friends are fulfilling God's call and seeing God move in there lives. Amazing
5. John and I are doing well, and that feels good
6. Life, although we're still in total disarray, is panning out some. We're learning patience and although that can be hard, it's a teacher that you can only learn from through experience.
7. Good friends are blessings.

Love Yall

It's five o'clock somewhere...

A lot has happend since the 24th post. Lots of great stuff. John and I didn't go to the creation museum but instead got invited to camp and hike the Red River Gorge last weekend, which was so fun! Our tent didn't have poles we discovered when trying to set up camp in the dark with head lamps on (grrrrrrr) so Seth York hooked us up with a really fancy lean to and we slept on the hardest ground on the Earth. That was not the fun part. We headed back to the car at 4 a.m. and slept until morning where we had coffee on a gorgeous morning and hiked the rest of the day. Awesome. And we smelled even better. moving on...


Julie Lasslo came home from her summer in Peru and me, John, and the kids got to visit on Monday night over dinner. We even did smores on the front porch! It was so good seeing her and she brought me back some cool earrings! She needs to start blogging to share her story, so Julie, as you read this, start blogging.

We also saw a bunch of movies this week. And ate a lot of popcorn and diet coke. We are carb addicts. Especially if the carbs are movie theater popcorn. Ella asked me this morning what makes movie popcorn better and I said, "Fat". Her face snarled and she said, "I like fat then". Oh yeah, Grant asked me this week why the middle of corn on the cob is so hard by sticking a fork in it and saying, "Huh, so what's in the middle of corn on the cob mom, Wood?" He will win a Pulitzer Prize for an invention or writing something amazing, you watch and see.

I also got to have dinner with some of my favorite Waco teachers last night. We ate way too much and laughed way too loud (that's always fun). We all know school is less than two weeks away and we're all trying to seize every moment.

My favorite thing that is going to happen in all the summer is KINGS ISLAND this Friday. Just like the commercials for the amusement park say, I am a ride warrior. Bring them all on. And the cherry Icee's, and funnel cake, and the best Skyline Chili(which is not as good as Gold Star, but is close) that I've ever had. I cannot wait and John is good at taking pictures while we're riding the coasters so that should be fun to look at!

I think it's good to be thankful for small moments like these. They're God's blessings and we should recount them and be thankful. Like the song, "Count your blessings". It helps one not to always be downcast and focus on the things that are wrong in our lives. Movies, camping, having legs that will let you hike, friends, jobs, people who love you and you are able to love them back, kids who ask crazy questions and play guitar hero for 24 hours straight, that's good stuff. all gifts. And I, for one, am very thankful!