Pollen

 

I know it looks really pretty, but pollen is killing me right now!

Here are some tulips from my rock garden out front. I haven't done as much gardening as I would like lately, the yard really needs it, but between working too much and the toxic pollen atmosphere, I can't do it! Yesterday I did a little gardening. Frank had found on the internet a farm, not too far away, that specializes in pepper plants. We went to visit and bought several different plants, a variety of peppers and two different tomatoes. At another store we picked up some flowers for the yard, and I put those in too. That's it so far! By the time I can enjoy the garden again, most of the prettiest plants will be gone.

Start here.

 

Standing around, waiting for something to happen

 

Wandering in the woods...

 

OK, sorry for the wait. Here's the story.

 

I guess after such a big buildup and waiting all week for me to post, it isn't even going to be that funny... but here it is anyway. And yeah, it's a really LOONNNGGG story.... sorry!

So, we go to the walkathon. I think we had like 20 people -- I didn't really count (someone count how many people we have in the photo.) We all planned to meet at my house at 8 AM, and all these wonderful people who were willing to walk for us had to get up early and pay $15.00 for the privelege. Waking up early -- that's especially hard for the teenagers!

I bought bagels, 3 dozen in fact, at 6 am that morning. They were supposed to supply breakfast and lunch. But I was afraid that the CCFA -- the organization that was running the walkathon -- wouldn't have enough food. I hadn't signed up all the people that were attending on my team, and I figured that other people would be doing the same. So I figured that at least we'd have a bagel for everyone that came with us. I was really stressing about water, too, so I brought a thermos of water and cups.

We also had our lovely t-shirts, with special thanks to my Mom and Dad for paying for them and helping me do ALL THOSE IRON-ONS! Because I knew we wouldn't all be getting shirts from the CCFA -- and our team name wasn't on them, anyway!

At 8:00ish, after dithering around for a while trying to figure out who was driving who, we all drove off. Of course, we were early. Which was good, I guess, because it wasn't a huge parking lot. Registration went fine. We have raised more than $2,000 -- including the money that was brought that day. I'm not sure if they are updating the web site anymore. Thank you so much to everyone who donated :) !!!

We were finished with registration by 9:00 ish, and the walk didn't even start until 10. It was a rather chilly day, and it had rained recently so the ground was rather soggy and there were many puddles. The kids didn't mind. They were chasing each other around the place, and once or twice I had to stop them from starting water fights.

Of COURSE there were plenty of bagels and water. I never even got my water and bagels out of the car. There were also cinnamon rolls, which were a big hit with Frankie. Everyone drank tons of water, before the walk had even begun.

We waited and waited and waited for the walk to begin. Everyone was ready to go. There were hundreds of people there -- I'm bad at estimating numbers. After standing around for so long, my Mom said "Why don't you just ask them if you can start?" So I did -- I went to the registration desk. "Oh, come on, you can wait 10 more minutes!" I was told. "There's going to be a speech!"

When the speech started, we couldn't hear a thing. They didn't have any amplification at all. So whatever they had to say, I'm sure it was very flowery and thankful and blah blah blah, but we missed the whole thing. Then they stretched out the ribbon. Our group had gotten there early, so of course we were right up front! One team, who was walking in honor of a little girl named Gabby, raised $18,000, so they let Gabby cut the ribbon.

My Dad had planned all along to try to run the 5 K. The older kids -- Frankie included -- surprised me by saying that they were going to run as well. They were looking around at their competition and sizing them up, and figured they'd smoke them at the starting line.

So the ribbon was cut, and off they ran. I was a little slower. We watched the first group take off and started to stroll along the path.

It was about 40 yards in that we hit the first fork in the path. On the right, the sign said "Finish Line This Way." So everyone made a right, right? We want to get to the finish line, don't we? WRONG. Someone in the CCFA must have said something to someone -- "Hey! You're going the wrong way!" We were supposed to make a LEFT. So all the people in front of us, all those running instead of strolling, had to turn around, and now were behind a large section of the pack!

The path was relatively narrow. So the runners had to leave the path to pass the strollers. We watched them running alongside the path to pass us. When our boys came by, I laughed. They were spattered with mud up their backs, kicked up by their shoes as they ran.

As I said, it was a slightly overcast day, rather cool, which was pleasant to walk in. There were puddles everywhere, and we had drank a LOT of water. It wasn't more than a minute into the walk before we REALLY had to PEE. It took a few minutes, but we came to a park restroom, and we stopped.

After the restroom, we got back on the path. The pack of people stretched out quite far, and our group was spread out alot. So we walked and walked and walked. We didn't see anyone from the CCFA anywhere along the way. At one point, we saw a few signs, "Sponsored by..." or whatever, but they didn't seem to have much information on them.

We just kept walking and walking, following the people in front of us. Then, we crossed the road out of that section of park, to continue on the same trail on the opposite side. We were a bunch of lemmings just following the people in front of us.

It wasn't long before we started having to pee again. Really badly. That was a LOT of water. But there were no portapottys or anything anywhere! It was just a paved path in the woods. Someone behind us started to complain. "It's really bad that an organization that deals with people with intestinal problems didn't have portapottys along the route," he griped. "I've already had to take a crap behind a tree! What are they THINKING?"

I got a phone call from the boys. "Sue? I think we're lost." But I had no idea what to tell them -- Where did they turn off the path? "Just try to find the group," I advised. "Trace your steps back."

We walked and walked and walked through the woods. At one point, we crossed another path; but we just kept following the other lemmings. No one even considered that second path, and there were no signs posted.

Finally -- ages later -- we started to see people turning around and walking back down the path towards us. "Is that the end?" we asked. "Are there bathrooms there???"

"No," was the answer. "It's a dead end."

I don't know if EVERYONE was freaked out, but I sure was. We'd apparently been wandering in the woods for a lot longer than we were supposed to. We weren't on the right trail. Hundreds of us!

Laurie walks all the time, and she thought that we'd probably walked way more than 5 K already. Turning around and walking back, the crossroads was now a subject of some controversy with the walkers. "We should go right!" "Left!"
I wasn't going that way. I'd walked far enough, and I wasn't interested in getting lost in the woods. "I'm going back the way I came," I said. A few people kept arguing, but I just started walking and everyone I was with decided to follow. (And don't forget, we still had to pee!) Two people in our group separately wondered if our teenagers had pranked the walkathon by moving signs that were supposed to be there. THEY DIDN'T!!! There just weren't any signs.

We hobbled back to the starting line. Some of our group -- the runners among us -- ended up on a highway, trying the other path. My dad had to ask directions from a police officer along a road somewhere. Apparently, 5 K isn't that far. Apparently, when we thought we were just getting started -- back by the road somewhere -- we were half done. I still have no idea what the route was supposed to be!

After the walkathon, we stood around for a few minutes. Apparently, the lunch that the ccfa was providing were bags of pretzels and chips, and more bagels. (Not to mention more bagels back at my house afterwards!)

So we finished up the day driving home and having a short afternoon fire. I served bagels for a lunch -- I didn't have much else in the house!

That's the full wrap up of the walkathon. I've never been to such a poorly planned event. The moral of this story? Might be "don't be a lemming." It might be, "don't plan a walkathon if you don't know what you're doing!"

But the important thing is, the walkathon did raise in the neighborhood of $85,000 for Crohn's and Colitis research!

Thank you for your support!

Walkathon report coming soon!

 

I don't know how many people read both this blog and my other blog, the Frankie report... but I've posted this picture in both places. This is our walkathon team.

The walkathon story is actually pretty funny, but I don't have time to post it right now, so check back later!

SUNSHINE (finally!)

 

These are my biker boys. They need to do a 25 mile bike ride, and also a 50 mile bike ride, for the cycling merit badge for Boy Scouts. Today was a beautiful day for a bike trip! (I don't ride bikes. Their daddy took them, and took this wonderful photo.)

I, personally, had a pleasant day without them.

But they are cute, aren't they?

I'm a very shallow person.

I'm not looking for everyone to jump in on this with comments to make me feel better, by the way. I really think I'm just shallow. A lot of things that bother people don't bother me like I suppose they should.

I like to make friends, but usually the level of friendship is on the lighter side. I don't remember to ask about things that I'm supposed to remember. I don't remember birthdays very well. (If you are my friend and I should know your birthday, I hope you aren't upset with me when I forget it. I don't even know the dates of my Mother or Father's birthday!)

Sorry, everybody. I would like to be a better person. I try sometimes, but then I forget to try other times. It isn't internalized like it is for some people. I think it's actually part of my nature, somehow.

I like everyone to get along. I don't like confrontation or anger. I feel uncomfortable around arguments. Why can't we all just get along? That's not to say I care if you have a different opinion than I do. I totally accept differing opinions. I don't even mind debating differences, as long as the debate stays friendly.

Sometimes, especially (mostly) with the kids -- mine and others -- someone will be telling me a long and involved story about something, and I will totally drift off. I feel terrible when this happens, but it happens again and again. I'll be listening. Then I'll start thinking about something else, and my mind will totally veer off topic. When I tune back in, I can't even begin to tell you what you just said. When I do that, would it be better for me to just admit it, or should I try to cover up?

So, I'm a shallow person. I want to be pleasant, I want to have a lot of casually pleasant relationships... sorry...

NJ 2007 Walk North Jersey - Team Statistics

Click here to find out about our walkathon! NJ 2007 Walk North Jersey for Crohns and Colitis We've raised about $1000 -- but some other kid raised way more! C'mon, guys, get involved! If you haven't donated, and you want to but keep forgetting, please click on the link and send in your donation.

Of course, if you don't want to donate, we totally understand... no pressure...

Home Sweet Home, KMSR

 
This is my FAVORITE PLACE in the entire world. Just so you know that.

People often wonder why I like the Boy Scouts program so much. This is why.

The scenery at KMSR

 

The scenery with the lake and the trees and the rocks and the moss... and yes, even the bears... it is unbelievably peaceful. The only sound you hear is the bellow of boys running around like wild indians.

Campfires are the BEST Part...

 

Yeah, campfires. Campfires are the best part of the Boy Scout program. Or maybe the best part is...

Kids who are required to cook for me

 
How can you go wrong with a program that teaches boys that they have to learn how to cook? Here, Nicky and one of his buddies are making spaghetti and meatballs. They HAVE to cook...so that they can earn badges...

No, one of the best things about Boy Scout camp is ...Rocks,

 
and more rocks.
No. Probably not rocks. Although, those of you who know me REALLY WELL know that I prefer rocks to flowers.
Ok, not rocks. The great thing about Scouting is ......

Target Shooting...

 

...With good old fashioned black powder muzzle loaders! And other fun activities. There are all kinds of things to do, like...

Making a matchless fire

 
This is the equivalent to rubbing two sticks together to build a fire. It's actually hard for some of the kids to even make a fire WITH a match, never mind with a bow drill. I tried. I couldn't do it either.

Ok, cool activities are great, but where except for Scouting would you have a ride like this...

Stylish Transportation

 
PIMP
MY
RIDE!
(please?)

Ya gotta love such a stylish vehicle. But really, what I like best is...

How about educational lectures about fish?

How many times have you been standing around with your kids when an impromptu lecture on fish breaks out, as the professionals stock your own private lake?
Not that I fish, mind you.

 

Good Citizenship

All those "uncool" values like honesty, loyalty, leadership, teamwork, and of course, citizenship, are the whole point to the program. Although the kids don't seem to notice that, they just learn and have fun. That's the great thing about Scouts.
 

Arts and Crafts

 
Everyone knows how much I love arts and crafts, right?

The boys worked on patrol flags all night. One patrol -- Nicky's group -- was "Duct Tape." I was impressed that they spelled it correctly. The other patrol was "Skull Candy." It referred to the name on the headphones one of the older boys had on his MP3 player.

Ok, but really, the best thing about scouting is...

The Comfy beds

 
Here's Nick on his bunk. Note the cozy spring sag under him? Can you imagine how much the springs sag under ME?
Lucky for me, I get my own room because I'm a girl. So I don't have to listen to the boys snore (and talk all night.) On the bad side, if the cabin only has one room, I can't go or I have to sleep in a tent.

The best thing is...

... being invited to play with the sling shot too... I missed.... 

BUT WAIT! At the risk of sounding mushy, this is really the best thing about scouts:


For real, the number one thing I like is the people. My kids have made great, lifelong friends, with some really nice boys. Our troop is the nicest group of boys you would ever want to meet. And I have made friends with a lot of really wonderful, dedicated parents and young adults who have the same kinds of beliefs I do.
I sound really mushy, I know. And I'm not usually a mushy person, but I feel like it today. These are some great people.
That's really why I love scouting.

Me at Lollapalooza? Well, I like the stockings, but i DOUBT I'll wear them...

Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com

Everyone say HI BETH!

I took this photo of Beth at the comedy show we went pretty recently... she looks better in real life...

YAY BETH!

Beth has a new blog now too! Welcome to the blog world, Beth!

Everyone go to Beth's site and say HI!

Beth is my best friend for 100 years. Well, maybe not quite that long, but since we were in middle school, which is a really long time.

When we were in 9th grade, Iselin Middle School was called Iselin Jr. High (and it went up to 9th grade.) All of the kids from St. Cecelia's, who didn't go on to Catholic High School, merged into the public school system with us.

Beth and Jan knew each other from St. Cecelias, and Ann and I (barely) knew each other from Iselin Middle. I had Beth and Jan in different classes, and one of them had Ann in some classes. Anyway, the four of us started hanging around together, and we became extremely close. They were my BFF's before there was a such thing as BFFs. Or LYLAS's.

So we've all stayed friends thru the years, although Annie is the most distant, living in Florida and not in contact very often. Jan is in Pittsburgh (Hi Jan!) I know she reads the blog occasionally at least, and we talk once in a while. I hope to see her this summer, or maybe in the fall... we have to work on it. And Beth lives closest to me, still in Jersey, but nowhere near Iselin anymore, and a bit too far away to just stop by.

I got married earliest. So even though our ages are all the same, I feel the oldest. Beth still has babies, so she still has to go thru all the child stuff... I kinda miss the baby years! I miss those years with my kids UNTIL she starts telling me about waking up at 6 AM with a baby sick and crying....

Visit Beth's blog at
Just About Us

Playground

I was at Aftercare today, turning the jump rope for hours -- it seemed like hours -- and it is kinda weird, because it is the same playground that I played jump rope on as a child. I had this strange sense of deja vu... but I'm a lot happier now than I was back then. I was such a nervous worried weird little kid.

But today, I wasn't nervous or worried (I think weird is for life) and the sun was so nice and warm, and it was very fun in a very childlike, invigorating way.

And all I could think of, was, I get paid for playing with these little kids. They are very nice little kids. I would like to have been friends with them when I was a little kid. And here I am, still playing jump rope after all these years!

Well, I turn but I haven't been jumping yet -- but I think I might actually jump too, tomorrow...

(That'll be good for a laugh!)

Map of Chicago Downtown,(Chicago, Illinois, US)

Spontaneous Vacation Plans

So, how does this sound? I was planning a very simple summer this year. BUT, I'm a sucker for travel plans!

So we decided to go to Cedar Point, the roller coaster capital of the world, because we didn't get there last year so Frankie is having withdrawal (the Great Adventure roller coasters aren't good enough, ya know.) And we were thinking of going on the August 3 - 5 weekend. But Frank didn't really want to drive all the way to Cedar Point, a bit more than 500 miles, for a long weekend. (What? Don't you do road trips?) So he wanted to add something else, and I figured it would be a good time to visit Jan.

But then he came up with an additional plan. Over that same weekend, Lollapalooza will be playing in Chicago, and Pearl Jam will be appearing. Yup. Chicago is only 800 miles, so THAT we can do. Then, we can drive back 300 miles to Cedar Point on our way home. (I still hope to hit Jan's house in there for a while, if I can! Hi Jan!)

Lollapalooza is a big jam band concert in Grant Park. So -- within hours of thinking about it -- we had bought tickets for the weekend concert, and booked a hotel in downtown chicago. It's supposed to be a DUMP, but it's close to the festival, we can walk it.

So yeah, we're spontaneous about our vacation plans. I sure hope my new job doesn't mind.....

TGIS (thank god its saturday!)

So work went fine this week, but sitting in an office is certainly putting a cramp in my "style." (Is that the correct saying? Or is it a CRIMP in my style? I'm not sure. Cramp sounds good to me.)

Right now, the office isn't at all busy, so I don't have a lot to do. It makes the time go a lot slower, and I keep thinking of all the things I SHOULD be doing at home. Not that I WOULD be doing them.
It would be great if I could sit at my desk in the office and play on the internet, but my work computer is not attached. The only thing I can play is solitaire.

Flo came in to the office the other day -- I told you it's a family business, right? And it operates out of the family household. It's a separate room on the side, kind of behind the garage. It's attached to the house. So Flo, the Mom, a sweet older lady, came in to the office and offered that I could bring my laundry with me if I wanted something to do during the day until it got busy.

I really thought that was SO NICE of her to offer! I can't imagine ever taking her up on her offer, but I know she was serious. She is a very generous and considerate person. My first day, she told me to go into the refridgerator in her kitchen if I ever wanted a soda. She also stocks up on chocolate and other candy in the bowl on her table, for anyone who wants it. She even bought Peppermint Patties for me, because she remembered from the last time I worked there that I liked them.

So that's one job.

The second job, aftercare, is going especially nice now that we can get outside. Kids need to run around after school. Now that the weather is warmer, they can play on the playground after they do their homework.

Speaking of which, homework help is an issue this week.
The kids ask for a lot of help, and I'm always glad to help anyone who asks. Especially when they need help, but don't expect me to just do the work for them. And especially when they are willing to sit still for a while and get the work done. It drives me crazy when one of the kids asks me to help with homework, and then keeps popping out of the seat and running around the room and losing focus, and then blames me for not helping.

Anyway, I was talking to some of the kids, and apparently last week one class got in trouble because they got so much help in aftercare. Mind you, I try really hard not to ever just give the kids answers. I try to make them understand the question in the first place. The question was along these lines:

Joe had 215 frogs. All but 187 frogs died. How many frogs did Joe have left? Show your work and explain your answer.

That was the only question on the paper.

So every kid subtracted 187 from 215 and gave that answer, and then came up to ask me if they did it right.

And of course, the answer was "No." And then I had to explain why the answer was no. So I re-read them the question. For some kids, I had to re-read the question several times before they understood. And even then, I'm not sure some of them understood. They may have just accepted that I said the answer was 187, and even though they didn't understand why, they knew I was usually pretty good about this stuff.

So all of those kids got the question right, and all of the kids in that class who didn't go to aftercare got a "D." But the aftercare kids were yelled at for getting too much help in aftercare. By me.

I can't tell you how many times a kid will come up to me with seemingly no earthly idea how to do a problem, as though they had never ever seen it in class before. And then I usually try to explain it from the beginning, and teach them how to do the problem themselves. Like Greatest Common Factors. Fun stuff like that. But I always try not to give them the answers, just to explain the question, or how to do the problem. Sometimes, though, like with the frog question, I'm trying so hard to explain the question that the answer just pops out of my mouth, because in order to really understand the question, you need to know what the answer is.

But now, I'm really wondering if my role should really be to tell them to just try their best, and if they get it wrong, they get it wrong.

Maybe my real role should be to try harder keeping those kids who would rather run around to keep focusing, and not answer any questions at all.

I don't know, it bothers me.

Nicky working at the ice stand last summer...

A whole new direction for me...

So. Since the last time I've posted, I started a new job. It was barely even on the horizon when last I wrote. And yet, here I am, two days in.

Last summer was still recuperation for Frankie. The summer before that, I worked for the Maglione's. The Maglione's are friends of mine who own a family Italian Ice business. Nicky and now Frankie sometimes work for them at special events, scooping ice and making pretzels.

They need a secretary in the office for the busy season, which starts now because of Little League baseball games. So, I was talking to my friend, and we started talking about the business, and ... anyway, now I've got a job!

Actually, two jobs. Because I'm still doing after care from 3:30 to 6:00. Oh yeah, and the few days I'd already gotten scheduled to substitute, I'm still going to do that.

It's a simple job, really. It certainly puts a strain on my timetable, though. The house is a wreck (well, it was a wreck anyway, the job didn't really cause that!) And it's making me rather cranky because I feel like I need to remember everything that needs to get done in a much shorter window of time.

But it's only the second day. I think it will be OK. It will certainly be a lot easier once school lets out and aftercare is over!

10 minutes to kill...

...before I have to go work today. I've been subbing all week at the elementary school across the street. It's only half days, in the morning, during the testing; I'm covering for teachers that they need to be proctors.

It's been a nice week so far. I had a class of 2nd graders, the same class all week. They are very good; they know exactly what is expected of them, and they are very glad to do it. They also seem to be very considerate of each other.

One student has trouble keeping up. I gather that he's just moved in from a faraway land, and I'm not sure English is his first language, although he speaks it so well that it's hard to be sure. He isn't doing as well as the other children with the reading and the writing, though, and I feel bad for him. I asked the teacher and she said she's doing things to help him catch up.

The other second graders haven't teased him that I've noticed. In fact, a few have offered to help him. It seems, though, that he doesn't want their help; I think he would rather they just leave him alone. I don't think he wants them to notice that he needs the help. He welcomed my help, anyway. I just felt bad I couldn't work with him a bit more. I'm sure the teacher is much better at all that than I am.

Anyway, my 10 minutes are about up, and it's back to school for me...

Wasting time

I'm sitting here at the computer just wasting time. I don't have much to say; when do I ever? It's a beautiful sunny day, with blue skies and white snow glazing my yard. I took a walk. I called some friends. My kids are out playing with their friends, and my husband is out playing with his friend. It's a lazy Sunday. I suppose I should be doing something, but I don't know what. Mostly, I guess, I should be doing anything productive, but I really don't think I have a productive bone in my body.

I'm quite content to sit here at the computer, with the sun pouring in the computer, and do nothing.

Maybe I was a cat in a past life...
...or maybe a lizard...

Children are a LOT OF WORK

...so DON'T HAVE THEM if you don't plan on taking care of them!!!!

They don't have on/off switches, especially when they are little. That is a lot harder than you can imagine when you are exhausted and it's the middle of the night.

You never know what kind of child you are going to get, because you can't pick and choose. But whatever kind you get, they NEED you and LOVE you!

Not only that, but they change as they get older. The become crankier and more rebellious and they dislike you, and you may get very little emotional reward for dealing with them, and even so, they need you and love you.

And you can't just back out of their lives. EVER.
Even if they have someone else taking good care of them.
Even if they have a hundred other people who love them.
Because they will always wonder why YOU didn't... why they aren't good enough.
And nobody can fix that.
And that is WRONG.

The illnesses go 'round and 'round

Today, Nick's home sick. Last week, it was Frankie. The week before that, it was Frank. The week before that, it was me. Then, it was Nick. Then, me. Then... etc.

Soon, the weather will change for good and it will be warmer. The trees will bloom. The pollen will begin, and we will all get sick some more.

(Sounds pretty pessimistic of me, doesn't it?)

Definitely time for Spring Cleaning.

Last year's picture...

...there's nothing like this blooming in the yard, yet!

Gardening

Gram used to recite a poem.

Spring is sprung,
the flowers riz,
I wonder where the birdies is?

I'm thinking about the flowers because the weather is warming and I'm looking forward to getting some gardening done.

I have all these little sections in the yard that need improvement. I don't know where to start. For one thing, the rabbits are constantly in the front rock garden. The rabbits just appeared over the past few years. I'm not sure that they are the problem, but it seems like a lot of the flowers I plant there don't make it anymore. So do I work on kicking out the rabbits, or give up on the planting? The rabbits are actually kinda cute. But they could be cute somewhere else in the yard. I could probably surround the little rock garden with some kind of fence. But it wouldn't look quite as rock-gardenish, would it?

I have a huge old lilac in the back that needs to be... fixed. It has a sumac and an oak tree growing right in the middle of it. Everytime I cut them out, they come right back.

I have a trellis that needs more vines. I also would like to put clematis in more places.

Meanwhile, Frank started an herb garden yesterday. I don't know what herbs he wants, but it's pretty big.

Anyway, I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I just feel like SPRING!!!

Our Country's Obsession with YOUTH

What is wrong with looking and acting like a 40 year old? When you ARE 40?

I always thought that I would have trouble with the age 50. But I really thought that the trouble would be a vague melancholy on my birthday, followed by no real change in my daily outlook.

But increasingly over the last few years I've become more and more...cranky?... about my age. And I'm only 43. But I feel really old.

It doesn't help that my kids have hit their teen years. They see me as semi-embarassing. I remember seeing my mother in this same light, and now that I think back on it, she was way younger than I was! But I take comfort in the fact that even if I was younger and really "hot" I would still be embarassing. And I think that is probably the way it's supposed to be.

My hair is thinning, gray, and ... old. I'm getting wrinkles and all kinds of age spots. I can't wear some of the clothes that younger people wear; I feel foolish in them. Like I'm trying to be someone who I'm not.

I'm trying to embrace the new me -- the matron. The old woman. I want to be happy being who I am and I don't want to try and be something I'm not.

So the reason this topic comes up, especially, is because there was a local teacher that got into SERIOUS trouble for text messaging one of her students, in a sexual manner. I knew the teacher, although I was never friendly with her. She taught in a middle school, and the student was someone she had in middle school and is a high school student now. The teacher has to be about my age -- early 40's.

Now, she's in jail waiting to go to trial.

What could she have been thinking? She is an ADULT, for goodness sake! What kind of a relationship could she possibly have wanted with a TEENAGER??? And WHY?

And I have to have seen at least 3 cases of these female teachers being arrested in the last few weeks.

So I go back to our country's obsession with youth. Why can't we all just grow up? Accept the wrinkles and the bad hair and the hot flashes and the age spots! We can't stay teenagers forever. It's time to move on to adulthood.

And I figure that the more people that age gracefully, the easier it will be to do for ALL of us. So come on, people, no more botox or liposuction or face lifts. Enough is enough.

Walkathon T-shirt design -- get it?

It seems like about 25 of our friends, give or take, have expressed an interest in walking for the CCFA walkathon we're doing in April. It will be SO MUCH more fun with everyone walking with us!

So I thought, with that many people, we need our own t-shirt to show our team spirit.

So this is the design that I came up with. Frankie has basically approved it already. Colors are yet to be determined.

Our team is named "Frankie's got GUTS" team. And the design is a semi-colon. Get it? Frankie only has a semi-colon now, after his operation. Get it? Get it?

My family has a sick sense of humor. But lest you think that we are making fun of poor dear Frankie, please keep in mind that it was HIS joke in the first place. He started it, not us!

Rain Drops on Snow Drops and Crocuses

The snow drops are the first flowers of the new year. They are the bravest. I love to see them in the winter, because it means spring is coming. They aren't flashy at all, and they are so tiny that you barely see them when you walk by -- unless you know to look for them!

The crocuses are not up yet. But nobody told this one, because it has bloomed. This is the only crocus around so far. It is also so tiny that probably no one has noticed it but me.

Computer Addiction

It's raining here, which isn't necessarily a bad thing because it's a friday morning and I don't have anywhere to GO. Plus, it's March, which is good because Spring is coming. Rain means it isn't icy out. Oh, I like a snow day as much as anyone, but I'm just as happy to put all that behind me and get some warm weather.

So, about this computer addiction thing. You would never know it from how often I post -- which is never as frequently as I think it oughta be -- but I am so totally addicted to my computer. (Quiet down, now, Thor. At least I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol or shopping. You're paying for the internet service already anyway.)

I read all of your blogs -- maybe not every day, but I make the rounds pretty frequently. I don't usually post but I lurk alot. I like to keep up to date on what is going on in everyone's life.

Then I feel like I don't have anything worthy to write about, so I don't post. OR, I feel like I have something to post that would be worthy but it is so personal that I shouldn't post it because someone out there won't approve. Or sometimes it isn't just personal to me, it's also personal to someone else, and I have to be careful not to post OTHER people's private stuff because they might not LIKE THE IDEA too much at all! For instance, I have tons of stuff to post about my kids, but that really isn't fair to them, because they might not want all the details of their lives out there on the world wide web being shared with an international community!

I blame Thor for all of this, because he is a very private person and does not really GET the reason why I would want to write about the details of my life for public consumption... so he makes me question writing about things that without his influence, I would just spew forth into the ether. (Which is probably a very good influence. Balance is a good thing in life. He balances me. I can't seem to balance him, though, which is also good, because his lack of balance makes him need to dust on occasion.)

Wait -- was that too personal?

I expect to hear from you soon, dear.