ten on tuesday: the "because apparently i'm a toe" edition

1. happy october! fall is here. that means pumpkin. lots and lots of pumpkin. if you like both bagels and pumpkin, then you'll need to try these. they are lighter and fluffier than regular bagels with just a touch of pumpkin flavor. seriously, so yummy. i found mine at walmart and winco. get them now because they're a limited edition.

2. wilson puked this morning. right below the ironing board as i was getting my shirt ready. thanks, buddy. when that happens, you know your day can only go up from there.

3. today in a matter of about 10 minutes there was a complete downpour and beautiful sunshine in a clear blue sky. crazy weather.

4. my car was making a weird noise on friday. made the hubs drive it around and he promptly took it to gaynor's. they said, "bring it back tomorrow morning." we did. something fell off. (don't ask, i can't remember.)  it's still driveable. for a while. if we want to get it fixed we'll get to shell out $1,700. oh. come. on.

5. speaking of subbing, i have been staying very busy. in fact, since school started i've only not worked one day, and that was because i had to stay home to can the salsa. well, as it turns out, i've kind of become the 'go-to' sub in one building because the old go-to sub got a full time position. i'm booking days like crazy. i walk around with my calendar, penciling people in, and that's a good thing.

6. i want to see sandra bullock's new movie gravity. it's always been an irrational fear of mine that, if i were ever an astronaut, i'd be floating around freely in space and running out of oxygen. fortunately, the closest i ever got to being an astronaut was riding in that crazy flippy doodle gyroscope thing on word of life island during the summer of 1988.

7. i'm going to vegas in 24 days!!! girls' weekend to celebrate michelle's wedding day! can't wait to hang out with my friends and stay up late and catch up with everyone. some of these girls i haven't seen in nine years. totally time for a reunion.

8. now i need something to wear to the wedding. thinking about this one. which color? should i go with this one, raspberry plum or should i go for it in black?

9. there's not much on tv these days that's really grabbing my attention, well, parenthood came back last week. i do like that show, but the rest of the week, bleh. instead i watch episodes of glitter girl - saving the world of scrapbooking one crafty dilemma at a time. her alter ego is shimelle laine and if you search her on youtube, you'll find lots of cool videos on my all-time favorite topic.

10. I got this from a student in 5th grade yesterday. I don't know, that whole being the nicest stub ever thing just made me think of toes. It made me laugh.

ten on tuesday (the packing has begun edition)

1. Yep. It's official. We have signed the papers for our house and will get the keys on Thursday!!! We turned in our 30 day notice today (advanced with 8 extra days). We've bought the mega-pack of 3M tape and we went to town in the family room and the linen closet tonight. The boxes are already piling up.

2. Holy cow. We have a lot of books.

3. Speaking of books, I finished reading The Book Thief the other day.

I started Those Who Save Us tonight.

Both are Holocaust stories. Both stories revolve around a young female and their attempts to hide Jews. The Book Thief was pretty long and was told from the point of view of Death (and that was weird), but once I got into it, I had a hard time putting it down. I liked Liesel and I was sad when I got to the end of the story because I wanted it to keep going. And I had questions that didn't really get answered.  Here's a good review that pretty much sums it up quite well. It's just one of those books that really sits with you.

4. Phil505's birthday is a week away. He keeps trying to figure out what I'm getting him. He doesn't really like surprises, so he keeps bugging me. Every. Single. Day.
 
5. 45 is a lot of candles to put on a cake. Just sayin'.
 
6. In an attempt to be nicer to my feet this school year, I'm going to try to avoid buying poorly made shoes. Today at Ross I found a pair of Clarks for $29.99. Score! My feet are already thanking me.
 
7. I now have a nephew in junior high and a niece that's turning 9 tomorrow. They were my super cute almost 6 and not quite 2 year old ring bearer and flower girl.
 
8.  I called my mom and asked her if she felt the earthquake and she says,"What earthquake?" Well, that answered that question. 
 
9. It's almost time to start baking with pumpkin!
 
10. Happy birthday, Glenda! Hope you had a wonderful day today :)

ten on tuesday (the can you believe the governator and maria split up? edition)

1. The sun is shining and I got paid today. That's good any way you look at it. As per my tradition, I bought myself a diet peach snapple.

2. I got to watch an episode of Swamp People on Sunday afternoon. Oh, the things I miss by not having cable. I think the creepy brothers were my favorite. After that would be the dog that gets a zebra cake every time they catch an alligator. In third place, the lady gator hunter. She was so brave. (Thanks, Barb, for keeping that on your DVR for us. I'm forever indebted to you.) Don't have cable? You can catch up on all the episodes here. It's apparently pay per view. And it has disturbing images. And viewer discretion is advised. Don't say I didn't warn you.

3. Tillamook yogurt is on sale at Fred Meyer 3 for $1. That's the cheapest I've ever seen it. We go through a lot of yogurt on this here diet we're on. (It's all about the probiotic benefits.)

4. 21 pounds are gone, in case you were wondering.

5. Another National Scrapbook Day has come and gone. I made a bunch of cards in celebration. More scrapping to come in a couple weekends. I can't wait :)

6. I'm sure you've heard by now, but Arnold and Maria have called it quits. 25 years down the toilet. Just like that. I don't get how people can be married for so long and go through so much and then just give up. I just hope Arnold told Maria he'd be back.

7. Our neighbors are finally fixing their fence. About stinkin' time.

8. My prayer plant bloomed this week. I always take that as a sign that God's about to answer a big prayer. We could definitely use a few of those here very soon. Waiting is hard.

9. On my wish list:

10. I love hearing Phil505 laugh at something on the TV like he just did.

ten on tuesday (the let's make this short and sweet edition)

1. All my makeup runs out at the same time. (insert Nancy Kerrigan's "why? why? why?" cry) 2. Speaking of Nancy Kerrigan, Tanya Harding lives around here. I keep hoping I run into her at the grocery store one day. (Nat, I wonder if she has connections with Rudy Galindo?) 3. Phil505 cooked me dinner. And he made me eat my vegetables. Like practically force-fed them to me. 4. I stay up to watch Parenthood on Tuesdays. Raise your hand if you watch that show. 5. I bought a new roll of Bergland Bucks today. At the Bergland Buck store. Where only teachers with the last name Bergland can go. (And my students think I get them at Walmart. Gheesh. Actually this time it was Fred Meyer. You are sworn to secrecy.) 6. I always like to end these things with an italicized sentence. Did you notice? 7. I have not had sugar in like 25 some-odd days. (And I'm still alive to tell about it.) 8. Phil505 made a batch of Dr. Mike's Power Bar/Cookie things. The recipe is in the 17 Day Diet book. They weren't all that bad - kinda like an oatmeal cookie - new and improved with pepper. (I know. It's weird.) 9. The end of the quarter is Friday. That means only one thing. Three down. One to go. 10. Generic Claritin works for like 20 minutes. (I hate seasonal allergies.)

ten on tuesday (the i still have the willow tree nativity up edition)

1. Today I said out loud something to the Mr. 505 that I've thought about a lot. When we change the toilet paper roll in one bathroom, either that same day or the next day, we change the toilet paper roll in the other bathroom. Is that weird or do we just balance out the bathroom usage that much?

2. Keeping my fingers crossed for a snow day here during snow scam 2011. (Named by the Mr. 505 after Portland's notorious "We're having a snow emergency and then nothing happens.) How much and when will it come??? I'll keep you posted better than the weatherman on News Channel 8.

3. Cute thing my nephew Carson said the other day. . . my sister asked him where he'd like to go for a cheeseburger and he says, I want to go to Aunt Wendy's." In her mind she's thinking, "Aunt Wendy lives 2,000 miles away." In his mind he's thinking "Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, but it comes out with an, "I miss my aunt feel." I love him.

4. We went house shopping yesterday (just at the advice of our realtor since we offered on a short sale and who knows how long it could take). We also went back to the house we offered on for a more thorough walk-through. I took tons of pictures. Still get the warm fuzzies when I walk in the front door.

5. I'm envisioning the potential in the cute little yard. All I've noticed popping up so far are some irises.

6. I am so behind on my grading it isn't even funny.

7. I still have my Nativity scene up. It's almost the end of February. I know I need to put it away, but it's still on top of the piano. Noel, noel, noel, noel. Born is the King of Israel. Because who really knows when His exact birthday is anyway?

8. A couple of weeks ago I got a letter in the mail from a dear friend in Pennsylvania. I had two of her boys in my class my first and second year of teaching. Her family was wonderful and had me over for dinner and were just very welcoming to me. She wrote me this note telling a funny story about the arrival of our Christmas card, and at the end thanked me for influencing the life of her youngest son, who's now 21, for good. It was certainly unexpected and was such a surprise. The letter was definitely something I'll keep forever. All that just to say, you never know how your written words can affect someone when they get that little message in the mail. It's certainly time well spent.

9. That reminds me of my college days when I used to write 249 letters a week. Not really 249, but I wrote a lot. Just ask my roommate, Melissa. And my mom always used to send me pretty stamps, never boring flags, because you know your letter makes a much better impression on the receiver when you use something other than flags. I still hold tightly to that belief, although I can't remember when I last wrote a real letter. Sad, isn't it?

10. Anyone ever read the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? It's been on my want-to-read-list for a long time and I've had it checked out from the library for like three weeks now. I've heard it's good. I wouldn't know. I haven't even cracked it open yet. I guess I'm hoping that I get a couple snow days to find out.

ten on tuesday (the it couldn't get any more random) edition

1. I got a gift from Phil505's aunt and uncle for Christmas. A gift that I already had: the little green pouch of Cricut tools. She said, "If you already have it, I won't mind if you exchange it." I was cool with that. She told me she had used a coupon on it when she bought it, but couldn't find the receipt. Today I went to Craft Warehouse and they let me exchange it for the full price. No questions. No problem.

2. I love, love, love Craft Warehouse.

3. I got a new 2nd grade student today. She's smart. She also got a little annoyed because the kids kept calling her Cindy instead of Sydney. We had to practice saying her name and slapping our knees. Syd-knee. Get it?

4. We might have an early morning 'weather event' tomorrow which could result in a potential delay or cancellation. I'd love that because getting back in the groove is hard after two glorious weeks of freedom. Most people around here will probably say, "Ya, right. Good luck with that." Especially since tomorrow it's supposed to be 43 degrees by like 9:00.

5. My mom and dad bought us new lamps and shades for our new living room set up. And a new basket to keep the laundry stuff in on top of the dryer. Oh, and new extension cords and light bulbs. They are awesome! They always know exactly what we want. (wink. wink.)

6. My niece Lavender is turning two tomorrow. Where does time go? She doesn't read this blog, but happy birthday, cutie pie, anyway!

7. My only real disappointment this Christmas was that I didn't get a Secret Santa Shop gift from Darick. He said he was too old to go in the gym and go shopping. I look forward to those little trinkets hand-picked-with-love-especially-for-me-gifts every year. I've gotten some real gems. This one is hanging on the fridge.

"Aunt you make my life a whole lot sweeter." Could there be anything more sentimental than that from your nephew? I also have a ceramic cat and a penguin which I will now have to keep forever because there will be no more. Sadness :(

8. On the menu tonight: for Phil505 a healthy green salad; for me Hebrew National hotdogs. Now before you get all bent out of shape about that, let me just say that I had a healthy green salad for lunch and the Hebrew Nationals were low fat. I also had celery. With peanut butter for extra protein.

9. One of my favorite New Year's traditions is filling up the calendar with all the birthdays. I also have a tradition of finding a beautiful calendar on sale. Because I refuse to pay full price for a beautiful calendar.

10. Go Buckeyes!

ten on tuesday (the i won another blog contest edition)

1. I am a winner! Again!!! Oh yes, I did. I won another box of scrapbooking goodness. This box is all set to arrive in my mailbox compliments of the fabulous Lisa Dickinson. It's like Christmas! (Oh wait, it is Christmas.)

2. Phil505 wants to know when I'm going to win him something. I did try for a big ol' smoker a couple weeks ago, something that's long been on his wish list. I commented along with 35,682 other people. Needless to say, I did not win him the smoker.

3. There is an oddly shaped long, bumpy rectangular package under the tree for me. I've tried to figure out what it is, but despite massive man-handling, I cannot. And to say it's driving me crazy is putting it mildly.

4. Other packages for me have been well hidden inside the gigantic boxes Phil505 picked up from the liquor store. He's so sneaky, that husband-of-mine.

5. I may or may not have used an empty Ritz Cracker box as part of my own wrapping disguise.

6. We got a new camera. Now I need to go back to college to learn how to use it. Wouldn't it be great to have Dr. Lexi O. Wiggins teach a class about destruction, raping, and piliging of digital SLR's? Or perhaps Dr. Tom Davis could lecture us on the battering rams of aperture. (You'll only get that if you've ever had one of those two men as professors before.)

7. I finally ordered our Christmas cards. This morning. I'm so behind. I just couldn't decide on a picture that I really liked with a northwest-ish background (because that's a prerequisite). I finally settled on one and sent it off to Costco. If you're on our list, you may or may not get it before Christmas. That's why I chose the sentiment Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Just to cover the bases.

8. On Sunday morning, our church had the annual Christmas breakfast. Before we left, we snapped some pictures in front of the tree. Yes, that's the sweater again. The one with bling. Yes, I wore it twice in a row. I figured if you only wear it for like three and a half hours the night before, then it should still be good to go the next morning.

9. I did not buy candy canes for the tree this year. I just realized that I'd like one and there aren't any. Bummer.

10. I would like to thank the PTO for my gift cards to Craft Warehouse. Even though none of you read my blog, you all really know how to make my day, and I thank you.

ten on thursday (because tuesday has come and gone edition)

1. The weather has been bee-u-tee-ful this week. The sun's been shining and the fall leaves are in their prime. It's amazing how good sunshine can make you feel. While the weather's been nice, we got the daffodils planted, half the tulips are in the ground (saving the rest for the pots), and we cleaned up the front flower beds. We also spread out some slug bait because they were getting nasty out there.

2. Today was the end of the first quarter. Really? A fourth of the year is gone??? I feel like we're not getting very much accomplished. Could be due to the fact that I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off most days.

3. Our new furniture came today. Ahhh. . .so nice not to have that sinking feeling. And the living room has that new furniture smell. I'll post pictures when the lighting's better.

4. I'm starting to get into the Christmas spirit. I know it's still early, but I've been making a set of cards for my school's Christmas bazaar/silent auction. I also bought a new stack of Christmas papers. And today. . . I listened to Christmas music. It was for the children. Because we need to learn some new songs for the Christmas program.

5. I'm hosting a table at our ladies' Christmas luncheon at church. This year's theme is "Christmas Recipes." As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to sign up for a table and use buckeyes as my recipe. My table will include a little bit of Christmas polka dots mixed in with a little bit of the Ohio State Buckeyes. And just for the record, my mom mailed me a box of buckeyes from the tree in her yard today. It's going to be awesome. Or at least what I'm picturing in my mind is awesome.

6. Don't forget that you get an extra hour of sleep this weekend! Fall back is the best. I've only forgotten it once. Hey, Melissa. . . remember that one time at TTU when we forgot to set the clocks back and we actually got up and went to breakfast for like the first time ever in the history of our college experience only to find out that everyone else on campus was still in bed?

7. We were at Winco on Sunday after church and there was a grandma dressed up as an angel. I had my phone out. I wanted to get her picture so bad. But there was just never a good time without being completely obvious. You'll have to trust me on this. A seventy year old woman with long gray hair dressed up in an angel costume complete with wings and a halo at the grocery store is pretty darn funny. She was totally flaunting it too.

8. Phil505 brought me back an "I voted" sticker when he dropped off our ballots. I love him.

9. An Aunt Nancy update: She had her second chemo treatment this week and was admitted again (yep, this happened after her first treatment too) for severe nausea and dehydration. Her birthday is today too. Kinda crummy to be sick and in the hospital on your birthday. Your continued prayers for her are appreciated.

10. I'm so, so, sooooooo happy that all the political commercials are finally over. Anybody with me on that?

ten on tuesday (the i love hummus edition)

1. I finally drug myself in, kicking and screaming, at approximately 10:30 to start the back-to-school-get-the-gigantic-classroom-decorated project. That was after I stopped at JoAnn Fabrics to kill time get some new fabric for a couple bulletin boards and happily signed up for a teacher card. That thing saves me 15% EVERY SINGLE TIME I SHOP THERE!!!! I left with a new tote bag which I'll hopefully remember to take with me to the grocery store (because I have a problem remembering those reusable bags.)

2. I called Hannah to wish her a happy birthday and she told me that she lost a tooth. I said, "Oh, did the Tooth Fairy come?" She said. "No." I said, "Really? Did you talk to your mom about that?" She says, "Ya, I did. Mom says that she must be really busy because kids in South Carolina and China and Japan lose teeth too." Interesting.

3. I made salmon for dinner. Pecan-parmesan crusted salmon to be exact. It was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

4. Speaking of dinner, I'm working on a meal plan - kind of listing out all the main things that we eat. Right now I've got it categorized by (and please don't laugh even though it's around the world funny): Mexican, Italian, American, Chinese, soup, and sandwiches. I'm going to try to do a better job of meal planning which then in turn should aid in grocery shopping. All of that should make coming home at 5:00 a lot easier.

5. Remember our little camping trip to Lake Wanatchee? Well, I started a little scrappy project last week so I can remember it. I found a cheap little 5X7 black slide-in photo album at Bi-Mart (Phil505's favorite Northwest store!) and bought a bunch of Making Memories paper & embellishments. Here's what I've got done so far. You'll notice that I have absolutely no journaling done which is not going to help me remember anything about this trip, but I love the whole mini-album concept, and this one makes me happy.

I still have a bit to go, and it's nothing elaborate, but it's coming together rather quickly. I have found that working in a 5X7 space doesn't leave much room for stuff other than the pictures.

6. Phil505 and I are freezer shopping. We need more frozen space.

7. You haven't been eating runny eggs, have you? I think they're disgusting, quite honestly, so I'm certainly not going to get ecoli from eating a half-cooked egg.

8. I bought a new pair of black dress shoes for school. They are exactly the same as one of the pairs I bought last year. And that's not the first time that's happened. Why change a good thing?

9. My two newest addictions: Nutella (try it on graham crackers) and Meza Original Hummus (from Costco). Who would've ever thought that I'd like ground up chickpeas? Yum.

10. My new favorite song is by a band out of Georgia called The Museum. It's called My Help Comes from the Lord. You can listen to it here with lyrics or here with little bits and pieces of Seattle's Pike Street Market thrown in or over on my sidebar. It's in my playlist.

ten +2 more on tuesday (the ohio edition)

Now that I'm getting my life back in order and all the nasty smoky campfire laundry is done, I thought I'd share a few bits and pieces from my recent visit to Ohio.

1. No trip home would be complete with at least one delay. But since I'm so lucky, I had two. My first flight from Portland was 45 minutes late and my flight back from Minneapolis was about an hour late. My luggage made it, none of my connecting flights were affected, and I got to see lots of fireworks again, so I guess that makes it all ok.

2. My friend Natalie picked me up from the airport and after a stop at TJ Maxx to do a little shopping and lunch at Panera Bread, we headed north on I-71 and entered my welcome home present. . . a severe thunderstorm with tornadic activity. Nothing says welcome to Ohio like a tornado.

3. All that rain's gotta be good for something. Case in point, Dad's topsy turvy garden. Let the harvesting begin!

4. One of the main reasons I scheduled my trip for when I did was because my friend Jody had a date set to become Mrs. Stephen Smith! She had asked me to read Scripture during the ceremony and I was honored to do so. I made it through without crying even. If you know me very well, you know I cry at just about anything sentimental. Isn't she a beautiful bride?

5. I got to spend a little one-on-one time with this little munchkin, my niece Lavender. She snuggled right up with me like I was her BFF.

6. Hannah and I had a little slumber party at Grandma's house. I thought she was gonna lose her two front teeth flipping over the bike as she rode out of control down the hill screaming, "Aunt Wendy! Aunt Wendy!" but somehow she managed to get it stopped with her flip-flopped feet. Later she got a little weepy and we had to call her mom (who was waiting in line with Team Edward for the new Twilight movie to start), but after listening to a few songs on the ipod and a lot of TLC from her Aunt Dee, she fell asleep. The next day I told her I'd take her anywhere she wanted to go for a special date. Anywhere. The possibilities were endless. She chose Walmart. We came out with fake blue fingernails. Oh, to be seven!

7. My nephew Darick, my brother Chris, and I celebrated our birthdays together. Darick turned 12. Chris turned the big 3-0. And I turned. . . never mind.

8. Had a wonderful visit with Melissa, one of my blanket stealing-illegal Yankee Candle burning hilariously funny roommates from college. Actually, we go back farther than college, but we hadn't seen each other since my wedding six years ago, so it was about time. We had a lovely little lunch (complete with a piece of Buckeye pie) and visited a fun little gift shop called the Parsley Pot. The day before Melissa came, I had lunch with my friends Glenda and Kerri. We ate at the same place, we just didn't get the pie. But seriously, you can't eat at the Lyn-Way and not get a piece of pie. That's why Melissa and I ended up back there. The Buckeye pie was calling my name.

9. My sister and I took her kids to the Kroc Center which has a little spray park outside. The kids loved all the spray things. We loved it because it was free, it was small enough that we wouldn't lose anybody, and there was no possible way any of them could drown.

10. Keegan, the little guy there in the green and white striped shirt, cracked me up the whole time. His favorite line was, "You made a green choice, Aunt Dee!" They are using this little green choice for good behaviors/red choice for bad behaviors at their house. He's a seasoned pro at it.

11. My sister actually tried my homemade salsa. If you only knew how much she hates onions, then you'd know how big of a deal this really was.

12. I got to spend a little time with my Grandma. She let me pick out a couple of her salt and pepper shakers from her huge collection. She's getting ready to turn 90 here in a few weeks. She's amazing, she's funny, and she loves her Jesus. She ends every conversation with "I love you the mostest." Little does she know that we all love her more.

ten on tuesday (the let's see how fast i can get this post done edition)

1. I booked my tickets today and I got window seats on all four flights!!! I'll be in Ohio June 23-July 3. I'll be attending Ms. Lang's wedding. I'm the honored Scripture reader. Feeling pretty darn special about that.

2. I have a layover in Minneapolis. I've already got a headache thinking about it. Minneapolis and I don't have a great history together. You remember that time they cancelled our flight and lost our luggage at. Christmas. right? When we slept on mats in the middle of the airport and listened to the lady telling people how to get on and off the train without causing bodily harm all. night. long. When we got a measly $10 in food vouchers. When they redirected us to Cincinnati.

3. I bought a new pair of tennis shoes. Phil505 says they're not really tennis shoes, they're cross trainers. People who play tennis wear tennis shoes. Can you tell he's got a physical fitness and sports management background?

4. I'm still calling them tennis shoes, thank you very much.

5. I wrote up an office referral today for a kid. First time this year I sent somebody to the principal's office. Sometimes teachers have to do these things for our own sanity.

6. My sister, as of this morning, will now live the rest of her life without a gall bladder. And for the next few days will get to enjoy some happy pills.

7. I'm sure the happy pills will make it all worth while. It'll be like holding the baby for the first time after being in labor for 24+ hours and then giving birth with a breathing coach (aka - me) who counted too slow.

8. Ya, that's what she told me. I counted too slow.

9. Like I know how fast to count for someone having a baby??????? It was my first time. Geez Louise. Give me a break.

10. Phil505 has Saturday off. So we're going on a date. To the zoo. Because he says that I need to experience it before I take kids there on a field trip. So I'll get to go to the zoo twice in a week. Is he not the sweetest thing???

ten on tuesday (the i should've been a private i. edition)

1. Don't be a student waving around a $20 bill in front of Mrs. Bergland in chapel. You will raise suspicions.

2. Don't be a student who gives a second $20 bill to your friend. More red flags will go up.

3. Don't be a student who gives a $20 bill to your friend - especially when Mrs. Bergland has just found out that your very own little brother lost a $20 bill at school that very same day. She will automatically think you are potentially the thief.

4. Don't be a student who takes a $20 bill from a friend and then lie to Mrs. Bergland saying that you brought the $20 bill from home. She will ask you a very important question: "Does your mom know you brought a $20 bill to school today?"

5. Don't be a student who takes a $20 bill from your friend and then lie and say that yes, your mom does know you brought a $20 bill to school today - because she will then ask you another very important question: "So if I go out there and see your mom in the pick up line, she's going to tell me that she knows you had a $20 bill in school today?"

6. Don't be a student who lies to Mrs. Bergland.

7. Don't lie to your parents either. They're just as unhappy as Mrs. Bergland.

8. Come to my chapel next month when I present the 9th Commandment: Thou shalt not lie.

9. Pay attention in chapel this month as we learn about the 8th Commandment: Thou shalt not steal.

10. As my Granny Fannie always says, "Be sure your sin will find you out." She also says, "Liars burn. Sizzle. Sizzle."

ten on tuesday (the what's a woman gotta do to get some noxzema around here? edition)

1. My sister is all hooked up with the world wide web at her house. She can now read my blog anytime she wants. Well, as long as the ol' dial-up connection allows her to do so. Such is life in rural Ohio. Let's all give a shout out to Jen-nay (say it like Forest Gump)!!!

2. While much of my native homeland of Ohio and the rest of the east coast is covered in snow and bracing for more, over here in the 'Couv my neighbor's crocuses are up. I saw them on Sunday coming home from church. Hello, spring! I'm so glad you're here. Until it rains again for weeks on end. Starting tomorrow. And we all end up with another round of Vitamin D deficiencies.

3. Winter Olympics - only three days away! And how cool is it that I'm in the same time zone? They're in the other 'Couv. As in Canada. It's amazing how many people think the Games are going to be here in Washington. It's sort of like that one person I know real well that didn't realize that Canada went all the way across the top of the United States. Hmmm. . . maybe we should've paid attention better in geography class. I'm not mentioning any names, but you know who you are.

4. Conversations with children today at school. . . "M., have you been in the restroom this whole time?" "Sorry. I had a really big poopy." (I don't think she knows what TMI means.) Later at lunch. . . "Mrs. B., I don't want to eat the mushrooms in my pasketti." "Then just leave them in the container and you can dump them out later." No, I want you to eat them." (Seriously? After you've been over there slurping and sucking in noodles like a wild banchi this whole time? I don't think so!!!)

5. My little plan to convince Phil to turn down any requests for Super Bowl parties on Sunday so I could stay home in my comfy pants and scrapbook the whole time worked. Of course, it probably helped that we weren't invited anywhere. We had a lovely little pizza from Papa Murphy's which blew the 'ol diet plan and I got a bunch of stuff done. It was fabulous.

6. I have been to two different Walmarts a total of five times and not once have they had Noxzema. The time before that when I was able to buy it, they were out of the big jar so I had to settle for the smaller jar. I am so close to calling 1-800-Walmart it's not even funny. Today I finally ran out so I thought I'd just get some at the grocery store. Pay a little more, make my face happy. Because it really does feel happy when that tingly menthol/eucalyptus sensation starts working. And it's been feeling happy every morning since I was in the 9th grade and my PE/Health teacher Mrs. Hicks got in a truckload of Noxzema that we were allowed to take as much of as we wanted. (To say I stockpiled after I first tried it out and fell in love is an understatement.) Anyway, I'm not sure what the deal is with this fine Proctor & Gamble product, but I went from the medium jar to "let me pack you in my carry on and the TSA people won't even realize you're in there small jar." At least I'll have a cute little travel sized container. Noxzema - the Original Deep Cleansing Cream, thank you for my youthful appearance. I owe it all to you. And yes, it must be Original, not moisturizing. That formula doesn't have the same effect.

7. Something else I haven't been able to find anywhere. . . my favorite Valentine's candy - Gobstopper Hearts. Sadness.

8. I've purchased Phil's non-workout related Valentine's Day gift. It's hidden somewhere in the garage. Or so I want him to be led to believe.

9. In the month of January, I spent 696 minutes working out. That's about 600 more minutes than I worked out in December. Yeah! Go me!!!

10. I simply must dig in my basket of stationery and find all the Valentine's Day cards I bought for my nieces and nephews last year and never sent. I know, it's pitiful.

ten on tuesday (the my husband has cooked me dinner two nights in a row edition)

Hello, friends. It's time for another rousing rendition of Teeennnnnnnnn onnnnnn Tuuuuessssddaaayyyyy!!! (insert catchy game show tune here)

1. So I get a package from my sister yesterday and inside, a blue tooth head thing, a letter, a picture my niece colored me, and two bags of Jones' marcelled potato chips. Now if you're from north central Ohio, or you've ever been to north central Ohio, then you know that these are the BEST potato chips ever created. They go best with Smith's Dairy French onion dip, both of which are no where to be found out here. My sister knows that I love them. She also knows that I'm not eating crap. And what does she send me? Two bags of chips. At least they're the little bags. Phil505 and I split one. Approximately 200 calories for each of us.

2. We decided to buy a 5 pound kettle bell at Wally World. I've seen Jillian kill people with them on the Biggest Loser and thought I should give it a try. It came with a fun (and I use that term loosely) little video which I tried out for the first time last night. You use a swinging motion and go backwards between your legs while in a squat and then stand and it goes up over your head. Seems pretty simple, right? I mean, it's only 5 pounds. Well, I'll have you all know I can't walk right today. Or stand. Or sit. I scream out in pain when I'm in the bathroom. My back feels like it belongs to an old lady. Phil505 thought I was dying and wanted to know what was the matter. I told him, "It's the kettle bell's fault."

3. I finally got my loot from winning the Write.Click.Scrapbook giveaway. See all these fancy brads and buttons? They're sitting on my album which is currently 2 1/2 years behind. Maybe I should get right on that???

4. I got a great compliment from a dad of one of my students the other day. He said, "I can't believe how much J. is reading! I don't know what you're doing in there, but it's amazing! He's just reading up a storm. I never would've predicted that." I smiled and said, "Well, that's how I like to run things in there. I like being unpredictable!"

5. Same child brought me his Cup-o-noodles the other day at lunch and said, "I brought the cow kind this time." I said, "Don't you mean beef?" Then he goes, "Well, chicken isn't beef." I said, "No, chicken is poultry." And he says, "Did you say pull-a-tree?"

6. Speaking of poultry, Phil made dinner tonight - garlic herb roasted chicken. Divine. And last night he whipped up a beef stir fry with brown rice (because we've given up on white). It was delicious too. Meanwhile, I'm getting spoiled and wondering what he's making tomorrow.

7. I was in charge of the vegetable tonight. I chose salad since we had so much salad stuff and soon discovered that we had three very outdated bottles of salad dressing. I inherited that from my Grandma Fannie. She is always notorious for having outdated salad dressings.

8. The end of the 2nd quarter is Friday. Where is time going?

9. Greg Oden is an embarrassment to Ohio State University and every single person who's ever been a fan. Geez Louise, don't send naked pictures of yourself on your cell phone.

10. I love Phil505. He might take me to the beach on February 20th. Woo-hoo!!!

ten on tuesday (the my mom turned 60 years old yesterday edition)

1. Happy birthday, Mom!!! The domestic goddess, Goodwill Queen of America, banana bread lady, mother of 3, grandmother of 9 (I guess you could say), and Grandma Sharon to more kids than we can count turned the big 6-0 yesterday. If you know her, send her a card. Tell her my blog sent you. If you don't know her but still want to send her a card because my blog sent you, let me know and I'll email you her address :) That would be really fun if she got a bunch of cards from people she only remotely knows.

2. Went to see my hair girl today. Man, I love me a new fresh do.

3. Stopped at the Rainbow Christian Outlet afterward and, per tradition, bought myself a new Christmas CD. Yep, went with the Chris Tomlin one I mentioned a few posts back. I like it. It's got a good mix of traditional carols and Chris Tomlin-y style songs. And Christy Nockels is on it. Love her!!! (How's that for a description?)

4. I'm still working on finishing up some of my Christmas gifts. They'll make it to Ohio eventually. I think everyone will be happy with the final product, so I'm really trying not to be too worried that they'll probably get there late. What else is new anyway? I'm always late.

5. I shipped one box out yesterday. Stood in line for 20 minutes at the post office. An 80 year old lady felt bad that she wasn't holding anything (she was there with her daughter), so she wanted to hold my box. Um. . . dear sweet lady, the moment you tried to pick up that box, you'd go crashing to the floor. But thanks for offering. And I'd like to thank the post office people for the flat rate priority boxes. I know it weighed way more than what I would've paid for had it been in a box of my own.

6. Phil's car is leaking transmission fluid. Don't even get me started about his car. We just got it out of the repair shop a little over a week ago and now it gets to go back on Thursday.

7. Had a fabulous day with my friend Chris yesterday. She came over and we got crafty. She lost her job at the school when I lost mine. Now she's in school full time and busy, and it was great to reconnect and catch up.

8. I just finished wrapping up a few more gifts including my dad's "oh so very fine, picked out by us, just what you always wanted" gift. You're gonna love it! Hint: It's that little roundish one there by the roll of wrapping paper. And yes, those are Phil's feet.

9. I have some really great uncles. They all love me, really they do. But Uncle Joe, he is just inching his way to the top. (The top of what? Shhhh. . . you know, the favorite uncles list.) I sent him an email a couple of weeks ago - well, after we found out the Oregon Ducks won and would be playing THE Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. I simply asked, "Hey Uncle Joe! Can you hook me up with a buckeye necklace?" I've always wanted one and I knew it would be awesome to have on game day. He lives in Columbus where I know OSU paraphenalia abounds everywhere you go. Out here, I'm lucky to find a sports store that has more than one Ohio State hat. (It's so sad.) So when we got home from the Christmas ships parade the other night, we found a package at the front door. I was expecting my contacts to arrive, but not in that big of a box. Phil picked it up and says, "Looks like your Uncle Joe hooked you up!" Inside: my very own I love Ohio State Buckeyes buckeye necklace, a big #1 hand, and a CD with every Ohio State tune you can imagine. I'm so ready for the game. Thanks, Uncle Joe!!!

10. Don't eat too many cookies. Even if they do have a Hershey's Kiss right in the center.

ten on tuesday (the i can't believe it's december 1st edition)

1. Got the first Christmas card in the mail today from our old landlords. They are the winners this year! Congratulations, Glen & Lorraine!!!

2. Speaking of Christmas cards, I managed to find a picture of the two of us with a northwest-y background after all. (In case you were losing sleep over that or something.) The cards have been printed (because I had that $5 off Costco coupon, remember) and are eagerly awaiting addresses and stamps. Although many of them will be sent with my mom's Christmas gifts and she'll pass them out at church and family gatherings for free. I may or may not write the annual letter. So far I haven't seen any good ideas to steal off the internet.

3. Coming home today on Airport Way, I heard 3 F-15's taking off and saw a bright, full moon. Man, they're loud. And man, it's bright.

4. Mt. Hood has been blasted by snow. I could see it reflecting the sun in my rear view mirror. Sometimes I feel like I could just sit and stare at it all day. It's so pretty. But, while driving, that could be pretty dangerous.

5. We do not have a music teacher at our school, and to say that we are procrastinating on getting our little Christmas program going is a major understatement. Even I'm starting to get panicky, and I'm the world's worst procrastinator.

6. The front cover of my December Daily album is done. I have taken my photos for today. I have not, as is my usual, done the journaling yet.

7. I changed my blog background and music. All Christmas. All month. Merry Christmas, people.

8. I had a child tell his mother today that I was changing his answers on his math paper so they could be marked wrong. She said he thinks I'm out to get him. Ummm. . . I hate to tell him, but I don't have time to be changing answers on kids' papers. The three of us are having a little conference on Thursday afternoon.

9. We bought icicle lights for outside. I've always wanted icicle lights. Ever since they first started making them. When was that, like back around Y2K or something?

10. I already know three things my mom is getting me for Christmas. My sister blew it and told me that she got me the shepherds add-on to my Willow Tree Nativity set and I also got two Cricut cartridges. I picked those out this weekend when they were super cheap. She said I have to act surprised on Christmas morning. Don't worry, Mom, I teach first grade. I've got the whole cheeseball thing down pretty good by now!

ten on tuesday (the we've reinstituted the no shoes in the house rule edition)

1. It seems like I'm lagging in blog posts as of late since the last five or so have been Ten on Tuesdays. Well, you know, it's October, it's raining, and there's not really all that much to say.

2. I opted to go with the soup and salad for our first small group. Thank you, all six of you, for voting. Made a batch of my chicken tortellini soup and a pot of chili. For dessert I dug out the Mennonite recipe for Apple Goodie. It's really just apple crisp, but with a Mennonitish name. My mom got it from one of her Mennonite friends, an old neighbor that she's kept in contact with since I was in kindergarten. It was all good. And there were leftovers - which means packing lunch just got a whole lot easier.

3. We spent the entire weekend cleaning. Not that we live our lives entirely as dirty people, but it's been six months since we've moved in and things just needed to be deep cleaned. Rented a Rug Doctor and shampooed the carpets, and now they look almost white again - just like they're supposed to. We got a little lax in that whole taking off the shoes thing, but now, we're back in business. Cleaned the windows, cleaned the faux wood blinds (sounds fancy, doesn't it?), cleaned the siding on the front of the house. Don't worry, my husband will get to the other three sides. . . eventually. Trimmed the bushes, dusted every single thing that could be dusted. Did all the laundry. Decorated for fall. I wanted new fall candles for the piano, but I was too cheap to spend $5.99 a piece for them at Fred Meyer. So remember those mini pumpkins I got??? Ya, they came in handy.

4. Monday was picture day. One of my least favorite days of the school year. It always cracks me up when little girls get those stupid free combs and start combing their hair and then their hair turns to complete static just in time for the pictures. In 30 years from now they'll be looking back at their picture and wondering what on earth was going on with their hair. (Tell me that hasn't happened to you before.) I wore brown. Maybe it will make my eyes pop. Unless I smiled too big and then they get all squinty on me. One of my college roommates (hello, Melissa!) used to call me the blonde Korean because when I smile my eyes disappear. It's weird and I don't know why it happens. You should know, however, that genetically I'm all caucasian.

5. Speaking of college roommates, I discovered this file folder the other day full of quotes I kept from my roommates while at the Word of Life Bridal Bible Institute. Ya, I need to get a copy of that and send it out to you guys. Here's an oldy but a goodie, "With every step you take, our beds shake! And that's no lie." The four of us would say that, rather loudly, in complete unison. You see, internet, the girls above us in Europe Upper were not at all very considerate of the noise level that came from their feet. Not to mention the vibrations in the paper thin floors that those same feet caused. I don't think I was able to nap properly for the entire year I was there.

6. If that whole cross off the word thing in #5 actually works, I'd like to thank google for having such an amazing search engine.

7. I really hate driving on the I-205 bridge when it's windy.

8. I tried to check out about 30 books at the library today, and the self-checkout machines wouldn't let me. It said on the screen, "Unable to process your request. Please see a librarian about your account." I should've known my fine was too big. It was $31. Please don't judge me. I check out those books for the children. I just don't always get them returned in a timely manner. And when you check out like 30 at a time, fines add up faster. But the kids in my class always come out readers!!! And that's what matters, right?

9. Can I save those library fine receipts for tax purposes? There should be some way I can write that off, isn't there? Where's Jamie Powers when I need him??? For those of you who don't know, J.P. is the most incredible tax guy ever. He did my taxes on April 14th for like 8 or 9 years before I got married. For free! He's also married to one of my best friends. It's nice having connections with somebody who has Turbo Tax and a high speed internet connection.

10. Our women's Bible study got started this week. We're doing Beth Moore's Esther, It's Hard Being a Woman. I've already used that line on Phil at least once this week. I'm sure he'll hear it more as time goes by. So now I have homework. Better get on that.

BONUS (aren't you lucky?): They caught the River Rat. The idiot actually thought he could rob banks and check cashing places in Oregon and Washington (both sides of the Columbia River, thus the name River Rat) and not get caught. Hello!?! Don't you know they have really good surveillance systems now and that your perfectly good picture would be plastered all over the news? Or that in your stupidity you'd leave a fingerprint behind? Didn't you know the FBI was involved? Ignorant.