I've Been So Busy

The Mint, Enumclaw, WA
(from January 11th Post)

We hear others and ourselves say those words so often, "I've been so busy". Don't you hate that we get so busy that time or life seems to slip away before you get a handle on it? Half of January is almost gone and we just were celebrating Christmas. New Years resolutions are fading around me as I try to keep mine without any company. Life is such balancing act, that's for sure. I don't remember it being like that in the past but it seems to gain speed. It is no wonder that people are wishing to simplify their lives.

This week I have been posting from my blackberry because I haven't had the time to go on the computer. That's why there hasn't been any photos etc. Posts are so much more interesting with links and photos or mood girls (which I haven't learned about yet). I hope I will soon learn how to add those things. I need a class I guess. I have learned a lot in a little amount of time which also has been so busy with Christmas and all it brings to do.

Yesterday I stayed at the college all day just going to meetings or catching up on my projects. The day went by so fast and wish I had more time to get it all done. I need to work on projects here at home.

With all our modern ways and technology, we battle with time. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I remember in college reading The Magnificent Andersons by Booth Tarkington which was written in 1918. Mr. Tarkington observed that with the new inventions that were to make life easier, there were other changes they brought to life that caused life to speed up. He noted that devises that were to give us more leisure time actually changed our lifestyles and therefore they really didn't give us time to spare. Behaviors in the society changed that didn't allow many kindnesses that they had time for before the changes. That was almost 100 yrs ago and it is true with each new invention our lives change but it doesn't mean it gives us more time to do what we want to do. Computers didn't exist and now we can't live without emails etc. Not we spend time at our computers and that means even deleting SPAM as Denise mentioned. I wonder what Tarkington would have thought of how things have progressed?

Did I mention that Dave brought me flowers? It was a "just because I love you" flowers. I thought I would give him due credit here in my post. ;-)

Right now I am taking a break from cleaning out the boys clothes closet and my closet. I am thinning out their stuff by getting out of there the clothes they don't fit in any longer. Riley,s old clothes are stored for Brady. Brady's old clothes I give to the daycare. Other clothes that fit but have been replaced by Christmas new clothes go to daycare for when they get wet from rain outside etc. Doing all that is challenging. I can see why Kari with ADHD had a bit of a problem. Again these are things that need to be simplified so there is peace.

I went to WW and only maintained this week. I understand where I went wrong. It was not having the right foods out with me on the road. I will have to picnic more on the road by packing my lunch.

Have a great Saturday and family day.

We Made It!

Wooo Whoo! We made it to Friday! Yesterday I went to the reservation to the Tribal School to met the counselor. Then I drove on to Enumclaw do a high school lunch visit. Renee was able to join me so we represented two colleges which attracts more students at their lunch period to our information tables. Speaking of Renee, she is now 5 months. There isn't official news as to what gender the baby is but she thinks it will be a boy.

Afterwards we went to lunch with the career specialist at The Mint. The Mint is one of those small town historial restaurants that locals know. Cindy mentioned in her post about going to a restaurant called The Trolley Stop. This place is only about 100 years old not close to 200 years old but it's cool. I looked around to see what the history about The Mint in downtown Enumclaw. Enumclaw is about 45 miles southeast of Seattle, in the foothills of Mount Rainier, which looms the northeast. The city got its name from a group of Native Americans who camped at the mountain's base. During the night, strong winds made loud thundering noises that kept them awake, so they named the area "Enumclaw," meaning "strong wind" or "thundering noise." The city retains a flavor of a small farm town, although it has grown in recent years. The downtown has undergone a revitalization program and boasts bakeries, restaurants and restored buildings. The town's population was 11,116 in the 2000 census, but the Enumclaw plateau area is home to about 40,000 people. Big change in population huh?

It was very rainy this morning. I had to wear my rain coat with a hood today. It is warmer but wet.

Aaron has been sick and running a temperature. Kari says her friends have been sick too. Hopefully we will not get it. That wouldn't good if we or the boys got ill.

Have a fantastic Friday. If you like the Seahawks, tomorrow Seattle is wearing the blue. They play the Packers this weekend. I am not the 12th man but I wish them well for my friends that are the 12th (13, 14, 15...)

Graham WA Visits

Yesterday I spent most of the day driving south and visiting the high schools in Graham. They had black ice in the AM so they started classes two hours late. I haven't in the past been the rep to those schools so I was turned around a bit. There is a lot of great country there and it has great scenary. So it wasn't too bad getting lost.

One other thing... I found out this morning just how bad it is to accidentally wash a disposable diaper. The one I discovered after I washed it had these little absorbent gel like things/balls that were all over my clean clothes. It is NOT what one wants to deal with especially when playing "beat the clock" to get out of the house in the morning. It's even more fun with two kids running around (NOT). Just take my word for it and don't try it.

Have a wonderful day :-)

Smokey Mountain Inn

Did you know I own an Inn? I didn't either. But that was the part I played at the DECA competitions. I was a resort owner who was looking to "marketing consultants" (students) to bring senior citizens to my Inn. They brought me their ideas on what they would do to attract seniors. I had 5 different pairs to judge. Two sets of girls were really good and I sent them on to state competitions by giving them high scores. Two were in the middle and the other set didn't do so well. They have 30 minutes to prepare but those two boys thought that charm would send them through. Oh well. Lesson learned. Hopefully.

It was hard not to laugh at some of their ideas. Most were great but the boys I mentioned they wanted to put animated jungle animals outside because "old" people like exotic adventures like safaris (in the Smokey Mountains? OK?)

Have a great day!

A Day At The Races

OK, so the horses aren't running at this time of year but there is still a competition to be won. I will be working as a judge this morning. Judging high school DECA students from high schools around the area, that is. This time I will be judging in a category that I have never judged before. It should be interesting. I will tell you more in tomorrow's post as to what it was like and what I found interesting or funny. There are always stories to be told.

After the competitions other reps and myself usually go out for lunch at a local restaurant. I don't worry because they are all losing weight. I will see Renee tomorrow. She might have news about the baby; maybe she has heard if it is a boy or a girl.

Yesterday I didn't feel much like cleaning when I got home. My husband calls it "the Monday blahs" but I refuse to give it a title or a name. I think a person can "psych" yourself out or talk yourself into... pick one... a feeling. I was tired because I spent a long time in front of a computer working. Anyway, I am behind in my cleaning plan. Did I ever mention the Flylady.com website. She has a cleaning/organization plan that has daily reminders. They can make you a little crazy but I have learned to pick which ones to follow in my own way and delete the rest. Some just make for interesting reading. One of her philosophies is to have one room or area per week that you focus heavily on which is something that a person working outside the home can do without too much trouble. Anyway, it is another website to check out if you are organizing your life as a New Year's Resolution at http://www.flylady.com/

I will make this a quick post today. Have a good day today!

Reality Hits Hard

Emerald Downs Race Track in Auburn, WA

It was the first day of a 5 day work week. The first 5 day work week in almost a month for me and a few others. I got up really early this morning at 5 am. I had plenty of time. I think that I will make sure that I get up at 5 am very day which is a half of an hour earlier than what I was getting up. It seems that I need the extra time to really get a good start to the day and get the boys out the door with less time limitations and stress.

I was in the office today but the next three days I will be mostly out of the office. Tomorrow I play a part in being a judge in DECA competitions for high schools at a place called Emerald Downs. The picture of the front of Emerald Downs is above. It is a leadership competition for business students.

Edgewater Hotel in Seattle

Aaron had his homecoming at the Edgewater Hotel on the Seattle waterfront. He said that they didn't end up taking a carriage ride or going to the Cheesecake Factory. The hotel's food was better than they first thought and the dessert was... guess... cheesecake. They discovered that the carriage rides close at 10pm and they stayed longer at the event at the hotel longer. They did go to a friends house afterwards and played the oh so popular Apples to Apples game (that I bought yesterday).

It is 9 pm and I am soon off the bed. I will probably read before I go to sleep since that is one of the things that I want to do more of this year. Have a good evening yourself and a great day tomorrow.

A Day Out With My Sweetie

This morning Riley looked outside and he reported that it was "Christmas". I thought that he was only looking at someone's Christmas decorations that might still be up. However, he was talking about "snow". There was a light snow on the ground and in the trees. It was "polite" snow again. Looks nice but doesn't disrupt your life.

Kari stayed home today with the boys so Dave and I took off for the hills, literally. It was rather daring because heading for the hills meant that we would encounter more snow that might not be so polite. But, we made it to North Bend for lunch. The picture was taken on the way there. I kept my eye on the hills which looked like they were getting snow. If at any time snowflakes started to fall, we were going to hit the road. Sure enough, and thankfully after a nice lunch, snow started to fall. There was quiet a bit of snow falling as we headed to Seattle on Interstate 90. Finally as we got to Issaquah, it turned to rain.

We ended up at a mall. I had a $25 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble burning in my pocket, so I bought the game we played on New Years Eve, "Apple to Apple". Not finding what we were really looking for we went over to Borders. We always have better luck there. I bought two books on parenting by the SuperNanny. I think I have mentioned before that my daughter was diagnosed with ADHD this past June. She has had difficulty with trying to establish routines. First she is working with herself now she is has medication. She also has to learn to establish routines with the boys who also have challenges themselves. I have been setting the routines mostly for them while Kari is learning to take the reins on her own life. The symtoms were sort of there when she was younger however they really showed up in her adult life and then having to take care of two little one. She managed it but she has no idea how she did because she was always "undone" and losing things. It can be a frustrating disability when not addressed.

After the bookstores, we went to the movies again. We seem to do that a bit during the cold of winter and we are outside during the warmer parts of the year. We saw "PS I Love You" with Hillary Swank as the main character. I won't share much more so I don't ruin it but it is a good movie too.

Aaron got home in the early morning hours from homecoming. He was asleep when we left so I don't have any details to share at the moment.

Tomorrow marks a full week of work coming. We have not done that in a few weeks so we better get some sleep tonight. Everyone have a great evening!