The Day After

I was aimlessly perusing the television one evening after the kids were asleep and hubby was out of town. I settled on the SciFi channel, one that I rarely, dare I say never watch. I stick to the majors, TLC, Discovery, National Geographic, HGTV or Food Network. Anyways, what I watched was the most disturbing film I have ever seen.

The Day After chronicles the events of a small town after a nuclear attack. It followed the lives of a doctor, several in the military and a farming family. Deep down, I think that one of the reasons I want to move to the country and live off the land is not really to reduce the impact my family has on the environment. And maybe it is only partly to reduce the stress in our lives and bring us closer together and make us healthier. I think the real reason is fear.

I believe it is a possibility the US will undergo a nuclear attack. At the very least, I believe we will eventually enter another recession, one akin to the Great Depression. Maybe it is the pessimist in me, but this drives to want an independent existence. This movie took some of the peace of mind away from me. As I watched the characters of the farming family survive the attack, but then deal with the aftermath and the slow death due to radiation poisoning, it made me think. Wouldn't it be better to go quickly rather than suffer through all of that?

I have had nightmares nearly every night since watching the movie. Maybe all this cleaning and organizing I have been obsessing over is my feeble attempt at something I can control.

Still can outsmart the 3 year old

I've long lost arguments with the 6 year old boy and have had to resort to "because I said so" way more times than I care to admit. I take some consolation in the knowledge that I can still outsmart the 3 year old. I asked the kids what they wanted for dinner and since hubby's gone and I've been sick the last three days, cooking is the last thing on my mind. "Salami sandwich" yells the girl. "Peanut butter and jelly toast" yells the boy. Sounds divine to me. I fix their dinner and place the plates in front of them. The girl starts whining- "I want peanut butter and jelly toast!". I respond that she can have it for breakfast. She replies that she wants breakfast now. I tell her that she has to go to sleep before she gets breakfast. Ok, she solemnly replies. Ha! Score one for momma!

The new year

Instead of setting out with resolutions for the new year, I want to instead look back on the year and think about areas I can improve. Looking at the areas of mind, body and spirit, I know that I can improve on all three.

Mind
I did a fairly good job at the areas of the mind. My new job is technically challenging and I continue to educate myself in the areas of real estate investing. I also signed up for golf lessons in January along with a friend, so I am carving out time for myself to relax and rejuvenate.

Body
I can see that by joining the gym, we will be much more consistent with exercise. I know that I have lots of room for improvement in what I feed my body and I plan to concentrate on this area. I have not been as diligent in what I feed the kids and I will concentrate on this as well.

Spirit
This is the area that most needs improvement. One of the key values I wanted to instill in my children is compassion towards others. I am consistent in delivering this message, but the message needs more action. Consistently donating items we no longer use and giving money to various charities is not enough. We need to give something even more scarce and precious- our time. The children need to see first hand how they can directly help others and how important it is to help those less fortunate. I think they are finally old enough to be a help rather than a distraction.

Unnecessary necessities

Isn't it amazing to think back 10 years and all of the added expenses for our unnecessary necessities? Cell phones, PDA's, satellite radio, internet, satellite TV... There has to be a better way! And I don't mean by going back in time and giving up all these luxuries. I've thought about eliminating our home phone and just using cell phones, but then we don't have 911 service. And with 2 small children in the house, this is not really an option. We do have 2 phone lines, 1 for personal and 1 for business and we could eliminate the business line and just use our cell phones. We have not subscribed to satellite radio, but with the way the radio stations play irritating commercials 90% of the day, I know it is only a matter of time. I refuse to give up my satellite TV with TIVO. And forget about giving up high speed internet service. I work from home on average once a week, plus with all of our business activities, it just would not be time efficient to go back to dial up.

Have you managed to simplify and if so, how?

Organization

One of the main goals for our new house is to design it for the way we live our lives and to make that a little easier, neater, and better organized. We fought hard to get a mud room where we will most likely enter the house. We are building in a small desk area in the kitchen to help with managing activities and school work. When we move, the plan is to sell/donate/trash the items we don't use. I am seriously contemplating selling the fine china and crystal. I bought a book on home organizing, but am looking for more ideas.

Anyone have good tips or techniques for making your home more organized?

Another house

Yes. Another. Our realtor who specializes in HUD homes called yesterday afternoon. I drove by the house and liked what I saw, so he submitted a bid. I didn't even look inside the house until after we won the bid today. Met up with the realtor, handed him the earnest money and signed the contract. Hubby's been out of town so I mentioned to said realtor that he'd be surprised to find out we bought another house. He informed me that he called him on accident, so he already knew. I said that it was good that he told him since we only communicate through third parties.

On a side note, we have been moving forward on our house and settled on the company we will use for financing. I read through the documents a last week and it mentions that you should not buy anything until you close. You know, like appliances, or furniture. Or maybe a house.

Unexpected perks

I know it has only been three days since we joined a gym, but I am so glad to be back in group exercise classes and to have a place to swim again. I took a "Latin Infusion" class today. It was so much fun and I am certain my hips will be screaming tomorrow. That will be nice because maybe it will take away some of the focus on how much pain my arms and chest are in.

Hubby took the kids swimming while I took a class Thursday night. That evening, what usually takes 1 - 2 hours of yelling, coercing, and tears, took only 3 seconds. The kids went out like a light. Not even a peep. I can tell you already, this is better motivation than wearing pants I haven't fit into in 4 years or improving my health. We know the secret to wearing out the kids.

Ouch

First day at the gym. Being the extremely intelligent being that I am, I decide to take the hardest class they offer. I was early, so I did 15 minutes on the bike first and then headed into a 75 minute "Total Body Conditioning" class. Should have been concerned with the assortment of apparatus everyone collected before the class began. But I pressed on, undeterred. Next clue, she asked if it was anyone's first time. I raised my hand and she said "Welcome!" with a sly grin. That woman is evil. Pure evil.

I am typing this all out this evening because I am fairly certain I will not be able to lift my arms above my waist tomorrow.

I am going to run away!

We finally joined a gym! Yeah! And not just any gym, but Lifetime Fitness. I have been wanting to join for years, but with a treadmill and complete weight set at home, it seemed like a luxury. Hubby signed us up yesterday afternoon and we got the kids all excited telling them we were going swimming! After dinner! In the winter!

I pick up some of the materials and see that the pool is closed on Wednesdays after 2 pm. Hubby calls to confirm. Uh oh. We try to substitute driving around, looking at Christmas lights and promise a trip to the pool tomorrow.

The boy gets upset halfway through the event, so we cut out early and start heading home. Then it turns into a full blown tantrum. He's crying and begging to look at more lights. Then he says that he is going to run away and find better parents. He adds- I am sure I can find better parents than you!

Hubby, being a kid trapped in an adult's body, stops at a house on our street with lots of lights. He tells the boy- these look like good parents, look at all the Christmas lights. Why don't you get out and ring the doorbell and see if you can live with them?

PTA

Hubby is on the parent/teacher board. We just received an email reminding everyone to RSVP for the party to thank all of the volunteers. It was addressed to "Hi Ladies". I think I understand why he looks for every excuse to get out of the monthly meetings.

Because I am lazy

and it has been awhile since I posted and I have no idea what to post about and because I just responded to am email with the exact thing below and because I know you all care so much.....

What time is it? 6:28 pm.
What is your full name? Spritzy, duh
What are you most afraid of? Losing a loved one
How many grandkids. None hopefully for a really, really long time
Have you ever seen a ghost? No, but I think I hear one in my house quite often
Where were you born? Houston, Tx
Ever been to Alaska ? No but I have a coworker moving there- I am already making arrangements
Ever been toilet paper rolling? Yes and "forking" which really does not turn out as cool as you expect it to
Ever loved someone so much it made you cry? Of course
Been in a car accident? Yes and the lady sued me in excess of a million dollars. I broke her tail light.
Croutons or bacon bits? blech- neither
Favorite day of the week: Friday
Favorite Restaurant? Amazon
Favorite Flower: Hydrangea
Favorite Drink: Vanilla chai tea
Favorite ice cream: Banana pudding ice cream from Hank's
Favorite fast food: Chick-fil-a
What color is your bedroom carpet? light beige with coffee stains
How many times have you failed your driver's test? None
Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? I don't know, already deleted it
What do you do most often when you are bored? Eat
Bedtime? Anywhere from 9:30 - 11:00
Ford or Chevy-Ford
What are you listening to right now: whatever the kids are watching on tv
What are your favorite colors: blue, green
How many tattoos do you have? none, haven't figured out what I would like permantly on my body
How many pets do you have? 1 dog, 1 cat, and whatever insect the boy has adopted at the moment
Which came first the chicken or the egg? the chicken
What would you like to accomplish before you die? Raise two healthy, self suffient adults who feel compelled to make the world a little better
How many people are you sending this e-mail? the entire world! hah!

What a Bad Dream

Othr by "The Boy"

He made Majik Poshin and he drank it. Wyrd things hapind to hem. He skard hes Mom & Dad & hes sistr. He kepe hes room how Evre he Wanted it to be. He Even Eyts cookies! & iec crem for brefist. He rids hes byck in the stor and he dasint go to scool. He eyts pissa with awt napkins. He dasent tayk a bath wen hes dertey. He wathes TV wen it is Time to go to bed. Son you Just hade a bad drem. Is that psehn no good.

Blow Harder

Where did you go? What happened to your blog? I miss reading about windmills and generators and water wells.

5 days off

It was a nice, long, relaxing holiday weekend. Wednesday, the boy was out of school, so we took the girl to her school and went grocery shopping for the Thanksgiving day feast. Then we went to my mom's house to help her prepare the meal for Thursday. My dad came home early, so we left the boys to play and we did a little Christmas shopping and then picked up the girl. My brother and his wife showed up, so we visited for awhile, ate dinner and headed home to finish preparations for Thursday.

Hubby got home from work at 3 am Thursday morning, so the kids and I let him sleep in a bit and then headed to my folks. We ate until our stomachs could not hold any more and then spent the rest of the day with hubby's folks and brother and wife and cousins. 5 children under the age of 6 plus three very large dogs does not make a relaxing afternoon, but all had a good time.

Friday, we cleaned up a bit around the house. I got caught up on accounting for the business and then we headed to the cabin my dad built. Our good friends called on our way out of town and were heading to the same small town, so we decided to meet up on Saturday. We played games, and visited with Santa in downtown Hallettsville and built fires and went on hikes and went to sleep early and woke up late. It was a wonderful weekend and the cabin is a great place to escape the world.

We also got the Christmas tree up and decorated yesterday evening. It was a lovely weekend with lots of quality family time.

Thankful

I have many reasons in my life to be thankful. I have a loving, generous, supportive husband and two imaginative, affectionate, bright and funny children. I have a strong family and friend network that I love and cherish. My husband and I both have good jobs as well as bigger dreams that we are working towards to be able to leave those good jobs and spend more time together. We are all in good health.

I have so much to be thankful about- Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

Don't hate me

Because I am almost done with my holiday shopping. All that is left is my mother, my father-in-law, and hubby and the kids stocking stuffers. Scratch that, almost done with the kids stockings, but I need more ideas for hubby. I have two goals every year and each year I get closer and closer to reaching them. The first, that I never walk into a store to purchase anything. All shopping is done in the comfort of my own home and I arrive home every day to find another package on the doorstep. The second goal is to be completely finished by Thanksgiving. I am thinking of adding a new goal to my list. The third goal will be to not continue shopping for the kids after I have finished shopping for the kids. By finishing early, I always think of new gifts and it leaves me plenty of time to shop for them. By tracking how much I am spending this year, I think it will be much easier to stop when I am done.

I have exactly 4 hours, 23 minutes to reach goal #2. I already missed goal #1 as I went to the mall with my mother today.

Wish Every Weekend

The weekend was perfect. Saturday, we went on a family bike ride on our favorite bike path and then picked up lunch at Subway and visited the playground near the bike trails. Hung around the house Saturday evening and hubby went on a grocery shopping run with the girl. Sunday, I gave the kids a lesson in folding clothes and they performed much better than I anticipated. They are especially good at matching up socks; a chore that I abhor. We took the kids to a different playground and then to Burger King and let them play there after eating. Finally, we spent several hours touring new model homes in Telfair. We only made it about half way through before the kids had lost interest, but we did get many good ideas for our house. And we actually agreed on about half of it!

Speaking of the house, I don't tend to post much about it because our plan fluctuates daily. However, I think we have arrived at a path forward. The plans should be complete by the middle of December. We have interviewed two builders and plan to interview one more. We need to order a soil sample for the structural engineer to develop the foundation drawings, figure out who we will use for financing, pick out the materials we want, get bids from the builders and hope to begin construction by February 1st. Hubby has been working hard around our house, painting and fixing problem areas. We'll put our house on the market in February and hope to move into our dream home by the summer.

As for the little old house that is there, we do not have a consensus. I have finally reached the conclusion that we should bulldoze it, but hubby wants to move it to Canyon Lake as his lake house. No, we don't own land on Canyon Lake.

Trendy

A few years ago, our family decided to down size a bit and start a gift exchange instead of everyone buying for everyone. We draw names each year at our annual trip to Leakey. I drew my cousins name, which I thought would be very easy. Well, she's very trendy and keeps up with the latest trends. I wouldn't know the latest trend if it hit me in the face. I asked my mom to see if she could elicit ideas from her sister. Apparently, these thong panties are the best thing since sliced bread and this is what she wants.

I told my mother I thought it would be a bit weird to buy my cousin thong panties for Christmas. She answered that was what she wanted as well. I told her that was even more weird. What a Christmas this will be! Thong panties for everyone!!

Tinkerbell & the Arctic Wolf Ninja

The boy, who is 6, would walk up the door holding the girls hand, who is 3. He would ring the doorbell and then walk off the porch, leaving the girl to fend for herself.


We walked from my parents house to my grandparents house. The kids wanted my mom and I to hang back when they went to the door, just to see if they would be recognized. So mom and I hid behind and tree and then decided it was safe to come out when the kids were welcomed into the house.

Eye opening

Earlier this week, our boss suggested we leave early Wednesday and blow off some steam. The team headed out around 11, and played at Dave and Busters until the mid afternoon. The boss and one of the other team members headed home, so we headed to a bar a block away to continue our team building.

This is where the conversation gets interesting. One of the guys is married to a girl from Belarus, another is dating someone from Venezuela, the third guy is married to an American but has traveled extensively around the world, and there is me, the American girl. The topic of American women and basically how awful they are always comes up. I always try to defend my tribe. First off, I hate stereotypes. Second, I am one. I finally pry out an explanation- women from other countries 'take care of their man and understand women's roles'. Wow. Then I find out that they are offended why I pay, even if everyone else takes turns paying.
They feel threatened that women want the same things that men want and feel that this competition is bad.

I thought that I lived in a totally different world than I obviously do. I know that I live in a conservative state and work in a conservative industry with a bunch of engineers, but I had no idea that I would never be considered an equal by my coworkers. Several of these guys are my generation, one is about 10 years older. Fortunately, I am married to a man who loves me, respects me, and truly thinks of me as his equal and partner. I had no idea how rare he is!