In Ohio, Trick or Treating is also called Beggar's Night.
I didn't realize, until MBB looked at me like I had grown another head, that it isn't called Beggar's Night everywhere.
In fact (according to Wikipedia), Beggar's Night only exists in Ohio, Iowa and Massachusetts.
Imagine that!
I know that I do not normally post personal pictures on the Blog.
I figure I can make an exception this time - I don't think MaBell and OB are too identifiable unless you already know them. :)
Namaste.
We spent most of Saturday working on OB's Science Project.
I didn't realize how long it would take us - it isn't just a cake.
See, the nucleus had to be something a bit special - like a cupcake!
And those things that connect to the nucleus (OB isn't here to tell me the name) - oatmeal cookies!
So, the morning was spent baking and baking and baking and the afternoon was spent decorating.
Introducing: OB's Animal Cell!
I think he did a wonderful job - the teacher must have agreed with me - he got a 100 / 100.
We had some left over batter and icing, so I made another cake for us.
Introducing: SassyMarie's Smiley Cake!
Namaste.
In the past, I always avoided discussions about politics.
Nothing good ever comes of them, unless you like arguments.
I found myself moving away from that this election year. . .
What did I learn?
Nothing good ever comes from discussions about politics!
Namaste.
Some people mark the year by the changing of seasons - we do too.
The difference?
Others go from fall to winter.
We go from football/volleyball to basketball.
Yep, the seasons have changed.
OB's team had a heart-breaking end to their season, losing the play-off game 6-7.
They had a winning season and did so much better than last year.
His first day of basketball try-outs is today.
MaBell is heavy into basketball practices already - try-outs were two days after volleyball districts.
No rest for the sport athletes!
Namaste.
"My Wish"
Rascal Flatts
I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow, And each road leads you where you want to go, And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose, I hope you choose the one that means the most to you. And if one door opens to another door closed, I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window, If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile, But more than anything, more than anything, My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to, Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small, You never need to carry more than you can hold, And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.
I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And you always give more than you take.
**Note: I didn't include all of the lyrics, just the ones that I am working on a design for. :)
Namaste.
I think we finally got MaBell healthy. . .Just in time for. . .
Yep, OB now has the virus.
He seems to have it a bit worst than MaBell did, so wish us luck.
Namaste.
I got to stop by my favorite coffee shop this morning which took me on a trip down memory lane:
Phone call from SassyMarie to Egypt. . .
Egypt: "Hello."
Me: "I'm almost to C-Town, should be there in a few to pick you up so we can get some coffee!"
Egypt: "You sure you want to pick me up first?"
Me: "Yeah, you don't live far from the coffee shop, I'll pick you up."
Egypt: "OK, see ya soon"
Me: "Bye"
Five-minute later, 2nd phone call. . .
Egypt: "I'll take a medium. . ."
She didn't even ask what I needed, she knew that my car would not be able to go by the coffee shop and not stop.
I guess you had to be there, but I still chuckle when I think of it.
The guy who waited on me was rolling with laughter.
He was also the first one to let me know that the coffee shop was going to open up in my town.
Lucky for me at the time, one opened within walking distance of the condo.
Okay. . .it was a walk on a major road, so I never actually walked to it. . .BUT it was close!
Unlucky for me now, they do not exist in my new town. I only get my fix now when I am up near the condo, like I was this morning for a doctor's appointment.
So, here's my fix for the day: Lite White Berry (made with Mint)
The reason why I decided to blog about my favorite coffee shop today?
Caribou Coffee is heavily involved in the Breast Cancer Research due to losing one of their original employees to Breast Cancer.
Read her story here.
There is a coffee created just for her: Amy's Blend.
Namaste.
The kids and I were talking last night in the car. . .
We all agree that time is flying by (And in my case - nothing is getting done!).
MaBell just finished her first quarter as a Freshman and OB as a middle schooler.
OB will be trying-out for the 6th grade basketball team soon - this will be his first "school" team.
I am starting to wig out a bit at how close Christmas is. . .
Will I get even half of my "To Do" list done by the end of the year?
It feels to me like we just moved into the house yesterday.
The kids feel like they just met me yesterday.
Where has time gone?
Namaste.
We're fighting a virus in our house right now.
MaBell has been a rollarscoaster ride with it since last Tuesday. . .
I thought for sure that we'd be leaving the volleyball game on Tuesday early, but she toughed it out. She did keep dinner Tuesday night down, but Wednesday - not so luckily. By Thursday, I got my first call from the school. We finally got some food to stay in her system Thursday night and we thought we had it beat and then I get another call from school.
You get the picture.
Today, she is limited to chicken broth, dry toast, poweraid and jello.
Tomorrow, if all goes well, she is going to try chicken noodle soup.I'm hoping that by Monday, we'll finally be rid of this thing!Namaste.
We have finally moved into the 21st century and have A/C. . .
Just in time for the first frost!
Now, I get to have a goodbye party for this large thing sitting in our yard.
Namaste.
The kids and I had last Friday off.
We spent a few hours cleaning the house which lead MaBell to finding MBB's high school class ring.
She was amazed by how large it was (I have no idea what the ring size is) which lead to another discussion, which lead to another discussion, which lead to me getting my class rings out.
Both of my rings fit within his.
Don't believe me?
Here they are!
I also have another picture of my high school ring laying flat within his. :)
Should I mention that my rings still fit me (actually, they are a tad big) and his still fit him too?
Namaste.
We had an influx of wasps in the house this weekend.
MBB and MaBell were on a mission to rid us of our stinging visitors.
Once they accomplished their mission (I believe they killed about 15 of them), MaBell decided to dissect some of them by popping their heads off. 
All I can say is, better them than me!
Namaste.
I am having a hard time buying sports pictures and school pictures.
Have you seen the prices lately? Highway Robbery, I Say!
It would be loads cheaper to go to a studio and have them taken, if it wasn't for that dang sitting fee!
After a birdie whispered in my ear, I got out my handy dandy digital camera and took pictures of MaBell in her volleyball uniform and OB in his football uniform. Sitting fee: $0
They turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.
The hardest part is going to be picking out which one to use!
I can now print all of the pictures that I need for our families and not break the bank. . .
Next up - taking pictures to replace the school photos and taking a family photo.
Wish us luck!
Namaste.
Carmen made me stop and think with one of her posts awhile back. I could relate so well with some of her statements, not because I have a large family like she does, but because I am still trying to acclimate to my not-so new anymore lifestyle changes.
I am not as witty with the words, so I decided to just make a simple list.
What am I?
In a concrete sense, I am. . .
a woman
a daughter / sister / cousin / aunt
a girlfriend
a parental figure
a friend
I can also claim to be. . .
an artist
a chauffeur
a Franklin Planner addict
a giggle box
an iron pumper
a juggler
a tear leaker
a tightwad
a worry wart
Then I am. . .
flexible
weak
loving
strong
fanatical
grumpy
In other words, I am what I am depending on the situation.
Namaste.
A few weeks back, we were at an away volleyball game where the student body was there in full force and cheering like crazy. I heard from multiple places (players, parents, fans, etc): "Wow, wouldn't it be great if we had something like that".
Fast forward to last night. . .Senior Night. . .The last home volleyball game.
Guess what!
We had "something like that".
A group started cheering like crazy during the Varsity game to pump up the girls.
THEN. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The middle school athletic director put a stop to it.
You read that right.
The athletic director made the fans stop the cheering like crazy.
UNBELIEVABLE.
Namaste.
Every now and then, I get a good chuckle during my blog reading.
This one didn't necessarily get me going when I first read it, but I kept saved it for some weird reason and each time I go back to it, I find my self chuckling a bit more and more.
Why you ask?
Well, I used to be an "over the roll" gal. I would even go as far as to switch it if I ever saw it under the roll (yes, even in someone else's house).
Nine - times - out - of - ten, the "under the roll" rolls caused me major head aches when the paper got caught behind the roll. I spent longer trying to get toilet paper than I did doing my business.
So, why is this making me chuckle?
Well, I can't really call myself an "over the roll" gal anymore.
I am now the "just put the roll on the holder, instead of across the room/down the hall in the package" gal.
Namaste.
Posting a personal update here for those who I haven't been in contact with lately and those who have been waiting for information from me (My apologies for the delay!).
MBBMommy was moved from the primary hospital to the rehabilitation hospital where she stayed for two weeks. She is now home, but has to have someone with her 24 hours a day. We bought one of those nifty pill boxes - it's real pretty with four different colors for every day of the week. But I will admit - filling it for a week is lots of work!
Once she is strong enough, she will be back in the hospital to have her gall stones removed.
Namaste.
Wow - I'm amazed that I am still functioning after the weekend I had.
Friday:
3:30 - Found out that MBB had to work late (unexpectedly) and couldn't meet the furnace guy.
4:30 - Picked up three extra kids (we were missing one of our own) and rushed home to meet the furnace guy.
5:30 - Ordered pizza.
6:15 - Met pizza guy 5 minutes away (we live outside of deliver area - so they meet us part way).
7:00 - Baked brownies to make brownies sundaes (reality check: brownies with ice cream on top).
11:30 - Swapped the extra three for our missing one and we called the day complete.
Saturday:
6:00 - Finally stopped hitting the snooze on the alarm.
6:30 - Headed out to fill up the cooler and deliver MaBell to the school to catch the Volleyball Bus.
7:30 - Followed the bus to the tournament.
9:00 - Watched Match #1: They lost. :(
11:00 - Watched Match #2: They lost. :(
12:30 - Watched Match #3 (that was scheduled for 1:00): They won. :)
1:15 - Told next match (1st round of tournament) would be at 2:00 (single elimination style).
3:00 - Found out that we got a buy in the first round of tournament.
4:00 - Watched Match #4: They won. :)
6:15 - Watched Match #5: They won - WINNERS of the Silver Tournament. :)
7:15 - Followed the bus from the tournament (Good Decision: accident caused shut-down highway).
8:00 - Picked up MaBell, Picked up dinner from Subway.
8:30 - Arrived at Home Sweet Home!
9:00 - IN BED!
Sunday:
7:30 - Woke up with the worst headache I've had in years (not migraine) and other kinds of sick that you don't want to know about.
10:00 - Finally rolled out of bed. . .Still had a headache, but the other sickness was gone.
2:45 - Left for OB's football game (45 minute drive time).
5:15ish - Watched the game scheduled for 4:30: They lost in overtime. :(
8:00 - Pit stop at Taco Bell / KFC for dinner on the go. MaBell got sick during our drive home.
8:45 - Arrived at Home Sweet Home!
9:00 - IN BED!
Whew!
Did you all keep up with that?
I didn't even include MBB's class and homework and. . . You get the idea!
Luckily, the bug that both MaBell and I had seemed to be of the 12 hour variety - we both felt fine this morning.
Namaste.
. . .For a neutral comparison of candidates and issues for the upcoming election.
I am registered Independent.
On some issues, I lean more toward the Republican side.
On some issues, I lean more toward the Democrat side.
I don't vote for someone based on their political party affiliation.
I don't discuss politics much because I don't have a political party affiliation and don't want one.
Don't get me wrong - I DO vote.
In the past 12 years, I have only missed one election.
I research the candidates and make my decisions based on facts (I try anyway).
So far, I have only found one place that gives "facts": HERE
Does anyone else know of other "fact" sights?
Namaste.
