Whew - Wednesday!

Another busy day. School glides on. I went to the gym. Jamin is at work. Mike is at work (and so I have time to update). Josiah and Jared are out with friends - all afternoon and evening. We ran across town to pick up some Real Salt (Mom this stuff would be salty enough for YOU LOL), and some Braggs Amino something or other that I'd accidently left at the restaurant where we meet the United semi. We had dinner, baths, all are in bed, I paid bills, still waiting for the older 4 men to arrive home.

Tuesday and Everyone is Home

The big event of our day! ALL were home for dinner. I even cooked. We had Country Chicken Pot Pie AND a banana cake with strawberry shortcake topping (I guess I've never posted that recipe before - which I can do if anyone would like it). What fun to have all who live at home - HOME.

We ended the night by watching "Full Range of Motion". I think it was funnier the second time watched. Good, clean, HUMOR! We are trying to find a clip of the "I work at Subway" song for Cy's myspace. LOL

THE TRIALS OF STACIA

Ah, being the baby in a family like this is a cross to bear. The poor thing.

You can't really tell, but Arielle had given her a "fake" chocolate bar. It looked REAL - but it was an eraser.

Monday night, after all had gone home from the United co-op, we found Stacia on our bed...surrounded by candy wrappers, chocolate on our pillows and on her face.

I'll just throw this in...this is the back of the van when we opened it at home, and the front was full too. Next month I will remove another seat before meeting the truck. LOL

Jamin's Joy

Jamin came home from Writing for the Soul with the determination to "get published" this year. Most big publishing houses want you to have built "name recognition" before they publish your works. Jamin is an intense, one-job-at-a-time type of person and so had spent all his time writing novels. NOW, he is learning to write anything and everything in order to be published online, in magazines, win contests, and he writes novels at night.
Since February, he has found out that he'll have an article published in a magazine. I think it was in May, maybe? It's an interview he did with Mike about his ministry in the Middle East. I'll post a link when it is published.
Today, he found out that Around the Bloc, a Christian Yahoo writer's group, will publish an article he wrote in April. The article is called, "Publication Potholes." (We're learning a lot about this topic, and I think it takes a great writer to turn their "failures" into an article that wins success. ::snort::)
He's busy writing stories and such for contests.
He's received his first rejection letter for his novel, from Bethany House (let's mount a boycott ::snort::). In an ironic twist Mike received his first rejection notice this week too - but it was very polite and encouraging. I think he should submit it to a few magazines - it's an article about Stacia's near-drowning last summer.
I continue to simply publish every day - inarticulate, ungrammatical, misspelled but written - every day. ::snort::
All of a sudden, places want a PHOTO of Jamin - and his last name will be published...so much for security! ::sigh:: Mike and Jamin spent time taking a "photo" of just Jamin last night. I took great glee in this as Jamin is the one in family pictures who was barefoot, hair awry, pulling away and insisting he would NOT be in the photo. We just held him down and told the photographer to snap away. I was determined I would have pictures of him. AND....now....14 years later.....Mike and he spent the night taking photos, and Josiah only had to hold him down the first 5 minutes. ::snort::

It Was a Monday...

Have you ever had a day that felt like a struggle from beginning to end? That would be yesterday. In the interest of protecting the identities of various off-spring I will not say more. I forgot my method of coping with such days. I SHOULD HAVE HID IN THE BATHROOM - MY PRAYER CLOSET. Instead, I kept trying to "fix" things. I wasn't a wild success. By late afternoon my communication had deteriorated to one word "fine" - "fine" - "fine."  Imagine this word accompanied by a snippy tone, a hand on the hip, and HUGE eye rolling. ::snort::

Last night was our United co-op order. WOW. We've gotten large (5K order - 2K of it was our group's). It took 3 1/2 hours to meet the truck, inventory, sort to various groups (4) and come home. I arrived home at the same time that I'd told others to pick up their stuff at our home. Everyone was GREAT and jumped right in to help. Sorting is a bit eye-straining with our new system - but it got done. We are moving to separate weeks for each individual group to order, and I think that will speed up the time it takes to meet the truck. We'll only have to inventory at the truck and sort once at home.

The end to my trying day, my medicinal treats did not come in. I guess someone thought I could do without a case of dark chocolate (DARK CHOCOLATE IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEART) almonds (also GOOD for your heart). ::Sigh:: Maybe next month. ::snort::

Weekly Fitness Goals

Weekly Goal - 240 Minutes (40 minutes most days)
Totaly Weekly Minutes - 177 minutes

Annual Goal - 11,700 minutes (2900 by end of March)
Minutes to Date - 2,177 minutes

MONDAY - 45 minutes Recumbent Bike
Tuesday - 40 minutes Elliptical Machine
Wednesday - 42 minutes Elliptical Machine
Thursday - 50 minutes Recumbent Bike
Friday - PWOC dinner/project night, produce co-op, shopping for dinner and breakfast
Saturday - fixed breakfast for chapel cleaning group, air show
Sunday - in my dreams
This past week was simply too busy with chapel activities, doctor appointments, etc to get work outs in daily. I deliberately tried to go down to 40 minutes 6 days a week instead of 60 minutes 4x a week, but it didn't work. Maybe this week.
Visit other participants here.

ACK!!! Happy Birthday, DAD!!!!

THIS:

was supposed to keep me from embarassing moments like the above. It was a gift this year at Christmas. I have had a few minutes to breathe in the hectic pace of last week. I updated the blog. I knew Dad's birthday was coming up - I thought the 17th. I flipped the calendar page to see who else had a birthday in March and there is DAD listed on 15 March. ARGH.
I feel like pond scum. They are out celebrating with my brother today.....I'm doomed to feel like pond scum until I can reach Dad. ARGH. I'm even reading a book about how to honor your parents without guilt while raising your children without regrets. I feel guilt....but it will be o.k. when I talk to Daddy.