Bring it to the table, bring what I am able

Firstly, in the spirit of fairness, I should feel like I should disclose that Isaac's dad DID show up yesterday after work. And I gave them some ideas on what to do to entertain themselves and then went upstairs and did my own thing, instead of lingering around trying to facilitate interactions. So that was good.

Secondly, what the heck is going on with Blogger? The spacing and formatting keys have been messed up for weeks now. Spell checker doesn't work. What the heck?! I'm getting tired of formatting everything myself with html. Get your act together Blogger!!!!

Anyways, onto what I really want to talk about. After watching The Human Experience, I was feeling really bummed. I was so inspired to, like, go to Calcutta and work amongst the impoverished. I was feeling rather discouraged because I'm not someone, like my sister, that gets called on to drop everything and go to places like North Carolina, and just get busy serving humanity where there is a huge need. I want to do something service oriented that feels really important.

Anyways, yesterday was the culmination of the a big food drive I helped organize at church for the North Coventry Food Bank. We met to load up everything and bring it all over to the pantry. There is a couple who is called to work with the YSAs and he is a night manager for Target. He arranged for Target to donate all of their damaged stuff from the month of April to the pantry. I expected a few ripped boxes of trash bags and maybe a couple of cases of toilet paper. He showed up with a *huge* truck load of diapers, paper towels, sandwich bags, laundry detergent, baby wipes, and cleaning supplies. This was in addition to the food that we had been able to collect from the congregation. We met the lady at the food pantry and unloaded it all.

I had spoken with her on a phone a few times to make arrangements but I didn't know where the pantry was. Turns out, it is less than 3 minutes away from where I live-- just a little storage room in the basement of the township building. She was so appreciative and sweet. She said that they never get significant donations this time of year and that she was overwhelmed by the amount that we had brought her.

Times are tough for everyone, and money is always tight for me. My budget is so tight that any unexpected expense feels like an emergency. But I have so much to be grateful for. I have never had a situation where I didn't have food to eat or put on the table for Isaac. I also have a supportive family who I know I could turn to if my financial situation ever became truly dire. It was very humbling to think that there are 90 families in my immediate area who depend on the foodbank to get by. The whole experience reminded me of a quote I heard once by C.S. Lewis. I tried to find it to share it exactly, but I can't find it. Anyways, it was essentially saying that one of the tricks of the devil is to let you think that you can only be effective if you are providing relief to people across the world, and thus you ignore the needs of people right under your own nose-- pretty much my exact attitude.

Not to toot my own horn here (too much) but I guess it was just a nice little affirmation. I may not be able to volunteer in an orphanage in Ghana like my sister, but I *can* do things that are important to people who live right around me. I organized an effort that filled up the food pantry that is right in my own backyard. That food might end up on the tables of kids in Isaac's class. Hopefully in the summer when my schedule open's up a bit more I can devote some more time to helping out there or at the Cluster of Religious Communities in Pottstown. It's so easy to get trapped in that self centered mindset of "me, me, me". I really want to make a concerted effort to try to focus on others' needs.

Anyways, that's all for now. Spring break is over and back to the grind of the school year. I just need to push on a little longer until June.

Okay, I finally updated last years goals/progress page. I'm not sure how I want to handle this year's goals yet.

and now back to your regularly scheduled life

• Ugh back to work tomorrow. Part of me looks forward to the return to routine, but part of me knows that it will be a disaster since Isaac and I have been staying up and waking up way too late. I have enjoyed the long lazy days, but a lack of structure definitely takes its toll. Too much TV, too much wii, too much junk food, etc.
• I did get all of the Christmas decorations taken down, do some crafting, read some books, excercise a fair amount and finally catch up on laundry. Usually I just root through the laundry baskets and pull out socks, underwear, pajamas and workpants to wash. When we were briefly snowed in I did load after load of laundry. It got to the point where the drawers were totally full and there was still more to be put away. I counted, and I have 27 clean and ironed pairs of workpants in my closet! I was shocked. I mean, I only work five days a week and I frequently wear skirts or dresses too.
• This inspired me to go through and get rid of clothes that are worn, faded, stained, just don't fit right, etc. I also managed to get Isaac to sort through a bin box of toys that have been in the basement for over a year now. I was reluctant to let some of them go, but he didn't seem to mind as much as me. Now I have a huge bag to take over to Goodwill this week.
• I have quite a bit to look forward to this week though. I know some of my friends get annoyed by my insistence of planning ahead for social activities, but this is how I survive. I know that if I can hang in there x days, then I will get to do something fun. This week I am having dinner with a friend on Wednesday night, Friday I am hopping on a train to Philly to celebrate my girl Becca's birthday with some close girlfriends. We tend to celebrate our birthdays by dinners out and then going to dance clubs and/or piano bars in the Gayborhood. I believe that is the exact agenda for Friday, so I am looking forward to that.
• Saturday I will be getting my car inspected (the brakes are really squeeling which is not good) and then going back into the city to see Mary Fahl in concert at the Tin Angel. I saw her in concert when I was hugely pregnant and sort of fell in love with her. I listened to her cds over and over during that time in my life, and her music takes me right back.
• So looking forward to fun things should help me get through what will likely be a rough week back at school.
• I will report on last year's goals soon and identify some new ones. I haven't updated that tab in ages. I didn't get to everything, but I did get to quite a bit.
• Someone must have heard my rant because today they announced that our weekly FHE's are going to be replaced with monthly service projects. Now that I can handle. It might mean I can occasionally make it to Monday night yoga. I've sure missed it! They also asked me to speak in church next week, and asked me to sub for the Sunday School teacher. I will be very busy preparing for all of that.
• I managed to remember to register Isaac for spring soccer. Thank goodness after the fall season fiasco. He is old enough now that he will have a practice on a weekday in addition to a Saturday game.
• I think I'm getting the hang of Twitter. Although, I don't really need another social networking site to engage in heavy cyberstalking waste time. I decided I must become active on it though to prove that I am still young and relevant. It makes me feel so old to not understand it.
• I ended up actually having a very enjoyable New Year's Eve, despite my prediction that it would be another unmemorable one. A few of my friends got together for a small party. The girls who hosted had their nephew there who is a year older than Isaac, so it worked out well to bring him along. I figured we would just drop by briefly, but Isaac was so well behaved we ended up staying till after 12. I was honestly impressed he could stay up so late. It was low key but very enjoyable.
• Anyways, I should get off the computer and do lunches, lay out clothes, pack up bags for tomorrow. Have a lovely week!

Random gym stuff

• Why every time do I go to the gym and I want to watch some Bravo is it super old reruns of Top Chef? I don't want to watch Carla and Hung. Give me some Kathy Griffin or some Bethenny Getting Married. Sheesh.
• Speaking of gym pet peeves what is with women my mom's age wearing THONGS to the gym. THONGS!!!!! Don't ask me how I know; I mean, it's obvious. You're standing right in front of me in your skin tight workout pants with obvious thong lines. incidently, I'm talking black leggings with lace at the bottom. **Shudder** Now don't get me wrong, I've been known to rock a thong. There are certainly times when it is appropriate. THE GYM IS NOT ONE OF THOSE TIMES!!! It's okay to have granny panty lines when you are sweating to death on a treadmill. Or better yet, wear pants that are a tiny bit looser. Sheesh. **Stepping down off soapbox**
• In other news, I've started a running regimen. Never in my whole life (even when I was skinny and in super in-shape) have I ever been able to run for more than a few minutes and I pretty much felt like I was going to die the whole time. I got sick of it though. I'm only 28 for crying out loud. There is no reason that I shouldn't be able to run a mile, despite my someone more rounded physique. Also, I can bike 20 miles. I know it's different muscles and stuff but if I can pound out 20 miles on the bike there is no reason I shouldn't be able to run ONE.
• So I am proud to announce that for the first time IN.MY.LIFE. I have been able to run more than a mile. Today I've built up to 17 straight minutes which is *almost* a mile and a half. I know, I'm sure there are serious runners reading this who are scoffing but it's a big deal for me. So anyways, I working on it. If I can keep progressing my goal is a 5k sometime in the fall. And at this point I would now say I would I have a love/hate relationship with running, as opposed to my former hate/hate relationship. I am finding myself looking forward to my running days. So that's fun.
• I'm also still loving yoga again. Unfortuneatly I haven't been able to go as much as I would like, because one of the classes is scheduled when the gym childwatch is closed.

Here are some of my favorite poses (I love the balance ones!):

Chair Pose

Tree pose

So fun and relaxing.

Update

I'm assuming those of you who check this blog on any kind of basis have at least a marginal interest in my life. You might have noticed that quality/quantity of posts has been down lately.

Well.

It's summer vacation and we are in total relax mode now.

Summer school is done. I pulled Isaac out of pre-K and we are just taking a month or so to be together and do fun stuff and take each day as it comes.

My mom commented the other day that I seem so much more relaxed and happy now when we talk. Yeah, not working 40 plus hours a week and being stretched ridiculously thin will do that.

It's LOVELY.

I've just been trying to savor July which is wide open and wonderful. August gets a bit busier with my sister's wedding, family vacations and back to school.

So what have we been doing?

Excercise

I had an unfortuneate mishap with my bike rack (I backed the car over it one day in my hurry to get to work). It actually belonged to my dad and I felt quite bad about destroying it. He is the one who bought me my bike and loaned me his bike rack and has really encouraged me to keep up with it. Anyways, he ended up buying me another one, although I haven't been able to get out on the trail yet. It's too hot in the middle of the day (100+ degrees) when I tend to have a sitter. My body is craving a long ride though, so hopefully soon.

I rejoined a gym and I have been excercising almost every day. I've forgotten how amazing it feels to get sweaty and have warm muscles and endorphins running through your body. I've been doing their Zumba which is totally addicting and yoga. The other day though the Zumba teacher was sick and the replacement teacher did a body pump circuit class with cardio and weights and I really enjoyed that as well, so maybe I will try some other classes too. I even ran for a bit on the treadmill yesterday and miraculously didn't die. I'm not going to try to set some lofty weight loss goal or anything but it feels good to be moving again and hopefully the result will be better cardio endurance/toning up. I tend to eat better too when I have worked out, so I think that helps too. I know I won't be able to keep up my six days a week work out schedule once school starts up again, but hopefully I can keep up with occasional classes.

Home projects

I should get some pictures up. I've been slowly clearing out the basement (which is really unfinished back half of the first floor of my house). It's halfway framed out all ready and my brother Joe says that for 100 bucks he could frame out the rest of it. We have to do the framing before we can lay the tile floor, which is what I really want. After living here barely a year the linoleum in the entryway is totally stained (thanks to potty training a baby kitten) and ripped and I just want it gone. Sadly, I won't be able to afford the new flooring for quite a while but I wouldn't mind having everything ready to go as I slowly squirrel away money.

I also have been trying to tackle smaller projects too. I finally replaced the hideous throw pillows that came with my couch with more attractive ones. I finally replaced my teenager style bedding with something I like a lot more. I ordered some curtains for my bedroom. Hopefully I will get some curtains up in the living room/kitchen before the summer is out and this place can start looking like a finished home instead of a half inhabited fraternity house.

Joe also came this weekend and spent the better part of Saturday painting the entry way and downstairs stairway. I wish I would have taken some before pictures so you could truly appreciate what an improvement it is. Builders white is so unattractive and I think the whole entryway feels so much warmer and inviting now that it is painted a soft beige. We hadn't thought it would take so long, but it took nearly two hours just to tape everything off before we could even begin to paint. The entryway is pretty much just an open space with a series of doors: the front door, the door to the powder room, coat closet, garage, the furnace room, and the unfinished basement, so it was a ton to tape off. Then since the walls really hadn't ever been painted before they really soaked up the paint and we went through more than we had planned. Joe is extremely sought after for his handyman/painting skills, and people pay him a ton of money, so I am so lucky when he agrees to squeeze me in and work on my house for free. He even commented as he was taping endlessly, "This better at least make the blog!" So I will give him an official shout-out: THANKS JOE FOR YOUR WONDERFUL WORK ON MY HOUSE! It looks fantastic! It was fun to spend the day with you! I love you!

Here we are riding around in the back of his truck with the paint (don't worry mom, just around the neighborhood, not out on the open road or anything).

I even helped Joe this time (generally he won't let me anywhere near it). I did all the brushwork and he came behind me with the roller which sped things up I think. I learned a lot of good tips. This only leaves the upstairs hallway/stairwell and my bedroom left to paint. I'm pretty excited. In other home project news I have been doing crazy clean outs. I've been through both our closets, sorted through all Isaac's toys and movies and quite a bit of the garage and basement. I have to make some decisions about a few things still, and possibly list some things on Craig's list and put in some better systems to organize the things that I have decided to keep. I'm trying to tackle at least a drawer or a surface every day. I am not a terrible packrat or anything, but my organization skills definitely leave room for improvement. It is amazing how much stuff just accumulates quickly in the house too. It feels good to clean out and hopefully pass things on to people who can use them. I also borrowed my parents carpet cleaner and that is on this week's to do list as well. The carpets are looking quite shabby. Hopefully a few passes with the cleaning machine will restore them somewhat. Dating I'm not going to elaborate much, but I am dipping my toe tenatively back in the dating pool. Nothing serious yet but I am enjoying myself. PDH randomly called me the other day and we had a decent conversation. Afterwards I realized that I no longer think about him every day anymore, don't find myself resisting urges to text him mundane details about my everyday life, or trying to figure out what went wrong. So yes, things are fine in this department as well. But no details yet. =) Playdates/Hanging with Friends and Family

It has always been my fantasy to have a single mom friend that I could talk to about life, thatI could trade babysitting with, etc. etc. Well, my childhood best friend moved back to the area with her three girls and we have been hanging out with them almost every day. Really, I don't have any friends at all with kids period, so it's nice to have that in common with someone, and to have someone to call up when we are headed to the park. They have a pool in their apartment complex that they have invited us to quite a few times. A few times now she has watched Isaac while I've gone to work out and then when I've returned I've watched the kids while she goes shopping/runs errands/etc. alone. It's really nice to have a non-family member I can call up fairly last minute who I feel totally comfortable leaving Isaac with.

Here are some pictures of Isaac with her oldest Sandra when we took them to a fair the other day.

You wouldn't know it from this picture but Sandra actually LOVED the cotton candy

and Isaac hated it and was in the process of spitting it out.

It's fun now that he isn't totally terrified of rides like he was last summer. Anyways, there is lots more to report but I'm sort of running out of steam. Keep checking back, I promise I will be better about blogging. And leave comments!

namaste

I did yoga tonight for the first time since college. Suprrisingly, I am still pretty limber, considering how round and out of shape I have become over the years. Anyways, I forgot how much I LOVE it. I hope I can continue to do it at least once a week even once school starts up again. It's so relaxing. I love the chance to be still and focus on breathing and stretching and being in the moment. Check out this (not terribly research based) article that lists 77 benefits of yoga.

Here's the list of 2010 Resolutions and progress made: Ride my bike to work at least once Definitely possible in terms of distance but I don't know if it is feasible in terms of not dying. The roads I would have to take don't have shoulders and are very busy. Plus I would have to cross a narrow bridge and the sidewalk part of it is closed. AND people in Pottstown just are not used to dealing with bikers on the road. It's not off the table though if I got up really early or posisbly over the summer. Organize office, craft, sewing and scrapbook supplies and start using the office as a functional craft space In progress. I hauled out a ton of stuff I had been hoarding, organized my filing cabinet, gave away heaps of scrapbooking stuff to my mom. The fabric and other craft stuff is organized. There is still a ways to go in there but major progress has been made. Finish painting the rest of the house No new progress to report. Make a loaf of bread from scratch. Go one week without the internet I'm counting it. --->Completed 1/15 Take at least one mural tour in Philly I'm definitely knocking this out within the next few weeks. As soon as Isaac's dad gets back from South Africa and I get a Saturday to myself. Fly a kite Still can't find anything to fix the kite. And we've had lots of good kite flying days. Scrapbook 3 pages a month No scrapbook pages done. I gave away quite a bit of my scrapbook stuff as I cleaned out the office. I just haven't felt drawn to it lately the way I used to. Work out twice a week Yeah... ummm... I haven't hit this every time. Start composting No new progress to report. Take Isaac camping Soon! Soon! Drink 8 glasses of water a day Very hit or miss. If I remember to bring my water bottle into school I do better. Otherwise it will be like, 8 at night and I will be like, "Why the heck am I so parched?" and then I will realize I have drank, like 2 glasses of water all day. Take a class on something hobby related I've gotten some girldfriends to agree to try some yoga classes with me this summer. We've tossed around the idea of Zumba as well. Make progress towards getting my elementary certification (right now I am highly qualified in elementary ed, but it is more desirable to be dually certified) No and I MUST do something to get rolling on this over the summer. Floss daily Another total and complete FAIL. I just hate flossing. No two ways around it. Read three books before I head to the beach Done! I read Anne of Green Gables, Mary Ellen Edmund's Speaks and Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult. I also finished The Time Traveler's Wife but I started that one last year. Reading more books has me watching a lot less TV which is a great thing. Eat more homemade meals and less frozen stuff and fast food Slight improvement but still a long, long, long way to go. Grow something edible and eat it I had a basil plant growing on my window sill for this exact purpose but the cats ATE it. So back to the drawing board on this one. Write a blog post when each of these is completed will do...

I am a (small) step closer to crossing off another resolution. My sister got me the above book for Mother's Day and I finished it in several sittings while in Florida. I've heard Mary Ellen Edmunds speak a few times now and I have read many of her talks. She is so fabulous and funny. Her book was uplifting and an easy read. Each chapter was a different topic based on excerpts from talks she has given. Thank you Jenny for such a great read!

Resolution Report

Here's the list of 2010 Resolutions and progress made:

• Ride my bike to work at least once Definitely possible in terms of distance but I don't know if it is feasible in terms of not dying. The roads I would have to take don't have shoulders and are very busy. Plus I would have to cross a narrow bridge and the sidewalk part of it is closed. AND people in Pottstown just are not used to dealing with bikers on the road. It's not off the table though if I got up really early.
• Organize office, craft, sewing and scrapbook supplies and start using the office as a functional craft space In progress. The closet still looks like a bomb hit it. But I did unpack the sewing machine and make very small inroads on the organization front.
• Finish painting the rest of the house The living room is now painted. This only leaves the hallways, my bedroom, and the powder which is painted but that I already want to repaint. So I am making progress on this one.
• Make a loaf of bread from scratch
• Go one week without the internet I'm counting it. --->Completed 1/15
• Take at least one mural tour in Philly I couldn't do this one until spring (they don't give the tours in the winter). Now my Saturdays are filled with soccer. But I am going to at least get it on the calendar soon. Anyone want to join me??
• Fly a kite Isaac and I busted the kite out the other day for fun and discovered the dowel that goes across the width of the kite is missing. I will have to try to fashion a replacement. That was sad.
• Scrapbook 3 pages a month EPIC FAIL. Haven't done a single page this year. Probably because all my supplies are such an unorganized mess (see previous unfinished resolution).
• Work out twice a week Yeah... ummm... I haven't hit this every time.
• Start composting I did a bit of research on this and talked to my gf who composts and lives in an apartment and she gave me some good tips. But I have yet to actually do anything to start.
• Take Isaac camping
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day Very hit or miss. If I remember to bring my water bottle into school I do better. Otherwise it will be like, 8 at night and I will be like, "Why the heck am I so parched?" and then I will realize I have drank, like 2 glasses of water all day.
• Take a class on something hobby related Not yet, unless you count me going with my friend Jami to her adult gymnastics class. My composted girlfriend did invite me to an urban bee keeping class but I couldn't make it. Not sure that is the hobby I want to tackle right now anyways. So, this one is still incomplete.
• Make progress towards getting my elementary certification (right now I am highly qualified in elementary ed, but it is more desirable to be dually certified) No and I MUST do something to get rolling on this over the summer.
• Floss daily Another total and complete FAIL. I have yet to floss in 2010. I know, it's terrible. I have a dentist appointment in a week and I fully expect to be reamed out and lectured about gum disease.
• Read three books before I head to the beach I am about 1/2 way through Anne of Green Gables (reread) and halfway through The Total Money Makeover. I can only read that one in small bursts, because while it is very inspirational, it makes me feel terrible about the state of my finances.
• Eat more homemade meals and less frozen stuff and fast food Slight improvement but still a long, long, long way to go.
• Grow something edible and eat it I had a basil plant growing on my window sill for this exact purpose but the cats ATE it. So back to the drawing board on this one.
• Write a blog post when each of these is completed will do...

How are you doing with your resolutions?

So here I am

Week without Internet I didn't survive seven days. I decided a work week was good enough. I discovered I really, really miss Blogger and Google, but Facebook wasn't too hard to live without. I was surprised though at how often a random (and trivial) thought would pop into my head and I would find myself with the urge to log into facebook and share it or make it into a quick blog post. It's weird how social networking makes us feel the need to broadcast mundane aspects of our lives. Anyways, I have been inspired to try to keep my Facebooking time to a minimum from here on out because it really wasn't that hard. Isaac Is pretty much the most hilarious kid on the planet and I am in denial that we have about a month left in the year of being four. Four has definitely been my favorite age to date. Three was very volatile but four is just independence and personality. We will see what five brings. =) Today he and I were laying on my bed and he picked up a hairbrush and started reinacting this scene... Clearly he was Glenda and I was Elphaba. I guess I have had the soundtrack on heavier rotation than I realized in preparation for next weekend. Oh yeah I guess I should come clean on my blog about the fact that I am dating someone now. :-) I don't plan on making him a regular topic on the blog but I'll address what I anticipate are the FAQ's... * How did you meet him? E-harmony. Way better than LDS dating websites. Yeah, I said it. * Tell us about him? He's 31. from central PA, went to PSU (oh the horror for a Pitt alum such as myself!), lives in North Wales. He works in a retirement home overseeing all of their foodservice stuff. I don't understand the details really, but he wears a shirt and tie to work and is not a lunchlady. We have pretty much nothing in common, but we get along very well. * Is he Mormon? Nope. Lapsed Catholic. * Are you okay with that? Yup. I live in the middle of no where on the East Coast, I attend a family ward, and have probably met every single LDS guy in the tri-state area. I'm unwilling to relocate to Utah or some other Mormon Mecca. I'm a ripe old 28 which we all know is Mormon old-maid-menace-to-society-territory and throw in the fact that I am an (unmarried!) mom to a mixed race child and it's not like LDS guys are lining up to date me. I'm fine with dating someone who is not LDS. * When did you meet him? E-mailed back and forth all summer, met for the first time in August. Started dating "for real" in like, mid-September. * Do you have any pictures of him? Not ones where he doesn't look terrifying. But he looks sort of like the guy from Hitch, Kevin James. * Can we get a name? How about initials? PDH. New Years Goals Update: Ride my bike to work at least once Organize office, craft, sewing and scrapbook supplies and start using the office as a functional craft space Finish painting the rest of the house ------>my brother is coming Monday to repaint the Barney purple bathroom and hopefully the living room. Make a loaf of bread from scratch Go one week without the internet I'm counting it. --->Completed 1/15 Take at least one mural tour in Philly Fly a kite Scrapbook 3 pages a month Work out twice a week ---->Yeah... ummm... Start composting Take Isaac camping Drink 8 glasses of water a day ------>Doing pretty well with this one actually Take a class on something hobby related Make progress towards getting my elementary certification (right now I am highly qualified in elementary ed, but it is more desirable to be dually certified) Floss daily I have yet to floss in 2010. Read three books before I head to the beach ----->I did finish the Time Traveler's Wife today. Although I started it last year, so I dunno if it should count. Eat more homemade meals and less frozen stuff and fast food Grow something edible and eat it Write a blog post when each of these is completed What's new in your world??

One of my resolutions is to go a week without using the internet. I find myself endless sucked into facebook and surfing blogs and... it eats up a lot of my time. I used to be such a huge reader and I have found that I am still working on my beach book from August (The Time Traveler's Wife-- which, in my defense is over 500 pages long). Anyways, I thought a computer hiatus might free up time to get a jump start on some of my other goals and if nothing else will give me some momentum by having one thing crossed off the list before the end of January.

So it will be a while until the blog is updated. Keep strong loyal readers (all three of you!)

The rules:

• Internet free week starts tomorrow, January 11, whenever I wake up and ends January 18th when I wake up.
• I am allowed to use the internet at work. I can check work e-mail (if you need it, lemme know) and go on other work related websites (IEPWriter, Edhelper, whatever).
• I'm also allowed to check my bank website.
• No chatting, no Facebook, no Blogger, no Hotmail, no yahoo maps, no youtube, no googling recipes, addresses, phone numbers, etc.

I'll be back in a week to report. Wish me luck! I'm not terribly disciplined when it comes to denying myself anything I enjoy but I am excited to see what I can get done this week if I am cutting down on my screen time.