It's the most wonderful time of the year....

**Side Note** Carl, you can oh so nicely ask Seth if he will come to Charleston and build you a deck...I will come too, but I am useless in the deck building arena.

So it's finally here. No I'm not talking about Christmas (although I love that time too). Football season for Georgia officially starts tomorrow and I can't freaking wait. I mean who doesn't want to be on north campus tomorrow at 6 am surrounded by hoards of drunk college students? Ok, so in reality those hoards won't get full tilt until about thirty minutes before the game, but you get my drift. We have gone from college where we tailgated behind Lipscomb Hall next to a dumpster with no food and a keg, to tailgating on a median over near PVAC with some food and a TV, to tailgating on the grassy knoll of the most beautiful part of campus with lots of food and the game package purchased for the non-ticket holders to watch. We have reached old and I can honestly say, I'm down. I mean, if you ask my friends I was the mildest of the bunch anyway so I've always kind of been the low key tailgater....right guys? :-) Regardless, Athens truly is one of my most favorite places on Earth. So going up there bright and early (instead of working out my wrecked calf muscles) is making me so happy. Not to mention, I have to start seeing people beyond the once a month wedding.

**Side Note** My class released the butterflies today (two girls cried hysterically). However, they were not released before they were given proper names:
Flapjack
Josh
Tallulah
and my personal favorite....Mrs. Burrow

I mean, I don't have a star and I've never adopted a highway or a dolphin, but I am a butterfly out there somewhere. How freaking cool is that?

Progress and Butterflies

Even with the damaged finger and the torrential yet random downpours, the deck is really coming up! I have to admit, not only am I excited to have a fabulous deck, but I can't wait for everything else that comes with it. I have chosen not to vacuum much due to constant trackings of you name it coming in and out the door. I should have taken a picture of my floor, but I decided I shouldn't disgust everyone. There's also the issue of Molly. Now that the building of the deck has reached the point where it comes up against the house but it doesn't have a "floor", so to speak, we can't actually let Molly out. We have to leash her and take her in the front yard. Well, the front yard is new and different and she has mad ADHD so of course she forgets to pee or takes 30 minutes to decide where to poop. Add in the rain (which oddly enough she LOVES and whines at the door every time it's pouring) and taking her out becomes a waste of time. Lastly, I can't wait for the deck to be done so that we can get cranking on that disaster of a room in our house with the red wall. I will post pictures of that as it comes along as well. Right now, what was our office/workout room/Molly's room is beyond repair until it's painted. I have SO many plans for that room so things I have purchased on craigslist are piling up in other parts of the house. Needless to say, I won't be inviting you over anytime soon.

Totally changing gears, I witnessed the birth of butterflies today. Well, do you call it birth if they were already born as caterpillars? I should probably know that since I am teaching about it. I could tell you the names of the stages in their life cycle, but I'm unsure about the use of the word birth here. If you know, do tell. Anyway, I bought this kit off the internet where you can literally "raise" butterflies on your own. It's one of the coolest things I have ever done and my students are crazy about it! So anyway, the caterpillars came about 10 days ago and we watched them slowly creep to the top of the tupperware container they came in. Once they creep to the top and go into the chrysalis stage (aka, cocoon) you are supposed to take the lid off the tupperware where you then find this paper thin lining that you oh so carefully pull out. The cocoons are hanging from it and you just as carefully pin the paper to the inside of the "butterfly garden" that comes with the kit. This is basically a long cylindrical "cage" for lack of a better word that is ventilated. You can see it in the pictures below. So, my students go to PE right at the end of the day and we came back from PE with 15 minutes to pack up and get out the door and one of the cocoons burst open and out came a painted lady butterfly. One little girl saw it and literally started squealing. My class is so mild this year so it startled me that she made such a noise until I realized what she had seen. Of course, we all crowded around as the next one emerged from it's cocoon as well. This was one of those moments where I think teachers feel like this is why they teach. I sure did. So we got everyone out the door knowing that the last two cocoons would probably become butterflies sometime tonight. I truly felt like one of the kids. I had no idea how this would go when I bought the kit. These things are risky as I'm sure you can imagine. Now I know to take the risk anyway. Next on the life cycles agenda is growing beans. After that I just may invest in ladybugs or tadpoles...stay tuned. PS - behind the butterfly garden on my bulletin board is a 2nd grade picture of yours truly. I saw another teacher I observed post her picture at the age of the grade level she taught and the kids think it's hysterical. Take a look. I'm sure you will too. I mean could my skirt get any higher?

Fingertality

Happy Saturday everyone! I want to let whoever reads this know that I have changed some of the settings. I was hearing that you couldn't leave a comment unless you were a registered google/blogger user. I realized I could go in and change that! So comment away :-)

Seth has had the first (and hopefully only) injury at the hands of deck building. Apparently his hammer hit the wrong nail. Seth is not a complainer. When I say that I mean he NEVER complains about anything. Well, when I came home the other day he repeatedly asked me if I could go buy him a new finger. Since that day he has complained quite a bit (and rightfully so) about the throbbing pain that won't go away. He spent two hours trying to get it x-rayed today so we will keep you posted about the outcome.

(Seth now wants to tell it...apparently I wasn't doing it right :-)

Alright, so my mom called Dr. Browne, and he said that due to the lack of sensation in the end of my finger, he thought there was a possibility that I might have broken the finger/joint. If the finger is broken, the only remedy is time, but if there was any damage to the joint, I hit the upper part of my nail/lower part of my finger (talk about lack of aim, I couldn't even hit the nail), there was a possibility that sometime later in life that I could have issues with arthritis in the joint causing a lack of motion with the end of my finger. I know, its not a life threatening injury, but I do prefer the full range of motion in all of my joints so I decided to get it scanned by the radiology dept at DMC. There is a high probability that nothing is wrong, but better safe than sorry....back to Jana....

So anyway, here's a picture that totally doesn't do it justice...

By the way, in case anyone was wondering, I am sitting in my den under a blanket because the air conditioning has given me the most wonderful chill, and my brand new washing machine is humming away in the background. Life doesn't get better than this.

PS - Lisa, if you're reading, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

While I am still proud and motivated, I am pretty sure something is broken in my abdomen. Dramatic, I know. But seriously, do you know how much you use your abs to do EVERYTHING? Getting in the bed, getting out of the bed, getting in the car, getting out of the car, bending over (I talk to seven year olds all day - I do this one a lot), sitting up once sitting on the couch, laughing (I do this one a lot too), etc. etc. I will be buff one day but I will also be a whiny baby in the process.

However, after making Seth get up this morning I saw visions of how the rest of this new workout lifestyle may go. He was VERY cranky. I asked him if we could take a picture for the blog because I think it's pretty funny how pathetic we look. He quite angrily said no. I will admit, I was disappointed but I understood. So we go to the gym and I gradually, but completely, lose my steam. I am tired. My arms hurt. All I can wrap my brain around is getting back in my bed. Maybe there's a way I can get out of work today? I could be honest and call and say I am a raging weakling and I have torn every muscle in my body and I can't walk. Yes I know it's only the second week of school, but you don't understand. I NEED to get back in the bed. We are beyond lazy wanting here. Of course as things would go, Seth turns a corner and becomes happy, chipper, talk about everything and annoy me to death Seth just about the time I want to no longer be employed for a few hours of sleep. God love him, he is pumped up and excited. I am comatose. You know what though? This could work for us. Because had he been chipper at the start and useless at the end, I may very well have gone back to bed.

Wasting my time

Is it just me or does it not seem like life is filled with things that WASTE MY TIME? Traffic, pointless meetings, waiting in lines, the neverending stories of munchkins, etc. Ok so I understand I sound kind of bitchy. I'm really in a very good mood. I just hate wasted time. I mean I'm sure it would tell me somewhere how long the average American sits in traffic. I'm not even average because I work half a mile from my house (I do drive all over Atlanta weekly anyway so I come close to average). Just the sheer fact that someone could tell me that tidbit of information makes me think everyone is always wasting time.

But seriously, I like things to be efficient. What's so wrong with that? I love kids. I do not love hearing about mario cart while I am teaching Math. That is unless mario cart helps you memorize addition and subtraction facts in which case, I'll buy one for my classroom. I love to drive. I do not love the countless number of Atlantans who can't drive. There are so many and it's just a constant battle to get around them, away from them, past them, etc. Why can't everyone know where they're going? I mean, in this day and age you can even have a little voice implanted in your car telling you EXACTLY how to get there. Why can't you just get there???

So now that I have done my fair share of griping for the day, I would like to end on a high note. I am actually excited to go to the gym in the morning. I wish there was a pill you could take where that kind of motivation stuck around because I am fearful it may be short lived. Oh well! I'll take it for now :-)

As promised...

Proud

Yes, I am very proud of us. I'm also really freaking exhausted. So we dropped some moula at LA Fitness and got on a plan. The start of that plan was executed this morning at 4:50 am. It really wasn't as bad then as it is now, but more on that later. So we get up and go and Seth leads the show as the weight training begins. We mostly did arms (by far my weakest body part) a few legs, and some abs. We realized in the car on the way there that we should have taken a picture of ourselves in all our glory at such a fine hour, but I'm going to go with I'm glad we didn't do that. Maybe on Wednesday we will give you a sneak peak. Yes I said Wednesday because we aren't going tomorrow and here's why. I am also very proud because Seth spent the entire weekend and and a decent portion of today working on our deck. That I did take pictures of. It it really coming along and I am SO excited!!! You can see the beginnings below and we will update you as the building moves along. I also put a lofty goal into action and went to a yoga class after getting up at 4:50 am to work out, going to work, AND going to a two hour meeting for a certification class I am taking this year. So basically, the deck kicked Seth's ass and the yoga class (on top of the intense arm pain I already felt) kicked my ass. Therefore, we are just going to take a walk or something tomorrow and take a tiny break so we don't get burnt out. Anyway, I'm going to bed. Enjoy the pics and hopefully I will be more energetic tomorrow :-)

Ok I can't get the pictures to load....some sort of internal error with blogger. I will upload them tomorrow. Goodnight!

Quickie but Goodie

I seriously can't get enough of Sunday Post Secrets (linked to on the left). I've talked about it before on here but it is an obsession I have stuck with. In fact, I am often saddened by the fact that I have to wait a whole week for more. It's freakishly honest and scary at times, but I can't get enough. It is the definition of train wreck. One girl's postcard said:

"My mom is one of my best friends. I'm sixteen now and I hope it NEVER CHANGES."

I want to tell her that I was her at sixteen and there have been some damn close contenders, but it never changed for me (I love you mom).

Another one said "I wear granny panties". That one should have been mine :-)

More blogging tomorrow with pictures and everything. I have to get up at 5 am and force Seth out of bed to go to the gym. Yay.

Useless Obsessions

I have come to the conclusion that I have WAY too many useless obsessions. I find a blog or a "craft" or an idea, if you will, and I get so excited about it only to never look at it again (I have a sewing machine - my friend Holly's baby is the only person in 4 years to benefit from it). It's not that I'm fickle. I just can't find the time to fully enjoy one thing, so I just barely enjoy a lot of things.

For instance, I decided that the world of Hungry Girl (website, cookbook I bought, emails I get) was going to be the pathway to the high school version of my physical self reemerging. I bought the cookbook. I LOVE the cookbook. I even love the emails that tell me the absolute perfect things I could buy at the store. I read the cookbook. I read the emails. Problem? I have only actually made one of the recipes from the cookbook and I have an ongoing list of items to buy at the store from the emails but no items purchased. This has been going on since April or May. I am obsessed with something that is doing me NO GOOD (not because it sucks, but because I do).

Example number two: hiking. I bought a book (noticing a theme here? wait, noticing TWO themes here?) about hiking trails all over Atlanta. I decided Molly and I were going to be the first owner/pet team to traverse all of the insane amount of hiking areas in/around Atlanta. I read some of the book, had visions of myself as a hiker, thought about buying boots, etc. etc. Yea. When I actually do some of this extraordinary hiking I will post a picture of Molly and I on a trail - wait for it.

Example number three: DIY. There is a LARGE possibility you have no idea what that is because I am a HUGE dork and you are not. I'm ok with it. I have no problem admitting my quirks. The only thing is, I want to admit the quirk because I followed through with it and not because I just think it sounds cool!!! Anyway, DIY stand for Do It Yourself. There is an entire world of DIY out there...probably similar to gaming and such. The world of DIY is devoted to those infinitely creative souls who can make diaper bags out of wash clothes and jewelry out of bottle caps. I convinced myself I was just going to start making stuff and selling it. I made some jewelry. I read the sites from time to time. Yep. The story ends there.

There are MANY other examples but if you aren't bored already you will be if I keep going. Six word memoir for my useless obsessions:

Pick something meaningful. Stick to it.

Come to Jesus

So I had a moment. It was small but significant. It happened at that point in the day where I had to go to the bathroom so badly I could have popped a squat behind my learning cottage (I didn't for fear of my large behind being seen by twenty second graders and God knows who else - not to mention I might have lost my job). Anyway, back to the moment. I realized today that the world should know, I mean really know, the ins and outs of being a teacher. Books on teaching/teachers/school/etc. could probably be in a head to head battle with parenting books. BUT, I have yet to find a book that is really a tell all, down and dirty synopsis of the world of teaching. Albeit there are so many different kinds of teachers and schools and demographics and blah, blah, blah. So you could probably have ten teachers write tell-alls and you would get ten drastically different accounts. Well, I am here to tell you that I will write a tell-all one day about teaching. I mean here I sit with my whopping ONE YEAR of teaching experience and I can already tell you, you don't know the half of it. Imagine what I could tell you after ten years, twenty, (shoot me if I get this far) even thirty! Now again, every situation is different. I just really think the general public should know. Why? Because we all went to school and had no idea what was happening behind the scenes. Because some people have kids who are in or will be in school in the coming years. And because it's just not fair for you all not to know how crazy teachers really are - if you are friends with one or related to one you are either thinking "my so and so isn't like that" or you are thinking "holy crap, that's why she/he's like that". So if one day far far away you come across a scandalous book that calls out the world of teaching, remember my come to Jesus moment and buy it. You won't regret it.

I also plan to write two other books at the moment just in case you were wondering. The first is a children's book that has no name yet but will be illustrated by my oh so talented sister. The second will be called "What She Would Do If No One Was Watching". You want to know now don't you?

Seriously, if one day you buy a book by me and you come to a signing and you tell me you read about the book dreams of a random blogger years ago, I'll give you a cut of the profits. **SIDE NOTE** I think we are at lofty goal #26.

First Day

School is in. I am optimistic, hopeful, and tired. I have recently joined a very cool website where you can go in and write. The people who run this website do six word memoirs. It's really very cool. Anyway, I got sucked in and I am even going to order the book written by the Smith MAG people called "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs By Writers Famous and Obscure". These people really have convinced me that you can sum up any part of your life in six words. The three I have submitted so far are:

1) Have baby. Plant Tree. Experience Growth. (In "Your Green Life")
**NO I'M NOT PREGNANT - just thought it sounded cool.**
2) I am myself because of him. (In "Six Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak)
3) Wanted: Live-in sushi artist for life. (In "A Life in Bites)

And the latest you have seen above....they don't have a category for teachers yet, but when they do I will be the first to submit....
4) I am optimistic, hopeful, and tired. (In what I would title "The first day of school for teachers")

I have a feeling that more not so sweet 6 word memoirs are to come, but we will stick with the rare optimism I am feeling today!

I have what seems to be a much milder crew this year. I have more students than last year which is testing me in my "learning cottage". BUT, then I drive by Tucker High School that is being rebuilt and they have God knows how many teenagers in trailers behind the school so I can't really complain. What's more exciting to me than having a new crop of kids, is having a clue. Last year was really hard for me for various reasons, but by far the biggest downfall of first year teaching for me was how down I became on myself. Secondly, I am by self definition a very OCD perfectionist who should probably be on medication...I just can't stomach going into a shrink and saying "well doc, my biggest problem is that I reorganize daily". Seriously? If color coding, filing, and literally moving CRAP around is my downfall I don't need a shrink. I need a personal assistant. Anyone need a job? I can't pay you but I sure can teach you how to piss off your husband. Seth LOVES my knack for "organizing" his stuff. Sorry honey - as they say, you know what you married.

Anyway, if today truly was a glimmer of what's to come this year, I'm down if they are...I mean I already organized their school supplies for them today so what more could they want right?

WE ARE FAT

**SIDE NOTE** Along the left side of this blog is a list of other blogs I read. The one called "Post Secret" is like a train wreck for me...it can be intensely awkward, funny even though maybe it shouldn't be, and relieving to know some of my hateful thoughts aren't that bad at all. You should check it out. I am going to start quoting some that I like, but you really need to see the postcards to get the full effect!

"If I'm staring at you on the train it's because I think you're beautiful."

ANYWAY, Seth and I have (for the 52nd time) decided that we are fat and we need to lose weight. When we met, and coincidentally the day we got married, I was probably twenty pounds thinner. In between I have become a pro at the gaining and losing roller coaster called dieting. South Beach, Weight Watchers, calorie counting - you name it, I probably tried it. I even did the "Eat Right for Your Blood Type" nonsense in college. Seth on the other hand, I think has gained weight due to how blissfully happy he has been being married to me. Regardless, we have discussed on countless occasions how we plan to lose weight. We have schemed about exercise and eating and the ever present should we run another marathon? Seth maybe - Jana HELL NO (ok maybe someday I will do a half - but nothing more).

So, Seth was watching Dr. Oz on Oprah the other day (yes I said Seth was watching Oprah) and Dr. Oz apparently confirmed what Seth already knew which is that weight training is the way to go when trying to lose weight (along with a healthy diet of course). We discussed joining a gym even though we have two large pieces of workout equipment in our house. The idea is that we will start going to bed at 10pm and then get up at 5 am and go to the gym together. If you know either of us well, you know that morning is the least promising time of day for us in any arena - let alone exercising. Tomorrow we head to LA Fitness to sign our lives away to the workout gods in hopes that they see us at least three days a week at 5am.

Your job, if you choose to accept it, is merely to read this blog and comment when you can asking if we are going to the gym! I am trying (thank you Jonathan Flowers) to figure out how to get a counter at the bottom of the blog to show how many people are reading. The idea is that if we tell the world (or our 3 or 4 readers rather) about our elaborate plan to lose weight, we may feel guilty if we don't stick to it. I realize this plan is not really elaborate. I am also very aware that the chances are slim of us feeling guilty enough because of our blog to become the hot people we feel we are inside. But, lofty goals and being delusional are my MO right?

HALLELUJIAH

WE HAVE AIR...

...now all we have to do is burn our sheets, get used to our dog being on crack again instead of lethargic, and APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE this luxury we call air conditioning. Don't take it for granted people.

**Side Note - if you are reading our blog, please comment...even if you just say "hi Jana and Seth" it would be appreciated only because we are becoming afraid that we are talking (rather, typing) to ourselves.

Oddly Familiar?

*SIDE NOTE*
IF you read Seth's most recent camp post and you have ever gone to Search, St. Ann's, or the like in church related activities, you may realize that the "Turn Around" skit we grew up on has seen it's fair share of variations....apparently this version was suggested by another counselor that had performed it in his drama class in college.

Rude? Honest? You decide...

So I listened to this whole spiel the other day on the Bert Show (if you have no clue what the Bert show is and you live in Atlanta you might want to crawl out from under that rock of yours....no seriously, it's a morning radio show) about work etiquette when it comes to co-workers you can't stand (or that can't stand you). As I'm listening I'm realizing that I am very torn about this argument/discussion they are having. Here's the story Bert show style, and then I will give you my personal reflection of it....

Apparently in the old days of the Bert show there were two people that interned on the show. Fast forward to now and these two people work somewhere in the same building as the Bert show (this may sound way too coincidental, but there have been MANY interns in the history of the Bert show). Anyway, these two people have a passionate grudge against the show. Apparently the hatred they feel has even spilled over to new people on the show that they have never even worked with, but that's another story. SO, Melissa Carter (DJ for the show) is walking through the office/building recently, she rounds a corner, and one of these grudge holding people comes around the corner at the same time. Melissa says hello, the hater keeps walking without even so much as a nod. Melissa is very offended, and while she knows this person hates her and her show, she is baffled that they wouldn't even nod or say hello. Her argument is that while you may have a strong opinion about a person (valid or not) if you see them in the office or on the street and you blatantly do not acknowledge them you are rude, offensive, and disrespectful.


Bert would be the head DJ for the Bert show (I know you can't believe it but I promise it's true). Melissa, Jen, and Jeff are the sidekicks. Bert and his wife recently decided that they wanted to start living a more honest (AKA less "two-faced") life. They believe or have read or something that most of what people say and do is fake (something like 75%). This is done either as people pleasing, avoiding conflict, or sheer laziness (these are my words, not theirs....I just can't entirely remember the synopsis so I'm summarizing what I remember...if you heard the piece and I am wrong, feel free to tell me so). Anyway, Bert sees the behavior of the disgruntled ex-interns as fair, if not respectable. He says that he would rather someone who doesn't like him just ignore him than talk to him like they are long lost best friends.


SO, I am listening and finding myself totally identifying with both sides. This situation presented itself to me last year and is continuing to happen as we head into this year. I cannot be too specific so if you don't follow please let me know. The person that blatantly ignores me is not a co-worker in the traditional sense. I guess they would be more like the client maybe? Only they aren't directly paying me, so the dynamics are different. I should be people pleasing them until my face turns blue, but that's just not my style (I am really good at talking like I have a pair, but let's be honest....at many times in my life I could add people pleaser to the list of character flaws I have come to embrace). At any rate, I tried. I really freaking tried. The passive-aggressive nature of the relationship just became too much to bear and I just plain gave up. HOWEVER, I had to see this person in the halls and will have to even more this year. From day one of the end of our cordial relationship this person has ignored me, has gone out of their way NOT to have to see me, and has made it clear how they feel about me. My BIGGEST problem with this is that I, in turn, did the same thing. I stooped to their level. I mean, in the beginning I would say hello even when I really didn't want to. When I got no response, the real me started to emerge - the real me that this person had turned me into anyway. My excuse for this behavior falls under the avoiding conflict mechanism mentioned earlier. I have dealt with more BS conflict in the past year that I care to even share about. So I just decided to join this person's club.


Now, after hearing the bit on the Bert show, I am concerned about my own behavior (this is the point where you think to yourself, Jana needs to see a shrink - she is analyzing the daylights out of this - what you don't realize is, you are my shrink). I have to now decide for myself how to find closure. The Bert show has shown me both sides and I truly feel like I could agree with both *you have now entered the mind and soul of the indecisive female*. I obviously can't go back and just one day say hello to this person. Well, I could, but don't suggest that because I'm not going to do it. SO, I think in my own whacked out way my closure with this situation will be to do everything I can to ensure that I don't end up here again. That is feasible and oddly appealing to me so that's what I'm going with for now. If you have an opinion, comment now. God knows it may take me a lifetime to figure out how to be a teacher without questioning everything I do. All I know is I am NOT a disrespectful person...or am I? You be the judge.

...On to Wednesday....

...by now, getting out of bed in the morning is absolutely miserable. The bed has become ridiculously comfortable despite its lack of size, when laying on the bed, roughly half of my legs dangle towards the plywood floors. We have officially reach the half way point in the week. Wednesday is the day that a majority of the VIP's come to camp to spend time with the kids, and to see exactly how the money is spent that is donated to MDA. Our Wednesday evening activity is a talent show, so during the lull in our morning activities, we tried to put together a skit for everyone to enjoy.



Even though we didnt perform the skit that we spent the majority of the morning planning, I want to explain what we were trying to do. I know that the humor behind the skit is somewhat vague and a tad "adult", we thought it would be pretty humorous. Bear with me here. So the skit was going to be to the tune of Bonnie Tyler's song, Total Eclipse of the Heart....find it on itunes. You will know the song after 3 seconds. Alright, rewind. On the Saturday night before camp started, we went over all of the camp rules, and how to act/behave around the kids. You know, no drugs, alcohol, smoking, sex, inappropriate behavior, etc. So anyways, the music starts, and one of the counselors was to walk out on stage. He is playing the part of a new counselor to camp. He is wandering around acting real sheepish and shy. Every time the lyrics in the song say "turn around, every now and then I..." one of our campers that was going to be on stage would turn around holding a sign depicting one of the "camp sins", the actions listed above. SO our counselor is wandering around, becoming somewhat interested in these banned activities, but not really knowing how to handle them selves. After all of the "turn arounds", campers holding the sin signs circle around the "new" counselor trying to turn him towards the dark side. When this happens, the devil, played by yours truly, enters the stage and enters the circle of sinners. I too begin to attempt to turn the counselor to the dark side. All of this happens during the 2 minute instrumental in the middle of the song. About the time that Bonnie Tyler starts singing again, one of our other counselors enters the room from the back, and begins making their way towards the stage. This counselor is playing Peggy, the lady that is the MDA camp director. Peggy is the Jesus figure in all of this. At the intense down beat in the song, Jesus, played by Peggy, played by one of the other counselors throws his/her/his arms down, the devil dies, and the little sinners drop their signs. Then during the remaining "turn arounds" the sinners start raising signs that are the antithesis of the sinner signs. Jesus then leads the "new" counselor into the light. Everyone lives happily ever after. I know that some of you will probably be wondering what the heck did I just read. It was going to be funny. Trust me.



So back to camp. The morning activities go breezing by. We had a special treat for lunch. Between 20-30 firefighters showed up to the camp to spend time with the kids. Firefighters and MDA are pretty tight. If you ever see firefighters standing on the side of the road with their boots out collecting money, there is a good chance they are trying to "Fill the Boot". So anyways, the firefighters cooked burgers for lunch and ate with the kids. Following lunch, they had a watermelon eating contest on the quad area. About 15 watermelons went by the wayside in no more than 2 minutes. Kinda crazy. After our rest period, we had to prep the power wheel chairs for the water wars. Water and 10k dollar power wheel chairs dont exactly mix. Water wars is one of the activities that everyone looks forward to during the week. The name is pretty self explanitory. Anything goes. The firefighters participated in the water wars as well. Water guns, buckets, cups, water ballons, anything that can be used to soak someone else is/was used. I cant describe the enjoyment.



After the water wars, we officially decided that we were going to bag our skit for the talent show. Blake was the only one that wanted to have a talent so we let him pick what he wanted to do. He chose to do "Blake's Tokyo Scooter Drift". After we made plans for him to do this, the other kids decided that they magically wanted to be in the talent show. This is where the attitudes started to show. Finally we came to a compromise, and the kids that wanted to participate became Blake's bodyguards, you know, Tokyo Blake needs bodyguards. It made sense.



Again, we had another meal, boring camp food. I am beginning to think that they are recycling the food. Yak. So right after dinner the talent show begins. The kids have a great time showing everyone their talents. There were some great singers and dancers this year, but I missed the majority of the show since one of the campers had a delayed arrival to camp, and I helped get her situated when she arrived. Maria was unable to come for the entire week because she had just finished her treatments for cancer. She is an unbelievable young lady, and was quite an inspiration to me. She had a tumor removed from her hand last year during camp, and immediately following camp they determined that it was malignant. For the past year, she underwent Chemo and Radiation, and it is my understanding that she is now in remission. Even though she was only able about 24 hours at camp, it was a joy to have her there since her camp eligibility was expiring.



After the talent show, we took the children back to the cabin to get them ready for bed. When we were in the cabin, the ladies man, Brandon, asked if he could go next door to say goodnight to the she tooter Caitlyn. Mind you, throughout the day, every time that Brandon caught a glimpse of Caitlyn, he tooted his little horn at her, and she tooted right back at him. So anyways, I took Brandon over to the cabin next door for the good nights. I knocked on the door and asked if Brandon could say good night to her. The girls in her cabin went crazy. You know how that goes. So they get her all prim and proper to see her beau. When she comes out, she gave his chair a little nudge. He then asked her if she would dance with him at the dance on the next night. She was thrilled to say yes. They then exchanged good nights and we returned to the cabin. I dont really know how to explain how happy these kids were. They were both extremely excited, and they just couldnt quit smiling. Again, a little sappy, but very cute.



So after we get the kids in bed and enjoy our evening dose of Delilah, I head back to the Gym for the going away party for the "graduating campers". This week at camp was a little different than the past 8 years. MDA decided that this year they would be lowering the max age for campers from 21 to 17. This meant that we had almost 50 kids that would be permanently leaving us. Peggy staged a special celebratory party for all of these kids. One of the campers made a slide show that included the memories from the past 8 years of camp, and all of the kids that would be leaving us. After the slide show, Peggy also gave out picture books to each of the kids with pictures that she had from previous years at camp. The kids had an opportunity to sign each others books, and leave messages for each other, kind like year books.



Once the party was over, it was back to bed. All I dream about is the comfort of my own bed....



I will also leave you with some other fun camp pictures....

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO

Here they are in all their glory...stay tuned for what will hopefully be a MAJOR update on the AC tomorrow...

...Day Tuesday....

....so the lack of sleep is setting in about now. But before we go any further, let me introduce you to the gang. The little monster in the first pic on yesterday's post was Zane. Zane was from Rome. Zane talked like he was from Rome. Zane was a hand full. Next we have Blake. Blake was a pretty neat kid. Very outgoing. There wasnt anything that Blake wasnt going to do. Here we have Blake leading a sing along for the entire camp after one of the meals.











Next we have Tyler. While Tyler was a very sweet kid, he had a tendency to get an attitude.















Next is Pedro. Pedro was pretty quiet. It took us a while to figure out why. Once we did, it made sense. He spoke very little English. Even though there was a language barrier, he seemed to have a fantastic time.












Finally we had our little ladies man Brandon. There will be more on him in a little while.











So like I was saying, sleep deprivation is a bitch. At this point, the crinkle crinkle crinkle factor is getting a little old. During the morning activities, I was pleasantly surprised when I happened to run into Jonathan visiting camp for the morning. Jonathan was my camper for the last 8 years. Last year he turned 22, and was no longer able to come to camp. It had been an entire year since I had seen him, and quite a few months since we had talked, so it was great to get to spend some time with him.









Right before lunch, we had one of the more enjoyable activities of the week. 790 The Zone contributed radio equipment to CTL, and they were able to put a radio station together for the kids to operate while they were at camp. The radio room was set up in the Arts and Crafts building, and it broadcast out into the quad area so people could hear the kids while they were on the radio. Our kids became DJ's for an hour and they got to broadcast music for everyone to hear. Keep in mind that the kids in our cabin were between the ages of 10-12 when I tell you that one of them wanted to intro Soulja Boy. He then proceeded to dance and sing along to the song while it played. I wasnt sure how to handle the situation, so I did what anyone else would do....I got into it and participated. Since the counselors got to participate with the activity, everyone in our cabin decided that they wanted to have a talk show portion. FYI, we listened to B98.5 every night with Delilah, sooooooo, I played the part of Delilah, and answered questions about love, romance, and relationships. Imagine that.

So after lunch, we had some activities on the sports fields. We did archery. I sucked at archery. I hurt myself during archery. Never again will I do archery. When we left archery, we headed back towards the cabins with another the girls from the adjacent cabin. Enter the ladies man Brandon. While we are heading back, one of the little girls starts tooting her little horn on her power chair. My main man Brandon starts tooting back at her. This is the beginning of the end. For 10 minutes, they toot back and forth at each other. She toots, waits, he toots back, she toots back, etc. What fun. This is story line that will play out over the next couple of days.

After the tooting incident, we went to see a magician. The guy was pretty cool. He would do tricks and then make the kids try to figure out how the trick was done. He taught us a couple of tricks as well. Make sure you ask me next time we see each other, and I will see if I can perform any of them.

So our evening activity was the first "dance" of the week. This dance was a costume party type deal. Since I was pretty uninformed about what was happening at camp this year, I didnt have anything crazy to bust out for everyone to enjoy, however once we got to the "dance party", one of the other counselors in our cabin procured a couple of costumes for us, so we would feel left out of the party. Yes this is me. I am the worlds largest bank robbing twinkie. I know the bank robbing part is hard to decipher, but I am indeed toting a six shooter. It was pretty sweet.









Following the party, we took the children to bed, and listened to Delilah for a while on the radio. There were two things that happened during the next hour. First of all, one of the ladies from next door, Elisa, came a rapping on our door. Elisa was splitting time with our cabin and another cabin since we were short handed. So back to the impt. stuff. Elisa asked if Brandon, the ladies man, had already gone to bed. We regretfully informed her that he was laying down, but she still wanted us to pass along a message from Caitlyn (the she tooter). Caitlyn wanted to tell Brandon good night. Its a little sappy, but it was pretty cute. Brandon turned about the darkest shade of red I have seen in a long time. What fun.

The next event of the evening came from our girl Delilah. If you arent familiar, Delilah plays romantic songs. Why we were listening to this at night I do not know. Anyways, Delilah also takes calls and requests for music. This next part has nothing to do with camp, but I thought it was hysterical. A lady calls in and says that she wants to request a song. Her reasoning was, and I quote "I love my husband and saved our marriage". She goes on to explain that she and her husband had two kids. They were going through a rough part in their marriage, and she became romatically involved with a guy that she was taking night classes with or something. While she was having adulterous relations with this other guy, she got pregnant. This is where it gets good. She then goes on to explain that she made a strong decision. She explained to her husband that she had been getting around, and had gotten knocked up. Somehow they decided that she was going to keep the baby, stay married, and raise the child like it was one of their own. To this day, they have lied to their kids and the bastard child about the real identity of the father, and that they are happily raising this child as "THEIR" third child. Disgusting. Sorry honey, if you come home with child, and it isnt mine, you had better go ahead and pack your bags.

So today wasnt as eventful as yesterday, but I ensure you that tomorrow and Thursday will get better.









Peace out.

MDA camp...

So Seth says....

....as some of you know, from the old lady's previous postings, I spent last week at MDA camp with my brother Levi. A little background here; this was my ninth year going to MDA camp. I was corralled into attending, sometime during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. I haven't missed a year since. MDA stands for Muscular Dystrophy Association, you know, "Jerry's Kids." Funny thing actually, I was talking to one of my customers last week, explaining to him why I hadn't answered the phone during the day, and he says to me..."so what ever did happen to Jerry's Kid's?" Seriously? So anyway, camp is taking care of every waking need/desire of the kids. Since most of the kids are in wheelchairs, and have diminished muscular function, therefore they usually need some assistance with eating, drinking, getting dressed, transfers, day to day activities, etc. Since I want to share the full experience, I will probably break this down into daily blogs detailing the inner workings of the day one week prior to the posting.

So back to the weeks events. Camp starts on Saturday, with the arrival of the counselors. Everyone gets acquainted with each other and the magnitude of what will be happening during the next 5 days. This is also the end of any kind of descent sleep anyone will get for the remainder of the duration. So the children start arriving Sunday morning around 11 am. This was my first year with a camper not named Jonathan (he has been my camper for the last eight years), so it was a whole new experience. Greeting parents that have never been away from their children for more than a "night at Memaw and Pips" was pretty intense. Who, What, Where, When, Why...it was like playing 20 questions with a five year old. 2 hours and an exhaustive amount of Q&A later the parents finally decided to hit the road. Tears were shed. So onto the activities. The ladies of MDA do a damn good job of putting this together. Every year Harley Riders from Granite Mountain Harley participate in a Harley ride out to Camp Twin Lakes, CTL, to spend Sunday afternoon with the kids. This year they decided a carnival was in order to celebrate the beginning of camp. Great idea, lets pump a metric ton of sugar into kids that are already "Excited to Be Here". By six o'clock, there are approximately 135 kids bouncing off of the walls like little spider monkeys in power wheel chairs. Better be wearing those close toed shoes they told you about! This pretty much took care of Sunday. Sleep has now become limited. Not only are we having to endure with a plastic-coated mattress that sounds a little like, crinkle CriNklE, CRINKLE every time you move, you have to listen to everyone else's mattress perform the same crinkle action all night. This compounded with the cries for help during sleep time. Sleep is just a dream.....

...Monday starts with a bang. Jana decided to swing down to camp to check some things out. She met us at Nature where we were acting out different animals, and our collective cabin was trying to guess what animal we were. Good stuff. Jana hung out for a couple of hours, and "endured" lunch with me and my cabin mates. Camp food is camp food. Try to remember lunch in elementary school. Are you there yet? How about now? Now imagine that 3 times a day for 6 days. Are you feeling me yet? Hope so.... So the afternoon activities played out with some canoeing, and swimming in the pool. Swimming in the pool with these kids is like having 20-30 mini heart attacks in the span of an hour. The kids have some ability to maintain themselves above water due to the buoyant forces of water, however there are moments when you cant quite figure out if their heads being under water is a planned event or the early stages of drowning. Also, CTL has a slide in the deep end of the swimming pool which creates a current in the swimming pool. It took me a while to determine why the kids kept drifting towards the 9 foot section of the swimming pool. This was another primary cause of the mini heart attacks. At least pool time was somewhat refreshing. So off to another delightful camp meal. Sidebar-every night at camp, there is an event that occurs for everyone in camp to enjoy. Again, the ladies of MDA do a fantastic job of putting this together. So back to Monday night. The event of the century, or the week......Wraslin. For all of you non-reds out there, wrestling is the name of the game. So this Wraslin troupe comes to camp to put on a show for the kids and the counselors. I don't really know how to describe the events that occurred on Monday night. The first three words that come to mind are as follows....trashy, hilarious, adult diapers. Pictures do not do this event justice, but I have attached one so you might be able to get some of the effect. Yes I am indeed ring side. Three matches were slated for the evening. They usually involve a "good guy" and a "bad guy", with the bad guy being repped by a monstrous hilbilly affectionately name Tiny. I can now say that I have seen it all. Watching a 350+ adult male in a suit found in a thrift store crawl across the ring and kiss the boots of a banana sling laden 55 year old man with a rat tail was fantastic. This however was not the culmination of the events for the evening. I know that I am rambling a bit now, but bear with me....In this corner we have 72 year old man affectionately known as Randy Rhodes/Rose, not sure, wearing a bedazzled red coat along with his red speedo which appeared to be covering an adult diaper. Somehow this conglomeration of clothes/sanitary equipment managed to yield the appearance of a reverse camel toe. Yes, I too was shocked. Don't ask me how it happens, its physics folks. So the 72 year old dude wrasled a 375 pound dude name Rob Adonis. Check Youtube, I guarantee you will find something on these guys. When the old guy took a hit, it somehow took him a full three seconds to hit the mat. Unbelievable. So after stopping the match 3 times in a span of 1 min 45 seconds for oxygen treatments for the old fella, and a 3 minutes stoppage to ensure that he hadn't broken a hip or dislocated his sternum, gramps somehow manages to pin beef cake. It was incredible. Even though we were exposed to massive quantities of mangina and sweaty redneck grappling, I must say that this was one of the most entertaining moments of the week.

So thats all for today folks, tune in tomorrow for another session of MDA camp 2008. Here is the pic for everyone to enjoy.

Updates:

Number One:
Molly is doing SO well! She goes into the "down/stay" position (laying on the ground basically) and she waits until she is told to get up. She does this even when a treat is sitting on a table near her! I also tried what I call her "leaving visitors alone" with Kim and Vanessa (thanks ladies) and while Molly is still very excited she didn't jump or freak out nearly as much. AND, as a bonus, Seth and I decided that she might need to be given some freedom. She goes in her crate when we are not home and at night and now that school is starting back we were starting to think she might go into shock in the crate during the day. So, we went to run a few errands today and let her stay in just the kitchen area. The big concern was (and will be for a long time) that she will start chewing on the legs of the kitchen table and chairs. We left twice today, both times for more than an hour, and she didn't destroy anything. I am SO PROUD. Kudos Molly...we knew you could learn - maybe we just needed to know that we could learn to teach you :-) (Stay tuned for the blog where Molly eats another rug...I am not delusional in thinking that we are out of the puppy woods yet!)

Number Two:
It's official. I will no longer be playing tennis in the summer. I have dealt with overheating my entire life. Tennis is just about the only exercise I have found that I can truly say I love so I continue to push the limits and play in 95 degree weather anyway. Well, today after near throwing up/passing out/not being able to catch my breath heat exhaustion Seth put his foot down and said I was no longer allowed to play summer USTA. Seth NEVER flat out says he doesn't want me to do something so I know how concerned he is. And I have to admit, having a migraine every Sunday at the end of the day is no longer worth the love of the game. I will just have to play tennis the rest of the year and go caving every Sunday in the summer or something....the caves are 60 degrees so that's a fair trade right?

Number Three:
I am 28 years old. I know I am not OLD by any stretch. However, there comes a time in one's life where the signs of "growing up" more than anything start to make you feel old. I have traded the kind of excitement I used to feel over a Dave Matthews concert or an all-nighter with friends for the absolute, 100%, THRILL of getting a new washing machine and dryer. I mean I feel like it's Christmas (which is fun and depressing all at the same time). Once we actually bring them home tomorrow you better believe there will be pictures posted....I don't care how much posting appliances on my blog ages me.

Number Four:
Last but not least, school starts tomorrow. Well, the kids don't come back until a week from tomorrow, but this life of sleeping in, traveling, actually getting things done, etc. is now over. I can hear what you are thinking. Wah, wah, wah - she had two months off while we are all working (except you Katie) and now she wants to whine about having to work again? My answer to you? YES, YES, and YES. It's my blog so deal with it. No seriously, don't write me off yet. I am not going to complain or whine. I'm actually only adding this update so that you are prepared for what is to come. You will still see the random ramblings that are our lives...there will probably just be A LOT more ramblings that are about my job in the near future. Of course, for confidentiality purposes I am going to have to be very vague and come up with some sort of code to CMA. At any rate, I LOVE comments...hell, suggestions will probably be more in order (even if you have never taught anyone anything in your life *doubtful* FEEL FREE to make suggestions). Until then, please pray that the home warranty gods replace our AC.