As a kid, I was a very avid reader – I would always read myself to sleep.  Somewhere in my 20’s though, I lost sight of my reading hobby; I guess that’s when I got too busy and too tired to lie in bed awake at night and read.  During my last pregnancy, however, I started reading before bed again, and it’s something that I really enjoy, even though I often get too tired to make it through more than a few pages per night.

When I recently began reading again, I started by reading mostly non-fiction; it was really fun for me to unwind at night and learn something at the same time.  I read a book about an Afghan girl who stepped on a land mine, lost her leg, and fled the Taliban by coming to America.  I read a book about a family that bicycled across the country – they had kids who were 13, 11, and 3 years old, and they made it from New Jersey to Colorado on their bikes.  There was also the book about the Burnham’s; they were husband and wife missionaries who were held hostage in the Philippines for almost a year.  The wife wrote a book about their daily struggles as hostages – it was fascinating.  Then I switched to a few fiction books by Christopher Pike, an author best known for his young adult horror novels.  I read those as a teen, so as an adult, I decided to try his novels for adults – one I really liked and one wasn’t so good – Falling and The Blind Mirror, respectively.  I then started a book about the plight of Terri Shiavo, a woman who collapsed in the early 90’s and suffered brain damage.  Her case was in the national spotlight because her husband insisted that she would have never wanted to live hooked up to machines while her parents disagreed.  The governor tried to help, and even the President of the United States tried to step in, but ultimately Terri’s right to live became just another case in the courts and her husband won.  Her feeding tube was removed and it took her almost 14 days to slowly starve and dehydrate to death.  The case fascinated me at the time, and I found this book about it written by Mark Fuhrman of the OJ Simpson murder trial fame.  Except that I’m having trouble reading the book since it’s about a rather dark and depressing subject, and that’s not really how I want to unwind before bed.  Though I did learn something interesting from Mark Fuhrman: according to him, a coroner is an elected official who doesn’t even necessarily have to have a medical degree.  Hmmm…

A friend recommended the author John Grisham, and the other day I ran into the library, trying to be very quick since the family was waiting in the car.  His books looked so large and lengthy and intimidating, so I grabbed the smallest one I saw called Skipping Christmas.  I began to read it, and it’s about a family called the Krank’s who decide to skip Christmas one year.  That sounds familiar, I thought, and after a quick trip to imdb.com, I discovered that the awfully panned movie of 2004 called Christmas With The Krank’s is indeed the movie based upon John Grisham’s book, Skipping Christmas.  So far the book is ok, but nothing that keeps me looking forward to reading it or anything.  I have Grisham’s only work of non-fiction on hold at the library, maybe I’ll get up there today to get it because maybe I’m sick of fiction and it’s time to go back to non-fiction…  I hate to admit it, but I really like to read true-crime books before bed, mostly about murder.  True, murder is a dark and depressing subject, but not in the same way as the story of Terri Shiavo; it’s hard to explain.  And it sounds kind of strange, but true-crime books are the ones I seem to be drawn to and I can’t watch true-crime on tv in bed anymore – too many nightmares for my husband and I.  One of the best true-crime books that I ever read was The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule.  If you don’t know, Ann Rule is a famous true-crime writer, and this book was extra-fascinating because it chronicles her relationship with the famous psychopathic serial killer, Ted Bundy.  Ann Rule was actually friends with Ted Bundy – they met working at a suicide hotline together.  The book chronicles their friendship while working at the hotline, while the murders were taking place, and after Ted was caught – very interesting read, and crazy that one of the most famous crime writers had a friendship (unrelated to her ever writing a book about him) with one of the most prolific serial killers of all time.

I’ve been pondering the past few months on the choice I made a couple of years ago on my alarm clock. The numbers are BIG!!! For my aging eyes that is a good thing. There is a problem, the clock is very bright. Most nights, I really don’t notice it, but when I am having trouble sleeping (tonight!!), the clock just seems to light up the room. While it isn’t quite bright enough to read by, I don’t have to turn on a light to make my way around anything I may find on the floor (dog?). I’ve been wondering if I shouldn’t have looked for a different alarm clock. Tonight those BIG GREEN numbers are just passing by keeping me awake.

Really, I’m a bit of an insomniac anyway, so on some nights it doesn’t take much to keep my eyes open. I also have other complaints about the clock, but it does wake me up on most mornings, so it isn’t all bad. Even after staying awake half the night, the alarm/radio is loud enough to wake me.

But I did get my green in didn’t I…. One more color to go.

Now on to other “Green” things. The $$Cost$$ of gasoline this last weekend skyrocketed on limited supplies. I’ve heard of places where they have run out of gas, or even gas going for over $5.00 per gallon. This is when Oil prices dropped to below $100 per barrel. Now I realize the recent Gulf Coast Hurricanes disrupted the supply lines, but you would think after all these years of Hurricanes people would think to move as much gas as possible before the storms hit. Maybe not, but I think I would have done that. Shutting everything down is all well and good, especially since it does keep people safe, but some forethought is also needed. Just trying to save some of my green.

The green leaves are starting their fall change already too. Some of the early turners in this area are the Ash, Hickories and Walnuts. Driving through the country side you can see the few yellow/brown leaves in the small wood lots. Don’t blink though, these trees lose their leaves quickly. I remember going to college and the campus had mostly tall Hickories around the buildings. By Mid to late September all the leaves were gone from the trees. Made fall come very quickly. And if I remember correctly, they got their leaves later in the spring than other trees too. Long winters in NW Ohio….

One more color on my small list of eight crayon colors… And then maybe something else.. I never know where my thoughts will lead…

It’s that time of year again – back to school already!  For the most part, this means good news for me as it clears out half of the foot traffic around here during the day.  And since my oldest 2 are school-age and also the ones who are constantly misbehaving lately – Whoo Hoo for back to school time!

But back to school season also means it’s time for school fundraisers, and my oldest daughter brought one home on the second day of school!  They really couldn’t wait until the second week of school at least?  Because of how busy we’ve been around here between the new baby, my husband being in a play and his health scare, I set the fundraiser order form aside until the night before it was due when I reluctantly sent out an email seeking fundraiser participants.  We actually did pretty well; better than I thought, actually, so I have to thank those of you who ordered stuff.  But I have to come clean and say I did not order anything from my own daughter’s school fundraiser.  I just could not find anything I needed or even wanted for quadruple what it should cost.

My nephew sent me an email about a week later seeking participants for his first school fundraiser, so for him I was a little more motivated to order something.  Since the kids get credit for the number of items they get people to order versus how much is spent, I started looking for something inexpensive I could order.  I began by trying to think of any gifts we might need for people sometime soon.  No luck – we have a basement full of stuff my husband got from overstocked wholesalers that is just waiting to be gifted away.  Next I tried looking for a small kitchen gadget I could use, even if it was only once in a blue moon.  I found a can strainer – a plastic disk with holes in it you put over cans to drain the water out.  It was $5 – outrageously expensive, of course, but I could justify it for my nephew’s first attempts at fundraising for his school.  This wasn’t so hard, I thought as I clicked on the shopping cart to check out.  Except that all of a sudden, I was spending $11 instead of $5.  And there was a text box on the webpage that told me that $2.20 of my order goes directly to his school.  They were trying to make it sound like a good thing, but $2.20 out of $11?  And I’m spending $11 on a 4 inch piece of plastic with holes in it?  It really is easy enough to just use the can lid to strain whatever is in the can – and now I couldn’t even justify buying an over-priced item “for a good cause” since the school was only getting $2 of my money!  Ugh, back to shopping on the fundraiser’s site…

Have you ever had to shop for something you didn’t want?  It’s actually quite difficult.  We had a similair experience after our new baby was born.  Someone got him some clothes that were the wrong size, so we ended up with a bunch of Kohl’s store credit.  My husband and I spent almost 2 hours in the Kohl’s trying to figure out what we wanted; it was really difficult for us.  Kohl’s is not our type of store – we love bargain shopping, and even though it was “free” store credit we were spending, it was hard to justify their expensive prices on things we barely needed.  We ended up with 2 candle warmers and an electric razor for my husband.  He can grow a beard in a matter of days, and this razor cut his shaving time drastically.  The candle warmers are pretty cool too – you put candles on them and still get the scent, but without the ‘something’s burning’ smell or the danger of the open flame – a must-have if you like candles and have 4 little kids running around.  So anyway, where was I before the Kohl’s tangent?

Oh, yes, trying to shop for things you don’t need…  Like I said, I could justify the $5 for the can strainer, but when it climbed to $11 (especially because only $2 went to my nephew’s school), I had to explore other options.  I considered a ‘dip kit’ for $6, figuring I could use it at one of the many game nights we host – then it would double as a conversation piece as well – but shipping on every item was $6.  Since the dip instructions read, ‘just add mayonnaise and sour cream’, I couldn’t justify $12 on a packet of powder, again with the school only getting a measly $2.  So anyway, over an hour later, I finally found a good solution – a magazine subscription.  Sure, I was now spending $15 instead of $12, but there were no shipping fees which meant the school got $8 of my money.  With 4 kids I barely ever have enough time to read the daily newspaper, so I don’t really know what I’m going to do with all the US News and World Report magazines that will soon be piling up around here.  But hey, my kids already have a subscription to Highlights and my husband’s not really into magazines, so what else was I supposed to do?  The subscription to Parents magazine was actually cheaper, but as I’ve said many times before to people who try to borrow me books about parenting – at the end of a long day full of changing diapers, cleaning spills, refereeing fights, and serving meals for people to reject, the last thing I want to do to unwind is read about kids!  So I figured I could maybe save time – instead of surfing the ‘net at night reading news stories, I could bring my US News and World Report up to bed and start my reading time a little earlier so I don’t stay up too late.

But the point of this long rambling blog is this:  I hate school fundraisers.  I hate asking people to spend their hard-earned money on them, I hate ordering from them, and I hate the way they’re set up.  Don’t get me wrong – I was more than happy to order from my nephew, especially because it’s his first one; I find that kind of cute.  Nevermind that little voice in my head that says, “but he’s only in Kindergarten and they’re already making him sell things!”  But lucky for me, my sister only has 2 kids.  Can’t say the same for us -our family’s fundraiser victims will get hit up a whopping 4 times a year!  Not only that, but when the kids are in different clubs and activities, those are also prime targets for fundraising opportunities.  My daughter brought home a newsletter just today that said her Girl Scouts fundraiser will be starting in a few weeks…  ugh, here we go again.  So even if we don’t have any more kids and say each of our kids is in only 1 club or activity that does a fundraiser (girl scouts does 2 if you include selling cookies) – that’s now a minimum of 8 times per year I have to hit up my family and friends.  And that 8 times a year will probably all be overlapping in the autumn months!  It is my hope to someday be able to put aside enough time to attend the PTO meetings and urge the implementation of a new fundraising system – one where not so much money is wasted on the company that is hired to actually do the fundraiser.  Until then, maybe I will just buy stock in one of these fundraising companies that are preying on our children’s schools…  in a struggling economy, something tells me that is one type of business that isn’t hurting!

For anyone who knew Emily Curtis well has at times encountered her fierce, stubborn determination get get things done HER WAY!!! Every band show, choir song, organ piece, musical scene everything down to the minutest detail had to meet with her demands.  She was the teacher that you either loved or hated but always respected.  Her devotion to family, country, students, everyone she touched was stronger than most; very few could match her will and strength.  This profound quality  showed in true fashion in the  memorial service that she orchestrated herself.

The prelude music was traditional Ma.  From the religious to the patriotic to musical theatre to CHRISTMAS? was all there.  You heard correctly… Christmas.  The woman had Christmas trees in every room of her house every year… yes, even the bathroom.  “Silent Night” closed every holiday concert she ever directed.  The choir (be it high school, junior high, or elementary) stood in the darkened  auditorium  with lighted candles and sang  all three verses  alternating from English  lyrics to the traditional German.  I also heard “O, Holy Night.”

The Broadway pieces also were typical.  “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel would fit most funerals and is a regular piece in many church hymnals.  I also heard “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music which was the last lyric that Oscar Hammerstein II wrote. I was half expecting to hear the guitar opening the overture of Jesus Christ Superstar, but must have come in late.

On to the service itself.  I’m sure that Emily chose each reading herself.  However, the point that drove the whole thing home was Amanda’s “Time of Remembrance.”  Her mother asked her to deliver it.. they did everything together.  At the end of her delivery, Amanda took out a micro-cassette player and pushed “Play.”  then, Emily’s voice filled the  church  as she  told of her love of family,  country, and large support group.  She ever joked about her need to have the final word.  She never gave up her battle with leukemia.  The doctors and nurses at the James Center on the OSU campus were all amazed at her fortitude.  They dubbed her either “princess” or “general.”  They knew her well, too.  Unfortunately, the disease finally defeated her.

The music played during the service was also quite unusual for most… but not for Ma’s.  A violinist played “Carmen Ohio” (the Ohio State alma mater).  Although she was a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, Emily was a traditional Buckeye… she bled Scarlet and Grey.

Following the internment service, a large number of people returned to the church to celebrate and remember  Emily.  Teachers… remarkably who found subs for the day (probably 15 total), family, friends shared some personal memories.  My mother told me that we had until 1.45 because she had to get back to drive the school bus.  I can honestly say that I am a stronger person because my life has been touched by Emily and her typical lunch of fat-free pringles or honey mustard pretzels and her can of Diet Coke (I would not want to be around her if she did not have her can of Diet Coke).  So many great, profound, life-affirming memories that will last forever.  THANK YOU MA, I LOVE YOU…SON2.

Yesterday was the final production of WCCT’s run of the hilarious play, The Nerd. The play itself is one of my favorite goofball comedies and our interpretation of it was met with great audiences and huge responses (although there was the one performance, but you go on). The final performance began with a few cast members getting antsy at the delay of the title actor’s arrival. The gentleman playing Axel approached and asked “Have you seen Chris? I can’t be both parts!” I had a very sneaky suspicion.

At 2.20 (ten minutes before curtain), taylhis approached the theatre pushing the stroller along with Christopher. My suspicion was confirmed. He was indeed watching the Bears play. Right behind me came Producer justj who informed me that it was MY responsibility as stage manager to go get him. I was already on my way. However, I was soon being trailed by said producer. Two heads are better than one?

When we arrived at the house (thankfully, it was mere yards from the theatre), our friend was engrossed in the final seconds of the first half. “Let me see if Hester returns this kick!” Ok… Mission accomplished just as the director was opening the show with her personal rendition of Cyndi Lauper‘s ’80s hit, “Time After Time.”

Following the curtain fall, clean-up began and photos were taken and presents were exchanged. My favorite memento was the card I received from my friend.

Final thoughts on my first stage management. I had a great time working with the cast and my crew. It was definitely a challenge and I know that I could NOT have done it alone… THANKS Carol. However, I AM MUCH MORE of an onstage performer. However, if the need presents itself and I am not engaged as an actor I could be persuaded to assume the role again. Thanks again one and all… cast, director, crew, friends old and new, groupies (OOOPS, they are friends), and of course Alex.

Boy, I am just now beginning to see that this blog can be therapeutic as well as entertaining. These past few days have been really tough but I am finding that with the support of some of the “bestest” friends I have ever had, grieving and remembering one of the best people I have ever known is bearable. I know that I will repeat myself so bear with me. I have already told you that Emily Curtis was much, much more than a music teacher to me. The last few years of her life, she gave up at least one of her lunch periods a week TO ME. I would go to school for a voice lesson on Tuesday mornings. Sometimes we would use them for other things as well. Upon arrival, I would always ask how Amanda and Jonathan were doing. Being the proud mother she is, Emily would boast about their latest accomplishments. On one occasion, she told how she and her daughter had just gone to see Jekyll and Hyde (WITHOUT ME!!! 😀 ). While Jonathan was at West Point, they would travel to NYC to see shows at least twice a year. One of my lessons was mere hours after Jonathan was sent to Iraq. I asked her if she wanted me to come that morning. She told me that she needed ME more that day than I needed her; just to hear me sing? I even called her at 10pm on a school night to tell her that auditions for an area production of Joseph… was in two days. “Get your butt (ok…maybe not that word, but, I like to keep this a family site) over here TOMORROW!!!”

The last show of mine that she came to see was The Odd Couple. Following the Sunday matinee, my crowd of admirers gathered at the Dairy Queen across town. When I entered the restaurant, a group of at least 10 rose to their feet and applauded all led by Emily. It was then that she again reminded me that I should not limit myself to musical theatre alone but to “spread my wings and soar” and to “not hide my light under a bushel basket”. Definitely, one of my staunchest supporters and biggest fans.

As in up out of the sump pump pit when the sump pump fails…  You may have heard of, or even experienced the weather happening around here while Ike was pounding the Gulf coast.  Rain.  Lots of it.  It wasn’t as bad as the storm system that hovered over us for days last year [EDIT: According to this morning’s paper it actually was worse], but then last year we had a working sump pump.  Apparently our sump pump got its intake clogged causing it to run dry and burn out.  I learned this the other morning when I went downstairs to use the bathroom so as not to disturb the other occupant here.  I tend to not turn on the light at the bottom of the stairs because I know my way around.  Normally not a problem, but this day I put my foot down the final stair to a splash.  Yuck.  Four inches of water.  Not so bad, but then think about where the water came from and what goes through that pit…

Bottom line, we needed a new sump pump.  So did hundreds of others around here.  After learning that Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, etc. were out, I found that Menards apparently stocks hundreds of the things as when I got there they had dozens left on the shelf and the cashier told me they sold wel over a hundred that day.  In the meantime, we do have a backup pump and my brother and I set it up.  Unfortunately a hose was securely attached so its status as a backup remained firm.  We had to run the hose up the stairs, buying and attaching another length to make it possible to run it out the door.  Once set up, it took a few hours to drain the basement while the rain poured mercilessly down.  Later that night, after church, I was able to secure that new pump along with the attachments my brother said we needed.  We would have had it hooked up tonight, but the PVC cement takes several hours to cure so we will have to finish tomorrow.  Good thing the weather report shows that we are pretty much finished with the rain for now.  After that, let the cleanup and damage assessment begin.  Both of our dehumidifiers were caught in the indoor lake, but one of them still works.  Hopefully once the other dries out it can be put into active duty as well.

Other casualties from the rain included a hot water heater that I only was able to restart a few hours ago and a closed road today next to a retention pond- pretty full when we passed it yesterday, and that was before another nearly 30 hours of rain.  Another casualty was my lower back.  It started hurting pretty bad yesterday to the point where I could only stand for a limited period of time and when sitting I had to make sure my back was supported.  At one point I sat down and could not get back up it hurt so bad.  It is a little better today and I am using a heating pad on it as I type.  I did learn that Aleve does not ease back pain.

I am not looking forward to the rest of the week.  So far I have 2½ days assigned (my first elementary jobs of the year- up to now it has been middle school only) and a large cleanup job in the basement.  By the way, the ELL assignment went without hitches.  My boycott of ELL assignments in that school is over for now.

Since I can’s seem to sleep (to be fair I did sleep away most of the day, and now I am bothered by my raw throat again) I thought I would blog a bit.   Continuing in my countdown of the original 8 crayon colors I had in my first box of school crayons.  

I had crayons before school of course, in fact I had my favorite crayon.   I would take it with me where ever I went.  Me and my purple crayon.  I would use this crayon to write my name.  For some reason, I liked to write my name.  I’m not sure if this is the first word I learned to spell/read or whatever, but I wrote my name a lot.  I wrote my name on bookshelves, pool tables, coffee tables, dining room tables, furniture,  in cupboards, and of course on paper.  I always wrote with my purple crayon.  The funny thing is except for the pool table and paper, I never wrote where others could see.  I wrote under tables and shelves, in cabinets and cupboards, on the back of the furniture.  I would write my name in all of my ‘places’.  

I used the dining room table as a fort, I wrote my name.  I would ‘camp’ under the coffee table, I wrote my name.  I would hide in cabinets and cupboards and I would write my name.  Kind of like “Kilroy was here” only I wrote my name.

Until we moved, my parents never knew how many places I wrote my name, and since we left the house, I’m sure they didn’t find it in the permanent places in our old house. Mom removed all traces of my name from any place she found it. I’m glad she didn’t make me do it. I still wonder if my name isn’t out there somewhere in purple crayon still hiding after all these years.

And even when the Crayola company calls the color Violet, the crayon color has always been purple to me….

Got another ‘getting to know you’ quiz via email the other day.  Since I still fill these out for some reason (don’t really know why I do this – haven’t my friends already learned all these things about me?), I figured I might as well post it on the blog.  And this one prompted me to add a new category to my blogging also – fun forwards.  Of course now I have a bunch of posts that should go into this category, but I’m not about to go back and re-classify all my posts.

44 ODD Things about you! If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 
44 things about your friends, and let them learn 44 things about you! 
Send back to me and to several more friends! 
 
1. Do you like blue cheese? yes
2. Have you ever smoked? yes
3. Do you own a gun? no
4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite?  mountain berry
5. Do you get nervous before a doctor appointment? depends what it’s for
6. What do you think of hot dogs? like em – especially Nathan’s
7. Favorite Christmas movie? Elf, Christmas Vacation
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? water or iced tea if I’m tired
9. Can you do push ups? dunno
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?  wedding ring
11. Favorite hobby? reading
12. Do you have A.D.D.? I just might
13. What’s one trait you hate about yourself? impatience
14. Middle name? Marie
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? OUCH (my almost 2-year-old is doing my hair), is it too hot to cook pizzas at the party?,  what will we do with 3 pizzas if we don’t cook them?
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? iced tea, water, beer
17. Current worry? husband’s health
18. Current hate right now?  my kids’ inability to appreciate things
19. Favorite place to be? anywhere alone with Chris
20. How did you bring in the New Year? pregnant
21. Where would you like to go? Madagascar
22. Name three people who will complete this? Jamy (already did), Vickie, Megan
23. Do you own slippers? no
24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? red
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? yes
26. Can you whistle? yes
28. Would you be a pirate?  what does that mean?  I’ve got a parrot… 
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? whatever is on the radio
30. Favorite Girl’s Names? Taylor, Samantha, Disney
31. Favorite boy’s names? Christopher, Jonathan, Michael
32. What’s in your pocket right now? don’t have pockets
33. Last thing that made you laugh? The Nerd
34. Best bed sheets as a child? Snoopy
35. Worst injury you’ve ever had? getting cut open at the last minute to have a baby
36. Do you love where you live? YES
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 5 + a few that don’t work
38. Who is your loudest friend? Lisa H.
39. How many dogs do you have? 2
40. Does someone have a crush on you? yes
41. What is your favorite book? Monkeys on the Interstate by Jack Hanna
42. What is your favorite candy? chocolate
43. Favorite Sports Team? Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears
44. What song or songs do you want played at your funeral?  Canon in D – more appropriate for a wedding, I guess, but it’s my favorite classical piece…  it’s not like I’ve thought about this!
TAKE LIFE ONE DAY AT A TIME. HAVE A GREAT ONE

Gloomy days always get me down (unless there is a great thunderstorm raging outside… I LOVE a good thunderboomer). However, today is a not such good day. Today, on the 7th anniversary that she began her great Troop Care Package campaign, Emily Curtis (Ma 2) passed away. It just amazed me how much she and one other lady from a very small town in our little corner of the country could spear-head such a massive undertaking; not at all surprised but just amazed. Right after the tragedy of 9/11/01, Emily began getting the word to everyone to start saving necessities to be shipped overseas to Iraq, and other places where troops were stationed. Drop off locations were set up at churches, schools, KMart (yes… my former place of employment did not allow a barrel to be placed in their vestibule). She traveled around the state as far south as Cincinnati. In chatting with Emily about the campaign, she said that some people went beyond the toilet paper, toothpaste, tube socks, etc and donated things like game boys, DVDs, phone cards, and other nonessentials. including 250 huge bags of DumDum Pops. The soldiers were so grateful to the program that letters have been sent by hundreds of the troops in gratitude. Emily even went to a hospital in Germany to see first-hand the wounded who arrived there from battle. You can read about her week-long Germany experiences here. 4 TONS of items have been shipped over. Now Operation Support Our Troops has a real angel watching over them. It may not be the most popular area for U.S. involvement, but Emily has always been a strong supporter of our military (her son is a West Point graduate). Just talking about all the wonderful things she has done helps immensely. My heartfelt prayers and love go out to Paul, Amanda, Jonathan, and the entire family.