goals and planners

I started the Gideon Bible study last week. I think it promises to be wonderful. Mama and Minita are going with me, and I love the peppy lady Pam that facilitates the study.

Sarah bridal shower is next Saturday. I met with Tammy at the church to look at all the decor that is available, and I have been collecting everything that I have and want to use. I am feeling good about it, and the other bridesmaids are planning to be involved with helping. Tomorrow is a holiday, so I can get more done (photos printed, etc.)

Things are moving forward towards selling Sarah and my house, 2110. Her Mark has owned a house for several years, and they don't want to start married life with the responsibility and burden of two mortgage payments. At first, I was pissed, since I will be losing almost a decade of equity into a real estate investment (that was all it ever was for me, since I love the family home and want to live there). I asked the Lord what to do, and for a long time I heard nothing. Then, boom! Around the first of the year He spoke pretty loudly, and not just to me. Mama, Tricia, and I all are reading the McCheyne plan for reading through the Bible, so within a week's time we all had heard the same thing out of 2 Chronicles. It was cool. But Sarah and Mark have still been worried about it all because it affects their finances and could affect their wedding date. I am at peace that God will sell it sooner rather than later!!!

My Cognitive Psych class started in Monday as well. I love studying the brain and mind and love this professor, Dr. Russell, as well!

This week was busy. On Monday I had b

Bible study and came home to start my class. On Tuesday I went to an ENT appointment with a new doc, Dr. Bots at Baptist, to get my ears cleaned out before I have any more problems with them. That night I taught a "Basic Essential Ouls" class, and 11 ladies attended. On Friday I picked up orders across town: a Frontier Co-op order and some Ortho Jelly from Old Thyme Remedies. I finally got an iPhone 6 as well. That has been several years overdue, since I dunked my 4S in a pool while chaperoning at a school event. It is not a personal purchase since I mainly use it for school business every day of the the week, so that is a nice perk of working for a non-profit. Then yesterday, after studying cognitive neuroscience all day and taking a test, we took Sarah out for her 33rd birthday and went bridesmaid dress shopping. I think that I might have the dress that I want...a pretty lace-bodice chiffon dress with a fishtail back. 

Today is my Sabbath. I am doing Bible study homework, setting goals for the week, bridal shower prep, cleaning out the fridge, and sorting through a pile of paperwork and receipts that has piled up in the last month. 

happy new year

Here it is. The beginning of a new year. A year of new beginnings.

2014 was a doozy. I can say that I am glad, heartily glad to see it go. It was such a hard year, trying my soul and spiritual mettle to breaking. And my dreams and goals have grown and broadened.

We rang in the new year with Alex and the Horn kids. We had watched all nine hours of the the LOTR extended trilogy and ate lots of snacks. It was a great start to 2015!

GROWTH
I was asked what is my WHY several times, especially towards the end of the year. It is a question that the Young Living hierarchy beats on their encouragement drums. I read my first MLM business-building book in October. The Four Year Career by Richard Brooke was a quick yet inspiring read. I look forward to expanding my knowledge about essential oils, as well as building this business.

As I thought about my WHY, I discovered several things about myself. First, I am not as organized as I would like to be. I have spent many hours over this holiday sorting through piles of paperwork, receipts, mail, old bills, and school papers that should never have been allowed to accumulate. I can do better than this, I know.

The second thing that I realized is that I cannot do everything. I cannot do more than I can do. And sometimes, I need to sit and sip a cup of hit tea and think about nothing. It's not about how groomed my yard is, or how beautiful my garden is, whether I get everything done that I need to do, making an "A" on every paper and test, or signing up new YL members at every class I teach. It is about trusting God and taking each day as it is given to me.

A BETTER ORGANIZED LIFE
I am starting my journey towards a more organized life with a 2015 Calendar Planner. I purchased it today and am excited to use it. I confess, I have never used one. Ever. I have always journaled and blogged in various levels of writing fervor, but I have never, to my knowledge, written down my goals, appointments, and busyness.

CIAS & MY CAREER
During October's FCCPSA training workshop, I learned several new organization tools that we have already implemented and will continue to develop. I designed and published a brand new CIAS website. I am very proud of it. I spent over a month this past summer working on it, deconstructing the old one and creating a fresh new advertisement profile and informational website. For the very first time, we also transitioned into online reporting system. I am not entirely pleased with the record-keeping website that we chose (it was the only one that I knew of at the time), but I have since found another that I think will better suit our record-keeping needs. I also created a professional profile for the school (to be used for NCAA and such) and wrote a new Scope and Sequence manual, complete with learning objectives for each grade level. There is more to do on it, tweaking it to my liking, but the first edition is published.

Getting the last graduating class through school was quite a feat. Many of them were unmotivated, and some have just finished this December. Prom in April was a bomb in more ways than one. I was asked, by the organizing committee, to leave the premises twice. The gall of some people. I had forty students with me and have always stayed to watch over them. Other that that poisonous sting, it was a fun evening. But...the kids have decided that we will throw our own prom this spring. Oh, boy! There will be more about that to come, I am sure.

Summer was largely absent from school this fall, as her mother was in the last stages of cancer treatment before she died in October. Kristen has been my right hand woman, especially since Tricia has not been at 100%. One noted miracle of the year happened on one day that Kristen could not come to work, and that next morning, it was as if Tricia rose from a deathbed to teach again. I was in awe of Jehovah Jireh!

FINANCES
I have been working very hard to pay off all my credit cards. I hate my debt, and I hate that I let myself get into debt. Student loans are bad enough, without having my former spending habits haunting me. I have been gaining control and have been doing so much better, each year gaining  more and more control and disciplined over my finances. I started working on paying it all down/off three years ago. In 2014 I have paid off three two cards completely, and they are now out of circulation, so to speak.

Tricia finally qualified for disabilities. Poor thing. She can't work very much anymore, her physical body is so weak and stiff. But her disabilities is a pittance. I want her to get a lawyer, and her neuro suggests it. So I have taken the brunt of supporting the family. I barter with one of my school families, and their boys help me with landscaping and yard work. So the yard is getting tamed, more to my liking. And Tricia gains strength and continues to maintain the bookkeeping and taxes and all her accounting duties. Things I have never had the patience for.

I also refinanced the 2110 house this year (Okay, I HAVE gotten a lot done this year!!!). We are saving ourselves several hundred dollars a month now, and Sarah has kept renters all year, but I have profited little from that income. I have funded several home repairs and remodels at the 2012 house in 2014. That is where I live with Mom and Tricia. Half the house is unused, so we cordon it off to save money. We finally had the tile shower finished in the newly combined bathroom that Daniel had started so many years ago, as well as a dozen other projects that Bryan M fixed for us. Daniel came over and ran my dryer lint hose out the back of the house, so that it would not continue to blow into the rec room and make a mess. It is so much nicer, and I am thankful to him.

HEALTH, OR LACK THEREOF
Tricia and her bushel-full of health issues almost swallowed the summer in its entirety. What an ordeal she has been through, and what effort Mama and I have put out to save her health!!! In March, I put Tricia on a stricter Paleo diet, and in April I joined Young Living to use essential oils on Tricia. By the time May rolled around, Tricia was off her feet. By June, she was bedridden. After 90 days, we began to see results from our drastic efforts. It was a very difficult three months. Thank Hashem for His mercy and grace throughout that trial. I thought I was going to have a heart attack from all the pressure.

She was finally diagnosed with a general diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis and is now on methotrexate to help with pain, swelling, and stiffness levels. Her colonoscopy report came back good for the first time since diagnosis: no ulcers (last report, her colon was "fully involved"). Her MS is not currently active, although its effects are ever present with a stumbling gait and neuropathy in her legs (burning). 

I have continued to maintain weight loss throughout the year. THM has been a God-send! I have pulled down 75 pounds all together so far, and I have kept it off. I am sixteen months into my THM and weightloss journey. Over the holidays, I felt very good and had lots of energy. I am so pleased that God has shown me what to do to get healthier.

FAMILY
Our nieces continue to delight us. It brings great joy to me to see them grow up to be sweet, kind, and loving girls. Corrie Lynn has accepted Jesus as her Savior and is such a sensitive doll. Juliana Mae has been learning to be sweet and more tolerant of others. She is a determined and cheerful girl, and her impromptu kisses and declarations of love are heart-melting. Leah Kathleen is our baby, and she knows it! Her main phrase now is, "I don't like it." She loves baby dolls, so Mrs. "Aubee Santa" put together pink bunk doll beds and a high chair for Little Miss' Christmas. It is so cute to watch her play with them!

We are glad Cori and Brian are close by in Magnolia Springs. It makes for a better aunti-life. And Cori's emotional support has been a life-saver for me! :-)

Sarah started dating a fellow named Mark Garcia in August. They are now engaged and planning to be married in March. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we all went with her to find a wedding gown. She will be lovely on her special day, and I am one of her maids of honor. This has been a growing experience for the family nucleus and will continue to be so, I believe, as time passes. I love my baby sister and am determined to have the mind of Christ in all things.

I did not quite get my Christmas tree decorated this holiday. We bought a beautiful tall Noble fir right after Thanksgiving, and I put lights on it. But ornaments? No. I was sad that I had no time, and when I did, I did not feel well or had other, more pressing things to do. I told Cori that I should hire her to do my decorating next year! :-) We did put out the lighted Christmas nativity in the yard ( for the first time in many years) and candle lights in all the front windows. And also decorated the school quite nicely earlier in the month.

Mama continues to age. I feel for her increasing feebleness. She helps me care for Tricia and is our main chauffeur. Right now, she has injured her knee, so I am driving them around. I do not like that role, as I am not used to going out so much.

PERSONAL
I am plugging away at my psychology degree. I love my psych classes, as well as my Biblical studies classes. This fall, I took Theories of Personality (loved!) and then Intro to Philosophy (hated!). This spring I take Cognitive Psychology and Psalms. I should love both! I have begun searching for a Masters program that I am interested in, since I am near the end. I am tossing around pursuing a MSW. Regent and Liberty are on the block. Student loans mount, but my trust is in the Lord. He knows what I need and when I need it.

Adding essential oils to my daily routine has been life-saving. I feel better and was able to overcome a bout of depression that tried to oppress me this fall pretty quickly. I am on a better routine of supplements now, as I can afford them.

Instagram and Facebook both saw quite a bit of me, snatches of time here and there. I started The MaryBeeBuzz profile for my Young Living business, as well as established a Young Living website. I read 50% of the Bible through. I had wanted to read it all the way through, but I did better than last year, so that is what I focus on. I did not get to read as much as I would have liked, mostly due to my studies. Most evenings are consumed with reading and writing for classes. I am thankful for holidays and summer terms, free from the grind.

I have decided to make new five and ten year plans. I had thought that by the time I am 45, I wanted to foster or adopt (if I am unmarried). But now I think I will focus on finishing a Masters and then begin familial pursuits. Then maybe I will work on a doctorate in counseling. That could take me to 50, eleven years from now. And my dream of running a family counseling center could be realized.

PLANS FOR 2015
My remodeling project plans for 2015 include the sun porch and lighting and flooring for the kitchen. For the sun porch, it will need tiling, replacing its window, blinds, and painting. I would also like to move towards a total remodel of Cori's old bedroom, removing paneling, putting up drywall, and putting down carpeting, replacing the window and lighting fixtures.

I need to clean out the attics and the second story of the storage shed. These are projects that I hate to tackle on my own.

I have bought a ticket to go to the August Young Living convention and am looking forward to it. In September I will be 40; it seems hard to grasp that I am this old. I do not feel it. I may do something special to celebrate, or go somewhere. Cori and Brian seem to take yearly trips to the Tennessee mountains, so I may treat myself to an early bday gift in the spring.

I will complete 12 more credit hours as well, inching me towards my educational goals. I am also looking forward to several Bible studies, the first of which is Priscilla Shirer's study of Gideon at Hillcrest BC starting in several weeks.

More about my New Year Resolutions later...
Hello, 2015!

summertime, and the livin' is easy

It is the first week of my blessed summer!!!
I have not worked a bit, no siree! ;-P
Just cleaned the main part of the house from top to bottom- laundry room, playroom, family room, ad my bedroom. And all my paper clutter and piles of files, mail, bills, finances, and what-not are G-O-N-E.

The month of May was a blur for sure! So many days, packed to the brim with activity and busy-ness. Graduation for CIAS's fifteenth graduating class went off with precision and little-to-no drama. We chose to "go smaller" with the after-reception, and that worked out very well. Twenty-one seniors this year...time flies on. This year's end-of-school activity was a trip to Adventure Island in Orange Beach. We all had amped-up fun with arcades, laser tag, go carts, and bumper boats. The kids had a blast, judging from their numerous FB posts!

All this spring, I have been gardening and getting more active. And in the meantime, I have lost 15 pounds!!! I have great energy and stamina, and am sleeping well and keeping up with household activities with renewed vigor. And I had my hair trimmed almost five inches, but it is still pretty long comparatively. I like the feel of the shorter length, thickness, and bounce. :-D

I finished my education degree in May; that was a looooong road that I was glad to see finish...since 2007 it was! Summa Cum Laude, Phi Theta Kappa, Kappa Delta Pi, & two Scholastic Achievement Awards later, I am exhausted. I was accepted at Regent U in March (YAY!!!), and all my registration and paperwork is completed. All that is left is the final stages of student loans and promissory notes. I am taking some Bible classes right off the bat. I think that I am out of my mind as well.

Sarah and I are busy beavers in regards to weekends and bakery wedding cakes. We did two wedding cakes last weekend, have two to do this coming weekend, and one next week. It's a blur of beauty that never slows or stops. I will be glad once July heat hits, and we will get a reprieve from the pellmell of cakes. :-)

Marie Brunner is getting married tomorrow to her Amos, and I am missing it due to previous cake obligations. :-( I have known her for over 20 years now, it's hard to believe. So many of my former students are getting married this year...I just received an invitation for Graeson's wedding for later this month!


MOVIES
Last Saturday, after our workday was done, we went to see my first theatre movie of the year, "Snow White and the Huntsman." It was a ethereal and sinister take on the story, with brilliant digital and blue suit work...kind of a cross between Peter Jackson's work in "Lord of the Rings" and a medieval "Robinhood." Really enjoyed it! Besides, the "man candy" was nice! ;-)

Now that all our favorite tv shows are on hiatus (Castles, The Mentalist, NCIS, NCIS: LA), I have been rifling through our movie stash and watching one every night. Last night it was "Tuck Everlasting" and tonight the modern version of "Pride and Prejudice."


And BOOKS!!!
Now that it is summer, and I am not in college classes, I have been reading in earnest. First was Todd Burpo's Heaven is for Real, about his son's experiences in heaven during a short surgery interval. I am finishing Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts this weekend. SUCH a good and challenging book!!! I have been doing her 1000 Gifts challenge on this blog this year, in a haphazard fashion.

Next up is Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Francis Chan's trilogy of Crazy Love/Forgotten God/Erasing Hell, and to finish Randy Alcorn's Heaven.

detrimental secondary social agents

A college paper:


Socializing agents are people and institutions that help with integration of an individual into society. These agents are necessary to the social development of an individual so that they can interact with society properly. Social skills have to practiced, so that they can become a natural part of our lives. People who do not learn these vital social skills are often not ever able to function in normal interpersonal relationships, work environments, and school settings.  Social class also is a socializing agent. In fact, the people we interact with in our marriages, families, friends, schools, colleges, churches, and workplaces are most likely dictated by our social class. The social classes are divided into the lower class, working middle class, and the higher élite class.

Primary agents of socialization include family and friends. I believe that having a family, or conversely the lack of family, plays the primary role in a person’s environment. Family members can be the most influential in forming who we are and what we become. They teach us how to relate others, how to relate to authority, and how to get along with diverse people. Within the folds of a family, we learn to develop, to love, to hate, to relate, to appreciate, to resent, and to forgive. A family influences birth order, personality, and temperament. It is also true that family can inflict the most pain, abuse, and trauma as well. Peers also are a vital part of a person’s socialization. Friendships can help form a person’s personality and teach them interpersonal communication skills, especially in formative years. Later on in life, both family and friends form a necessary support network for a person.

Secondary agents of socialization include religious institutions, schools, and work places. School is where most children learn social skills that help to integrate them into society in general. Church, temples, and synagogues are important secondary agents in social development as well. And then there is the media. As a teacher, I see too many of my students obsessed with video games, iPods, Facebook, and anime. They seem to have little inspiration or ambition to achieve or do anything else. Skyrim is absorbing, World of Warcraft is addicting. All these media-themed secondary agents  have unhealthily substituted for primary agents: family interaction and conversation, the development skills and talents, involvement in the community, physical activity, and proper interaction with others. This world spits out socially inept individuals who seek to only dwell in a egocentric universe, centered around fantasies and make-believe lives. I've seen it too often. It's too sad, and almost unavoidable: second-tier agents overshadow the first rate ones.

stubbed toes and falling rain

Monday, my team and I presented our Autism project. It went so well, I was proud of us!!! About a third of our class was absent; I had noticed that the parking lot was largely empty when I pulled up. Wonder what was up with that?!? Got this e-mail from Dr. A later in the week...

"Your group did an outstanding job on the presentation. I wish all groups would put in the time your group put into yours."

We did good!!! :-D

We endured a horrible storm on Wednesday..a cold front was pushing a rainstorm our way. It rained so hard that our front yard and the school's yard were 6-inch lakes. I was appointed the "go-get-lunch" girl. I got out of the car, trying to balance my purse withan umbrella, drink, and bag of BK. After three or four steps, the strap of my flip-flop popped, and everything went flying. I stubbed my toes badly (broke one nail about 1/3 back...ouch!!!) on the parking rocks in my attempt to  clutch everything. Ugh. Lost my fries on the ground and smashed the sandwiches. Was totally soaked by the time I got inside. Had to start right back to teaching. Sarah rescued me and lent me her sandals, since I had an interview at 5 (Thank you, boo!). What a day! :-(

The rest of the week went better. Two new student interviews. Testing again on Friday.

And....I had Saturday OFF!!!! Was able to get the November billing done for Mama. Odds and ends. Beckey came over to pick up the parakeet food that I wanted to pass along (don;t know why we still have it; we haven't had a bird in years!). Ran over to Cori's to drop off several things that came in from eBay for JM, but she hadn't unlocked her door, so I couldn't get in. Something about being dizzy and not able to get up. Anyway. Drove with Mom (to keep her company) so she could pick up some fish tacos at Cactus Flower. Then home to cook.

I pan-fried okra and made our delicious peach cobbler. Sarah came in for dinner after her bike ride with Daniel downtown to the Arts Festival. Tricia cooked a pork roast and baked sweet potatoes. Delish! She also rented two DVDs (RedBox!!!) for our evening: "Prince of Persia" and "Toy Story 3". The first was scarily great, the second was scarily horrible. How many little tykes are going to be scarred from that film?!? I hope my nieces never see it...made me think of my five-year-old experience of watching "Les Miserables" and having nightmares for a year afterwards! :-(

Our south-end bathroom remodel is in slow progress, but it's moving along. The Hogans were here this week, chipping up old cement and relaying the combined plumbing. We are hoping Daniel will get it all done by Christmas!!! Fingers crossed.

Today, I am working on a comparison-contrast paper about B. Franklin vs. J. Edwards. It's interesting, to say the least. Also have some papers to grade, and finances to organize for this past paycheck. Tricia is making salmon croquets, mashed potatoes, and baby limas for dinner. I LOVE our southern cookin! And Rascal Flatts' "Life is a Highway"...good ol' country!

That cold front is here in force...it's in the 30s, and the heat is on. Our weird and varied Gulf Coast weather! Meg got a knuckle bone this morning and chewed it right down. She's currently sitting at my feet, patiently waiting for another throw of her toy.

Keeping Up with the Joneses

This week, the Young Ladies Christian Fellowship webzine/blog is hosting a blog carnival. I participated last year and am eager to do so again this year. Great fun! The theme this year is weekly schedules and to-do lists.

I have a pretty steady schedule from week to week, so this is easy for me to look at my calendar and reveal...Keeping Up with the Joneses (for a week, that is).

Monday

Meg HATES having her pic taken!

It's 7 am. I am up before everyone else, as usual. I hurry through the early morning, chugging a cup of coffee. I gather my evening class books together, feed Meg our Welsh corgi and let her out, and finish my own quick breakfast and supplement consumption (i.e. Juice Plus, BarleyMax, enzymes, Epicore). I walk across the street to work. I am the principal and main teacher at CIAS, an umbrella school for homeschooled students. Students are sleepily waiting for their school day to begin. I start tutoring at 8 and break at 12 for lunch break. Lunch break for me included returning a phone call to one of my student's parent about a college dual enrollment schedule, checking my appointment schedule for the week, making copies of tests for afternoon students, and chatting with one of my secretaries. Back to tutoring from 1-5; that makes eight hours of teaching and supervising 15 students. I rush off to my college class, leaving my sister (and fellow teacher) Sarah to lock up. I am taking a class about exceptional learners, and have an early meeting with my study group about our project presentation on Autism next Monday. I sit through an interesting presentation on deafness, a short lecture, and a book report presentation. I am sooo tired. Driving home, I call Mom and let her know I'm on my way across town. My sister Tricia has dinner ready. Mom spends the evening reading, Tricia is studying, and I am grading my students' compositions.

Tuesday

I have a typical morning once again. Missed my coffee this morning though. :-( Several students get dropped off early at my house, so we walked to school together. I teach all morning; Tricia joins me at 10. I spend my lunch break printing my handouts and quiz papers for my afternoon writing classes. Thirty-five students are divided almost evenly into two classes. The afternoon speeds by, filled with sentence dress-ups, editing exercises, and students' oral essay presentations. I have off early this evening, so I come home and make dinner of pork sirloin and southern-style cabbage. I also try a new baked mac and 3-cheese recipe that turns out DELICIOUS! Yay! Tricia is across town at the university for an evening class. I am so proud of her, working full-time and nearing the end of a very hard-won accounting degree! We watch NCIS and NCIA-LA, two of our favorite shows. The evening is spent studying. Again.

Wednesday

Teaching all day. Have several wonderful "discipleship moments" with my students. I LOVE when they ask questions about life and the Lord!!! When I can open the Word of Life and show them that God has something to say about EVERYTHING in life, drawing a connection for them to the God of the universe. :-D I have an new student/parent interview from 5-6:30. It goes very well, and we have a new student enrollment..another middle school boy!!! I make another appointment with them for academic placement testing. I spend a half hour working on a senior's transcript for their college application and prepping for Thursday evening senior workshop. Tricia cooks dinner again; I LOVE taco salad! My sista-bestie is the bomb! :-D I eat slowly tonight. I am so sleepy, so I hit the sack early tonight.

Thursday

I am so tired today. I can hardly muster myself out of bed this morning. Ugh. A full day of teaching, the last one for the week. I teach and supervise 15 students today, and get a little break before the seniors arrive for their one-hour meeting/workshop on college applications, record keeping, and fund raising. We have a good turn out, and it goes smoothly. I am home by 7:30. Meg is rabid for attention and wants to play (i.e me throwing her toy so she can chase and retrieve)! My arm hurts after several solid hours. :-P

Friday 

CL chasing Aunt Tricia round and round. :-)

I sleep late, praise the Lord. 9 am...wake up refreshed. I needed the extra two hours of sleep. I am administering six achievement tests this morning, and also have two appointments (one new interview and one lesson planning meeting). Sendi, my Records Clerk, and I go over phone call messages before I leave at 2. A family tradition...the Jones family attempts to meet for lunch on Fridays each week. Cori is "great with child" and is getting more and more uncomfortable, so I take lunch makings to her house: Thai coconut soup, chock full of red bell peppers, baby bella mushrooms, tofu, and chicken. Everyone converges to enjoy my first culinary attempt at one of my fav Thai dishes and give me a vote of confidence. Yes! Another great new recipe. :-) We spend some quality time with Corrie Lynn, my precious niece. She is a precocious 18 month old now, and is babbling and talking and eagerly sits still for book time. She loves for us to chase her around the living room, crying, "I'm gonna get you!" If we try to stop, she starts running the circle and yelling, "Gon get chu." She's wearing us out! So much energy; I am too old for this!!! Cori is so uncomfortable now; she is three weeks away from her due date in November; little Juliana Mae is wearing her mama out! We are eager to meet her and anticipate being new aunties to another precious soul. We have a quiet evening at home. I spend several hours reading textbooks and doing homework for my two college classes. We watch several recorded shows from the week's lineup (Tricia records them each evening, and we watch them towards the weekend). I call it a early night, and read for several hours. YLCF's Gretchen has recommended some books that I ordered last week, so I get started on The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Looks good so far!

Saturday

I am up early and down to my family's Bread of Life Bake Shop for a day of wedding I anniversary cakes. We have a pick-up cake, as well as a delivery at the NAS officer's club today. The cakes turn out wonderfully (and beautifully!), and I head home around four for an hour's nap. I brought home some cinamon rolls from the bakery freezer, so I bake them and prep mulled cider. The house smells SO GOOD!!!!! We three grab our camp chairs and drive over to Dusty and Marisa's home for a pitfire and game night with old friends. What great fun! :-D Thanks, ya'll!

Sunday

The Lord's day at our house, and our Sabbath. Oh, how we look forward all week to our day of rest and prolonged fellowship with Jesus!!! I savor every minute as it ticks by, as it does all too quickly. Sleep in late. Then I watch one of my favorite pastor's sermon podcast online (Richard Crisco); good stuff. I read the Word for an hour (the Psalms and Romans today) and turn my new-er Kari Jobe CD on in the kitchen stereo. I decide to make omelets and biscuits for brunch, then I dedicate the next several hours to studying. I have an Power Point on Autism to finish for my study group's presentation on Monday evening, so I spend several hours perfecting the last of it. We have spent so much time on this project. I know that we will get a good grade, because it is fabulous! I check my e-mails, log onto MarryWell to check to see if I have any messages, and blog for awhile. Every fall, I get into a Jane Austen movie mood, so I go online and watch the new "Northanger Abbey." I <3 it! I get to bed late...not a good start to the new week, but it's my life. I'm a Jones.

rain and baby showers

So yesterday was Cori's (and Juliana Mae's!!!) baby shower. The ladies at Warrington Worship Center prepared a delicious spread, I took goodies from the bakery, and Sarah made an adorable pink and purple giraffe cake and chocolate iced cupcakes. The punch was a ginger ale & lime sherbet concoction...yum!

There were quite a few ladies and children there (I forgot to get a head count). I know it blessed Cori to have everyone come. Not only were the church ladies there, but Cori's violin students and their mamas, and some of our family friends as well.

I got there a little before 1 pm and set up my bakery sweets. I saw that we needed some more decorations, so I had Tricia prep pink and purple balloons to attach to the chairs all around the room. Then back to the house to get dressed and to Walmart for flowers and cards. I was 10 minutes late so I missed the three games, but I arrived before everyone else in the fam. We are a mess! :-P

I had the responsibilities of cutting the cake and recording the gifts. JM got some really practical things (i.e. diapers, wipies, a wipie warmer, diaper pail, a giant frog bathtub toy scoop from Alice S, an essential oils compendium from Debra W, a safety gate from MaeMae, a bouncer from Nanny, sleepers, a stereo from Aunt Tricia, an "A-B-C Song" playing giraffe from me, onesies, socks, caps, bibs, sleeper sets), as well as cute and fun stuff too (crocheted baby blanket, receiving blankets, 1st Christmas bear, and Madame Alexander "My First Huggums" babydoll). And these are only the ones that I remember, so there were more. The WWC ladies helped us load the gifts into the van, and Sarah and I unpacked and sorted all the gifts, since Cori is so far along now that everything is difficult for her to do. Juliana now has a trunk full of natural diapers and wipies!!! :-D

On Friday afternoon, I hosted the CIAS Operation Christmas Child packing party. We had 12 or so kids to come, and we packed 9 boxes! I have always wanted to participate in OCC, but never had the chance to, so, I had a joyful time shopping at Walmart & $ Tree for boy and girl stuff for my boxes! :-)

And today I am working on organizing my team's research and inserting it all into the Autism power point that I have done for our presentation. I also have to grade students' papers from my writing classes. And it's raining (acorns and real rain!). :-)

What is an American?

I am currently reading Michel de Crevecoeur's  essay "What is an American?" for a literature class I am taking. I have always wanted to go back and do in-depth study of some of the early American writers, so I am immensely enjoying what I read in this class. The discussion is sadly lacking, and the class is largely an "on-your-own" format, but I am getting as much out of it as I am putting in.

Crevecoeur was a Frenchman who sympathized with the British, so he scurried of to his natal land during the Revolution. His thoughts about America, at the time, were considered embellished and too flattering, as he described it as "the most perfect society now existing in the world." I laugh at his naysayers, realizing that his statement is all too true still today. I read too much of what occurs in the world to think otherwise.

"...from Nova Scotia to West Florida. We are a people of cultivators, scattered over an immense territory, communicating with each by means of good roads and navigable rivers, united by silken bands of mild government, all respecting the laws without dreading their power, because they are equitable. We are all animated with the spirit of an industry which is unfettered and unrestrained because each person works for himself."

Young teeny twits in the class were commenting that yes, Crevecoeur rightly described an American...we are the land of the free, home of brave...blah, blah. They really have no understanding what it is to be an American. One even said that being an American involved "being free to go wherever we like, like to the mall." I wanted to laugh/scream!!!!!

After another class last night (an interesting yet inadequate session on blindness), I met Mom and we went grocery shopping for the month. On a side note, I don't know why Walmart is our chosen grocery store. Convenience, I suppose. Anyway, everyone in town had just gotten their food stamps for the month obviously. I found the shortest line I could find and bought my fruit, veggies, and staples. I couldn't help but think that most America's view of America today is just the OPPOSITE of Crevecoeur's...each person does NOT work for themselves, and the "silken bands of mild government" are now forged chains that encumber  us with fear, taxes, burdens, responsibilities, and dissatisfaction.

The political ads between parts of "Castle" last night reminded me further of this. The Republicans ads are trash-talking the Democrats and vise versa. But no one really has answers. The American people have for too long expected their leaders and law makers to "turn this country around." They can't do it. I distinctly remember when the "young Republicans" swept Washington, bringing a "new era" to politics, supposedly to take us back to our "founding father roots." And they ended up defrauding tax payers, cheating on their wives, misappropriating funds, and behaving just as badly as their opponents. Wrong was not righted. The Reps were shamefully wronged again. Only a few remained unscathed and untainted by immorality, adultery, scandals, and fiscal irresponsibility. God bless them; they tried.

Currently, it seems that the Republican "right" has just as much scandal and immorality as the other parties. I can see why the Tea Party is gaining so much groundswell. When you see politician after politicians fall, you begin to think that they thought they were going to get away with their stupid actions. As if. . Hmmm...let's recall a few sex scandals alone: Rep. Cathy M. Rodgers (WA), Rep. Mark Foley ( FL), Sen. Larry Craig (ID), Glenn Murphy, Jr. (fmr. National Chairman of the Young Republicans),  Kevin Garn (UT House Maj. Leader), Sen. John Ensign (NV), Sen. David Vitter (LA), Gov. Mark Sanford (SC), Rep. Ken Calvert (Cali), Rep. Jim Bunn (OR), Rep. Bob Barr (GA), and the list goes on and on.

I hope youngsters like Marco Rubio can turn the tide. But I think not. Most idealists like him end up compromising in turn. I am sick that these perverts get all the attention. I am sure that there are more than a few good men like Dan Quayle and J. C. Watts have lived pristine, truly "neighbor before self" lives.

For those of us Reps. who claim to be devout Christians, this is NO WAY to shine as a light in the world. Our Grand Old Party is SUPPOSED to stand for conservative family values and moral issues. It seems that we do "protest too much" indeed.

end draws near-errrrr

My favorite month is soon at an end. Ahhhh, September! In two weeks we have fall break at school. I am hoping to finish editing the Handbooks to have ready when we come back. I also need to tweak the October school billing.

I have this Saturday off from "cakeland," so I plan to make the best of it and get some R-E-S-T. I need a pedicure, so plans are to kidnap Cori for the afternoon. CL has been fractious this week, Sarah is super-stressed, and Tricia and I have been study-oholics. Test and more tests.

I am hosting the first senior meeting for the CIAS Class of 2011 tomorrow evening...that one always scares me...not sure why. A lot of expectant seniors and their parents will be there.

I cooked dinner several times this week. On Sunday I made a DELICIOUS bacon and cheese quiche (I think from one of my bakery research recipes). Last night I made peppered steak (onions, red & green bell peppers, strips of tender sirloin steak, a beef stew seasoning packet) over rice. It was so yummy. :-)

Work at CIAS have been especially busy. Interviews have slowed down, but teaching, tutoring, and supervising is UP. Today was nice, since a student or two was missing, so I had breaks to get busy work done. I also need to start on the rash of senior transcripts, a task that I have been putting off. I have done a few but not the majority by far. I did get to spend some time last night working on the updating the Class of 2010 grad info webpage (i.e. accomplishments, college plans, etc.).

it's a brand new day

Mom, Trish, and I took subs and sodas over to Cori and Brian's house last night. We wanted to see our boo; she is growing up so fast! Each week, she gets a new mannerism or habit that is so endearing! When i got the the bottom of their porch stairs, I called out through the open door, "Corrie Lynn!" A few seconds later, she popped through the door, her hair in ringlets, grinning and waiving excitedly!

This was a busy week for us. Sarah and I chaperoned the Prom at Cafe Grazie in Orange Beach, Alabama on Friday night. Michael O and Corey J tied for Prom King!!!! And Alex B was voted Prom Queen. :-) We met Aly's new boyfriend Wes; he seems perfect for her. We all had a DELICIOUS dinner, and after the great fun of voting for superlatives, most of us headed out to Gulf Shores to spend several hours playing at Adventure Island. Due to inclement weather, the putt-putt and bumper boats were closed, so they played laser tag and arcades until we left around 10:30. I took pictures. I slept great that night, grateful for my pillowtop!!!

The caps & gowns finally came in this week. The seniors are excitedly preparing...only three weeks to go! I have a few things left to iron out (rehearsal, pianist, group photo shoot) but everything is coming together. I was able to cancel a few of my tutor students for the month of May, so I will have extra time to accomplish all that I need to get done!

Tomorrow I meet with an Army commander from Mobile regarding the school's accreditation. Matt J. is enlisting, our first grad in the Army. I am a little nervous, but only because it is on Monday, my most hectic teaching day (writing class!). Then on Tuesday, I meet with the workman's com insurance auditor. All my superb bookkeeping had better pay off! :-)

I spent this morning organizing my class binder and printing all my power points and essays for this writing class. I am not taking any summer classes; I am just too tired and need to rest from the frenetic life I lead. I signed up for my fall classes- literature and intro to exceptional child. Also finished my FAFSA.

Finished reading Beverly Lewis' The Telling. Great ending to a slow-moving trilogy. I saved the end until after my class was over so that I could enjoy it more.

Well, the spaghetti sauce is calling my name, and Mom and Trish want my company for the evening. I wish I had more time to blog and record my life and thoughts. Jesus, help me to slow down!!!