My class

I forgot to post about the woodworking class I'm taking. So, I'm taking a woodworking class! How exciting, huh? We meet once a week for 2 1/2 hours. It's pretty basic, and I was surprised that I know most of what is being taught. I guess trial and error makes a good teacher. We get to learn about all sorts of tools and what can be done with them. And we get to make something. I am making a bedside table. I get a little impatient at class because we have to be helped while making cuts and using the tools. I would rather just go for it and make my table. But I guess I am learning the "proper" way to do things. The only problem with the "proper" way is that you need all of the proper tools. I don't have, nor can I afford, the proper tools. So I will continue making furniture the way I can with my limited tool collection. And as long as it is functional and looks alright, that's fine with me! I will post pictures of my finished project when it is complete.

Organization

I love to organize! I like my closets to be nice and neat. It's not enough for things to be in their proper place; I like them in containers in their proper place. Even if a closet is all organized, if the stuff is just sitting on the shelves and not in containers of some sort, it just isn't the ideal for me. I know, I'm crazy! I have been organizing this week. I finished cleaning out the closet under the stairs and it looks great. I also reorganized our DVD's and got out our surround sound system that has been sitting in a box for a year and a half. I reorganized the children's closets. I started filing all of the papers that have been collecting in drawers and cupboards for a year. (Haven't had a filing cabinet and just barely got one.) I thought I was organized, but I did all this and now I feel organized. Of course, there are still a few more closets and cupboards to go before everything has a proper place (in a proper container of course!)

Trip down memory lane

Today I have been busy cleaning out the closet under the stairs. What a mess! This is the place that I throw everything that doesn't have a place to go. And really, I just throw it in and shut the door! As I was wading through the chaos of everything micellaneous I opened a plastic bin and found my old yearbooks. I decided to take a break and look through them. Whew! Can I just say that I am so glad that high school is not the determining factor of what we become in this life?! As I glanced through the pages I had mixed feelings. Yes, I had great friends and had lots of fun with them. I was good at school and always got good grades. I wasn't picked on or tortured. I wasn't popular. I was just there. And I realized, that for the most part, my highschool years were just awkward. Blah! So looking through the pictures just made me realize how awkward I was, how awkward I acted, and how awkward I felt.

I was shy and quiet and could never really think of anything to say. I had crushes on boys but I never dared talked to them. I wish now that I had. I mean really, I had nothing to lose. I wish that I had relaxed more and not worried so much about "fitting in", whatever that means. I wish that I hadn't been so intimidated by everything. I wish that I would have been a lot more bold and daring and tried new things. I wish that I had been more assertive. I wish that I had not acted like I thought people expected me to act. I think people saw me as introverted and forgettable, but maybe they didn't. Who knows? I feel so very different from the person I was in highschool. Thank goodness! I have come a long way and have changed so much. I think people would be surprised. I haven't seen anyone (except for a handful of people) from highschool since we graduated. I actually look forward to my highschool reunion (if we ever have one) because I feel like I have become the person I always wanted to be. I feel that person I was in highschool (the awkward, shy, unsure, passive person) is no more. I am me now. I am confident and comfortable in who I am. I feel like I can do all those things I wanted to do that I never did do because I just wasn't confident enough. (Okay, awkward sentence. I am still a little awkward!)

I don't know where this whole thing is going. I guess I just wanted to say that I am glad that I am who I am today. I'm glad that I was able to change the things I didn't like and overcome my fears and insecurities. I wish that I had been able to do it all in highschool, but at least I was able to do it eventually. And really, life doesn't end after highschool!

Laundry

I wrote this about a year ago but I have yet to conquer my laundry weakness so here it is again!

If there's one thing in life I absolutely hate (well there are a few others, but we'll just talk about one today), it is laundry. For some reason I have a severe handicap when it comes to laundry. I have been married for five years and most of that time I have done my laundry somewhere besides our house. Which means I had to take all of the laundry somewhere else and do it all at once. And actually, now that I think about it, that was good for me because it meant I did the laundry and got it done since the clothes couldn't just hang out in the washer or dryer until I decided to deal with them.

I now have my own washer and dryer in my house and still, I can't seem to finish the cycle of washing clothes. I will throw a load in and forget about it and by the time I do remember it, the clothes have soured and I have to wash them again. Or I will get to the drying part and then forget about them, which sometimes results in the clothes having to be dampened and dried again in order to prevent wrinkles. The worst, however, is the final two steps of laundering. I hate folding and I hate putting the clothes away! Usually, I will put the clean clothes in the laundry basket and then just fish out of there whatever clothes I need when I need them. And overall, I just tend to forget about washing clothes all together until I have my very own Mt. Washmore. It's an awful weakness of mine. The solution is simple. Do a small load every day; not all at once! I need to keep reminding myself of this: Whites one day, darks another, the kids clothes yet another day. We'll see if I can overcome this pathetic weakness.

Our weekend

This past saturday was my hubbies company picnic. It's held every year at this mini ranch/farm place. We had so much fun! There were all sorts of fun things to do and see. The kids loved it and mom and dad had a lot of fun too! We got to see lots of cute animals like pigs and pygmy goats (I LOVE pygmy goats!) and ponies and cows and chickens. The kids got to ride on the ponies and wanted to go again and again. There were hayrides and a little train ride which was an absolute thrill for M (he LOVES trains and has been asking to ride on one for a while now). There was food, food, and more food. We really enjoyed ourselves!

M really liked this snow cone!

Little cowgirl!

Ridin' the Choo Choo train!

Feeding the soooooooooooooo cute pygmy goats! I love them!

Ridin' the ponies!

E took this picture! She's got natural talent!

And the beautiful longhorns!

DVR

I love my DVR! Can I say that loud enough? We just got one this week and I can't say enough about it. Okay, yes, it is enabling me to watch more TV, but not an insane amount. There are a few shows that I really like to watch (Lost, House, The Office, Grey's Anatomy). Oh, and some of the new shows this fall that I like are Friday Night Lights and Heroes (although it is a little graphic). But they all come on during the children's bedtime routines. So it's either hurry and put the kids down in a super rushed way, or let them stay up and hope that they don't cause too much commotion during my show. Neither one of those options was working out. I called our cable company in hopes of getting a good deal on a DVR. I was able to get the service free for three months and then it's only like $10 a month after that. I figured it was soooooo worth it. It is definitely a little luxury that I will pay for.

I have recorded shows every day now. It's so much fun to record them and watch them later because then I can fast forward through all of the commercials. I can pause my show when I need to do something else. I can watch my show more than once, because it's right there in my beautiful little DVR box. Ahhhhh. . .it's so nice. I think everyone should get a DVR. They are way too much fun!