Random Ramblings from a Tired Choir Director

Okay, Jenny, I'm updating!!! LOL

Life lately has been very busy. Let's see.... last time I was online, I was having a bad spell... worried about Don, overwhelmed with the children's musical, overwhelmed with life. I'm better now. I'm back on Zoloft, ROFL. I just cannot go without it for the time being. I just handle things better when I'm emotionally evened out... ya know??

Thursday - worked alot on the musical. Dyan, Christian & I went to USToys to get some props and costumes for the musical. We bought 24 black canes & top hats for the jazz number that Choir 1 will perform.... and we bought alot of hats for the cast, some swords, dagger... and i cannot remember what else.

After our shopping trip, we went to lunch - Cheesecake Factory. Delicious. When we got back to Dyan's house, she trimmed my bangs for me, which I really appreciated. They were driving me crazy!

Friday - what did I do??? Hmmm, cannot remember. Oh, errands. I ran errands - i.e. pharmacy, t-shirt graphics shop, grocery store. Then home to catch up on my soaps, eat lunch and do some computer work for the musical. Yup, at this time of year, I'm working full time on the musical. My To Do List is 2 pages long.... ugh. Then Fri. night, went to Dyan's, and Meg met us there and we all 3 drove to Shawnee for a Pampered Chef party. I bought a new berry / salad spinner because the one I've had for 10 years is cracked. And I bought a copper trivet for when my kitchen gets remodeled. It sorta looks like it'd go with a "Tuscany" theme.

Today - Saturday - slept 'til 7:30. Got up, showered, went to the donut shop to bribe kids, lol, and then was at the church at 9:45. Spent 2 hours digging thru the racks of costumes, pulling out those that would be appropriate for us to use for the musical. We will need to do some more sewing, altering the existing costumes & then creating new ones too. Ugh.... big job! At noon, Meg, Caitlyn (one of my 6th graders) and I went to Mr. Goodcents and bought some lunch. We were back at church by 12:45, ready for a 1 PM rehearsal. Meg had some of her choir 1 kids there to start learning the jazz number they're doing. And my cast rehearsed scenes 7, 8 & 9. We FINALLY have the whole musical blocked out. And today, it was doubly fun, because our "Goliath" was there to rehearse!
I just love our cast. They are such neat kids.... and such fun to work with. They are very professional in their acting abilities, and in their ability to improvise. I love it... and I love them!

After rehearsal, I drove to Dyan's and picked up Christian! When I got to their house, he heard me come in the front door, and he comes running into the foyer, arms raised, and throws himself up at me! I loved that! We hugged and hugged.... and I asked him if he wanted to go to Grandma's house, and he was all excited! So, we loaded up and went! He is spending the night with us tonight. Grandpa & I took Christian to the Plaza and we ate dinner at The California Pizza Kitchen. Christian had grapes, pineapple & mac&cheese, which he loved!!! I had my BBQ Chicken Pizza - which I love, along with a glass of Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio, and Don had some sort of Thai pasta dish. Fun was had by all.

After dinner, we came home and played. Christian & I played the piano. And for about 30 minutes, he played the "dive-off-the-ottoman-into-Grandma's-arms" game. Then I brought up all of the books I had kept from when the girls were little, and Christian & I read books. We read Dyan & Meg's favorite childhood book - "The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the BIG HUNGRY BEAR." He loved it... in fact, like when his mommy was a baby, we read it several times! And he pretended to eat the strawberry in the end. Adorable!

7:40 came - bedtime. And like a lightswitch, he's out. What a doll. He can come and stay with Grandma ANY TIME!!!

Tomorrow is Sunday - a day of rest! Literally. Perhaps the Donmeister & I will take in a movie! Who knows what tomorrow will bring. But, I bet it'll be interesting!

And that's my life so far....

0% Financing & New Computers!

Okay, so yesterday ended up much better. While paying bills, I noticed that one of my credit cards (What's in Your Wallet?) showed that I was paying something like 26% interest on my balance of $10,000 (wedding & vacation). I thought, WHAT??? No way. That just irritates the heck out of me. I was paying it down by $500 each month. But then I noticed this other piece of mail, from another bank offering me a credit card with 0% interest on balance transfers clear up to May of 2009!!! So, I figured that if I could get them to give me a credit card with a high enough limit, I'd transfer the balance and voila! Interest payments would be vanished! So, I called them, and I got a big credit line, and they are sending my Capital One people a big fat check, and Woo hoo!!!!, it's done! Now, when we get our big tax refund from Uncle Sam, I'll pay off the new credit card, and basically be back to debt free. Yay! Yay me! I felt so financially saavy yesterday, so Don took me out for a steak dinner to celebrate! Steaks and Corona Light.... ahhhhhhhh.....

And then.......

We went to Best Buy where they were having a sale on laptops. We bought two of them. The company is reimbursing us for them. One of them Don will use for business at home, and the other one I will use for business & for my personal stuff. I'll finally be rid of this slow, sluggish laptop that takes 10 minutes to boot up in the morning. We bought Dell computers, laptops, with all the bells & whistles. It's light blue on the outside and silver on the inside, big screen (15.something inches) and high def. Don's working on getting everything loaded onto them. I am very excited. But, very computer illiterate. As long as I know where the "on" button is, I'm a happy camper.

Today is a better day. And I love my family. Thanks, girls, for your sweetness. Jenny, you crack me up about taking Chase with us on vacation. I love you all and am very grateful for you being a part of my life.

Life is good.

And that's my life so far...

Blah, Blah, Blah....

I dunno...... I'm feeling a little blue today, so I thought I'd "blog" and get it out of my system.

Life... I just want it to be NORMAL again! Ugh...... I'm so sick of worrying... so so so so so so sick of it. I want to stop thinking about stuff that is worrying me. I want to have a day FREE from worry. I love my husband so much that this is killin' me....... I want to turn the clock back. I want to talk to Jesus and ask him FACE TO FACE why He let this happen????????? I'm just so sick of it.

I had a pedicure today. That was so nice.

I've been working at my desk most of the rest of the day. Balanced the checkbook to the penny - YAY me! Entered bills in Quickbooks.... gonna pay some in a bit.

Blogged on another website. Got some sweet support there. That is always so nice.... it's REALLY NICE to talk to people who are going thru what Don & I are going through. Otherwise, ya just don't completely understand.

I think we'll have pizza tonight. Minsky's. Am I stress eating??? Probably. But who cares???? Maybe I'll even have a beer! :-O

Don & I are planning a vacation this summer.... and I dream about that alot. We plan on taking the RV and driving to Mt. Rushmore, then to Yellowstone, then to Boise, Idaho and see Pastor Tim & Cindy. I am still grieving over them. I miss them terribly. I wish they were still here. Then we might drive to California, go to Yosemite, San Fran., and then back again. But with the price of gas.... who knows??? We'll take Cali with us. That should be interesting. I guess I'm just thinking about anything to take my mind off of you-know-what. There I go, thinking about it again. This sucks.... and I don't usually talk that way.

Am I entitled to feel down? Yup..... I've earned it.

And that's my life so far.... Pray for me.

Easter

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!

Easter weekend.... was a very busy one for me. Saturday mornin', had drama rehearsal from 10 - noon... followed by a quick microwaved lunch of leftovers from dinner the night before at Ciao Bella, a quaint little Italian restaurant that we went to after Good Friday services. By the way... Good Friday was good for me... I got to go to Coldwater Creek and be a "secret" shopper.... I spent $80 on clothes for Easter, and that's in ADDITION to the $50 gift card! Plus everything I bought was on 60% discount... lol. I bought a beautiful skirt, shirt & sweater, coral colored. The skirt is brown with coral accents. I looked good today! Back to Good Friday night.... my Choir 3 kids sang "A Lenten Love Song" and they were fabulous... very moving were they! In fact, after we sang, and we went to sit in the pews, Dyan was crying... and I hugged her and asked her if she was okay... and she was sobbing, thinking about losing the 6th graders! LOL I was sure glad that I wasn't thinking about that when they were singing! I'd have been a complete basketcase!

After my quick microwaved leftover lunch & a tangelo, I did the registrations for the Easter party at our church for all children in the church & community surrounding us. The party was so cool.... no egg hunts! Instead, every room that the kids visited was decked out in colors from different countries around the world, and the kids learned how other cultures celebrate Easter. It was great... and well attended! And the kids came out with lots and lots of goodies!

Came home, got Don, went to Meg's for dinner. She made BBQ chili, cornbread, salad & pie. It was DELICIOUS. But, I was so tired after dinner, Don & I came home and vegged out in front of a movie... "Maverick" Love that old movie! Mel Gibson??? Sheesh........

Got up early this morning, was at church by 8 for breakfast. Then taught the toddler class at 9, and attended service at 10:30. Afterwards, we went to Dyan's for Easter Dinner. I bought a honeybaked ham, and she made potato salad, deviled eggs, rolls, Meg made a green bean casserole, and good eating and fun was had by all.

Christian was adorable today.... he had on a darling sweater vest, green, with a giraffe on the front of it.... and khaki's. He is always adorable.

We're home now.... and Don's working on taxes and I"m chilling out in front of the tv, watching Extreme Home Makeover.

I love Easter. Praise the Lord that he was victorious over death, and I have assurance of eternal life with Him!!! It makes everyday life here on earth more bearable....

Happy Easter everyone~!

A Lenten Love Song

Now Jesus went into the garden,
The garden of Gethsemane.
He went there sad and very weary
To be alone to pray.

"Dear God, I am so sorrowful,
is there no other way?
Dear God, if it is possible,
let this cup pass away."

Now Jesus went into the garden,
The garden of Gethsemane.
The olive tree bent over Him.
And heard Him sadly pray.

"Dear God, your Son is sorrowful,
but knows your way is best.
Let love take hold of me!
Help me to be bold and free
to do your will,
to do your will,
to do your will
and rest.

Ubi caritas et amor,
Ubi caritas
Deus ibi est.

Ubi caritas et amor,
Ubi caritas
Deus ibi est.
(Latin translation)
Where charity and love are found,
God is there. (based on I John 4:16)

American Idol

So...... they put Carly in the bottom 3.... what is America thinking? Guess I ought to start voting... I had her tabbed to be a possible winner! Sheesh.... just because of a song about a blackbird? Come on........

Kristy Lee Cook... yeah, she belongs in the bottom 3.

Top 10? Yay for David Cook, David A, Jason Castro, and Brooke.... don't care much about Ramiele (sp?)

I'm watching AI right now, so will add more commentary as warranted...

Ohhhhhh a caller from Kansas City!!! LOL Great question for Simon...I don't think Simon looks terrible... I think he's very handsome. A million dollar car???? YOu gotta be kidding me!!!!

Simon & Paula doing a kissing scene??? LOLOL

Michael Johns is easy on the eyes....

Kellie Pickler! Love her! She worked at Sonic??? I love sonic! They have a great diet cherry limeade! Yum.... OmGosh! Love the Red High Heels song!!! She's such a doll....

Okay, bottom 3 - Carly, Kristy & Amanda... Who should go? Kristy or Amanda.... Surely not Carly.... okay, commercial break. Ugh! The suspense is killing me!

Back to my card game.... lol

Okay, we're back.... who's it gonna be? Whew! Carly is safe! awww, she's crying.. Who's going home??? Amanda!!!!! They got rid of the rocker chick???

Okay, these top 10, I'd go see them on tour. Maybe.... Good job, America! She was different, interesting.... So sad, Amanda.... C'est la vie!

I Stole Some Pictures!!!

Okay, thank you Jenny.... for posting some great pics of my grandson! Had to steal them.... lolol.

***

Christian, playing with his balls at Auntie Jenny's house. He loves his balls... can't get enough of them! "BALL!! BALL!!! BALL!!!!!!"

Playing with Cousin Chase's singing alphabet letters!

Woo hoo.... hope he danced too!!!

Christian loves to dance!

Awwwwwww, I gotta keep this one as my wallpaper. That Mr. Moose is what I brought home for Christian when I had visited my friends in Alaska.
He loves his Mr. Moose....
The end.

***

Post #2 today: Palm Sunday Pictures of the Kaleidoscope Children's Choir. Palm Sunday is my favorite, simply because of the Palm Processional, among other things. Love Holy Week.... Here are a few pics of "my kids"...

It's a Busy Day ~ Weekend...

Activities for this weekend:
Saturday ~
1) shower - obviously!!!
2) Go to HyVee and pick up 70 palm branches
3) Rock Slinger rehearsal 1-3 PM
4) come home and bake 2 birthday cakes
5) while the cakes are baking, make the Plaskett family recipe for chocolate icing...
6) leave around 5:30 to meet the family at Olive Garden to celebrate Dyan's birthday. Lots and lots of people will be there.... hence the 2 cakes.
7) come home and sleep.
Sunday~
8) Up by 6:30 a.m.
9) be at church by 8:30 a.m.
10) body warmups, vocal warmups & soundcheck @ 9.
11) 10:20 - get kids from their Sunday School classes, get in lineup order & prepared for the Palm Processional
12) participate in worship service; the Kaleidoscope Children's Choir will sing 2 anthems - "Lift Up Your Heads" and "Sing, Hosanna, Sing!"
13) lunch somewhere....
14) strip wallpaper from the bathroom.
15) watch a movie and veg out...
I'll sleep in on Monday morning.... not a problem! :-)))

And that's my life so far...

Dyan's Birthday Pics

Dyan turned 25 yesterday, and at choir rehearsal, we had a party. Afterwards, Dyan & Christian went to dinner with Don & me, since Jory was working late. So, I'll just upload a few pics from yesterday, now that I know how to do it... Somehow my pictures got uploaded in the opposite order in which they were taken... We had rehearsal first, including a party where Dyan made the choir 3 kiddos wear party hats & eat cupcakes, and she even handed out goodies... lol... Then we went to the parking lot and saw Grandpa on his motorcycle and Christian went right up to it and tried to get on it... so since I had my camera, I figured it was a "kodak" moment.... then Dyan found out that Jory wasn't home yet, and so she went to dinner with Don & me. Margaritas were had by Dyan & me... milk for Christian, and an Arnold Palmer for Don. And we had birthday sopapillas - YUM. Anyway, enjoy the pics.

OMGosh! Is he flipping me off????? noooooo no no no.... ROFL.

UGH.... Grandma needs to lose weight!!!

Dyan opened her gift from me... Peugeot salt & pepper mills from Williams/Sonoma...

Love that store!!!

Isn't she pretty??? Her pin is a flashing lightup pin,

and says "Birthday Princess"....

she's always been a princess! Or at least pretended to be one!

The Birthday girl with Choir 3...

Update!!! With Pictures!!!

Alrighty! I finally did it. I uploaded pictures all by myself! And of course, I had to start with Christian.... I think he's positively adorable. I want more grandkids, cause this is AWESOME!

Christian in his boat at Sunday School.

Christian's closeup... taken at Crown Center, I think...

I just wanna kiss him all over!!!
Okay, here's my piano with my new "At Home America" decorations on it. I think I'll change the 6 inch candles in the lantern thingy for some 3 inch ones, and I'll put 3 in there instead of 2. I just didn't have any 3 inch candles in stock here...

Okay, time for bathroom remodeling pictures. I wish that I'd have taken before pictures, but oh well... that ugly bathroom with it's ugly blue carpeting will just have to live in my memory. I will be peeling off the wallpaper this week sometime...

Here is the corner of the bathroom where the shower stall used to be. This is where my new linen cabinet will go... it will have a cabinet base to match the sink, then a countertop, & a wall unit. I desperately need storage in this house, as there is none! And with my love of cool dishes, I need a place to store them!
This is the new walk-in shower, where the old bathtub used to be. It's going to be a really big shower. Don's putting the floor stuff in... to make it all drain towards the drain. The floor will have little 2 cm x 2 cm tiles on it, in multiple colors (green, beige, rust, gray, etc. etc. etc.) It will be very old world looking.

Don scraped the ceilings last weekend. They used to have that popcorn stuff on it, and being as that is what we do for a living, he scraped our bathroom ceiling. Whoever came up with the idea that popcorn ceilings are cool ought to be shot. Period. I will paint the ceilings a taupe color.


This is a sideways view of the new shower. The zig zag framing will be where the glass blocks will go. The rest of the shower will be tiled in beige travertine tiles, inside & outside. Very cool. Very "old world"... Did I mention that I love antiques and anything old??? Yup... love it.


This is the wall where our double sink used to be. Right now, there is backerboard leaning up against the studs. That cabinet you see is where I used to keep my makeup & hair stuff.... I will paint it black & have it distressed, to match the sink & big linen cabinet that Don will build for me. It will go where the old shower stall used to be.

The toilet area... lots of ugly wallpaper to strip. The walls will be painted salmon...it's gonna be really cool looking. Oh, and the floor in the bathroom will be the same color of tiles as on the shower floor, only bigger, looking like old bricks. The tiles we've chosen are so freakin' cool..... but, very $$$. Don figured that the tile alone will cost us about $2500 for the bathroom. Ugh... And there will be a matching trim tile that will go around the shower, near the top, and also on the wall where the new linen cabinet will go. Sorta like a backsplash. So cool...... so "old world".

This is our new sink!!!! You either love it or hate it. I love it. So does Don. Meg hates it. Dyan loves it. How about you?? The whole top & sink is one big piece of copper, hammered. And the wood is painted black & distressed to look really old. I just love, love love it. And I hope you do too. It will look so cool on top of that multicolored tile floor, that looks like old bricks. Sheesh, I can see the whole thing in my mind's eye... and I love it!

Another view of the sink, this time without my paint sample papers on it... lol.


A closeup of the new faucet! I loooooove it. It's very "old world" looking and it will be like a waterfall! It's also burnished coppery looking. Matches wonderfully. And they also have hardware for the walkin shower that matches.... a rain type of showerhead. And Don will put in some body sprays. Ohh la la! I can't wait for this project to get finished!

After this project is finished, then it's on to the living room/dining room/kitchen renovation. THAT will be a huge project. This summer? I hope so.......

And that's my life so far...

Comments?

So, can we leave comments now??? Sheesh...

A VIRUS???

You gotta be kidding me....... a virus? Sheesh.... So, I'm going to do what my friend, Julie does, and that is to approve the comments before they're posted on my blog. I cannot find anywhere on blogspot that allows me to delete comments. If you know how I can delete the comments, please fill me in...

***
Tomorrow - DEAD BODIES..... yes, I'm going to see dead bodies with Meg. It's Mom~n~Meg time!!! We're gonna have lunch at Buca di Beppo on the Plaza, and then head to Union Station and see dead bodies! I cannot wait! I need Mom~n~Meg time. And I hope she does too!

***
Merry Maids is here........ and they're cleaning my kitchen, bathroom, and making my hardwood floors very shiny! Yay!!!

And that's my life so far...

Random Thoughts...

Self Portrait of Me and My Girls - Meg & Dyan...

Well, it's a Wednesday evening.... just finished dinner and now it's 9 PM. Had choir rehearsal today. I love my choir.... For those of you who don't know, my choir is made up of 45 kids, grades K - 6. We rehearse on Wednesdays from 5:30 - 7:00 PM. We sing about every month in church. We are singing on Palm Sunday... doing a processional with palms, and then singing a song along with the Sanctuary Choir, and then we'll have our own anthem to sing too, for the offertory.
Pictures of my choir, you ask? Alrighty!

Singing at Crown Center on December 22nd. Totally fun!

Choir 3 at Crown Center.

My 6th graders.... man, I'm gonna miss them next year! Most of them have been with me since Kindergarten. Love those kids...

I love this picture! What precious girls they are!
Crown Center, Christian & Dyan... you didn't think I could actually post pictures without including my Grandson??? LOL After all, he is our choir mascot! LOL The kids love him, and so do I!

***

I'll take a picture of my new sink tomorrow. Maybe Friday. It is so cool.... but I"m warnin' ya... you'll either love it or hate it. I love it.

***

Tomorrow, have that annual physical exam. I'm fasting now. Nothing to eat or drink past 9 tonite... good thing I had dinner fixed and eaten before then! What did I make for dinner, you ask? Oh..... I made this wonderful minestrone soup and some lowfat muffins. YUM. Much better than that high calorie Taco Bell, which is my usual fare on a Wednesday night after choir rehearsal. I have to start eating better.... and exercising. I want to be skinny again.

***

When I think of myself, I still see myself as my skinny self... not my fat self. I hate being overweight. What happened to me? I told my endo dr. the other day that I wanted to have my metabolism back... the one I had in my life before my 40's. You skinny kids.... don't take it for granted! I still feel skinny inside. But when I look at my pictures or see myself in a mirror...... it's like "WHOA!"

***

Cali needs to go to the groomer. Guess I'll make that appt. tomorrow. Oh and tomorrow, after the gyno / physical, the Merry Maids are coming. Hope I get home in time to clean house before they come! LOLOL

And that's my life so far...

Blah Day...

Monday.... it's a blah day... had such a busy weekend, and today, I'm just pretty wiped out. I did get cleaned up, practiced my piano today, and had my lesson. It went well, but I seem to be pretty distracted...

Trying to start a diet again.... ugh. Signed up to do calorie counting on the Internet... I"m trying to stay to 1600 calories per day. I"m already up to 1300 and I haven't had dinner yet. Did you know that Taco Bell's Nachos BellGrande is 760 calories??????????????? Sheesh... and I love taco bell! Guess I'd better check the list and see what I can have that's around 300 calories or less......

I need to clean the kitchen.... never really got cleaned up from the weekend. Need to unload the dishwasher and reload it... Everything else is pretty clean. I also need to pick up Christian's toys from Saturday.

Yup, it's a blah day.... I am SO READY for spring! I just want to get out into the garden and start pruning back, and redoing the beds. I want to get our back deck looking good... cleaned off... planters planted with annuals... need to fix up the birdfeeders....

Need to work on laundry... change the sheets on the bed... wash the blankets. Need to pay a few bills... Need to start typing all the words to the musical & send them to the kids... But, I just wanna sit here and veg...

And that's my life so far...

***

Okay... so maybe this day won't be so blah after all. Don called and wants to run out to Nebraska Furniture Mart tonight and purchase the new sink for our bathroom remodel. It's a very cool sink.... it's like black furniture, distressed, and has a copper countertop & sink combination. It's very cool looking. I'll take a picture and post it later. I know how to do that now, thank you Dyan! *muah*

And after buying that sink / cabinet, he wants to get dinner out there... I'm hoping for the Corona Cantina... love that place.

And now, that's my life so far.