Close Call, Couth, and Karoke

I spent Monday at a child care center and saw some very unsettling practices taking place. It's upsetting to think that I've been working with this center for several months and they aren't making much progress. Child care in Missouri is so pathetic. Children are pretty much at the bottom of the list in this state. Our legislators have some pretty twisted priorities, but from what I've seen, this is pretty typical of children's issues in our country. I think that hoping to someday see a change in how we treat our children in this country is what keeps me and my coworkers plugging away at our jobs. We're certainly not there for the pay. I'll step off the soapbox for now!

Monday afternoon I had a very scary moment. I was on my way to an appointment at a home I had never visited before near Marble Hill. I reached forward to set my trip odomoter and when I looked back at the road, I was about a foot away from a traffic sign warning of a drop off on the side of the raised road. I overcorrected, went across the center line and nearly off the other side of the road, overcorrected again and went back across the center line and nearly off the side of the road, overcorrected once more and crossed the center line for the third time, then hit a gravel driveway, spun 3 times and came to rest facing the direction I had just some from. I was about a foot from smashing into a huge brick pillar at the entrance of a park. By the grace of God, no other cars were in sight when this happened, which is truly a miracle, given that school had just dismissed right down the road. A man stared at me from across the street, but never approached my car. No one else saw it happen. I still made it to the appoinment on time. I'm still not sure what I was supposed to learn from this, but I was feeling pretty close to God as I watched the brick pillars spin in front of me.

I had a hard time getting through the child's assessment. I kept getting distracted by this huge, hot pink, wooden sign on the family's entertainment center that said "I Love Sex!" I couldn't bring myself to ask her where she got that fine piece of home decor. There are 4 kids in the house, two of whom sleep in their parents' bedroom. Personally, that would really deter my bedroom activity, but to each his own. Just when I think I've seen it all.



Not much else is going on for us until the weekend. We bought the game, Apples to Apples, on Sunday, so we plan to invite my sister and her fiance over Friday or Saturday to play. They are game nuts, especially my soon-to-be brother-in-law. On Sunday, we're having a Karoke party at my parents' house. Mom needed to see how much baked ziti she needed for the wedding reception, so we're having a "ziti run through" on Sunday. The groom is a huge fan of my mom's ziti and asked for a pan of it to be served at the reception. It doesn't exactly go with the rest of the menu, but I guess they can do whatever they want at their wedding. My family and lots of friends are coming over to eat ziti and sing some karoke. I haven't decided what tunes I want to sing yet. Any requests!?!:)


Tomorrow I visit a Perryville center in the morning and see a little guy for developmental therapy in the afternoon. I am looking forward to getting my house clean and working on Carson's birthday invites tomorrow while Greg is at band practice. Hopefully things will go as planned. Thanks for checking in!

Pirates and Showers

The grand plan for today got shot to hell quicker than the downpour we had all afternoon. After church we went to Red Lobster for lunch with my mom. Lunch was good and Carson pretty much behaved, which is unusual these days. I think he was too busy peeling all the breading from his popcorn shrimp to get in trouble. He's weird.


We went to Barnes and Noble to pick up a birthday gift for the brother of one of the kids I see for therapy. I'm still debating whether to go to his party or not, but wanted to give a present either way. It's not that I don't want to go, but there is a fine line between being a professional and being a friend when you visit a family in their home each week. I really like this family, but I'm afraid things may seem a bit too "familiar" if I go to a family birthday party. I went to my other client's party, but we know their entire extended family, so that's a little different. I'm rambling.


By this point, Greg and Carson had reached the "we'll just sit in the car and wait" stage of shopping. I tackled Dollar Tree and Factory Card Outlet on my own for the rest of the things I needed for Carson's pirate birthday party. I still need material to make bandana's for the kids. It seems like I keep thinking of "one more thing" that will make the party really great. I should really be stopped. Carson's parties have gotten a little over the top, but oh well. I only have one kid.

We headed home, where the grand plan was for me to make all of the birthday invitations, print Juli's bridal shower invitations, and wrap 2 birthday gifts. It started pouring as soon as I decided to rest on the couch for a few minutes. I woke up at 5:00. So much for today! I'm off to read a bedtime story and watch a little Discovery Channel with Greg.

Time Off

So I had these big plans to get a lot done today. I always think I can get a ton more stuff done than I actually do. We started the day with Carson's physical therapy in Cape until 10:30. He and I then went to Target to look at my sister's registry list and grab some lunch before he went to preschool. Somehow, we ended up getting out of the store with a package of Cars underwear lodged under his butt in the seat of the cart. Normally, I would have gone back in to pay for it, but seeing as I had just been charged $7 for a bag of Hershey's kisses that were advertised for $3.50, I decided that Target and I were even and threw them in the car. I never thought the day would come when I would willingly shoplift size 3T undies from Target. I am so jaded. The fact that we had 10 minutes to get to school on time had a lot to do with it too. We were still late.

After dropping him off, I got to browse leisurely at the scrapboook store for about an hour. I hadn't been there in almost 2 months and it was like a whole new store with all the CHA stuff coming in. I picked up a few things to make favors for Juli's rehearsal dinner and some paper and embellishments to finish up the New Orleans pictures from our cruise album. I've been stuck on these pics for quite a while and I really want to be finished with the album. Hopefully I'll get to scrap tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon.

Tomorrow I'm headed to St Louis to teach my child development class all day. We're going on a field trip to several places in South County, St Louis so it should be fun. I'm ready for it to be finished. Only 5 more weeks of driving to Festus every Tuesday night. I am not signing up for this again.

After class I'm looking forward to doing a little shopping by myself. We have several birthdays coming up and I need a few more things for Juli's shower. I really enjoy shopping by myself, especially in St Louis. I like shopping with others too, but it's nice to take my time and go where I want without worrying about anyone else.

I'm off to spend some time with Greg. He put Carson to bed a few minutes ago and I feel like we haven't really spent time together this week. It seems like one of us has something to do every night. Have a great weekend!

Technology, Teaching, and Travel

Long day today. I got to work at 7:30 and already felt tired. It seemed to take forever just to get to the office. I'm still not used to the school traffic. I have to remember to leave earlier from now on.

Late in the morning we lost all internet connections at work. It turns out that a large portion of eastern Missouri lost internet connections for several hours due to a line being breached somewhere. It was still not on when I left at 3:00. Strangely enough, Greg said our home connection was fine when he came home for lunch. Weird. I ended up getting almost all of my reports caught up at the office since I couldn't do anything on the internet. It was a blessing in disguise because I feel so much better about being almost completely caught up at work.

At 3:00, I drove 90 miles from Cape to teach my class at Jefferson Memorial hospital. I ended up staying an extra hour to help some students with a room layout for their childcare center. I am pooped! I finally got home around 10. I'm off to talk with Greg for awhile before I crash for the night. Nothing exciting on the agenda for tomorrow, but you never know what might come up!

Return of the Queen

I'm back. I never really left. I haven't blogged since I turned 30, but not for lack of blogging material. I have been so incredibly busy since turning 30 that I literally have been asleep when my head hits the pillow for the past few months. That leaves little time for blogging, but I promise to be better from now on. (ok...I promise to try to be better!)

The past few months have flown by. I still have my 4 jobs. I still play Bunco. I still scrapbook. I no longer go to Weight Watchers, but am eating much more healthfully and losing some weight. I still suck at getting my exercise in.

Carson took swimming lessons this summer and did great! He loves going under the water. He also started having physical therapy in the pool and loves it. He's now seeing an occupational therapist at Healthpoint in addition to the OT he sees at school in order to help him cope with his limited depth perception. The therapy is going well.

Carson started attending school all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays last week. He just goes in the afternoon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He is very tired after a full day at school, but he loves it. When I told him to get ready on Thursday morning, he was standing with his huge backpack on, waiting for me. He smiled this gigantic grin and said, "I am so big!" He is one pretty amazing 4-year-old.

Two weeks ago we took a family vacation to St. Louis for a few days. We went to the Magic House, Grant's Farm, The Anheuser Busch Brewery, Eckert's, Purina Farms, St. Louis Mills, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Chuck E. Cheese, the transportation museum, and Union Station. Here are a few pics. The rest of our summer pics can be viewed at www.carsonfranklin.net. Click on "photos". For some reason I can't link from my blog. We had a great time until we got a flat tire on the way home. Carson's favorite part of the trip was helping load our car onto the tow truck to get towed to the tire store. That was not my favorite part.







The first photo is Carson with Bailey, my friend, Christy's daughter an the birthday girl, at Chuck E. Cheese. The second is Carson having a blast taking an order at the Italian restaurant inside the children's village at The Magic House.


In July, I met 18 of my closest online friends for a private scrapbooking convention in Salt Lake City. I had a blast and had so much fun meeting all of these girls that I get to talk to online everyday. I also came home with a ton of free scrapping stuff!!!! You can see more pictures on Carson's website. Click on photos and browse the QFK album.


In June, we went to Pensacola, FL for Greg's cousin, Christy's, wedding. We hit the beach and learned several lessons about traveling with extended family members. As in, we probably won't again. These pictures are also on Carson's site.

For now, I'm glad to be back in a routine and looking forward to being in my sister's wedding in November. We bought Carson's tux while we were in St. Louis and I have my choice of three different dresses hanging in the closet. I keep finding very reasonable, very pretty black formals, so I have 3 sizes to choose from. Hopefully, I'll fit in to the one I like the best.

I'm also studying to take the GRE test. I am going to apply for a doctoral program through the University of Missouri that would start next summer. I won't be crushed if I don't get in, but I think I would like to be a full professor some day. We'll see! Thanks for checking back in with me! Let me know you stopped by!

On Turning 30

I turned thirty at a little after 1:00 this afternoon. This has been the longest birthday celebration I can remember. So many people did so many wonderful things in my honor and I feel truly blessed. Here's a rundown of my week long birthday lineup:

Last Thursday: A friend gave me 2 tickets to see Bombay Dreams at The Fox Theater. The theater is gorgeous and the show was unusual, but very interesting. Greg and I enjoyed the chance to get away for the evening.

Saturday: My mom, sister, and I traveled to Kimmswick, MO for lunch at The Blue Owl. The food is heavenly. We then spent the afternoon shopping in St Louis, where I was allowed to choose my own birthday gifts and made out like a bandit. At exactly 3:30 pm, my mom suddenly gets very antsy to get on the road. I was under the impression we had to get back for a benefit concert at our church. Little did I know that more than 50 people were waiting to surprise me at our church with a fabulous birthday party. Greg did so well and put so much effort into organizing the party. He had 3 different singers/bands play music for me, had a meal and 2 beautiful cakes, collected an offering for our church nursery, (which I manage), had flowers for me, and really great door prizes for my guests. At the end of the party, he showed a video slide show of my life from birth to now, that he put together on his own, complete with a perfect soundtrack. I was so proud of him, given that he was able to keep this a total secret since last Fall and that he was brave enough to talk on a mic on stage, which he hates to do. He's a keeper!

Sunday we celebrated Easter with family and went to dinner at our brand new Olive Garden.

Today, my coworkers decorated my cubicle, showered me with presents, took me to lunch, and bought me a yummy ice cream "log" from DQ. My internet buddies left me lots of happy birthday wishes online and Carson made me a birthday card all by himself. My friend, Becky, snuck into my house and left a beautiful geranium and a delicious birthday cake while I was at work. My inlaws took us to dinner at Shogun, a hibachi restaurant, and gave me a great present. My little brother called to wish me a happy birthday and I even received a birthday email from one of my college students, (she may get bonus points!) Greg waited until the very last minute to get my gift and ended up running into me at my local scrapbook store after work, where I was shopping and he was rushing in to get me a gift certificate. Too funny!




I must admit that this birthday has been hanging over me like a grey cloud. Not a black cloud, because I don't feel older, but just a little reminder that the years are passing very quickly and I still have a lot I want to accomplish. It's now 11:45 and I've survived the first day of my third decade. My only wish is that my next 30 years are filled with as many blessings as my first 30. Happy Birthday to me.

A weight lifted

I had just finished typing an incredibly long explanation of my childhood friend's wedding that took place yesterday, but since I am trying to be a better person and Christian, I am leaving it at this:

My dress was very pink, the temperature was very cold, there was lots of wind, the bride drew lots of obvious attention to herself and I'm glad it's all over. I rewarded myself with 8 beers at the reception. I rarely drink, especially in excess, but the past year of waiting for this wedding and being made to stand outside for 3 hours in 50 degree weather with a sinus infection and wearing a sleeveless gown, warranted a little public drunkeness.

And with that, I stayed in bed until 10:30 this morning and am looking forward to starting a new week!

In Mourning

That's where I've been. In mourning. Mourning the loss of many things. Here's a list of things that I'm grieving over:

1. The loss of my money. My tax bill was so astronomical that I am not even going to let you take guesses as to how much money I owe the IRS. Put it this way, I'm looking into refinancing my house. Yes, it's that bad.

2. The loss of my birthday trip to Chicago. See loss number 1 for explanation.

3. The loss of my trip to the Florida beach in June. Refer again to loss #1.(I'm now riding with my in-laws to Pensacola, going to the beach for one day and driving back home as soon as the wedding is over.)

4. The loss of the dream of a trip to somewhere tropical and remote this December. I detest taxes right now.

5. The loss of my youth. I will be 30 in 16 days. I had planned to be much thinner, wealthier, and have another child by this point in my life. I'm chubby, broke, and the parent of a single child. 31 better be a freakin' fantastic birthday to make up for this year.

I guess that's enough bitching for one post. I'm off to convince myself that 10:00 is a great bedtime and that rising at the crack of dawn to exercise is a fabulous idea. This could take a lot of convincing. 'Night.

A little Tuesday update

I'm home today enjoying my last day of peace for the week. Carson and Andrew, my nephew, are playing relatively quietly, which gives me a chance to print my hotel information and hopefuly catch up on my internet favorites while I catch up on the laundry and decide what to pack for my trip to Jefferson City tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a night at the hotel by myself to do some scrapping and enjoy some quiet.

Thursday is my quarterly state Inclusion Specialist's meeting, whcih means I'll probably not be home until 6 or 7 on Thursday. I somehow managed to totally screw myself out of reduced Spring Break hours this week by scheduling late meetings and a Saturday training this week. Figures.

I plan on stopping by Marshall's and the big Barnes and Noble in Jeff City tomorrow night to shop for baby and wedding gifts. We've gone a few years without wedding or baby showers and suddenly I have three wedding and two baby showers to attend within the next month. I'm thrilled to get to shop for some pink frilly things since both cousins are expecting girls. I always try to get a book for each new baby too, so Barnes and Noble couldn't be more convenietly located right next to Marshalls.

Friday will be half day at work and then an appointment to eval a child in St Gen that afternoon. This may warrant a side trip to the St Gen scrapbook store!

Saturday I will be conducting a 6 hour training on how to include kids with special needs in regular child care programs. It's a ton of work, especially considering that only 3 people have signed up so far!!! It's harder to work with such a small group since they easily tire of answering every question. We'll see how it goes.

Sunday I am hoping to chill out and do nothing. I think it will be well deserved. Have a great week!

Because this blog has been very neglected...

53 more things you need to know about me...lol

stolen from Dawn

1. How tall are you? 5 ft 8 inches

2. Do you own a gun? nope

3. Rehab? not so far!

4. Have you ever killed an animal? unintentionally while driving. I hit a huge dog on the way to my first day at my interniship. It was not a good morning.

5. Are you Irish? no, English and German

6. What do you think of hotdogs? all beef ones are nice, I'll pass on the multiple animla variety

7. What's your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night

8. What are your favorite sound(s)? ocean waves, Carson's sweet little voice

9. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? a 44oz water with lots of ice

10. Do you do push-ups? not yet, but it's only my first week at Body Pump class

11. Have you ever done ecstasy? no

12. Have you been shot? honestly, how many people who are of the mindset to fill out these silly things are going to have been hanging out where they will get shot?!?!

13. Have you ever been hospitalized? just to give birth and due to pregnancy complications

14. Do you like painkillers? if I'm in pain

15. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? I don't know. They just always seemed to show up and be interested.

16. Do you own a knife? the kitchen kind

17. Do you have A.D.D.? no, but some of my relatives and cowrkers seem to

18. Do you love the pain a tattoo brings? wouldn't know. I detest tattos.
19. Whats in your cd player? Jim Gill...The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes

20. What's under your bed? whatever Spanky has drug under there

21.Current Hair? cut and highlighted about a week ago...much shorter than I was planning, but still cute

22. What are you wearing? sweaty workout clothes..an old t-shirt, track pants and tennis shoes

23. Current Worry? how big my tax bill is going to be

24. Current Love? hmmm..Girl Scout cookies?

25. Current Hates? being behind at work

26. Favorite Place To Be. the Caribbean

27. Least Favorite Place To be? getting my taxes done

28. If You Could Play any Instrument? Piano or guitar so I could sing along!

29. Favorite Color(s)? I like lots of them

30. Person(s) From Your Past You Wish You Could see again? nobody...I'll see them soon enough

31. Where Would You Like To Go To College? I would like to teach at a college near the Caribbean Sea

32. Where Do you want to live? see above

33. favorite food? right now? Mexican..I'm thinking Tacos for dinner

34. Number of pillows you sleep with? 3

35. What do you wear when you go to sleep? a nightgown or sometimes PJ's

36. What were you doing 12AM last night? reading a magazine in bed until 1:00am

37. What do you think you'll be doing in 10 years? hmmmm..maybe have a PhD and another child

38. Are you paranoid? I think about what might happen alot, but I don't really worry about it

39. First piercing/tattoo? ears, that's it

40. last person you yelled at? probably Greg, but it's been a pretty yell-free week

41. Last thing you ate. a Rice Crispies treat

42. If you could be a pirate, would you? no. I hate violence

43. Do you have an iPod? no, but my birthday is April 20th if anyone wants to contribute

44. When and why and where did you last vomit? yesterday. Ate bad shrimp. End of story.

45. What's in your pockets right now? i don't have any

46. What color are your eyes? blue

47. Do you have any piercings? two in each ear, but I only wear one

48. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? hot pink

49. Have you ever won any awards? Lots of sales awards when I sold Papmered Chef and a scholarship to college

50. How many TV's do you have in your house? 2

51. Have you ever sprained/broken/fractured a bone? numerous sprained ankles, one broken toe that grew back very crooked
52. Who do you tell your dreams to? whoever will listen, I talk a lot!

53. If you could pick one person to make out with who would it be? Greg, unless I happen to meet Keith Urban tomorrow.

A brand new week

Thank goodness a new week is here. With my inlaws out of town last week, things went south in a handbasket very quickly. The week started ok, but by Wednesday afternoon I wasn't feeling too well and after Ash Wednesday service in the evening, I had the full blown flu. The whole "sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever" flu. It was worse on Thursday, which is the only day I didn't have a sitter lined up. Carson was very good given that he had to stay inside with me and be quiet all day. Friday was my class field trip to St. Louis Children's Hospital and the St Louis Teacher's Recyle Center. All went well, with every student showing up on time and behaving relativelty professionally (other than our office practicum student who had boyfriend drama and showed off her large low back tattoo every time she bent over. Nice.) I felt well enough to scrapbbok Friday night and threw a fabulous shower for my friend on Saturday. I was very diappointed that only 12 of the 30 people on the guest list showed up, but she still had a good time.

Yesterday was church and small group study in the morning. At 1:00, I made the monumental return trip to the gym that I have been postponing for the last 5 months!!!! I actually felt terrific after my workout, even though I was so congested I could barely breathe. My friend, Lisa, met me at the gym and she is now a huge motivation for me to get back on track. She looks great!

Today I'm working in Oran and then at the office this afternoon. I have a hair appointment tomorrow, a few scattered appointments the rest of the week and I leave to present at the Conference on the Young Years Friday. I'll return Saturday evening.
I'm off to start the day!

Destinations

My inlaws are here:









They set sail an hour ago on this:








I am here.






Life is so unfair.
:(

Reason number 9,427 to lose weight!

My little sister is getting married. This year. November 11. This was decided yesterday and I now have 264 days to become the slinkiest matron of honor this side of the mighty Mississippi. (or at the very least fit back into my black strapless formal from the cruise, which is most likely what I'm wearing). I have 47 days left to fit comfortably into the Pink Blush ensemble for my matron of honor duties for Mary Catherine's wedding. I bombed on the Atkins diet due to some strange gallbladderesque pain coupled with the horribly limited food choices I'd grown sick of. I'm resorting to my old standby, Weight Watchers and exercise, which has proven to work to the tune of a 70 pound loss in the past. Too bad it's so slow to lose weight the healthy way. I'll be starting my new "walk and kick" video in the morning. I hate the process involved in losing weight.


Carson has agreed to assume ringbearer duties and has promised me that he will agree to potty training before the big day. I explained that Pull-ups just don't compliment a tuxedo and that only big boys get to deliver the wedding rings. He's stoked for the time being.

Greg and I had a great weekend away, even though everywhere we went was super crowded. We saw the Harrison Ford movie, Firewall, which was predictable, but ok. We managed to get our of Harrah's casino with a loss of a mere $30, so all in all, we had a great time. I'm ready for another weekend away.

This week is only semi-busy with a meeting for me tomorrow night, church on Wednesday and class on Thursday. So far we have no weekend plans. Yippee! Our house is suffering and needs a good cleaning, so maybe it'll actually get done this weekend. I'm off to do Bible study and get some shut-eye so I can "walk and kick" in the morning! G'night!

A very lovely day!

I had a great Valentine's Day! Carson and I had a blast at his party, then came home for lunch and a nap for him. When he woke up we made chocolate playdough, which turned out smelling so yummy, and waited for Greg to get home so we could exchange gifts. Greg did not get me the candles that Carson led me to believe I was getting, but he got me something that was very creative and meant a lot. Our very first date was dinner at the Pasta House followed by the movir "The Rock." I was little confused when I opened my gift to find a Pasta House Menu and "The Rock" on DVD,then it clicked. What a sweet guy to think of something so sentimental. I was very impressed!

Today was work and Bible study, both of which were great. Tomorrow I have be at a child care center at 8:00 and I have a 2:00 meeting where I'll be presenting info about the services my office offers to community members. Should be a fun day. Tomorrow is night class, then only one more workday until we leave for St. Louis! I am so ready to go! Enjoy the rest of the week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'll be trading gifts with my big guy and the little guy this evening. Carson told me that he and Daddy got me candles and a card, so we'll see if he's telling the truth! I'd love to hear everyone's V-day plans and surprises, so send me a reply today!

Here are some ?'s borrowed from Dawn's blog. (www.daybreak1012.blogspot.com) Gotta love seeing that live Disey cam when you visit her blog!

1. Eggs? Fried or Scrambled? Depends on the morning. I'm eating a lot of eggs on this diet!
2. Chocolate covered cherries? Yum on the filling and choclate, yuck on the actual cherry.
3. When eating a salad, what type of dressing do you prefer to use? ranch or sweet onion if I'm at Ruby Tuesday
4. Peanut Butter? Creamy or Crunchy? either. This is making me want carbs!
5. If you HAD to eat only one flavor of ice cream for the rest of your life, what flavor would it be? cheesecake from Marble Slab creamery-absolute heaven
6. Thick or thin crust pizza? I like both
7. Salsa? Hot, Medium, or Mild? medium
8. Toast? Lightly toasted or practically burnt? Just enough to be considered toasted with butter applied right away so it melts into the bread
9. What is your FAVE food item at Taco Bell? I don't go to Taco Bell often, but when I do, I get a taco salad

AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST

10. When are you MOST LIKELY to pig out during the course of a day? these days, never. I am having major appetite suppression from the Atkins diet.
--------------------
these are also from Stacy

1. What time of day is too late to telephone someone? I'll call my mom after 10. I don't ususally call others after 9:30.

2. Have you ever looked up the lyrics to a song online? a few times

3. What’s your favorite dessert to order at a restaurant? I loved this bananas foster cheesecake we had at the Cheesecake Bistro in New Orleans last May. I often wonder if the restaurant is still there.

1. What are your favorite pizza toppings? List your favorite 3 (or more). Pepperoni, onion, mushroom, grean peppers

2. What was the last movie you saw (theater or rented, your choice, or both)? The Mask of Zorro on DVD on Saturday-I fell asleep about halfway through.

3. What is your favorite fruit? crisp apples


I think I'll send a Valentine's Day Tag to Becky, Bob and Brooke, and Theresa Marie, who just started blogging! Have a great Valentine's Day!

A fun week is just around the bend!

I am pumped about this week. So many fun things going on!!!

Monday I will be traveling to Fredericktown (an hour away) to present a training on Positive Guidance for Preschoolers with my colleague and buddy, Christy. We always have a good time and we've got a fun training planned. I do not do many things that aren't fun, and if something isn't fun, I try to make it hilarious. We'll be making "clean mud" as a demonstration for the teachers. It involves soap and toilet paper. That sounds fun!

Tuesday I will be attending Carson's Valentine's Day party at school. (or Valentimes, as he says) He made his Valentine box at school by himself, so I am anxious to see it. We have the treat bags made and I'm looking forward to the party and then spending the rest of the day with my little guy. I still need to wrap my gift for my big guy. We're planning on spending the evening at home so we can go away for the weekend!

Wednesday I have a slow day with a meeting in Cape. I need the time to catch up on my report writing.

Thursday, I get to go to a child care center I've never been to before and observe a child in the morning. I'll take a lunch break, then head to a Chamber of Commerce meeting to discuss my agency with a group of "future leaders of Cape Girardeau." I like doing stuff like that, so I'm looking forward to it.

Friday, I'll be in the office all day, then Greg and I are heading to St Louis for the weekend. We'll be staying at the newest Drury Suites (at the employee rate of course). We're headed to the City Museum on Friday, sleeping in on Saturday, then going to St Louis Mills Mall, maybe seeing a movie, and maybe going to the casino if we feel lucky. We're not sure what Sunday holds. I can't wait. We haven't gone away by ourselves for awhile and we have such a good time when we go.

I'm off to rewad Carson a bedtime story and grade 18 more papers on childhood diseases. Yay!

Wow! It's Thursday!

The week has flown by. I have almost made it to the end of my first low-carb week. The cravings for flour and sugar have nearly disappered. In fact, the caffeine free Diet Coke I just drank tasted like syrup. Amazing what a week will do. Not to say I wouldn't love a piece of cake right now, but I'm not thinking about food nearly as much. I just finished off 3 pieces of pizza, no crust. Not the same as normal, but not too bad. Definitely have to use a fork.

Carson and I went to St Louis for his eye appoinment today and had a few hours to shop. We went to TJ Maxx, the St Louis Galleria mall, and Trader Joe's. I thought Trader Joe's would be much more low-carb friendly, but they seem to just be in on the "lowfat" and "organic" gimmicks. Carson's eyes are slowly progressing and we'll head back for another appointment in a month.

I let my class out early tonight since I'm just getting over laryngitis and an upper respiratory infection. I felt fine, but my voice is still squeaky and hoarse. I took the extra time to treat myself to haircut and a well deserved manicure and pedicure. I picked a soft pink shade that is very Valentiney. It looks great and my feet feel great.

Tomorrow I'll be getting my tooth crowned and then heading to work for a few hours. They're calling for 1-3 inches of snow, so I may go home early if the roads get bad. 3 inches can be a big deal here. It was 65 degrees last month! we have a birthday party on Saturday at the same time as my scrapbooking club. Hopefully, I'll at least get to drop by for a few minutes. I'm off to search for low-carb recipes!

Carb Free Livin'

I have gone carb free. I started the Atkins diet on Saturday and as of this morning, I am down 10 pounds. This doesn't seem possible, or healthy, but I'm desperate to look decent in the pink bridesmaid dress I picked up Friday. I need to lose at least a size for it to look good. I have until April 8. So far, so good. I felt terrible on Saturday, but the detox was over by Sunday and I've felt much better until today. I'm now suffering from a horrible upper respiratory infection and sore throat. Looks like I'm headed to the doctor tomorrow.

I'll be spending tomorrow catching up on my Bible study before church tomorrow night, provided I feel well enough to go. Thursday I'll be taking carson to visual therapy in St Louis and heading back in time to teach night class. Friday I'll be getting the tooth that I cracked on a blow pop crowned. Not fun and very expensive. Thank goodness for dental insurance.

Greg and I went to parent/teacher conference tonight and we're so proud of how well Carson is doing. His preschool teacher wants to move him from the special needs class to an at-risk class next fall. I was praying that she might say that. There are more typical kids in the other class and he really excels around other kids. Yay for my little peanut!

I'm off to read blogs and get some sleep! Good night!

The Good, the Bad, and the Really Freakin' Expensive

In a word, today sucked. Yesterday, we made the final payments on our car. Yay! No more car payments. Things are great! This morning, I got an $80 speeding ticket. That's what driving 60 in a 45 mph zone will get you in Cape Girardeau, MO. I wasn't in any kind of hurry. I was simply jammin' to my very uplifiting Mark Schultz CD and going on my merry way. I was 30 minutes late to work and down $80 by 8:30. This morning started with Carson pooping in his pants approximately 1 minute before his preschool bus was due to arrive. Things were not well in the Franklin household.

By lunch, things just kept getting worse. I somehow managed to lose 2 hubcaps in a month's time. Greg called the junkyard, no hubcaps, so we ordered 2 from the Mazda dealer. They totaled $95. They're plastic. So one day after paying off the car, it has cost me $175!!!!

On top of everything else, my poor friend Becky had to unexpectedly put her cat to sleep this morning. So far, February isn't looking real great.

I did go to Bible study tonight, which is always calming. I'm now home and have to read the 3 chapters I'm lecturing on tomorrow night and prepare some type of activity to convince the students I'm prepared for class and have some idea what I'm talking about. I may let them go early, whcih will cancel out any doubts about the quality of my lecture. Woe is me today. Tomorrow will be better. 'Til then!

Just another day in paradise

Hmmmm...what did I do today? I made a yummy soup for the girls in my office. It is actually a recipe of one of the other girls I work with, but I happened to have all the ingredients in my kitchen. It was deeeee-lish! Here's the recipe:

1 large package frozen, shredded hashbrowns
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 container (16 oz?) sour cream
1 package shredded cheddar cheese
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
1 bunch greeen onions, chopped
milk

Combine everything but milk in crockpot. Add milk to your liking-more for soupier soup, less for thicker soup. Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low all day. Top with real bacon bits and additonal sour cream if desired.

I've added a second bag of hashbrowns to stretch for a crowd, and it's still good. You can also cook on the stovetop until heated through for a speedier dinner.


After lunch I ran errands on campus, including getting keys to my new classroom, (which I was locked out of last Thursday night) and checking out some books for my class at the library. Apparently, Child Life in Hospitals is not at the top of the university's spending list. I had trouble finding books published after I was born. I'll be 30 in April. Sad, but true (on both counts!) So, I read a book to my students tonight that had pictures of nurses who, quite literally, closely resembled the flying nun. Huge hats. Little white uniforms, and pantyhose. It was good for a laugh if nothing else.

I have one guy in my class this semester, which adds a whole new dynamic. I'm still getting used to it. He seems pretty easygoing given he's the only source of testosterone in a room of 25 women. We like to give him crap for being a "general studies" major. I may sway him to the world of child development before the end of the semester. We definitely need more men in the field.

Bible study is going great. I have a wonderfully diverse group of ladies to "lead", and I am learning so much from all of them.

For a change, we have NO PLANS this weekend! Hallelujah! I hope it stays that way. Have a fantastic Friday and share a recipe with me if you have a chance. My budget needs us to eat at home.