Ummmm....WOW.

Okay, if you are not watching "So You Think You Can Dance" this season.....you should be. The first round of official competition was really good.

Wait---correction.....

It was REALLY good! May I even say.....GREAT???

I really do enjoy that show.

If you have never seen it....what are you waiting for? Set it up on your TiVo, or DVR, or whatever you use to tape things (or try and catch it live).....and just watch it.
You will like it, I promise.
Your husband will most likely like it too. Really. I am not kidding. Truth.

another background change...

So....
I changed my background again. Although, I'm not TOTALLY satisfied yet, it IS a little brighter, which I like. I was feeling rather depressed seeing the dull background color of the other one....so at least this is a bit more cheery.

I am sure this will not be the last time I adjust this. And since I have all about 3 or 4 readers at this point....I don't think this switching every few days matters all that much! Sorry if you are one of my "loyals"...(Thanks, Mom and sisters!)...you are appreciated for putting up with my whims. :0)

Today is another cleaning day. Laundry, and straightening on deck.

Tomorrow I need to bring Pasta Salad to feed 22 (meal size portions) to Lazarus House. So, I am guessing I should start on that today. I cleaned out my refrigerator on Tuesday evening to make room for the big disposable aluminum pans I bought for this purpose. Last night I got all the ingredients...I have a serious amount of salami in my fridge right now!

Anyway--lots to do. Time to get a move on!

possibilities...

I love blank paper, new notebooks, sharp pencils, and fun decorative pens. I love a fresh box of colorful crayons, arrays of markers, and children's coloring books. I love paintbrushes, and blank canvases, and the smell of an art room.



This morning, as I jotted a quote down on a clean, blank notebook page....my heart felt happy. There is something about making a mark on a blank page. My fingertips get tingly, my brain swells with ideas.

Most of the time, true complete creations don't ever actually make it out of me onto a page, or canvas. Maybe there is a fear there, that whatever I am imagining won't come out the way I want it to. So, I feel paralyzed to begin.....

BUT- I think about it sometimes. The possibilities, the creations, just dormant deep within me.

I once considered majoring in art in college. In elementary, middle, and high school, my art classes were my favorite time of my day. My H.S. art teacher encouraged me, and said I had great potential. The talent was there.....I just needed to learn to "let go", and express it.
I was afraid to try....not really finding MY style. I took the "safe" road. Drawing faces and things I could see in a picture, next to me. Pencil drawings...even adding color scared me. Maybe, I'd ruin what I had done so far.

It is interesting, though....because I still feel it within me. This urge to fill a blank page. To make a mark.



I am still hunting for the "right" medium, and the way to use and develop this "talent", this love of paper and pens. There has got to be something.......that fits.

Someday, I may discover what that right fit is.

Until then...I will consider the possibilities. :0)

Trust in the Lord...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding;
In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5,6

birthday presents

did you ever notice that there ALWAYS seems to be a birthday party to attend? well....not actually for ME to attend. more like my boys always being invited to one. i cannot tell you how much money we have spent on birthday presents for kids i barely know.

and what to get these children i barely know?? my boys are no help. every time i ask what they think their friend might like, I get the same response. "i don't know." helpful, right? i know. normally i end up getting a Target giftcard and big hershey's chocolate bar. but, i find when getting a giftcard, you end up spending more money, because you don't want to appear overly cheap. of course, i also don't want to spend money on something the kid is not going to use, something he ends up throwing into the back of his closet for a couple of years.

so here is my question....
what do YOU get kids you barely know? i need ideas.

Nate's decision about travel soccer....

He didn't end up trying out on either day---and seems happy about his decision. We signed him up for rec soccer. If he hates it, or regrets his decision after playing in the fall, we can talk to Campton about getting him on a team for Spring. (They have been known to do that for families that have been part of their club for a few years.)

Nate had other teammates that didn't show up for tryouts either. That was a surprise....no one said beforehand that they weren't going to do it again this next year. One of his teammates called our house after the first day, very concerned Nate wasn't there. That was sweet.

I am sure it will all be fine. I know I will appreciate the less hectic practice schedule for him!

Soccer tryouts...repeat performance.

So, today was soccer tryouts for Jake and Nate. Well, sort of try-outs. We know already that they would be placed on a team, so tryouts are more for the benefit of possible incoming players. Usually returning players have nothing to worry about. They will be placed somewhere.

Well, Nathan has been rather flip-floppy (my own word, I think) about deciding if he even wants to play travel soccer again next year. One week he is "just tired of it" and he wants to play rec soccer with his school friends. The next week he is "TOTALLY going to do travel again". Back and forth, week to week. All last week he was trying to convince us that he was SURE that travel was for him. We kept asking, "are you really sure?"--mainly because he has been so flip-floppy. Yes, yes he was POSITIVE.
Sooooo, we pre-registered him. Yesterday. When he was still SURE.

Fast forward to today. Tryouts are from 6-7:30. Nathan walks through the door after school at 3:30, and loudly yells first thing, "I am not going to try out today. I decided not to play travel." What? This SAME EXACT thing happened last year. Of course, last year, since it was the first we heard of him not wanting to try out the day of.....we forced him to do it. I figured he was nervous or something, and he didn't know what he wanted. This year, has been a good year...he has improved a lot. He has enjoyed playing on his team. He likes the kids. So, this year was fine. The only thing we noticed was that he just wasn't passionate about it.

We were fine with him playing rec ball...except that we thought it would most likely frustrate him. Rec ball is just not played at the same level as he's been used to playing at.

We are not going to push it. Not this time. Whatever he decides...he will have to live with it. And so, there you have it. It will save us a serious amount of money. So there is that. I just don't want him to regret letting this opportunity for development go by. He has one more day to change his mind--tomorrow is the second day for tryouts. After that....it is what it is.