Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. What are you doing to conserve energy and save our Earth?

Here is what we are doing.

The kids are always leaving lights on. Always. I am constantly saying "turn off the light" . This morning as the kids were getting ready for school, I decided to remind them of Earth Day, oh, and by the way "turn off the lights behind you. No matter what room you are in. Unless of course someone else is in that room, using that room" Well, Greg, the boy of many responses and many questions says "Well, that light is in front of me so I can not turn it off" Oh vey! Ok, "If the light is in front of you, behind you, anywhere near you or far from you, when you leave a room turn off the light. Unless of course someone is in that room using that room. Understand?" Blank stare was the response I got. Evelyn gets it though. Let's see how long it lasts.

Now for some other Earth Day tips.

Seems like I am always saying "brush your teeth", "did you wash your hands?" "did you flush the toilet? Go flush the toilet" "You have been in that shower long enough, turn it off NOW"

So, the next time I say "did you flush the toilet" and I get a blank stare, I'll just respond by saying "well, no problem. You saved gallons of water. Great job!"

How about "Did you wash your hands?" Blank stare. "Great job. You just saved a ton of water. And not to mentions hand soap and laundry soap. That's one less towel I have to wash. Hey, why don't' you just wipe your hands real good on your shirt. Yes, the one you used to wipe off your face. And great job saving trees but using your shirt instead of a napkin."

Or, "Did you brush your teeth?" Blank stare. "You are doing such a good job here. You know you really saved a bunch of water by brushing your teeth 2 days ago or by quickly running the tooth brush across your teeth without using any water. You know, you also saved me a bunch of money as I really don't' need to by tooth paste and a lot of tooth brushes. Hey, while you're at it, go ahead and use that shirt and rub it over your teeth to get them nice and shiny white. You already used it to wipe your face and your hands."

Possibly, "Did you shower, today? I think you need a shower, you smell." Blank stare. "I am so proud of you. Way to go for NOT taking a shower today. Not only did you save water, but you also saved me having to by shampoo, conditioner, body wash and whatever other product you drag into the shower to use. And, hey, great idea here. Just wipe down your body with that shirt, you know the one. Keeps me from having to wash yet another towel and saves me money on laundry detergent and the water that has to run through the washing machine. Not to mention the electricity used to run the washer and the dryer and the gas used to dry the clothes. I'm so proud of you my Earth conscience kid"

And another good one, "You know what, when the sprinklers go on across the street. You know the ones that water the hill you are not supposed to play on. The ones that the association maintains and our association fees pay for. Well, go out and run through them. Yes, I know it is reclaimed water. But hey, you won't smell any worse that you already do (sometimes). We are already paying for the water anyways."

So I guess my kids really are Earth conscience and doing their share here. Well, I should say one of them is totally, the other not so much so, but sometimes. One likes to smell, the other doesn't. One, well no other comments, the other one, yes she does really care about keeping herself clean and listening to my pleads.

What are you doing for Earth Day?

13 days

Yikes, it's been 13 days since I last visited my poor lonely neglected piece of cyberland. And so much has been going on in those last 13 days. Just to name a few, Evely sick, me sick, Greg sick and still coughing, baseball, horseback riding, school homework, work, sanity checks, Easter and I'm sure I am forgetting many things.

What do we have going on this weekend? Really want to know? Ok. Horse show practice, soccer registration, bank, errands, track practice, baseball game, Horse show, baseball practice.....

Here is a highlight from Greg's game last Tuesday. Sit back, relax and enjoy. But don't' get any popcorn, it's not very long. Be sure the sound is on, it's not the same without it.

I'll be back later. Hopefully before May. I have tons of pictures.

TTFN and have a great weekend.

Hello

Well Hi there. How is everyone? Hope you are all well.

As for us here, well....... It's been one thing after another. Evelyn was home sick for 3 days last week. Cough/cold. She is such a giving and sharing person that she shared her cold/cough with me. Then Greg wants to tag along with us too and get sick. He seems to have the minor case. He did miss school for 2 days and is back today. Thankfully Tom has managed to not get sick.

Needless to say, it's been fun. Hard to sleep listening to the kids cough all night long. Then hard to sleep when I am coughing and have a raspy sore throat on top of that.

But life must go on and so it does. I've been trying to take it as easy as possible. I didn't run with the kids at track practice yesterday. In fact I have not run for a week. I would like to but my body just won't let me. We are gearing up for our first track meet at the end of April. The kids are practicing their events and seem to be having a good time too ;)

Baseball, going strong. Had another good win Tuesday and lost last Saturday. No break for Easter break. I hope Greg is feeling great on Saturday and can play a good game.

OK, that's about it for now. Work is so super busy. Things have backed up at home as I just don't have the energy to get things done. Kids have a short day today at school and will be home early. I'll get them to finish up the laundry and do a little cleaning. Hey, it's good for them.

Have a super weekend and hope everyone stays well.

52 Blessings

No picture to post here, but very proud parents and 2 very proud kids. Happy too.

Report cards came home yesterday for the 2nd trimester of school. I can happily say that the grades went up! Some dramatically. This is great! Both the kids have an average of 88% which is a high B!!! Evelyn is hoping to make honor roll next trimester and only need 1% to get there. She can do it!

So, picture 4 big happy smiles here......

88 is great!!!

a lot of catching up

I realized there is a lot of blah blah blah on here lately and not very many pix of the kids. So, get ready. I'm updating with pictures. And hopefully videos. I got a new video camera a few weeks ago. Just in time for Evelyn's horse show and to video some of Greg's games.

Here is Evelyn and the Hot Trotters performing to Picture to Burn by Taylor Swift (who else??!!) They had a great routine that the girls planned themselves. This show was an equestrian drill team and all about riding horses to music. It was a lot of fun. Evelyn is on Jesse, the dark horse, and Evelyn is wearing a white helmet. This was such a fun event and I hope Nicole plans more of these. Evelyn is signing up for the next series of shows.

Hot Trotters

Next up we have baseball. So far the Boltz are 4 - 2. We have had some great games. Greg is hitting, again, and hitting very good. He has had an inside the park home run! He is mostly playing 1st and lets nothing get past him and has caught many foul balls. You should see the huge abrasion on his elbow which was aggravated with a slide at 2nd. Greg has pitched several innings and also plays out field. But his main position is 1st.


Pitching under the lights. We have a lot of later games so get to play under the lights.

First base. It was dark and I was using my telephoto and the pictures came out blurry.

Greg at bat.

Catching a foul ball.

Now, let's see if the videos will upload to here. Nope waited all day and it never loaded al the way. I'll have to try again.

Ok, back to things.

Isle 14 is in plumbing.....updated

for those of you who asked, the color of the store is blue.
Yes, those who wear orange are a lot more helpful.

Hey, Robin.... aren't these your gator colors????

Isle 14 is in plumbing

This morning I met my friend Krystal for breakfast after dropping the kids at school. We had a nice breakfast and a good catch up chat. After breakfast I had some errands to take care of.

One was to a major home improvement center to get some sprinklers and some plants to spruce up the yards. I went straight to the garden section to look for sprinklers. But first I thought to ask where they were rather than wandering aimlessly through the store looking for sprinklers. I walked up to an employee and asked "Excuse me, where can I find lawn sprinklers?" Answer: "Isle 14" head goes back down to indicate his allotted time to assist me is over. Well, that was not the answer I was looking for. How come he did not walk me to the isle where I was supposed to be and help me look for the right sprinkler for my lawn??? So, I ask nicely "Which is where?" answer "Isle 14, plumbing" Me: "Which is where?" Answer: "Go to the front of the store and it is that way." (Pointing in the opposite direction where I am) Me:"Great. Thank you very much." As I am thinking why in the world do the sprinklers have to be in plumbing on the opposite side of the store. Why can they not be in the garden section where I am?

It was not a far walk. And it's not like I do not enjoy walking through these large home improvement centers. I actually like going. I like looking and thinking of and planning projects I would like to do some day and really need to do now. I knew that if I started wandering on my own I would end up spending way too much time looking at rain gutters, doors, window coverings, etc.... Things for projects we need to do now. And then maybe dream up some more projects which I would like to do, someday.

Back to isle 14. I found the sprinklers. Boxes of them. Thankfully there was a very helpful employee in that same isle. Together we found the sprinkler that I thought I would need. And I bought 2 of them, just in case one gets broken again. Headed back to the garden center and picked out some flowers to plant through out the front and back yards to add some color and spruce things up. All in all it was not a bad trip to the large home improvement center.

I also like spending time in my local hardware store. It maybe only has 14 isles and I can usually find everything I need there. I can also get superior service by the very friendly employees. I can go in asking for a thingy that needs to go in the sink, or a spout thingy for my tub but I don't know what type of plumbing I have , or for the perfect type of hook or attachment that looks like this and I always go home with exactly what I need. I also was lucky to have a nice college student employee sit in the paint isle with me to help me find the correct type of primer I needed to paint over the oil based paint on my kitchen ceiling so I could apply the new water based paint to the ceiling would look nice with the new cabinets.

We have another busy weekend, but I have a block of time on Sunday where I can spend some much needed quality time in the yards and plant the colorful plants. I love color in the yards.

So, what is my point here? Well, I really don't know. I haven't blogged in awhile. But just know, the next time you go to a large home improvement center to find something, it may not be where you expect it to be. Ask before you wander through out the store and emerge 2 hours later with a truck full of drywall mud and tape, lumber to build that new fort you always wanted to build, bricks to fill in the front lawn rather than grass, chicken wire to hang on your walls because it just might look good there and some sprinklers and pretty flowers. Oh, and maybe that do it yourself home improvement book. You just never know.

Have a great weekend :) Think of me when you plant some flowers....

52 Blessings

I have lost count of the weeks and know I am behind. Life has been busy and has left little time for blogging.

Last July I had to dig up the front yard and re plant plants in preparation for the office addition. I dug up a bunch of bulbs and held onto them for safe keeping. In late October, early November, I got some new plants to plant in front of the addition and re planted the bulbs. Well, they pushed through and although not growing very tall, have gown the cute yellow flowers I enjoy every year.

Next:

Several weeks ago, Greg was home sick from school. He asked if I wanted to play Monopoly. I hesitated, knowing how long this game can take, but said "Yes, I will play Monopoly with you". The game board was quickly set up, money set out, and the dice began to roll. That game continued for hours, with Greg eventually owing me more than he had. He conceded the game to me and I'm sure it was not an easy decision for him (if you know Greg).

The next round began which included Evelyn. At bed time the game was pushed under a table to sit until we could play again. The game began again on the next night and well, my poor old shoe just wore out and I was out of the game turning all of my property over to Greg as I owed him big time.

Kaydee, the dog, loves to be involved in whatever we are doing and to be the center of things. Who knew this would also include Monopoly. At one time, here head was on the Monopoly board and we had to drag her off the board as she refused to move. Silly dog. This game lasted for several days and I frankly don't remember who won or if it was just agreed that the game would end.

Sleeping in the Free Parking zone.
St. James, St. Charles and Virgina Ave. Lucky Dog!

Hmmm, how can I get a piece of the action here? Maybe if I lay here long enough, someone will sractch me. Maybe someone will grab a snack and if I look sad enough I'll get a bite or two. Maybe if,,,,,, oh, well, I'll just lay here. It's fun.

Oh, the weekend is here :)

What a long long week. I took Monday off and the kids and I hung out and had a great day. But the week just seemed even longer.

Friday afternoon Evelyn and Tom took off for another camping trip. Greg and I took off for baseball practice. Then I headed over to Circuit City to see what deals I could find. And, I had found a $10 gift card that I wanted to use before it was too late. I got 2 movies, a flash drive, memory card for my camera and a cool hot pink cover for my i pod. Not to bad and didn't spend very much either. :)

Greg's team had a pizza party after practice. It was nice to meet a few more parents and have some time to talk with the coaches. I really like the way things are turning out with this new team. All the guys are getting along and getting to know each other better. The coaches are impressed with our boys abilities too. I do believe it is going to be a great season. We are already talking of some more tournaments to play in.

I didn't get up till after 8 am this morning. It was soooo gooooood to sleep in. Dog has been walked and Greg and I are just hanging out. It's a nice lazy morning which we don't get too often around here.

This evening we are going to a huge birthday celebration. A party for Tom's mom, sister and our niece. All milestone birthdays, with Sam's being her sweet 16. Tom and Evelyn have to come home early from their camp out but will have had a great time for the time there are there.

Evelyn's show was postponed due to the rain and lack of practices and the fact that her trainer had to have surgery last week. It is now March 7. Mark it on your calendar.

This means we have Sunday free, except for Greg's practice Sunday afternoon.

For the rest of today, I have to finish making the birthday presents and think of something to get Sam. I have no idea what to get her. I think I may also spend some time in the yards. They have been neglected, especially out back. My daffodils are starting to push through and some are blooming. They are so pretty.

Oh, and one more thing before the train leaves the station, I AM going to be an assistant track coach for 5th/6th grade track at school. Evelyn is running. She has such long legs and I think will be an awesome runner. She went running with me the other day and pushed through for the entire 3 miles. That's my girl!!

Well, until the next stop on the crazy train, have a great weekend. :)

Leapin Lizards!

What you would you do if you opened your washing machine, took out a load of jeans and saw this sitting in the bottom of your washing machine.

A-Scream like a girl?

B- Close the lid and hope that someone else besides you would put laundry in the washing machine?

C- Triple bag your hand with newspaper bags (saved to pick up after the Dog) and while gritting your teeth and hopeing the darn thing is not alive enough to move, carefully scoop up the darn thing and toss it into an open grave, aka, the trash can.

Ok, I did C. I was cool calm and collected, kinda. I didn't scream like I did when the Dog brought a dead gopher into the house or when I found a dead possum in the back yard. This had nothing to do with the Dog. At least I hope not.

I have no idea where this poor lizard came from or how it got in the machine. This morning I collected all the jeans from various rooms of the house and had them in a pile in my room waiting their turn to get warshed.

And the entire time I was figuring out how to remove a dead lizard from the washing machine and not to get too grossed out about it, the Dog was standing at the by the gate, chewy, at her feet, looking at me like who knows what. I wonder what she thinks at times. She probably was hoping I was getting something for her. Silly Dog.

Oh, and these pix here,

they are pix of the rain on Tuesday. Yes, we so need rain gutters.

52 Blessings

Week #6

A pleasant surprise arrived in the mail on Saturday. An envelope with out a return address. Hmmm. Opened it up and what a nice surprise from Melanie. A hand made book mark :) the charm says "made with love" and I know it is. Melanie is such a crafty person and puts her heart into everything she makes. She is just that kind of person.

I love this book mark and it is tucked into my current book, "Earthly Joys" by Phillipa Gregory.

Thank you Melanie. I love this book mark and will think of you when I am reading.

I am....

waiting for the kids to get home so we can catch up on American Idol and the kids can get back to their marathon monopoly game. I was out a few days ago. My poor shoe had too many holes in it.

watching the rain, again.

wondering why the dog is so antsy today. maybe because she didn't get a walk this morning

tired

not feeling super good.

going to take a nap again

make breakfast for dinner. Hey why not have it for 3 meals today. I also had breakfast for lunch

not sure what is going on this weekend as I have not looked at the calendar yet

going to rest this weekend

trying to clean but don't feel like it. I'll "suggest" that the kids can clean the house or at least put away the laundry.

going to put Greg's baseball game schedule on the calendar

going to help coach track for 5th and 6th grade at school.

going to find more cd's to download to i tunes to put on my new ipod.

going to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday

going to run more this weekend

thinking of participating in the mud run at Camp Pendleton in October ( I have a goal now!)

looking forward to reading my book

going to make brownies because they smell so good when they are baking

rambling again.

hoping you all have a great weekend!!