Here are some more treasures that have been found in the garage.
Grandma D’s bowling ball:
My first piggy bank:
An upright piano music box that plays “As Time Goes By”:
A music box Grandma M brought back from Germany that used to play “Brahms Lullaby”:
A silly little plaque I got for Todd years ago:
And a few miscellaneous treasures:
Today was Pajamas and Pancake Day at the preschool. My absolute most favoritist day of the entire school year. Seriously. Who doesn’t like to come to work in comfy jammies? And who doesn’t like pancakes?
Sadly, so very sadly for me I had to miss it. I kind of had my very own Pajamas and Pancake Day without the pancakes, though. And they were actually yoga pants and a t-shirt instead of jammies.
Last night I went for another sleep study. This time instead of getting released at 5:30 in the morning like I did HERE*, I had to stay for what they call a latent sleep study to test for narcolepsy. A latent sleep study takes place after the night time sleep study and is when you’re awake for about 2 hours and then you take a 20 minute nap. Then they wake you and you’re up for another 2 hours and then you take another 20 minute nap. They do this four or five times, which sounds great and all, except I think it’s pretty much the same thing as a torture technique better known as sleep deprivation. You just get into a deep sleep and they’re waking you up. Torture.
I had to pack food to eat because there’s no walking over to the hospital cafeteria in your jammies while hooked to all these leads. As I ate my 100 calorie whole wheat bagel tops with Weight Watcher’s light cream cheese that I washed down with not cold/not warm water I couldn’t help but think I could be eating a pancake and a slice of bacon and sipping a hot cup of coffee right now. Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that. No coffee for me, though I could smell Rob the technician’s coffee in the room next to mine. Like I said – Torture.
Rob released me after my fourth nap around 2:30 or so. I asked about my results and he said I fell asleep with each nap. I wanted to tell him I knew that because I was there. But that would have been rude. So I guess I failed the test. Or maybe I passed it. I’m not really sure.
Lucky for me, since it wasn’t 0-dark-thirty, it was rainy so I just kept the hood to my sweatshirt on until I got home so no one could see my spiky, sticky-outy hair.
Never one to be a whiner (just go with it, people), it wasn’t all bad. I did get to read a lot. Still, I’m thinking we’ll be having pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning. And coffee. And maybe even a nap. A real nap.
*I wrote this post the day I was to go back for my follow up sleep study. Contrary to what I wrote in today’s post, I whined about having to go back all day long and kept hoping the sleep lab would lose power or something and my study would be cancelled. As I was packing my stuff up, grumbling the whole time, the phone rang. Todd answered it and it was Rob saying the lab had lost power and the sleep study was cancelled. NO LIE!! Then he told Todd he didn’t think I’d need a follow up because the CPAP machine has all the information he needs. I thought I’d gotten off super lucky until my doctor decided I should be tested for narcolepsy.
In an effort to kill two birds with one shot (photo shot, that is) here is a picture of Katie’s new old car AND the first snow of the season.
I wish she would settle on a name for her car. I’m voting for Scarlet, but the jury’s still out. It’s just that it’s so much easier to throw out a name whilst talking about her car than saying “her car”. Which sounds better to you?
1. Katie’s car wears the snow as if it’s a mink coat; or
2. Scarlet wears the snow as if it’s a mink coat.
(Killing birds, mink coat – I hope PETA doesn’t read Jenster’s Musings.)
Anyway, Todd’s been a very busy boy. In recent months he has gotten into wood working and has been slowly amassing equipment. All those power tools need a place to live and not in the middle of the garage willy nilly. We have a double garage with two windows on one wall so he’s decided to make that side his workshop. Which is a great plan, except for the fact that we have several boxes neatly tucked along that wall. Boxes that were put there by the moving guys when we moved into the house nearly 6 years ago. So now he’s going through the boxes and making a throw away pile, a yard sale pile, a put away pile and an I have no idea so I’ll have to ask Jen pile. It’s turning into quite a treasure hunt!
One of the first treasures he came across was a bag with our Christmas stockings in it. Yes, folks. We’ve celebrated Christmas six times in this house and never once with stockings. Christmas 2012 is going to be awesome!
Look at what other treasures he found:
I used to collect music boxes and bought this one at the San Francisco Music Company on Pier 39 in San Francisco about 25 years ago. You pull the little cable car down to the bottom of the hill and it slowly goes up the street to “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”.
My two favorite stuffed animals ever. My grandparents gave me Winnie the Pooh when I was really little and I can’t even count how many times he had to be sewn up here or there. When I was in elementary school and we would be learning about fire safety I would lay in my bed at night and go over how I would get out of the house if there was a fire. My plan would always include grabbing Winnie. When I would start to imagine the fire and NOT getting Winnie out I would end up crying in my bed. I loved Winnie.
The other is the first stuffed animal Todd gave me. I called him LT – short for Little Todd. Cheesy, I know. What can I say? I was young and silly.
I have no idea where I got this. Really? A size 5?
My Grandmother’s jewelry box.
Because of my love for music boxes I was given this one when my grandfather passed away. It had been given to him and my grandmother for their 50th wedding anniversary by my other grandmother so it’s doubly special to me.
There were other goodies (and a ton of junk) that was found, but there are still a few more boxes to go through. I can’t wait to see what’s to be found next!
As I mentioned HERE, Katie’s car (affectionately known as Ruby) has been in the shop. Actually, it’s been in the parking lot of the shop. They have been so kind to let us keep her car there until we could figure out our next move. Not only that, but they didn’t charge us a dime to look at the car in the first place. They will definitely be keeping our business for a long time.
We exhausted all of our options and finally determined today we just need to scrap it. I feel bad for her because she worked hard to save the money to buy Ruby and she only lasted three months. I feel just as bad for Nick, the kid she bought the car from. He feels responsible, but he had no way of knowing there was only so much left in Ruby. Buying an 18-year-old car is always a risk.
So tonight we worked a deal to get Katie a newer car. Funnily enough it’s another red Camry, but a ’97 instead of a ’93. The three of us piled into the car (which may or may not be named Ruby Deux) and took a test drive to the parking lot where Ruby’s been hanging out for the past few weeks. Katie and I cleaned her out while Todd went in to tell the guys a flat bed truck would be collecting the old car in the next day or two. Then we drove away and it was kind of sad.
Back to the dealer where we signed papers and wrote a check and then we came home where we figured out a payment plan for Katie. She’s a little bummed about not owning the car outright (that would be me who owns the car outright) but she’s thrilled to have a ride again.
And me? I’m thrilled to be able to comfortably climb into my car in the morning without having to try and squeeze in and then slide the seat back.
Here we are, heading into the third week of January, and I’m happy to say I am. Starting Well, that is. And what I mean by that is I’m following a new blog series called Starting Well, written by Teri Lynn Underwood, and it’s just too good not to share. You can click on the Starting Well banner for an overview of the series.
This first week has been Quiet Time – discipline in my spiritual life. Teri Lynne shares sensible ideas, doable suggestions and helpful resources. But the best part, in my estimation, is that she gives permission to be practical. There are no unreasonable reading plans or directives to spend one hour three times a day in quiet contemplation and I love that. It gives me permission to be human and not feel like a failure when I don’t “stick to the plan”. Heck, I don’t even have to rationalize!!
I’ve listed and linked to each of Week One’s posts below. Check out the main points of the first two, would you?
“God is not interested in your quiet time or devotions or personal Bible study… His interest is YOU.”
“Spending time in the Word is important… but how that happens and for how long on any given day? I’m just not sure that is quite as big a deal to God as it seems to be to us sometimes.”
How freeing is that? Sometimes I think we (translated=I) get so wrapped around the axel of doing it right, like if we don’t spend time with God or in his word this particular way (whatever this is) then we’re doing it all wrong and we may as well not do it at all. Let’s abandon that type of thinking and Start over Well.
• Devotions, Quiet Times, Personal Bible Study. Is it really necessary? “God is not interested in your quiet time or devotions or personal Bible study … His interest is YOU.”
• 10 Tips for a Great Quiet Time “Spending time in the Word is important … but how that happens and for how long on any given day? I’m just not sure that is quite as big a deal to God as it seems to be to us sometimes.”
• Memorize, Meditate, and Meander: Storing Up God’s Word 3 ways to spend time treasuring Scripture
• Tools of the Trade: Resource Recommendations Suggestions for Bibles, study aids, devotionals, and books on spiritual disciplines
• Chocolate, Paradise, and Every Spiritual Blessing Guest post by Kathy Howard inviting us to join her online study, “Growing Up Together: A Study of Ephesians”
My suggestion is that you subscribe to her blog so you don’t miss any of her posts, but in case you can’t for some reason, I’ll link the week’s posts on Sunday for the next seven weeks. And be sure to come back and let me know what you think!
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a MOPS Mentor Mom. I don’t really know for sure why I’m a “mentor” and tell my young moms I suppose it’s possible they could maybe learn something from my mistakes. Such as…
When my children were little I thought this or that would be a great mommy thing to do, but instead it caused them to stutter/burp/hit their head against the wall for no apparent reason/hate glitter – you fill in the blank – so don’t do it to your kids.
You see why I might not be best suited for the position.
But every once in a very long while I do have great words of parenting wisdom. A wisdom so profound it garners such looks of awe and appreciation that for a moment I’m embarrassed. Embarrassed that my genius has burned so bright. It’s hard to be humble when you’re a beacon of such enlightenment. But, you know, when you’re that brilliant it just is what it is.
This morning was one of those days. You know what I’m talking about. The kind of day when you’re on fire and everything that comes out of your mouth sounds like something you’d read in an inspirational book or see on Oprah.
Yesterday two of my friends with young children were discussing how they feel bad that they don’t play games for hours with their children like other moms. So this morning I offered them this priceless wisdom:
Don’t worry about it. As they begin to get a little older just start feeding them false memories about how you spent hours upon hours playing their favorite games when they were little. Eventually they will start to believe you and actually think they remember. Bam. You’re the best mother ever.
I KNOW! Brilliant, right?? Sometimes I amaze even myself.
I am a horrible judge of pita chip to hummus/chip to dip ratio. I underestimated how many pita chips I was going to need to finish the amount of hummus I have, so I just got the bag. It seems to be working out well. Now if I can only make my one little glass of wine last. Tiny sips, Jenster. Tiny baby sips.
******
Katie’s car is in the shop. Last Wednesday as she was driving two other girls to school there was a pop and then smoke coming from the hood. Todd was, of course, out of town. Taylor was with him. I was in the shower as she tried to call me three times, back to back. One of her friend’s mother stopped by the house to tell me what had happened. Missy picked the girls up to take them to school and I was left to get the car picked up by a tow truck and to the shop.
It was 11 degrees when she left for school that morning. The mechanic told me later that day the radiator hoses were frozen and the “pop” was when one of them came off the radiator. The “smoke” was the fluid hitting the hot engine. He wasn’t going to be able to investigate further until the hoses had thawed out. We were hoping and praying with everything that it was only the radiator. New hoses and a radiator flush – while not cheap – is doable. Turns out there is actually something wrong with the engine. Poor Ruby.
The kid we bought the car from – a good friend of Taylor’s – is a mechanic and he’s going to price out parts and we’ll go from there. Hopefully having Nick do the repairs will still make it doable. Otherwise we’ll be scrapping Ruby for parts. Poor Ruby.
******
Taylor left to go back to college today. Well, not actually college. He’s driving to Pittsburg first to hang out with some friends who moved out there a while back. As luck would have it, his girlfriend just so happens to live in the Pittsburg area as well. Wednesday, I think, he and Shelby will then drive from the Pitt (no derogatory meaning intended) down to Lynchburg.
As much as I love having him home – and I do – I’m okay with him going back to school. He does have 1.5 years of higher education under his belt which means he’s super smart. Much smarter than his father or me. We seem to be getting dumber in direct proportion with his amount of time in college. Funny. I don’t feel dumber. Still, I can’t wait until the next time we get to see him.
(Mom and Dad – please picture me groveling as I beg for your forgiveness. Again.)
******
Todd has picked up a new hobby. He’s been making these really cool paracord bracelets for just about everybody. It gives him something to do during the evening. Kind of like Grandma and her knitting.
The bracelets are also called survivor bracelets because let’s just say you’re out hiking in the woods with your buddy and he/she goes over a cliff, barely landing on a narrow ledge 12 feet below. How will you ever pull him/her up? You have no cell service and it’s much too far to hike out – you’ll never make it back before dark, leaving your friend to suffer through the elements. If only you had a rope. But that’s much too heavy. Who would ever hike with 20 feet of rope? But wait! No need to fear! You just happen to be wearing a fashionable paracord bracelet engineered by Todd. You whip it off your wrist, clip the end with your handy Swiss Army knife (because you should never hike without a Swiss Army knife) and SHAPOW! Twenty feet of military grade paracord, able to hold 550 pounds! Crisis averted.
*****
And that’s what’s been happening in my neck of the woods. How about yours?
