WDYB

As I've mentioned in the past, Jman is involved in scouting. A few weekends ago he had his Webelos Do Your Best competition/camping outing. This outing gives the different scouts from across our district a chance to shine, to show off their camping skills, and a few other things as well. They are judged on their campsite (safety aspects, neatness, creativity in set-up, etc), their den flags, and on their den yell. It is like the Superbowl of cub scouts.
Jman had been looking forward to going with his dad for this fun-filled weekend. Hubby had even scheduled off for the Friday they were to leave so that they could get an early start...only Hubby decided to stop in at work to tie up some loose ends..then the phone rang as he was walking out the door. I think everyone can guess where this is leading....Hubby ended up getting called into work that night, which left Jman without his camping buddy and me to break the news to him.
So, Jman came home from school, tossed his backpack on a chair, looked around and asked "Where's Dad?"
When I explained to him that his dad was not going to be able to take him camping that night, J's face dropped. The disappointment was written across his face. I tried to brighten it up for him a bit, explaining that dad would be able to come to the campsite tomorrow and that I would be able to take him instead. This did not brighten his mood much, although when I mentioned that I was ready to go as soon as he changed out of his school clothes he did perk up a bit. After all, if he had to wait for his dad, it would have been hours before they could go.
So off we went. When we arrived at the campsite, I told Jman that he was going to be completely responsible for our tent, since I had never set it up before. It was quite comical watching him, and 2 of his buddies try to set up the tent. None of them were quite tall enough to attach the poles and clips together at the top, they didn't realize that the poles and clips were color coded, and J spent the first 15 minutes using the directions for the rain cover as the directions for the set-up of the tent. With a little help from me, they were finally able to get it up.
Then it was time to get the water. Jman volunteered to be quartermaster for the camp, which meant he had to lug the water from one of the 2 spigots in camp...all which were at least 1000m away! Poor soul, he had to get enough water for cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, and for the fire patrol. Normally there would be at least another scout to help, but he was coming the next morning, leaving J in the lurch. So, I stepped up to help my boy, after all, they are not allowed to leave the immediate campsite without a buddy and this buddy had strong muscles good for carrying buckets of water!
By the time camp was set up, dinner was served, clean-up was done, and schedules were distributed for the next day, it 10pm and time for bed. Jman and I headed to the tent. We both were amazed at how clear the sky was and how many stars we could see - we could even see mars. As we were pointing out the constellations in the sky, we saw a shooting star go by, a first for both of us. It was a nice ending to our day.

Sadness

Forgive me for not posting...I have plenty to say, but am currently surrounded by sea of sadness. Within this past 2 week, I've had quite a bit of negative news around me. Two folks I know died from complications of cancer - a caring mother of teenagers and an 12 year old brilliant little girl. I also found out that one of the kindest women who works at the college with me is having to take a leave of absence to treat breast cancer while my cubicle sharing co-worker (and friend) received a phone call this morning with the news that her father has stomach cancer. What made it tougher was that she turned to me for answers (due to my medical background and my knowledge of cancer from personal experiences), and the information she had to share with me was not positive. How do you tell your friend that her father sounds like he is terminal? Obviously, I didn't, but my face probably gave something away. She even said to my boss, "the first thing through my mind when my mother told me was to ask Dawn so I would know what was going on..what to expect".
So forgive me. I do have some wonderful scouting camping stories to share, but right now, I just can't.

dinner guest

My neighbor and I often call each other if one can not meet our children at the bus stop, with the other one bringing the children to her house. Recently, my neighbor's 7 year old came over because his mom was at the hospital with one of the other children. He was going to stay through dinner, which is not usual. So when I spoke with his mom, I asked if she thought he would eat the plain chicken cutlets (which I was making with him in mind), couscous, and edamame. She assured me that he was a good eater and would definitely eat it all.
So, we sat down for dinner, Jman, neighbor boy, and myself. As we eat, neighbor boy starts complaining that the chicken doesn't taste good, that his chicken is "wet", that it is going to make him throw-up. He keeps saying that, while my son insists that neighbor boy is crazy, that this meal "is actually good, unlike some of mom's food". I start to worry that maybe he got a piece that was not cooked completely, so I check it out. Nope, cooked perfectly, moist and tender. Then I realize what the problem is -neighbor boy often eats processed chicken nuggets as he meal. He doesn't know what non-processed food tastes like!
Well, we finish dinner, the boys go to play, then bam!....he throws up. Come to find out, his brother was sick the week before with the very same thing. It wasn't my food, it was a virus!

Taxes

Would someone please finish my taxes for me? I have them sitting on my table, 90% of the way completed, yet I can not motivate myself to finish them. The deadline is fast approaching and they need to be done since, for the first time ever, we owe taxes this year. That's probably why I am reluctant to complete them. If I had money coming back to me, they would have been done as soon as my tax documents where in my hands. As it is now, I am procrastinating on paying back my "interest free loan" from the government....hehe

Thank you's

It's getting to the time of year when I like to send a little note of thanks to the teachers who have made a difference in J's school year. Usually they are pretty worn out by now and I figure they can use the boost.
J hates school, but when pressed, he'll admit that a few of his teachers are too bad. His current favorite is his art teacher. When I asked why, he said it was because Mr. Art "always encourages me, he's nice". J comes home excited about whatever art project he is working on - this is from the boy who says he is not artistic at all- and goes into detail describing it to me. Any time a teacher can make school seem positive for J is someone who deserves some recognition.

Dentist

I took J to the dentist for his semi-annual teeth cleaning. As the hygienist was cleaning his teeth, she mentioned that he had to work harder at it since he had some plaque build-up, etc. She started suggesting that I should be cleaning his teeth (I disagree - he is 9 1/2 y.o., old enough to do his own dental cleaning). She asked both of us how often he brushes his teeth; my reply was morning and night and his was morning and night as well, "except, I haven't really been brushing them lately, not in the morning at least". My jaw dropped and an expression of disbelief crossed my face. I heard the dental hygienist in the next cubicle over start to laugh as ours said, "at least he is honest about his brushing, unlike some adults who come in here". She asked him if he had the materials to floss his teeth, which he answered yes, then thought better than to ask him if he actually flossed. She could see the answer in his teeth and did not think I should hear spoken what the answer was, since we all knew what it would be.

dusty

--looks around blog, notices thick layer of dust covering all the letters..gets out dust cloth and starts wiping away the grime--

I am coming back, I promise

Quote of the Day

Why should we worry about what others think of us; do we have more confidence in their opinions than we do in our own?

- Brigham Young

Quote of the Day

Each time someone stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.

- Robert F. Kennedy

Food Network

I have a new addiction...it's food network. We've only had cable a few months now, and I find myself drawn to the food network, especially Everyday Italian with Giada. I think it is because the recipes are ones I love, ones I have tasted before but didn't necessarily know how to make. My husband laughs at me and asks me who this"Giada" is that is keeping me away from him. I tell him it is for his own good - my menus are being invigorated, with new recipes and ideas. Even my son, Mr. Picky himself thinks the recipes all sound delicious.
My other favorite on that network is Iron Chef. Again, it gives new ideas to common ingredients.

Maybe the world won't be so bad...

The other day, Jman and I were watching the news, when a promo flashed up about an upcoming story, a story covering why grand jury panels in Houston are predominately white.

Jman (remember, he is 9 1/2 years old) turned to me and asked "What do they mean when they say white?" My son has not been exposed to color bias?!? You mean, he might actually grow up in a society that judges people on their ability and not their skin color? I was overjoyed that he did not understand why/what the color of a person's skin had to do with jury selection.
Then I thought about it...when I ask him to describe his friends or classmates, the color of their skin never comes into the description. Hair color, yes; skin color, no. This could be due to the fact that he has every shade of brown in his class, plus yellows and whites. How could you classify any of them into groups? What shade would differentiate one person from another when grouping? I wish many adults thought the way he does.

Vacation thoughts

The weather outside is beautiful - 75 degrees and sunny. It has my mind wandering to summer vacation and where we should go. Last year we went to Disney World and had a blast. This year, we are up for anything - backwoods to seascapes, posh to perilous. The only requirement is that it is in the U.S. (have to support the economy - especially since we'll be using the check we receive from the "economic stimulus"bill that just passed the Senate and House).

Now I just need idea - anyone have a few to spare?

Job search

So, like Kil, I may lose my job in the near future (April to be more exact) - the college I work with may choose not to renew the contract my company has with them. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, since one of my colleagues is driving me bonkers and it is a escape mechanism for me to dream of a future of which he is not a part.
But what would I do? My life has taken so many twists and turns that I have experienced many different job paths. I am not living up to my potential, but do not know how to get there (I believe my potential includes winning a Nobel Prize. I have a lot of work ahead of me).

Winter doldrums

Raise you hand if you are ready for winter to be over....

I've hit the mid-winter blahs; since I'm not allowed to stay in bed all day, I need something to keep me going until spring. Any suggestions?

Love your body

We recently got cable, and I have been exploring the many channels now available for my enjoyment. Once show that caught my eye was "How to Look Good Naked" with Carson Kressley.
I thought it was going to be a show on how to "fix" problem spots and how to apply makeup, etc. It isn't - it is a show to "fix" how real women view themselves. I've watched two episodes, and it is amazing how skewed the women's views of their bodies are. Carson teaches them how to respect who they are, how to play up their attributes, how to love themselves. The fact that he is able to convince them to pose naked at the end of the show can give you an inclination as to how far they have come in accepting their bodies.

Holiday Travels

We made it back, safe and sound, from the visit to my sister's house. It was a nice trip, without too much excitement. My nephew does have a knack of injuring himself - every morning he would have a new scrape, bruise, cut, etc. which would seem to mysteriously appear. Of course, he is a bit of a monkey, and the flying leaps off the back of the couch could be one explanation for a bruise or two.
While visiting, we traveled to the Mexico border. If you were to form an impression from that border town alone, you would say that Mexico is a country of pharmacies, liquor stores, and trinket shops. While there, we had children coming up to us to see if we wanted our shoes shined. One child first offered a shoeshine for $10, then $20 (going up in price after I said no), then $1. My sister was talking to one of the boy, he was but one year older than my son and was working to help support his family. I tried to use this as a life lesson for my son....he did not listen too well.
Our only excitement was as we crossed back into the US. As of right now, you do not need a passport to get into the states. I had my license for me and the "child find" ID card for Josh (definitely not a legal ID). The border guard asks me where I was born, which really made no sense since it is not listed on my license, and then asked Jman his name. Jman was not paying attention, so I nudged him to answer the woman, which he did. She then asked "who is this woman?". Jman looked at me, then turned to the border patrol and said "I don't know". ARGHHH!!! At that point border patrol looked back at him and said, "if you don't know, then you will be staying in Mexico". He quickly answered her after that. I was ready to choke him - he just did not understand the seriousness of the border. Needless to say, we had quite a discussion after that about when it is OK to joke around and when you need to be serious.

Essay

As you are well aware of from past posts, Jman hates writing and normally does not finish his assignments on time. This assignment he did finish on time at school (a miracle in itself), and his teacher thought I should read a copy of it (it was a benchmark test essay, so the original could not come home). I've copied it verbatim, spelling errors and all. I believe the topic was "Where is your favorite place to go?"

J's response:

"My favorite place to go is home esspecaly after a long day at school or a bad camping trip. The reason is, you always know that somebody or something is waiting for you at home. If you're out in the cold for awhile it is always relaxing to warm up by the fire. It's just great knowing there is a room made just for you to rest in. But after any long dreary day there is no place better than home."

It warms the cockles of my heart.

Cold morning, warm hands

When we bought our car, the salesman couldn't help but push every extra feature that our car had, one of the being heated seats. We poo-pa'd him about it, saying we live in Texas it is always warm

Today it is 39 (cold by our standards) and my butt is nice and toasty. My hands too since the steering wheels heats up as well.

Vacation

Woohoo - I get to go visit my sister after Christmas! We finally both have vacation time at the same time. I can't wait to see her and my nephew. Jman is excited too - he's been mentioning for several weeks how we need to go see the little guy.
It is a relatively short visit - 4 days- but that should be enough time for us to catch up but not get on each others nerves. Plus, I'll be able to show hubby and Jman some of the prime tourist spots while we are there.

Lovely Locks

In the last few months, Jman decided to grow his hair long (much to the chagrin of his father). In the past he has had a "high and tight" military style haircut, which was easy to care for, no work at all. With the longer hair we've had to be on his case, reminding him that he actually has to brush his hair now that it is longer than an inch.
When I woke him this morning, I casually tousled his hair and noticed that it felt very oily. So I asked him if he was shampooing his hair or if he was using bar soap to clean it (he's done this in the past). He assured me that he was using the shampoo in his shower. My next question, "are you getting a good lather?", since he sometimes rushes his hair washing. His answer was no. OK. I told him to get out of bed and I would show him how to get a good lather. As we are soaking his head, he mentions that he did not realize he has to WET his hair first. What?!?!? He's been showering with no help for 5 years, has he never washed his hair in this time?
After his shower tonight, I checked his hair again - still not clean. What the heck is going on? Why is his shampoo not lathering? I inspect the bottle (who's label has come off) and notice that it is conditioner. When he last ran out of shampoo, whenever that may have been, he grabbed a bottle of conditioner from my vanity. Luckily, after careful questioning, we determined that it was not that long ago when he did this. We got a new bottle of shampoo out - his hair is squeaky clean now.