All Work and No Play

I am on a hotel computer since I am not able to blog on my phone.  I am counting the days till C-mas week when I will take a week off.  I am on my third day in another state--this time Michigan.  Last week was two days in South Dakota and the week before that was Idaho and Utah.  Then at night I have to answer the 50 emails I get and send about 50 more due to all the crisis'.  No more traveling for a couple months after Nov so that will be good.
The kids have all next week off but I am unable to take time off.  We were told that time off is restricted this week.  I am still going with the family on Sunday to my mother-in-laws--at which there is no wifi--and there are other relatives to visit but MIL is not doing well and Hubs needs to stay with her.  Will Panera and Starbucks kick me out if I am there too long using wifi? 

This is a pretty lame post but I have become dull.  On the flight back home last week by way of Minneapolis I was on the plane and had to do my open enrollment and even more work so I actually bought wifi in the air and worked.  I realized I used to read books but not anymore.  Also--I look like crap.

All is well and I of course do not prefer the alternative of not having a job since that would be even more stressful.  Maybe I will be able to read something in the car on Sunday driving the 7 hours to FL.

I still think of everyone--my mind is still my own.

The Grass is Greener

I had to go out of town last week for several days and I missed Halloween so I have no pictures.  Every year for almost 15 years I carve one of those design pumpkins and then take pictures of it and of the boys too.  This year only Youngest, in 6th grade, still wanted to Trick or Treat so I helped make sure the pumpkin was done a couple nights ahead of time and that the pumpkin was carved.  I bought designs with a Star Wars theme.  The most exciting thing is that Youngest completely carved the pumpkin himself!  My pumpkin carving days are over and I realized I am thrilled about that.  But I am sad that I did not get a picture of it.  Or of Youngest and had to hear about his Halloween from Idaho.

I rented a car in Salt Lake City and then drove 2.5 hours north to a small town in Idaho.  I had new boots but it was actually cooler in GA.  I was very happy that there was no snow.  The bummer about working and meeting clients during the day means I am doing work on laptop at night.  Very exhausting.  Then I flew back on Satirday so I missed half the weekend.

Utah and Idaho are so different from where I live and it is all I can do to stay on the road when I want to keep looking at the mountains.  The people are so nice and it seems like a good life.  But what is interesting is that I met several people who had been to Georgia and had really nice things to say about it such as how green it is, how lush and what a great time they had.  It made me really take notice when I got back home.

(on a Sunday walk in the 'hood)

Lately all I think about is the crime--I won't go into my bank or certain restaurants near me as they have been robbed.  Hubs and I won't go out to some of our old stomping grounds due to the crime.  But as I drove home from the airport and then took a walk I looked at all the colorful leaves.  

The boys were glad to have me back and have home cooked meals again. I had finished up work in salt Lake on Friday at 5:00 pm/7:00 pm ET and I got a text from my 14 year old looking for food suggestions since Hubs had all his teacher friends on our porch and no one had prepared dinner (I had showed the teens all the frozen items I had bought before I left....).   Food shopping was our date on Saturday night after I got back and then it was a beautiful Saturday night for grilling and Sunday was soup making time and Impossible Cheeseburger pie.

Wed morning I am off again but just for one night.....to South Dakota.  The week after that--more travel again.  And that is it for a while.  I have had more TSA personnel touch my breast area last week than Hubs it seems.

Tough Love

In a span of five days I had three strangers comment on my Driver's License photo.  That photo was taken about 13 years ago.  All I have ever had to do is renew it online--even after moving to a new address.   Strangers used to comment about it, "That's a great picture!"

First, the female rep at a rental car place and then two different ladies at two different hotels have recently said after looking at my ID, "You look so different now!"  So--I used to actually get compliments on that photo and now I hear how much I do not look like that photo.

And to all three I replied, "I have three teenage boys.  When that photo was taken I did not."  And then they back peddle and say, "Oh, didn't mean it like that--I mean your hair was blonder."

When the last person said it while checking into a hotel in Texas last week, and I said my response of three boys and teens--she nodded and said that she too had three boys of ages 13, 11 and 8 and for 10 minutes we shared stories of how they act up and I told we we "go Amish" with ours which is how they feel with no phone or computer access.  She told me how she works hard every day to get them clothes and things they want and I told her I understood and when I am not working on the weekend I shop for and make food they like.  We both shared that we always correct their behavior even if it means that day or that weekend just got incredibly harder for us.  We completely related.

Three years ago when mine were 13, 11 and 8 like hers are and I remember it well and I was very busy with everything and was more involved than I am now with their homework and school projects.  But I wasn't dealing with the same issues we have dealt with at ages 16 and 14 (I hope the 12 yr old is as easy at 16 as he has been up to this point but I am not naive).  In the photo above they are 5, 3 and 1.  People would say I have my hands full. 

I am sure that a few years ago when they were 13, 11 and 8 someone else must have looked at me and knew I'd soon know what it is like when they are 16 and 14.  Is there someone who has boys at ages 19 and 17 and 15 looking at me now and thinking that if I think 16, 14 and 12 is challenging--just wait? 

My boys are the best thing about my life.  This summer they will be 17, 15 and 12.  There will be another learner's permit achieved.  And I'll have a new driver's license then because they have changed the rules in my state and on my next birthday I will wait for about 5 hours in person with about 3 items of ID and then I will get a new picture. 

If I Had Blogged This Week I Would Have Mentioned the Harvest Moon

Since the Full Harvest Moon is technically today Universal Time and since it was full in my side of the hemisphere last night at 11:30 pm I feel accurate saying you can see it tonight just as full after sunset.  It is cloudy in my world today but I did get to see it in an overcast sky last night.

The autumn equinox was September 22 and the full moon nearest to that date is the Harvest Moon.  Sometimes the Harvest Moon falls in October.  Which is tomorrow!

If I had been blogging last week I would have mentioned how I had to fly to Michigan and how I got a surprise at the Atlanta airport.  I have written before how there are 20 or so security lines and only about three with the  body scanners of which I opt out.  To my surprise the security line just to view your ticket and ID took forever and that is because they closed every security lane with the "old fashioned" metal detectors and used only the few with the radiating body scanners.

Every single person goes into the body scanner with legs spread and arms up without saying a word.  I think that is sad.  However, without even the parent asking, asking I notice they let children go through the old fashioned metal detectors.

The line to wait to put your belongings on the table to be x-rayed was very long.  One lady told me she was going to miss her plane.  I suggested that she ask people if she could move ahead.  People were kind and said sure (it is Karma--what if that was your mother, daughter, etc.) but it didn't help as I saw her later turned away at her gate.

It will be interesting to see when I go back to the airport in 10 days if that was just a day to get the government's money's worth out of the scanners or if it was just something about that day.

Of course at the smaller airports I am at when I return home, it is always the body scanner and I always opt out.  I am not happy that I no longer see signs stating that people CAN opt out.  I am so polite when I tell the TSA person after I have two bins and two bags on the belt that I would like to opt out.  The TSA agent in Michigan said, "Why?  It is just scanning your skin?"  To which I replied, "I'd like to opt out."  People do not have to answer anything.  People do not have to answer where they are going or why they are traveling. 

However, my seatmates on the flight back most likely hated me as I was that person who blew her nose every 15 minutes.  I didn't have enough tissues so the ones I had ended up so wet I could have wrung them out.  I still have a bad sinus cold.

You know what else bothered me on the two flights?  The flight attendants scared me to death.  On the flight to Michigan we were apparently getting near some choppy air over Indiana.  The plane is in total silence, no air antics are going on, and a female flight attendant blurts out, "GET BACK IN YOUR SEATS AND FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT."  I seriously need to offer to the TSA to just drug me out stone cold, and put me in a seat, and wake me up when we land.  There was barely any turbulance and the pilot then nicely stated that we would have a little bit of choppy weather.

THEN on the return flight the two male attendants were serving beverages and just as they were at my aisle--it was getting choppy--a female flight attendant BLURTS out, "WE ARE STOPPING THE BEVERAGE SERVICE as it is TOO DANGEROUS for the flight attendants."

Really?  She had to use the word DANGEROUS?  Maybe if I were a little bit older and therefore a little bit bolder I would have counseled her upon our exit that she may want to deliver her announcement in a more calm and positive way.

But at that point I was just so glad to be almost home on a beautiful late September day.

What's Up with my Teenage Boys

So, high school has been in sesh for a month and our two high schoolers get up super early and drive together.  Our 9th grader needs a lot of time in the am so he gets up at 5:35 am.  Then they leave at about 6:45.  I get up at 6:30 and see them off.  They make their lunches every day.  Sometimes Oldest leaves his wallet in unbeknownst places and we start the day in a hectic fret.

Besides driving, Oldest has hit some other milestones.  He applied for a few part time jobs in the past four months but it took a friend to get him his first job that he started last weekend.  Isn't that how it often is? .....knowing someone helps pull you in the door.  His friend up the street started working as a busboy at a nearby popular place, where his sister is a waitress.  Then they needed another busboy so he suggested Oldest and the mgr said OK.   Oldest trained last weekend.  He will like having a job, I know. 

For work he has to wear jeans and a black t-shirt so tonight we went out to Target and TJ Maxx and he drove and I actually didn't even grab the dashboard once.  Progress on my part.  When kids drive and parents sit, it makes for good conversation time!  Last night I made cookies and there was only an inch of milk left in the fridge so we sent him off to the store, which is an awesome thing.  I do still have my freak out moments such as two weeks ago he went to a nearby gas station for a Sunday paper (Hubs still likes a paper--I know, so old school) and he took too long so I hopped in my car to go looking.  The dumb gas station had run out so he went elsewhere.

We have a deal that if we need him to run errands we will fill the tank.  We have been needing him to go back to the high school almost every day this week (I am swamped at work with afternoon calls) and bring home his 9th grade brother from cross country practice.  High school gets out around 2:15 p.m. and Oldest comes home and then goes back to get Middle son at 4:00.  We have tried and tried to get some parents together to carpool but so far no dice.  Middle son is one of the few 9th grade boys on cross country.  One mom told me she would bring him home on Wednesdays.  Apparently I forgot to remind him to wear a shirt.  Every day when we get him he is chillin out in running shorts only.  Last week he rode home with this other mom and he walks in the door with no shirt and I had a fit.

Here is is today after school, in his running apparel, happy  and chill as can be, digging in to taco night:

Last weekend Hubs and I drove 1.5 hours to north GA to see him race.  It was a beautiful day and here are the varsity boys ready to start:

I was telling Hubs the other day the in one year we will have three teenage boys.  Youngest turns 12 in one week.  He doesn't leave for the bus until 8:45 am.  He gets home at almost 5:00 and that is when I had better have taco time almost ready or something lovin in the oven for these guys.

We Are Free to Choose Many Paths to our Success

When I hear a multitude of public speakers claim that America needs to produce more engineers or similar professions I think it is the wrong message for an entire group.  I also do not understand why American students are compared to Chinese students.  How many of us have lived in China (a closed society) and experienced life as a student?  I am friends with several people who have up close and personal knowledge of their life there.  There, the students go to school six days a week.  And they go at night as well as day.  In order for Americans to emulate this, the school day and year would need to be much longer than it is...among other changes as well.

It has also been observed that other countries are producing more and more data collectors.  That is something I have seen within the school system here.  The “bean counters” in the administrative offices are counting the test data of our students.  How many students passed the big test at the end of the year (and all the other tests too)?  Many teachers are being graded on that “success”.  There is no grade for the student who just arrived in the class one month prior from a different school.  There is no grade for a student who improved so much between August and April, but didn’t score high enough on the Big Test.  There is no removal of that child from an American public school to eliminate him/her from the data.

We need to remember that China screens students and also guides them to the area they would excel as an adult according to their data .  United States’ public schools teach whomever walks in the door.  China will not include the brightest students in the school’s test scores—those students are guided to a trade, which will best serve their country.  In their high school, there is one big test and if it is not passed there is no entry to college.  At all.

I also do not agree with the messages I hear every day that every child should go to college and therefore that is the path to achievement.  I live in a community of many cultures.  The students in my sons’ schools have parents who speak 40 different languages (this is regular public school and this is the South and this is a metro area which is actually more diverse than you would imagine).  Many students’ parents arrived in the United States with nothing and now have their own businesses and their children will work to help the family.  Maybe they will get a college degree but their parents’ success without a college degree should be recognized.

At high school here the required courses are offered in several levels, such as “basic”, “honors” and “gifted”.  What is the basic level called?  College Prep.  I don’t agree with that.  It is called that because the courses are designed that if they are passed, those are the requirements for college (4 years of math, 2 years of foreign language, etc.).  The high school drop out rate is higher than we realize.  And where is the technical path anymore?  Shouldn’t we offer trade learning?  I am not seeing job availability for engineers and architects but I am seeing successful plumbers, electricians, and more.  And the South will always need residential and commercial A/C companies.

And don’t even get me started on the too-high cost of a four year college.  There are so many paths to success and I hope that more students and families can know the value of a beginning at a two-year college after high school or a trade or a combo.  We know some local high school girls who do not score well on tests who have learning disabilities.  However these girls have incredible personalities and can speak well and interact socially.  I know they will be successful even though this is not reflected in an SAT score.   It is frustrating to see more and more value placed on bean counters and data.

So much to say about Education--I am so glad that Gretchen chose it for today's Spin Cycle theme.

Great....Now Everyone is an American Picker

You could say that hubs and I have been "green" about our household decor for as long as we have known each other.  One of our favorite pastimes is browsing secondhand stores around our town as well as when on vacation.

When we moved into this hourse over six years ago we needed furniture and decor for our screened porch and more.  We found a huge store packed from floor to ceiling with "treasures".  However, over the past two years we have rarely found something to bring home--the prices have really gone up.  We blame shows such as American Pickers.  I guess sellers realize people will now pay higher prices for "good finds".

Many rooms in our house have some of our treasures.  Here is an angled window high up in our family room:

These bowls were found for about $25.00--we still see them around but now they're at least $50.00:

Hubs really wanted this fan to go on our screened porch.  It was one of the more "expensive" finds a few years ago for $35:

It does a great job of creating a breeze but you'd probably lose a finger if it got too close.

We found a metal floor mat that says "WELCOME" and decided to hang it on the porch:

So now that we do not have a TV producer's wallet with us as we scout items for our home, we are glad that we found some treasures in the past to enjoy.  And as soon as it cools off outside we will go out on our screened porch in the trees.