Those crazy kids!
Friday, September 4, 2009
It's been too long
Okay, I am WAY overdue on the whole writing thing here! The kids started school Aug. 24. Evan is a sophomore this year. He went to two days of practice for football and decided he didn't want to play anymore. Now everyone knows how much I love football, but if his heart wasn't in it I couldn't see myself sitting through every game watching him stand on the sideline for the majority of the game. So I gave him my blessing, but made him tell Jeff who told Maia he was disappointed, but we would respect his decision. This change in schedule will allow him to do Driver's Ed this fall instead of this winter. So I anticipate him taking it sometime in October.
Maia is in 6th grade now. Hard to believe. At the end of last year we agreed to put her into all Pre-AP classes. So far she is complaining she is bored, but I imagine that will pass once they get through the beginning of the year review stage. Since we moved out of the Northpointe area, I received a special permission to keep her there, but I am responsible for transporting her to and from school instead of taking a bus. She doesn't mind. She wasn't too fond of the bus, riding with junior high kids or catching it at 6:40 a.m. Her main teacher is Mr. Snell, and older man who has been teaching since 1979 and spent 25 years teaching in Ecuador.
Maia is now a Super Nova in gymnastics. It has been just a little over a year since she started at the Cypress Academy of Gymnastics and she has advanced six levels and now goes two days a week, but also costs me $100 a month now. However it seems she has found her "thing" she likes to do outside of school. Her favorite apparatus are the floor and uneven bars and then the vault and balance beam. It's exciting to see Maia do so well and her coaches really give her positive encouragement when they are working with her.
Choir officially started two weeks ago with our fall kickoff which they decided to have in humid mid-90 degree weather under a tent to commemorate 10 years since they dedicated the property the church is now on. Instead of three services everyone came in for one at 10 a.m. and stayed for lunch and activities afterwards. The church is still in its growing phase. Where we currently worship is not the permanent sanctuary, but will actually be the fellowship hall. I'm not sure what the master plan is, but they will build the sanctuary adjacent to the current one. There is a youth building, school from Preschool to 5th grade, soccer/lacrosse fields, softball/baseball field and newly dedicated walking trail. Musically the anthems selected for the first two months are boring and kind of one note for the altos. Luckily there is still ASH (A Servant's Heart) the praise team that keeps things interesting.
I am still at the magazine. As of today I am one week away from my writer's deadline to turn their stories in to me and then I will have a week to edit them and turn them in to the office for design for the Winter issue that will be out in mid-November. My work on this issue will mark a year since I started with Cy-Fair Magazine. I have some good stories coming up for the issue and I'm sure we'll end up with a good product. This issue I'll be writing a story about the new President of the Cy-Fair Chamber and a listing of Asian restaurants in Cy-Fair in addition to my other responsibilities as editor including Notes and News, Event Calendar, Campus Profile, Health Bulletins and my editorial.
I also took on a job at the end of July with the choreographer of the Disney's High School Musical show I stage managed this past summer. One day he called me and asked if I would be interested in managing the office since his current and now former office manager was leaving to run a dance school. It is also part-time although I think he would like me to consider full-time after the new year. There are two sides of the job. One is danceStaff.com. Basically a staffing agency for dance teachers and studio owners. You can check it out at www.danceStaff.com. The site is currently in its Beta phase, but we are hoping to go live by the end of the year. We like to compare it to the monster.com for dancers. Dancers will be able to post their information on the site and employers can fill positions in their schools. Beyond the "head hunting" or recruiting aspect of it, we will also do a placement or concierge service meaning beyond submitting the potential teachers to the studio owner, we coordinate the interview, handle contract negotiations and also handle the paperwork and payment of the teacher. The owner treats the student as their employee but pays us directly. To date we have 7 clients and have placed a teacher in Virginia as well.
The other part of the job is the production side. Last month we took over an event from a client who defaulted on her contract and brought Tabitha D'umo (one half of the hip hop choreography team Tabith and Napoleon) from So You Think You Can Dance and local dancer/choreographer from the Bravo show Step It Up and Dance Nick Drago. We went from only having 50 attend to having nearly 120. It was a lot of "doing" (marketing, sales, registration, merchandise) etc. to do in a short time, but we pulled it off and had a great event! Another bonus is that the pay I receive for being on staff at these events (this time I was a production assistant) is above what I am paid to be in the office. Our next event will be the Telfair International Music Festival www.telfairlifeimf.com Oct. 3 which is a day-long event I will also be working on.
We also have a product called The Prodigy Project which is a music theater intensive program that can be facilitated by community theater organizations teaching basics in acting including preparing for the audition process, dance (basics of tap, jazz and ballet) and voice (singing). The main Prodigy Project is a week in NYC immersing the students in "what it's like to be on Broadway." One of the founders of the project with my boss is an actor who will be on a new Disney sitcom called The Wannabes. You can Google that and it will come up. He will play the school principal. So I'm busy and I've heard through the grapevine Houston Center Stage would like me to direct Annie for mid-Feb. but I'm not convinced I want to do it.
Eli is not quite officially potty trained although he knows how and will do it on his own if he's not too busy. You know it's time when he asks me if I'll change him if he poops and goes and gets the wipes and pull up on his own. He still goes to Esmeralda's now every day when I work and so I know he's well taken care of. Last week we went to the Halloween Express store and bought him a new Batman costume. His other two are way too small now and so now he has an official "Dark Knight" costume...this would be #3.
Okay, so that's it in a nutshell! I'll be back to write more...there are a lot more adventures on the horizon...and remind me to tell you about being stuck in the elevator at the Westin Galleria (swanky hotel in Houston) for 35 minutes!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Official back up singer!
I have more to write, but just wanted to share that yesterday I recorded tracks for two songs on our Worship and Arts Director's CD he is recording at his home. He has a full sound studio in his house. He's recording a CD of Christian Contemporary music and yesterday at church asked me if I could come in and do some recording. Of course I said yes! How often does one get to get credits on a CD as a backup singer! :) So I did both the soprano and alto part for one song and just the alto for the other. It was fun! I'll blog more about other stuff later today or tomorrow. :)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Sickly - ness and stuff
Well it started last week Sunday, Eli woke up from his nap with a fever that he had for four days until I took him to the doctor who said his ears, lungs and chest were clear. He was concerned we might have to take him to get further testing to rule out pneumonia, but luckily his fever went away after "treating" it aggressively alternating Tylenol and Motrin every three hours and a prescription cough medicine he prescribed. It just so happened Maia woke up not feeling so well, so I had him check her out too, and he gave her a medicine that is supposed to be administered as soon as you get the flu, but it made her sick to her stomach, so she hasn't taken it since! Maia is also feeling better after a couple of days of fever, but she says her throat still hurts. Of course mommies who kiss their children are bound to catch some form of their sickness. Mine started with the sneezing and has morphed into a runny nose, stuffiness and an occasional cough. Ugh!
On the other side of things I accepted a new job last week and started last Monday. I am now working part-time 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. for a company called Round Rock Entertainment and danceStaff.com as the Director of Operations. I was asked by the choreographer of High School Musical 2 if I would be interested in the job since his current DO is leaving to run her own dance school. With the hours and earning potential, I couldn't say no.
Round Rock oversees the production of events. For example we will be bringing Tabitha and Napoleon from So You Think You Can Dance to lead a master class Aug. 22 to Houston. If you follow the show, they are a husband and wife choreography team who has also done work on America's Best Dance Crew as well. We are also trying to get Philip who was just let go from SYTYCD a few weeks ago who is also from Houston.
danceStaff.com is in beta right now, but will be officially launched in September. I guess the best way to explain it is that we will be the "monster.com" for the dance school business. We will send candidates to studios who need teachers on a temporary or permanent basis. So my job so far has entailed sorting through 8 lists of clients, vendors, etc. so we can upload them to a master list and database.
For now I am still doing the Cy-Fair Magazine thing, which I have enjoyed, but I have always felt that being paid at the beginning of the issue and at the end - I work for free for two months in between magazines. I am also VERY micromanaged, and as editor all I do is oversee the stories and have nothing to do with the layout, design, what stories get cut, etc. and don't really see a finished product until it's about ready to go to print. My new boss is very aware that I need to stay on board with CFM until I get paid for the fall issue. If I leave before then, I know I won't see any money. Then I'll speak to the publisher about if she wants me to stay on although I won't be able to go to as many networking events as they would like me to.
High School Musical 2 opened last night. We had 335 in the house. Tonight was interesting because just as I was arriving at the college a storm was brewing and it started to rain. Which by the way we most definitely NEED the rain around here, but when it comes we usually get deluged and the sewers can't always handle it. Then it dries up and you never knew it rained at all! Anyway, the ensuing thunderstorm knocked the power out in the Fine Arts Center. So we went on hold for 45 minutes, and just about the time we were going to cancel the show for the night, the power came on and we ran the show. Tomorrow we only have 42 seats available for walk ins (the theater holds 425) and then the Monday morning show is Sold Out! This is an 8 show run. We'll finish up next weekend with one Friday, a matinee and evening show on Saturday and a matinee on Sunday.
Then....I get my life back and my family gets me back too! It's been one heck of a roller coaster ride being the stage manager for this show. And while the end product has turned out better than expected, I don't need this stress in my life for a long time to come!
That's all for now! More later! :)
On the other side of things I accepted a new job last week and started last Monday. I am now working part-time 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. for a company called Round Rock Entertainment and danceStaff.com as the Director of Operations. I was asked by the choreographer of High School Musical 2 if I would be interested in the job since his current DO is leaving to run her own dance school. With the hours and earning potential, I couldn't say no.
Round Rock oversees the production of events. For example we will be bringing Tabitha and Napoleon from So You Think You Can Dance to lead a master class Aug. 22 to Houston. If you follow the show, they are a husband and wife choreography team who has also done work on America's Best Dance Crew as well. We are also trying to get Philip who was just let go from SYTYCD a few weeks ago who is also from Houston.
danceStaff.com is in beta right now, but will be officially launched in September. I guess the best way to explain it is that we will be the "monster.com" for the dance school business. We will send candidates to studios who need teachers on a temporary or permanent basis. So my job so far has entailed sorting through 8 lists of clients, vendors, etc. so we can upload them to a master list and database.
For now I am still doing the Cy-Fair Magazine thing, which I have enjoyed, but I have always felt that being paid at the beginning of the issue and at the end - I work for free for two months in between magazines. I am also VERY micromanaged, and as editor all I do is oversee the stories and have nothing to do with the layout, design, what stories get cut, etc. and don't really see a finished product until it's about ready to go to print. My new boss is very aware that I need to stay on board with CFM until I get paid for the fall issue. If I leave before then, I know I won't see any money. Then I'll speak to the publisher about if she wants me to stay on although I won't be able to go to as many networking events as they would like me to.
High School Musical 2 opened last night. We had 335 in the house. Tonight was interesting because just as I was arriving at the college a storm was brewing and it started to rain. Which by the way we most definitely NEED the rain around here, but when it comes we usually get deluged and the sewers can't always handle it. Then it dries up and you never knew it rained at all! Anyway, the ensuing thunderstorm knocked the power out in the Fine Arts Center. So we went on hold for 45 minutes, and just about the time we were going to cancel the show for the night, the power came on and we ran the show. Tomorrow we only have 42 seats available for walk ins (the theater holds 425) and then the Monday morning show is Sold Out! This is an 8 show run. We'll finish up next weekend with one Friday, a matinee and evening show on Saturday and a matinee on Sunday.
Then....I get my life back and my family gets me back too! It's been one heck of a roller coaster ride being the stage manager for this show. And while the end product has turned out better than expected, I don't need this stress in my life for a long time to come!
That's all for now! More later! :)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Catching Up
Okay - well my only excuse is it's been a busy summer so far. We are still in production for High School Musical 2 which has proved to be unlike any show I've been involved in before. To date, the whole experience has reminded me why I never did summer shows in Scottdale and why I retired from the theater last spring! Not all, but a core of kids have no focus and are really making progress slow. We have three weeks until opening and not all of the numbers are choreographed and what the director considers blocking is "done", but the cast doesn't really know it because there has been no repetition. After our show closes on the 24th, I will probably not stage manage another show, will not work with this director and will look for an opportunity maybe next year to be IN a show instead.Evan has been "on vacation" with Mike for a little over a week now. They are traveling today to Connecticut to see more of his family. Thankfully Evan will fly home Thursday.! :) It will be the first Fourth of July he will spend with us in a very long time!
Work has been busy for me getting things ready for the Fall issue of the magazine. My Dine Out section has been particularly challenging. I don't know if it's because the photographer I assigned it to handled it poorly or what, but I've never had the issue of restaraunts not wanting want amounts to FREE advertising! Now we're coming up on the holiday weekend and photos are due by July 6!
It's been really hot the last few weeks. Nothing less than the mid-90's with some days with a heat index of 105! Thank goodness for air conditioning and the pool!
Okay - This was a short update but one none the less. More later.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Moving in - busy as ever
One view of the pool.
A view of the kitchen.
Evan relaxing on the floor before we "officially" moved.Wow, you guys weren't kidding when you said I hadn't blogged in a long time! Oops! So we made the big move this weekend. Last Saturday Jeff got the keys to the house. Tuesday I was here to let the cable guy in because you know you can't be without cable for the TV and Internet! Evan also got out of school early that day and had two of his friends come over to swim.
I guess the chlorine was pretty strong so the next day when we took Maia's friend Kaitlyn with us I stopped at Wal-mart and bought goggles and some rings to float on. The pool isn't too big, but it's big enough for us to cool off and enjoy. The thermometer in my car read 93 today.
We actually had all of June to stay in the other house, but Evan will be leaving for two weeks with Mike on the 19th, and frankly we needed Evan to help lift stuff with Jeff in and out of the U-Haul. Not to mention I don't think he wanted to leave on house and come home to another after two weeks.
So Jeff rented a 14 ft. truck Saturday and while I was at play rehearsal with Eli and Maia in tow, he and Evan packed up the truck and unloaded it twice!
Our "new" rental is within walking distance to the high school so Evan will be a walker next year. I signed a special waiver for Maia to stay at her school at Northpointe and will have to drive her and pick her up every day.
By the way, Maia had all A's for her final grades for her fifth grade year. Hard to believe she will be in sixth grade and Evan will be a sophomore next year. I have yet to receive his grades for the year, but I expect them to be A's and B's.
Back to the house. It is a one story on a corner lot, three bedroom, 2 bath, one pool, spa (jacuzzi) in the master bath tub. It is indeed smaller than the house we came from, but I'm so happy I don't have to walk up and down stairs anymore! I have no doubt that this will be a year long stay as was the last one with the hopes of buying next year!
I am up to my eyeballs in rehearsal for High School Musical 2 with Houston Center Stage/Lone Star College Cy-Fair where I am stage manager. We had auditions May 8 and 9 and started rehearsals May 16. I am there Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until we close July 27. I'm already planning a family get away to anywhere after it's over!
We brought Furby last night after we were done moving and brought Midnight and Franklin today! With the exception of clearing out the refrigerator. All I have to do is clean things up at the old house and turn in the keys Friday to Renee our soon to be former landlord.
More soon! :)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Still Here
Ok so I jumped the gun on the swan song to Furby post. The Tramadol that he was prescribed seems to have worked as I look over at him and he is laying on the floor nearby a I write. It did take a couple of days for the medicine to kick in, but he is living his usual dog life, however is getting a can of food a day with his medicine hidden in it. I think I even caught him running a few times! I suppose he'll stay on it until it doesn't mask the problem anymore, but for now he is enjoying life again.
My Summer issue of Cy-Fair Magazine came out this week, and aside from a typo that I didn't make (although it's in a story I wrote) I think it looks great! I'm getting ready to type up my list for the writers to choose the stories they would like to do for fall. I'll be sending a copy to a few of you, and they haven't yet posted it online, but when they do you can read it there. www.cyfairmagazine.com.
Tomorrow Eli and I are going to look at a house in Tomball by the high school as a potential rental. We'll need to move out of here by the end of June. Evan will be going with Mike for two weeks at the end of June, so I think it's better to move while we have the extra body to help with the process.
Eli seems to have recovered from his strep although he will stay on the antibiotic for a total of 10 days. I'm convinced he's going to turn into a chicken nugget, fries and a Sprite one of these days!
Evan's Spring football game will be next Thursday (the big red and white game). I guess last year they had 3500 people there. They have a catered meal you can purchase, games, etc. Major fundraiser for the Tomball Athletic Booster Club of which I am the Chair of publicity. Appropriate don't you think?
Well that's it for now. Time for my beauty sleep! :)
My Summer issue of Cy-Fair Magazine came out this week, and aside from a typo that I didn't make (although it's in a story I wrote) I think it looks great! I'm getting ready to type up my list for the writers to choose the stories they would like to do for fall. I'll be sending a copy to a few of you, and they haven't yet posted it online, but when they do you can read it there. www.cyfairmagazine.com.
Tomorrow Eli and I are going to look at a house in Tomball by the high school as a potential rental. We'll need to move out of here by the end of June. Evan will be going with Mike for two weeks at the end of June, so I think it's better to move while we have the extra body to help with the process.
Eli seems to have recovered from his strep although he will stay on the antibiotic for a total of 10 days. I'm convinced he's going to turn into a chicken nugget, fries and a Sprite one of these days!
Evan's Spring football game will be next Thursday (the big red and white game). I guess last year they had 3500 people there. They have a catered meal you can purchase, games, etc. Major fundraiser for the Tomball Athletic Booster Club of which I am the Chair of publicity. Appropriate don't you think?
Well that's it for now. Time for my beauty sleep! :)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Furby
Well it looks like the end of the road is coming for our dog Furby who is 10 years old and has outlived two other dogs and several cats. We weren't sure he was going to make the move to Texas, but instead we lost our other dog Koda who was killed when someone poisoned her a few weeks prior to us leaving.
We've known for about a year that Furby has arthritis in his back legs. He has enjoyed a good life since moving here living in an air conditioned home with no collar since we let him out the back door to our fenced in back yard where he can lay on the patio on cool nights and do as he pleases.
Recently our cat Midnight became an official outdoor cat again too. He likes to be out at night and sleeps on an empty bed during the day until it's time to go out again. Maia about had a fit when he first got out thinking she would never see him again, but Midnight is a very smart cat. He hops the fence to explore, or sometimes he is content just to stay in the back yard, and has taken to scratching at the door or meowing until someone lets him in.
Back to Furby. Last Friday he started yelping when he would lay down. The first time I noticed it was when we gave him Eli's usual leftover chicken nuggets and he yelped when he went to get one. I made an appointment at the veterinarian who my friend Angie recommended for Monday. However during the weekend he went from bad to worse. He would cry horribly any time he had to lay down or stand up and stands pathetically wanting to sit down but afraid of the pain.
So Jeff and I took him yesterday. We were all prepared for them to tell us it was time to put him to sleep. He was seen by a young doctor who checked him thoroughly telling us what we already knew that his back hips are bad as are his shoulders. She said aside from hip replacement there is nothing to "fix" him but she could give him various medicines to make him comfortable.
We are going to give it a few days to see how it goes. We are mixing his medicine every 12 hours with canned food he is eating. He's had two doses now and there isn't a whole lot of change. As I write this I think he's been standing for three hours just panting and looking at me sadly. I'm sure her job is to save animals, but Jeff and I are looking at this realistically that if the medicines don't allow him to at least lay down and stand comfortably without the agonizing crying that we will ask her to put him down at the end of the week.
We've known for about a year that Furby has arthritis in his back legs. He has enjoyed a good life since moving here living in an air conditioned home with no collar since we let him out the back door to our fenced in back yard where he can lay on the patio on cool nights and do as he pleases.
Recently our cat Midnight became an official outdoor cat again too. He likes to be out at night and sleeps on an empty bed during the day until it's time to go out again. Maia about had a fit when he first got out thinking she would never see him again, but Midnight is a very smart cat. He hops the fence to explore, or sometimes he is content just to stay in the back yard, and has taken to scratching at the door or meowing until someone lets him in.
Back to Furby. Last Friday he started yelping when he would lay down. The first time I noticed it was when we gave him Eli's usual leftover chicken nuggets and he yelped when he went to get one. I made an appointment at the veterinarian who my friend Angie recommended for Monday. However during the weekend he went from bad to worse. He would cry horribly any time he had to lay down or stand up and stands pathetically wanting to sit down but afraid of the pain.
So Jeff and I took him yesterday. We were all prepared for them to tell us it was time to put him to sleep. He was seen by a young doctor who checked him thoroughly telling us what we already knew that his back hips are bad as are his shoulders. She said aside from hip replacement there is nothing to "fix" him but she could give him various medicines to make him comfortable.
We are going to give it a few days to see how it goes. We are mixing his medicine every 12 hours with canned food he is eating. He's had two doses now and there isn't a whole lot of change. As I write this I think he's been standing for three hours just panting and looking at me sadly. I'm sure her job is to save animals, but Jeff and I are looking at this realistically that if the medicines don't allow him to at least lay down and stand comfortably without the agonizing crying that we will ask her to put him down at the end of the week.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Lots of stuff
Well let me start by saying earlier this week my computer crashed. Jeff resurrected it by wiping out the hard drive, but not before making a back up thank goodness. However what was NOT saved were all of my email contacts I had since the reunion and more importantly work contacts. I also had to buy a new Microsoft Office suite (originally procured from my sister) and downloaded my printer program from the Internet. I don't have my digital camera program anymore, but realized I can still download my pictures as long as I can connect my USB. The computer is 6 years old and there's a possibility I may have to buy a new one here down the road.
This evening I went to my first production meeting for High School Musical 2 that I was asked to be stage manager for Houston's Center Stage. The production is being presented in conjunction with the Lone Star College Cy-Fair Campus where the rehearsals and shows will be held. There are a gazillion people involved in the production side. A producer, director, asst. director, music director, choreographer, set design person, sound, lighting, stage manager (me), props, costumer and three publicity people. I was taking notes during the meeting, but I about fell over when they said the budget for the set alone was $2,000 and between $800 and $1000 for the props! I have no idea what I spent for AAFC's HSM a few years ago, but I don't think not including royalties we spent over $1,000 total! I was told I'm the captain of the ship and I'll even have an assistant! Which means I'm not sure what the director and asst. director do - but I'll just tell you now I'm not sure about her (the director's) vision - but I'll keep my mouth shut. We'll see how it goes...we have auditions May 8 and 9 with callbacks on the 11th. Then rehearsals begin on May 16th and we rehearse four days a week until we open July 17th for 8 shows including two matinees.
As usual it's late. I'll post some more pictures tomorrow. I finally got Eli to get his hair cut last week! He's so cute!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Sunday
So today was our first Easter away from Pennsylvania, but a busy one at that at least for me. I had thoughts of skipping the first service at 8 a.m., but then I realized I would be shorting the bell choir, so I was out of the house by 7 a.m., stopped at Wal-Mart for some doughnuts since everyone was to bring something breakfast-like for everyone participating in the three services. Our services were 8, 9:30 and 11. Of course our service was on a much grander scale than anything we had in Scottdale. Maundy Thursday was complete with a string quartet. Today we had a brass section, lots of singing and of course bell playing. The 9:30 service was standing room with extra seating in the two parlors and filling the wings. My family made it to the 11 o'clock service, and I was very proud of Eli that he behaved so well.
The Easter Bunny made an appearance Saturday night after everyone went to bed, much like Santa Claus. He hid the eggs and set out the baskets. I knew I wouldn't be around for the "big hunt," so I prepared Jeff with instructions of what people should be wearing and what time to leave the house.
It rained like crazy just before the 11 o'clock service began with thunder and lightening, but by this afternoon it was sunny and beautiful and Jeff, Eli and I were out washing our cars in the driveway!
Maia is having her friend Katylin stay over tonight since they don't go back to school until Tuesday, and at 12:20 a.m. it's time for me to head to bed!
The Easter Bunny made an appearance Saturday night after everyone went to bed, much like Santa Claus. He hid the eggs and set out the baskets. I knew I wouldn't be around for the "big hunt," so I prepared Jeff with instructions of what people should be wearing and what time to leave the house.
It rained like crazy just before the 11 o'clock service began with thunder and lightening, but by this afternoon it was sunny and beautiful and Jeff, Eli and I were out washing our cars in the driveway!
Maia is having her friend Katylin stay over tonight since they don't go back to school until Tuesday, and at 12:20 a.m. it's time for me to head to bed!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Asian Alcohol Flush
Many of you who know me, also know that I turn red when I drink. I could eat a full meal with a glass of wine and turn red and not just my face, but my entire body. Drinking in excess also brings about an elevated heart rate, sweats, and throwing up - but I've never had a hangover. So I asked my Uncle about this condition I have and he said I was allergic to alcohol, but last week I was reading news on Yahoo and there was a piece on esophageal cancer. It said that those who have this enzyme deficiency and predominantly Asian in descent and lack an enzyme that does not allow the body to properly break down alcohol when it is consumed. How interesting! It never occurred to me that this was something other people dealt with, but after reading several articles about it - "I am not alone!" Ash Wednesday I had a glass of wine with some food at a ribbon cutting I went to. The glass of wine was $6, so I made sure I was going to finish it. Then I went to Ash Wednesday service at the church. My friend Michelle asked me if I had been working out because I was all red. I told her "no, I just had a glass of wine." I've read you can curb the redness by taking a Zantac or Pepcid prior to drinking. I don't drink that often, nor do I think it's a good idea to mix any kind of medication OTC or not with alcohol. I think I'll be giving away my last Mango Smirnoff I have in my fridge. I know Jeff's not going to drink them and I think I'll save myself the redness! Here's the link to what it says on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Heart of Worship
I found this excerpt online about Matt Redman's song The Heart of Worship. We sing it with the praise team at my church and this Sunday was the second time Pastor Kevin referenced it in his sermon. It has become one of my favorite songs we sing. It's about returning to what worship has become to many of us and what it should be. I think it's especially appropriate for Holy Week.. you can also watch the video by following this link -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeAwBmb_x28
The song dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt’s home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Despite the country’s overall contribution to the current worship revival, Redman’s congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.
“There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,” he recalls. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”
Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”
Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.
“Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred.”
When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus
Redman remembers writing the song quickly in his bedroom soon after the church’s journey together, with no grand intentions, by any means, for it to become an international anthem. He viewed the words simply as his personal, subjective response to what he was learning about worship.
But when Matt shared “The Heart of Worship” with Pilavachi, the pastor suggested making a few small adjustments to the lyrics so any member of the church could relate to it as well.
Amazed by how God has since taken the song around the world for His purposes, the songwriter smiles in regard to his own lack of foresight. “It nearly didn’t go any further than my bedroom. But I love that…”
The trademark tune soon became the title track for Matt Redman’s 1999 album, The Heart of Worship. The recording process was consistent with the artist’s sensitive approach to being in the studio.
“We decided to not get all complicated, and just let the song ‘breathe.’ We’re always trying to create more of a church atmosphere in the studio rather than just a technical musical gathering. Something happens when the people of God gather together and play out the praises of God in the presence of God. Hopefully something of that passion and purpose transcends beyond that studio room onto the recordings themselves.”
Following Matt’s original release, which featured a guest vocal appearance by Martin Smith, lead singer of Delirious, “The Heart of Worship” became a new standard of the modern worship music movement, sung by fellow artists, choirs, and church families alike. Among the ever-rising number of reinterpretations, Redman is especially fond of Michael W. Smith’s from his 2001 classic, Worship.
“I honestly like them all,” he admits. “It’s a great encouragement when people take the songs and run with them. Perhaps my favorite is Michael’s— maybe because it’s a live version and therefore really captures and conveys the heart of the song’s theme.”
Even more encouraging, he says, is when other pastors get in touch to let Matt know how God has used the song to take their congregations through a situation similar to the one his church experienced.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeAwBmb_x28
The song dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt’s home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Despite the country’s overall contribution to the current worship revival, Redman’s congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.
“There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,” he recalls. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”
Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”
Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.
“Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred.”
When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus
Redman remembers writing the song quickly in his bedroom soon after the church’s journey together, with no grand intentions, by any means, for it to become an international anthem. He viewed the words simply as his personal, subjective response to what he was learning about worship.
But when Matt shared “The Heart of Worship” with Pilavachi, the pastor suggested making a few small adjustments to the lyrics so any member of the church could relate to it as well.
Amazed by how God has since taken the song around the world for His purposes, the songwriter smiles in regard to his own lack of foresight. “It nearly didn’t go any further than my bedroom. But I love that…”
The trademark tune soon became the title track for Matt Redman’s 1999 album, The Heart of Worship. The recording process was consistent with the artist’s sensitive approach to being in the studio.
“We decided to not get all complicated, and just let the song ‘breathe.’ We’re always trying to create more of a church atmosphere in the studio rather than just a technical musical gathering. Something happens when the people of God gather together and play out the praises of God in the presence of God. Hopefully something of that passion and purpose transcends beyond that studio room onto the recordings themselves.”
Following Matt’s original release, which featured a guest vocal appearance by Martin Smith, lead singer of Delirious, “The Heart of Worship” became a new standard of the modern worship music movement, sung by fellow artists, choirs, and church families alike. Among the ever-rising number of reinterpretations, Redman is especially fond of Michael W. Smith’s from his 2001 classic, Worship.
“I honestly like them all,” he admits. “It’s a great encouragement when people take the songs and run with them. Perhaps my favorite is Michael’s— maybe because it’s a live version and therefore really captures and conveys the heart of the song’s theme.”
Even more encouraging, he says, is when other pastors get in touch to let Matt know how God has used the song to take their congregations through a situation similar to the one his church experienced.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Blue Belle Mocha Madness
Maia introduced me to a new flavor of ice cream this week. I guess she had it at her friend Katylin's house where she is tonight. Anyway - it's called Mocha Madness by Blue Belle. If you like Mocha's at Starbucks you will like this. (Not you mom - since I know you're not a coffee drinker.) It has the coffee taste, but is sweet and has caramel ribbons, chocolate pieces and pecans...yum! In fact while I'm watching a movie tonight with the boys I'm going to enjoy a bowl! :)
This week was good. Still putting finishing touches on the Summer issue that is in the design stage right now. I drove to Katy where our offices are, and touched base with the Assistant Editor Carlee, who actually handles most of the production stuff after my editing is done.
Yesterday due to high winds, we spent at least two hours without power at home. I guess some 2,000 Center Point Energy customers were without electricity in the Cypress area. Of course I was doing laundry and cooking stuffed peppers in the oven when it happened. Luckily by the time we got back from the dentist, the power was on! :)
Well Maia just called for me to bring her sleepover stuff over to Katylin's - so off I go! :)
This week was good. Still putting finishing touches on the Summer issue that is in the design stage right now. I drove to Katy where our offices are, and touched base with the Assistant Editor Carlee, who actually handles most of the production stuff after my editing is done.
Yesterday due to high winds, we spent at least two hours without power at home. I guess some 2,000 Center Point Energy customers were without electricity in the Cypress area. Of course I was doing laundry and cooking stuffed peppers in the oven when it happened. Luckily by the time we got back from the dentist, the power was on! :)
Well Maia just called for me to bring her sleepover stuff over to Katylin's - so off I go! :)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Read The Shack!
I know some of you have heard me talk about the book The Shack by William P. Young. It was suggested to me by my friend Michelle at church who said, "You just HAVE to read this book!" Many of you also know that I am the slowest reader when it comes to finishing what I start reading. I think it took me years to read Anthony Rapp's "Without You" and I've read two books in the Wicked trilogy, but that was accomplished due to Hurricane Ike.
Go buy this book or go to the library and take it out. You won't put it down! It is indeed fiction, but puts a human face (or faces) to the Holy Trinity, and it puts into perspective how you would cope with the death of a child, what is your relationship with God, how do you reconcile and forgive? Young described the title of the book is a metaphor for “the house you build out of your own pain”.
Young never claims to have written the book based directly on the teachings of The Bible. In fact according to wikipedia.com, he initially wrote it as a Christmas gift for his children, and after sharing it with friends, was presuaded to have it published. Sure there have been critics who have come out against the book saying it is heresy, scripturally low and there are theological problems. Eveyone is entitled to his or her opinion. I suggest you read it and come up with your own conclusions.
One suggestion I have is to read it with pen or highlighter in hand. I wish I had thought of it sooner, but towards the middle, I started underlining the lines that stood out for me. The other is to talk about it with someone else who has read it to get their insight and perception of the book. Michelle, another friend Gretta and I plan on getting together Good Friday over lunch to talk about it. (They were waiting for me to finish it!)
If you read it, let me know what you think. It's a great book anytime, but particularly apropos for this Lent and Easter season.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Spring Break in PA
Maia, Evan and I made our way (by car) to Pennsylvania for our Spring Break. It was a whirlwind trip, but great to see our friends and family!
We left about 5 p.m. Friday and after taking an hour to get out of Houston, we followed 59 North until we headed towards Arkansas at Texarkana and ended up staying the night in Hope, Arkansas - "the birthplace of Bill Clinton"...I considered driving to the next town, but I had decided to drive until midnight and it was already 12:30 a.m. We woke up early and continued our trip around 7 a.m. crossing into Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia until we reached Pennsylvania and Scottdale at 1 a.m.
The next day we went to one of our favorite places we miss Eat n Park where we saw a ton of people we know. It made me realize it's good to have some anonymity when your out in Houston. It also amazed me how many people didn't realize we had moved! From there we headed to Monroeville to visit with my in-laws and the kids could play with the cousins.
Monday - my friend Kelli took the day off work to help me start sorting through stuff we had left at the house. I was so proud of myself that I gave away two lawn and leaf bags of sweaters to Goodwill! We decided after Maia and her friend Abbey who was skipping school and stayed the night woke up to head back to E n P for breakfast...yummmm! Later in the afternoon I took my mom to the cataract specialist where we waited for an hour to have a five minute consultation for him to tell her to do nothing and they would check her eyes every six months. A conclusion that seemed to satisfy everyone including my mom who had already made her mind up she wasn't having surgery. For dinner Kelli, her daughter Kaitlyn, Maia, Abbey and I went to Friday's and then Gabes. Boy do I miss cheap clothes! :)
Tuesday - slept in until 9:30 with Maia, worked more at the house. Evan and I had dinner with my friend Janet at NY Pizza and Pasta in Connellsville since it was St. Patty's Day at Bud Murphy's was a mad house. Maia had taken off with Abbey for Sea Base after school.
Wednesday - Lunch with my friend Marilyn and the kids at Italian Oven. Later that evening we had a casual get to gether at Carson's where Evan, Maia and I all had friends come join us for wings and a drink!
Thursday - Evan went to Southmoreland High School with his friend Matt Thompson and so Maia and I went to Olive Garden for breakfast, then stopped at Gabes where I picked up a dress that I should have gotten the first time we were there! That evening we had Fox's Pizza (double yum) with Grandma! :) Abbey stayed over again since she was skipping school again.
Friday - Last day in Scottdale. Kind of bittersweet, but I was missing Eli a ton and was ready to get back to warm Texas weather. I drove Evan and his friends to the mall and Maia went to HotShots with Abbey and met up with Kaitlyn. Meanwhile Kelli and I got a bite to eat and a drink at Carson's and then hung out at her house until it was time to pick up the kids.
Saturday - We left about 9 a.m. and went a different route than we had come up because I wanted to meet my friend Tracey's new little girl she adopted from China this summer - Sophie. Contrary to popular belief, traffic wasn't bad around Bristol even though there was a NASCAR race there that weekend. We arrived in Knoxville about 6 and had dinner with Tracey, her husband Michael and their children Nicholas (who is two days older than Eli) and Sophie. We then got back in the car and drove as far as Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Sunday - Got up early and headed out at 7 a.m. to head home through Mississippi and Louisiana before getting to Texas around 5 p.m. I've never been so happy to see Texas license plates and familiar roads once I got off awful I-45!
It was a good trip. Don't think I'll be driving it any time again soon. Last week was spent putting finishing touches and getting photos in for the Summer edition of Cy-Fair Magazine! :)
We left about 5 p.m. Friday and after taking an hour to get out of Houston, we followed 59 North until we headed towards Arkansas at Texarkana and ended up staying the night in Hope, Arkansas - "the birthplace of Bill Clinton"...I considered driving to the next town, but I had decided to drive until midnight and it was already 12:30 a.m. We woke up early and continued our trip around 7 a.m. crossing into Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia until we reached Pennsylvania and Scottdale at 1 a.m.
The next day we went to one of our favorite places we miss Eat n Park where we saw a ton of people we know. It made me realize it's good to have some anonymity when your out in Houston. It also amazed me how many people didn't realize we had moved! From there we headed to Monroeville to visit with my in-laws and the kids could play with the cousins.
Monday - my friend Kelli took the day off work to help me start sorting through stuff we had left at the house. I was so proud of myself that I gave away two lawn and leaf bags of sweaters to Goodwill! We decided after Maia and her friend Abbey who was skipping school and stayed the night woke up to head back to E n P for breakfast...yummmm! Later in the afternoon I took my mom to the cataract specialist where we waited for an hour to have a five minute consultation for him to tell her to do nothing and they would check her eyes every six months. A conclusion that seemed to satisfy everyone including my mom who had already made her mind up she wasn't having surgery. For dinner Kelli, her daughter Kaitlyn, Maia, Abbey and I went to Friday's and then Gabes. Boy do I miss cheap clothes! :)
Tuesday - slept in until 9:30 with Maia, worked more at the house. Evan and I had dinner with my friend Janet at NY Pizza and Pasta in Connellsville since it was St. Patty's Day at Bud Murphy's was a mad house. Maia had taken off with Abbey for Sea Base after school.
Wednesday - Lunch with my friend Marilyn and the kids at Italian Oven. Later that evening we had a casual get to gether at Carson's where Evan, Maia and I all had friends come join us for wings and a drink!
Thursday - Evan went to Southmoreland High School with his friend Matt Thompson and so Maia and I went to Olive Garden for breakfast, then stopped at Gabes where I picked up a dress that I should have gotten the first time we were there! That evening we had Fox's Pizza (double yum) with Grandma! :) Abbey stayed over again since she was skipping school again.
Friday - Last day in Scottdale. Kind of bittersweet, but I was missing Eli a ton and was ready to get back to warm Texas weather. I drove Evan and his friends to the mall and Maia went to HotShots with Abbey and met up with Kaitlyn. Meanwhile Kelli and I got a bite to eat and a drink at Carson's and then hung out at her house until it was time to pick up the kids.
Saturday - We left about 9 a.m. and went a different route than we had come up because I wanted to meet my friend Tracey's new little girl she adopted from China this summer - Sophie. Contrary to popular belief, traffic wasn't bad around Bristol even though there was a NASCAR race there that weekend. We arrived in Knoxville about 6 and had dinner with Tracey, her husband Michael and their children Nicholas (who is two days older than Eli) and Sophie. We then got back in the car and drove as far as Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Sunday - Got up early and headed out at 7 a.m. to head home through Mississippi and Louisiana before getting to Texas around 5 p.m. I've never been so happy to see Texas license plates and familiar roads once I got off awful I-45!
It was a good trip. Don't think I'll be driving it any time again soon. Last week was spent putting finishing touches and getting photos in for the Summer edition of Cy-Fair Magazine! :)
Monday, March 9, 2009
First Sunburn
Yes I managed to get my first sunburn of 2009 at the Knights of Columbus Chili Cook off we went to this weekend. It was one of those overcast most of the time with sun part of the time days, and I'll admit when the sun was out I was in it! We went to the chili cook off because Jeff's work has participated the past few years. This year there was dual meaning for competing. Dominion was returning as Overall Champion and seven or eight metal manufacturers (competitiors and clients) also compete amongst themselves for honor and the coveted metal cup. Who says you can't mix business with pleasure?
The Knights of Columbus of Houston is currently in transition as a new headquarters is being built in conjunction with a church, so an agreement was made with a local bar owner to lease the parking lot for a day for the event. Many of the cookers had been there since 8 a.m., so by the time we arrived there was fajita meat and sausages cooked on the grill and various beverages were being consumed as the chili slowly cooked under Connie's watchful eye.
The drive itself was an adventure, but isn't it any time you get on I-45 towards the city? Personally I would avoid 45 at all costs because the stress of driving in the traffic can make my arrival at any event less than pleasant. I digress - anyway, we stayed until they judged the metal company competition, amusing ourselves by tasting various chilies while pretending to be aficionados thanks to the Food Network, and just taking in all of the sights and smells from the karaoke to the kids running to the ice cream truck and the dog standing on the street waiting for a handout.
As the judges made their way down the line to test the chili, the tension in the air rose as it was determined there was a tie between two chilies and a sudden death taste off was to determine the winner...and we came in second. By 2:30 we were ready to hang up our chili cook off shoes. Jeff at one point said, "who would have though at this time last year, we would be here!"
It was indeed an experience to remember and in hindsight I would go again next year (with sunblock) when Dominion once again defends their Overall Championship at the 2010 Knights of Columbus Chili Cook off . After all - it's all for charity (the K of C's largest fundraiser of the year), so no matter what - it's a good thing.
The Knights of Columbus of Houston is currently in transition as a new headquarters is being built in conjunction with a church, so an agreement was made with a local bar owner to lease the parking lot for a day for the event. Many of the cookers had been there since 8 a.m., so by the time we arrived there was fajita meat and sausages cooked on the grill and various beverages were being consumed as the chili slowly cooked under Connie's watchful eye.
The drive itself was an adventure, but isn't it any time you get on I-45 towards the city? Personally I would avoid 45 at all costs because the stress of driving in the traffic can make my arrival at any event less than pleasant. I digress - anyway, we stayed until they judged the metal company competition, amusing ourselves by tasting various chilies while pretending to be aficionados thanks to the Food Network, and just taking in all of the sights and smells from the karaoke to the kids running to the ice cream truck and the dog standing on the street waiting for a handout.
As the judges made their way down the line to test the chili, the tension in the air rose as it was determined there was a tie between two chilies and a sudden death taste off was to determine the winner...and we came in second. By 2:30 we were ready to hang up our chili cook off shoes. Jeff at one point said, "who would have though at this time last year, we would be here!"
It was indeed an experience to remember and in hindsight I would go again next year (with sunblock) when Dominion once again defends their Overall Championship at the 2010 Knights of Columbus Chili Cook off . After all - it's all for charity (the K of C's largest fundraiser of the year), so no matter what - it's a good thing.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Leaving for PA next week
Evan, Maia and I are so excited to head home to Scottdale, PA next Friday for Spring Break! We have a lot on the agenda. Most importantly I'm going to be clearing what's left in the house at 307 out so my mom can put it on the market this summer. I've heard there have been some good improvements and I can't wait to see them. Of course we all want to see our family and friends that we miss so much!
We will leave when the kids get out of school early and drive as far as Memphis and stay the night at a Best Western, then we'll get up and drive the rest of the way. On the way back we'll stop in Knoxville to see my friend Tracey so I can meet her new little daughter Sophie who she adopted from China last summer.
I'm hard at work on my Summer edition of Cy-Fair Magazine that will come out mid-may which means I have to have all of my writer's stories turned in before I leave for PA - so next week will be a little hectic to say the least.
I joined Windwood Presbyterian officially last Sunday. It's been my family and home away from home since we moved here, so it seemed only right and natural to become an "official" part of the church.
Eli's sleeping and I have work to do - so I'll check in again soon!
We will leave when the kids get out of school early and drive as far as Memphis and stay the night at a Best Western, then we'll get up and drive the rest of the way. On the way back we'll stop in Knoxville to see my friend Tracey so I can meet her new little daughter Sophie who she adopted from China last summer.
I'm hard at work on my Summer edition of Cy-Fair Magazine that will come out mid-may which means I have to have all of my writer's stories turned in before I leave for PA - so next week will be a little hectic to say the least.
I joined Windwood Presbyterian officially last Sunday. It's been my family and home away from home since we moved here, so it seemed only right and natural to become an "official" part of the church.
Eli's sleeping and I have work to do - so I'll check in again soon!
P.S. If you read the comment on my last post - it was "not by Evan". wink wink ;) Ah my 15-year-old is such a comedian!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Getting regular
No I'm not talking about prune juice and fiber! I used to be very faithful at this blogging thing and lately I've fallen off a bit. Not that there's nothing happening in our lives, I just have to find the time to write or remember to.
The membership class went well. To my surprise there were close to 20 people there. Some had been raised Presbyterian and were simply joining because they moved across town, but others were from Episcopal, Catholic, Lutheran and Baptist backgrounds. I don't think little old CUP had 20 people join the church in all the years I was there since my return. Anyway, we are already officially new members, but will be received during the 11 o'clock service on the 1st of March. Then, Bob (our worship and arts director) asked me to sing during the service that day as well - yikes! I'm not sure what I'm going to sing yet. Some of it hinges on if Bob will be around. He is currently in New Jersey visiting his mom who is in the hospital with complications from stage 4 cancer.
I'm reading a really interesting book. It's called The Shack by William Paul Young. Mom - has Book Club tackled this one yet? It was recommended by a friend of mine from church who read it and another lady in the church is reading it as well and once I'm done we're going to have coffee and discuss it. Without giving too much away for those of you who want to read it - it's about Mack who is dealing with the death of his youngest daughter (who was abducted and murdered) and how God comes to him to help him deal with his loss, pain, and his faith.
Evan will turn 15 this Sunday. It's hard to believe my baby is close to driving and three years from going off to college! Mike will come on on Friday to spend some time with him until Sunday about noon since it's a good drive back to Eagle Pass for him. I guess we'll have our family celebration Sunday afternoon and evening.
I think that's it for now. The kids and I are looking forward to heading home to PA in a few weeks! :)
Evan will turn 15 this Sunday. It's hard to believe my baby is close to driving and three years from going off to college! Mike will come on on Friday to spend some time with him until Sunday about noon since it's a good drive back to Eagle Pass for him. I guess we'll have our family celebration Sunday afternoon and evening.
I think that's it for now. The kids and I are looking forward to heading home to PA in a few weeks! :)
Friday, February 6, 2009
A beautiful day in the neighborhood
(Maia and her friend Kaitlyn at the Houston Zoo)Today's weather (mid-70's) is exactly why Jeff and I moved down here to Texas! It is going to be gorgeous the next couple of days with temps in the mid-70's. Okay, so Sunday it's supposed to rain, but still be warm.
This Sunday the choir is off, but the bell choir is playing, A Servant's Heart is singing and I have to stay for three hours after the second service for a "new members" meeting which I guess is required to join the church, however being raised in the Presbyterian church I think it's kind of goofy to have to sit about learning about the Presbyterian denomination. I understand it for real newcomers, but oh well.
I found a new house for us to rent next year. It was my hope that we would be able to buy, but unless we can finagle a down payment of $9,000 in the next month, it will have to wait another year. We can come up with 5k, so donations for the other 4 would be accepted! :) We are going to rent a home smaller than the one we're in now. It's a three bed room and coincidentally right beside Eli's babysitter Esmeralda, so it's right down the road, keeping the kids in their schools. It's a one-floor open plan and the lady who owns it said her electric bill in the summer is half of what I paid this summer! I'm hoping our landlady will let us out of our lease two months early so we can move in at the beginning of April. It is a lease to own, so in a year Jeff and I will have first choice if we want to go ahead and buy the home through owner financing or a commercial lender.
We found out earlier this week that Maia's friend Kaitlyn is moving not only from the plan, but to Humble (pronounced "umble") here in April. It will take her to an entirely new school district just before the year is over. I think Maia is pretty bummed about it, but since she's the only other girl in this plan, it doesn't bother her to move in a few months herself. Maia came with us to see the house and announced right away that she liked it.
Work is going well. The Spring issue went to print this week and next week I'll be finalizing my editorial calendar for Summer. The kids and I are excited to be making the trip back home to PA in March. However Evan has already said he's concerned it will be "cold" up there still! Well that's all for now. I should go out and enjoy the rest of the day - if only Eli didn't like to keep my hostage at home!
Monday, January 26, 2009
I'm back!
Ok, so it's been a few weeks since I've blogged. Both my sister and my mom had to remind me that I had lapsed in my writing. Right now the majority of my family is sick with some form of the cold. Evan actually stayed home from school today and in 1 1/2 days I've only seen him a handful of times and it's usually to get a drink, then he goes back upstairs to his room. Not even on the computer, so I know he's not feeling well. Eli has a stuffy, runny nose and little cough, but it doesn't seem to be slowing him down much.
Today I joined a gym. A women's gym who had a deal I couldn't refuse. They waived the $100 enrollment fee and it's only $39 a month. Workout places are a dime a dozen here like Starbucks it seems as though there is one on every corner. Considering a good treadmill costs over $1500, the price is reasonable. I actually met one of the trainers at the Women's Networking Luncheon in December. Their cardio kickboxing class was featured in a write up in the fall issue. Anyway, I'm thinking if I know they're taking my money out of my account that I should go use the facilities. The plan is to go at least once a week to walk on the treadmill or elliptical and Saturday mornings do the cardio kickboxing. There goes my only morning to sleep in - sigh. I've decided that I'm not getting any younger and I really live quite a sedentary life. I'd like to lose about 20 pounds to get to a healthy weight which also means...diet.
This whole Steelers going to the Super Bowl may blow my diet out of the water for a day, but I have figured out it's all about portion control and watching high carb foods and sugars. Speaking of the Steelers...woo hoo! I think with the Cardinals in it too I would be happy if either team won with Russ Grimm coaching on the Cards side and of course the hometown team. I drove past a guy today who had a Steelers window car flag flying. See, the Steeler nation is strong everywhere you go. I read an interesting column on yahoo.com about the Steelers and how it's hard NOT to like them. I'd post it, but I can't find it.
The Spring issue is going to print hopefully at the end of this week - then I can invoice for the rest of my payment for that issue and then I'll invoice for the first half of Summer. I've decided with my Summer pay I'm going to take the kids (at least Maia and Evan) back to PA for our spring break which begins March 13. They return to school on the 23rd. I'll take two days to drive up and two to drive back, but it will give us a nice chance to see friends and get some work done at the 307 house. Jeff is still deciding whether to go and if I'll take Eli. He certainly has the vacation, but he's concerned about the long car ride. It would cost us close to $1,000 to fly back plus a car - so I'm driving. I'm going to try to get the majority of work done at the house, but will come back for a week or two in June to finish things up.
Jeff and I have been looking at some houses here in Houston as we would prefer not to rent another year and put down permanent roots. We're not done with our lease until June so we have some time, but we don't want to just settle either because we need to be out. Our landlord would like us to buy this home, but Jeff and I are not in love with it enough to invest for the long term, and she's asking more than what brand new homes are going for here in the plan with them closing out the plan (meaning it goes to the Homeowners Association) in June and they have great discounts. I think she'll have a hard time selling this. There's a house that has been for sale since we got here, but they want to much. Whereas another home we looked at down the street was reasonably priced and sold within a few months. We'll see.
I've decided to join the church here. I'm involved like crazy and I really like the church and the pastoral team. I'll go to a three hour new members class on the 8th of Feb. then be received by the church during the service March 1 by letter of transfer from Calvin United. I transferred my membership to Calvin when I had Evan baptized some years after I moved back home and Jeff and I were talking about getting married.
Well after a four hour nap today, it looks like Eli is crashing for the night which means I go to bed too and get up early to see if Evan is up to going to school tomorrow.
Today I joined a gym. A women's gym who had a deal I couldn't refuse. They waived the $100 enrollment fee and it's only $39 a month. Workout places are a dime a dozen here like Starbucks it seems as though there is one on every corner. Considering a good treadmill costs over $1500, the price is reasonable. I actually met one of the trainers at the Women's Networking Luncheon in December. Their cardio kickboxing class was featured in a write up in the fall issue. Anyway, I'm thinking if I know they're taking my money out of my account that I should go use the facilities. The plan is to go at least once a week to walk on the treadmill or elliptical and Saturday mornings do the cardio kickboxing. There goes my only morning to sleep in - sigh. I've decided that I'm not getting any younger and I really live quite a sedentary life. I'd like to lose about 20 pounds to get to a healthy weight which also means...diet.
This whole Steelers going to the Super Bowl may blow my diet out of the water for a day, but I have figured out it's all about portion control and watching high carb foods and sugars. Speaking of the Steelers...woo hoo! I think with the Cardinals in it too I would be happy if either team won with Russ Grimm coaching on the Cards side and of course the hometown team. I drove past a guy today who had a Steelers window car flag flying. See, the Steeler nation is strong everywhere you go. I read an interesting column on yahoo.com about the Steelers and how it's hard NOT to like them. I'd post it, but I can't find it.
The Spring issue is going to print hopefully at the end of this week - then I can invoice for the rest of my payment for that issue and then I'll invoice for the first half of Summer. I've decided with my Summer pay I'm going to take the kids (at least Maia and Evan) back to PA for our spring break which begins March 13. They return to school on the 23rd. I'll take two days to drive up and two to drive back, but it will give us a nice chance to see friends and get some work done at the 307 house. Jeff is still deciding whether to go and if I'll take Eli. He certainly has the vacation, but he's concerned about the long car ride. It would cost us close to $1,000 to fly back plus a car - so I'm driving. I'm going to try to get the majority of work done at the house, but will come back for a week or two in June to finish things up.
Jeff and I have been looking at some houses here in Houston as we would prefer not to rent another year and put down permanent roots. We're not done with our lease until June so we have some time, but we don't want to just settle either because we need to be out. Our landlord would like us to buy this home, but Jeff and I are not in love with it enough to invest for the long term, and she's asking more than what brand new homes are going for here in the plan with them closing out the plan (meaning it goes to the Homeowners Association) in June and they have great discounts. I think she'll have a hard time selling this. There's a house that has been for sale since we got here, but they want to much. Whereas another home we looked at down the street was reasonably priced and sold within a few months. We'll see.
I've decided to join the church here. I'm involved like crazy and I really like the church and the pastoral team. I'll go to a three hour new members class on the 8th of Feb. then be received by the church during the service March 1 by letter of transfer from Calvin United. I transferred my membership to Calvin when I had Evan baptized some years after I moved back home and Jeff and I were talking about getting married.
Well after a four hour nap today, it looks like Eli is crashing for the night which means I go to bed too and get up early to see if Evan is up to going to school tomorrow.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Winter in Houston
Now you know I love and miss you all, but you can't beat winters in Houston and I'm sure my sister in Florida would concur. I can feel my blood thinning after living here six months. I'm officially cold when it gets to 45 here! Today it is only 62, but the sun is shining and there's the slightest breeze. It's so comfortable I can just wear a light sweater and darn it I still wear my flip flops! As we were watching the Steelers playoff game yesterday evening and I watched the snow flakes fall and thought of my friend Kelli freezing her tushy off in her awesome seats - I remembered how much I enjoy watching games in the comfort of my home and how miserable I was when Jeff and I went to one of the last games at Three Rivers and we left after the third quarter because it was so frigidly cold. I believe we ended up at a bar across the river at Station Square until the game ended then we ate at my favorite Chinese Restaurant there.
We're in the final stages of putting together the Spring Cy-Fair Magazine issue that will be out on stands Feb. 15. While the entire issue isn't mine from inception to finish, it will be exciting to see the finished product. Summer will be all me and I'm already compiling a list of stories. I'm really enjoying the job so far. Tomorrow I'm going to a networking luncheon then I'll head to a major Chamber event at 11:30.
We resumed bell choir rehearsal last week and will have regular rehearsal this week for choir. We will also have our music ministry Christmas party this Saturday evening at a home that is supposed to be just fantastic! Jeff is going and it will be the first time we're leaving Evan in charge with Maia and Eli for a few hours....yikes!
Well the kids should be walking in the door soon. :)
We're in the final stages of putting together the Spring Cy-Fair Magazine issue that will be out on stands Feb. 15. While the entire issue isn't mine from inception to finish, it will be exciting to see the finished product. Summer will be all me and I'm already compiling a list of stories. I'm really enjoying the job so far. Tomorrow I'm going to a networking luncheon then I'll head to a major Chamber event at 11:30.
We resumed bell choir rehearsal last week and will have regular rehearsal this week for choir. We will also have our music ministry Christmas party this Saturday evening at a home that is supposed to be just fantastic! Jeff is going and it will be the first time we're leaving Evan in charge with Maia and Eli for a few hours....yikes!
Well the kids should be walking in the door soon. :)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Eli's birthday & Maia
Eli getting ready to blow out the candles on his Spiderman birthday cake and Maia and her friend Katylin
on their scooters.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)