Overwhelmed

   I decided to take a break after my current class because I have been overwhelmed with the school load on top of family life and work.  Sometimes we just need a break to take a breathe in life.  I know that is what I am in need of.

   Taking a breather will allow my brain to rest (lol) and let me get a head-start on the first few chapters of my next class before being swamped with those and homework the first week of class.  I am hoping that this will help me from being overwhelmed with it all and maybe it will be a litlle easier to keep up.

   I am hoping to get a schedule in place, like I used when I first started classes.  Having a schedule really helped me accomplish everything I need to in the week; and it prevented me from feeling overwhelmed everyday because everything seemed to get done when it was supposed to.

  So, my goal is to start working on a schedule that will allow me to get everything done on time without getting stressed out and feeling overwhelmed!!

  Wish me luck... lol

Trying to stay happy on my dad's birthday

I spent the day with my mom today, remembering my dad on his birthday!  He died 5 years ago and it is still so very hard for her.  Personally, I try to remember the good times and knowing he is in no more pain; however, she just wishes he was here (as do I).  I wish she could smile on his birthdays and not be so sad.. but I do not know what to do to change that for her!  

I could not imagine loosing my husband after so many years together; and now she is alone and confined to the house due to her health.  I know she sits and dwells on the loss and negative things in life; and I wish more than anything that she had a companion to enjoy her life with or a hobby that could make her smile the way she used to.  I know I hate how she handles it, but I wonder would I be the same if I were in her shoes.

It is hard to spend the day trying to keep yourself from being sad and just remembering the good times on this day (his birthday) with her being so down.  It is especially hard on Valentine's day when you want to be happy and think of love, or even the kids wanting to share their Valentine's with her; because she doesn't think of it as the holiday it is anymore (I don't either as much anymore); because they buried him that day!!   

Don't get me wrong... I understand completely why she feels like she does, I only wish I could help in some way!  It's hard seeing someone you love in such a depressed state; and that doesn't allow me to be happy in the memories instead of dwelling on the lose!

My hopes are that she will one day be able to remember the happy times and the life the share without the sadness overwhelming her thoughts!  

Define a Champion?

  When we think of what a Champion is, we often look at the competitors in sports; like all the gold, bronze, and silver winners in the on-going Olympics!

  If you would have asked me yesterday how I would define a champion, I would have answered pretty much the same as the first sentence in this blog...   However, I have been looking at that a bit different today because of a quote I read earlier!

  I had to go pick up some supplies for my mom this afternoon and on the white board in the hall, there was a quote that said... "A Champion is Someone Who Never Gives Up on their Dreams!" (unknown author)

  I love short, powerful quotes that make you think about life differently!!
               
Quotes that ....

• Inspire us to be a better person
• Encourage us to chase our dreams
• or that simply make us remember a special moment/person and SMILE!

What are the quotes that you love?  Share them and help brighten someone else's day!! :)

A Child's Dream

Every Sunday morning, there is a small newspaper in my driveway and normally I just chunk it in the trash. I do this because it always seems to be a bunch of crime and stuff I'd rather start my day off with. That and I do enough reading for school (lol).

However, about two weeks ago I decided to take a look. This is a small community paper, so it listed special events and other things going on. I found it interesting, so I read it again this week; and the listing was still there!

The first week I had read a listing for volunteers to help with the Make a Wish Foundation. The volunteer would be responsible for meeting with the families to determine the wish, explaining the process, and helping make the wish as creative as possible if the family is chosen!

"WoW... that would be an awarding, heart-filled, but hard job!: I said to my husband. I only wished I had the time to dedicate to something so remarkable.. but wondered if I could handle working with children whom I know are about to die.

So, this week it was in the paper once again; and I thought about this job every since. Making a dying child's dream come true; a few hours to forget about their worries and be a kid, and just have fun! How remarkable would that be!

At the moment I don't have the time required to meet and plan a day that a child will treasure, but I hope in the future I get a chance to!

**If anyone reading this does have the time and heart to volunteer, contact your local Make a Wish Foundation help make dreams come true!!

Assuming you can do it is not always a good idea!

I have always loved to draw; and if I took the time figuring out how to accomplish a task related to drawing, I could usually pull it off somewhat okay! However, as I have been told before... "Assuming you can do it is not always a good idea! (lol)

A few weeks ago I was asked to Paint Faces for a community function for a small town. My first response was that I was unable to do this because I have never painted faces, except on Halloween. Then, I was asked if I could draw? I told the man in charge that I could draw(after, my husband and BFF had expressed that I was modest and could draw well), but I had never tried any face painting before. His response was that I should be fine if I could draw and that the kids really wouldn't care as long as I could do simple things like hearts, balls, balloons, and so on.... So, I agreed!

I knew how hard it is for me to paint with a brush vs. a pencil, pen, or marker; therefore, I searched for face painting pens, pencils, or something that I could use to avoid using a brush. I found a listed that the local Walmart carried these products and decided that was what I would purchase to fulfill my face painting duties.... Should have thought on it a little longer (lol). I decided to stop at a local hobby shop first because I was in a hurry and figured they may have a larger selection to choose from; and they did. I grabbed a few sets of what actually was more like a paint crayon and a pack of face paint that came with a brush.

The night before I had planned to practice on my girls to get a idea of how I would like it, but ended up practicing on my husband (who was a good sport)because my girls decided to spend the night with grandma. However, I quickly figured out that I had assumed I could draw on faces as good as I could on paper. Boy was I wrong!

I started to freak a little and almost cancelled, but I knew they were counting on me to add fun to the day. However, I wondered if I was going to have tons of kids looking crazy in the process (LOL). My husband assured me that it really won't that bad after the 4th or 5th picture, so I prayed that it would work out good.

When I got to the event, I was very nervous and did not have any idea what was in store for me; but I figured it wouldn't be as hard as I was making myself believe it would be.

I got set up, slowly (lol), hoping that my girls would hurry and be my first victims, but they were running late. Once I had everything unpacked.. and before I could even take a deep breath, a little boy asked if I was painting faces! I told him yes and asked what he wanted... and he said, "I want a TIGER!" I though oh my.. what have I gotten myself into (lol). However, I explained that I wasn't quite ready to do a tiger yet, but I told him a few things I could. He decided on a batman symbol and was on his way... and not a bad one after all, if I have to say so myself.

However, about 2 seconds later I had a line of kids and I was silently freaking out (lol)! I have never been someone who likes someone watching them draw or good at being rushed. These are not things I took into account when I was asked either.

Being rushed, kids bumping you when you are working, sweaty faces that don't work well with the paint, and paint crayons that start to melt when they are hot.. all of these things don't go with painting faces; and I learned that this weekend! I also learned that painting is not my thing by far; and not something I want to do again.

It was Fun.. and the kids didn't look crazy. I mean, there were a few that I would have liked to do again, but with them rubbing and sweating it didn't take long to mess up a perfect one. Overall, I did okay for the first attempt (so I was told, but beg to differ somewhat), but I should have taken more things into account before just assuming!

So, take it from me; Assuming you can do it is not always a good idea! I wish I would have researched the products that would be best for the environment and practiced with a variety or products before actually choosing (lol)!

A Long Night

Last night started of great; and turned into a disaster somewhat! I started cooking dinner (spaghetti)a little later than normal (about 7) because we were having a thunderstorm. However, only a minute or two into it, when the hamburger has just started to cook good, the power goes out! Grr. After about 5 minutes my husband decides to call a friend who lives right up the street and at our surprise they still have electricity. So, we walked outside to notice that the whole neighborhood still has their except us and our next-door neighbor. What in the world? She said she had contacted the power company and that they were on the way.. well, I hoped they would hurry where I didn't have to throw my food out, but that didn't happen (lol)! Turns out that the transformer went out and they had to leave and return later to fix it. Therefore, we dicided just to run into town and grab a burger from Hardeez. Finally, about 10:30 the power was restored, Thank God! I was so happy that they got it on when they did because I was about to have to go somewhere with internet to do my school; because of all nights I had a 3 page paper due, that I had not started! But, everything got finished thankfully, but loosing power sure makes you appreciate it so much more when it is restored. I can deal with a few hours, but when it is a few days (which happened about 2 weekends ago) it starts to get rough (lol).

The Same Name

When we buy a car, often we can't think of no one else we know that drives one that looks like this one... then when we buy it, we see them everywhere (so it seems).

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, my husband and I discussed names and we wanted one that was different. After months we chose her name and tried to spell it differently too. However, her first year of kindergarten.. we realized it wasn't too rare. (lol) There were 2 kids in her class and another 20 at least in the same grade. One little girl even had the same middle name; however, none of them are spelled the same, because we spelled her's Alexus, non that I seen anyways.

I have gone the majority of my life not knowing, but one person who spelled their name (Ginny) the same as mine... most people have an 'e' oe use a 'j'; and never having the same middle name with it (lol). However, today I was in the Community reading my friends blogs and forum posts and there it was.. the first time ever... someone else with the same first and middle name; and spelled the same as well; Ginny Marie! Wow, that is so weird! I tried to send her a message just to tell her how odd this was for me and see if she had experienced the same feeling, but I was unable to make contact. However, during the process I enjoyed reading her blog (check it out, http://www.lemondroppie.com/) Anyways, How many people do you know with the same name as you? I guess that now I can say I have seen one.