Vanessa's 100% Guilt Free Miracle Muffins.....

She has done it.

finally....a completely guilt free

BAKED GOOD.

My dream come true.

These are banana muffins, 

V modifyed the original recipe quite a lot

so I went ahead and changed the name to 

something more awesome.

Thank you my healthful friend!

I tasted one at her place a few hours ago,

got the recipe mods and came home and  put mine in the oven.

Not surprising that I have almost eaten my way

through all the minis...

but guess what?

who cares?

not me.

I can eat all I want and be even more healthy because of it. 

HA!

We have found a way to beat the system.

Try them, let me know what you think.

V's 100% Guilt Free Miracle Muffins

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup apple sauce

4 eggs

6 ripe mashed bananas

3 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup white

2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

Mix. Bake in lined or greased cups at 350 for 18 - 20 min.

(only took mine 16 min)

The only addition I made was to add a few shakes of Wheat Germ to my batter.

(I try to add this to everything because it makes me feel cool...

like anything I add it to becomes instantly healthy because of it....

an effective mind game I play with myself)

You can half this recipe....
but I wouldn't.

These would be a great emergeny snack,

You can just freeze them individually, or two per pack 

and pull them out when needed for lunches or

a pre/post workout fuel stop.

V convinced me to meddal w/ my near perfect

bread recipe.  I really hate the oil in it.

She suggested cutting it in half and replacing it with
apple sauce.
It worked for the muffins....

I just punched it down.

I will get back to you on how it turns out.

My fingers are crossed....

More than Ordinary Days.....

Today was Surfside Elementary's  21st annual 

JOG-A-THON

Whhooohooo!

It was our kids first.

I went to help record laps and cheer the kids on.

They were raising money for their school.

They were supposed to collect pledges prior to the run.

I went in for .10 each lap, Kev went big for .25...

so for a collective .35 per lap.

Not too shabby.

Each grade was at a different time so I got to go back a few times.

The kids really took it seriously,

it was fun to take part in the event.

McCauley took number 1 in our family

and in her class. 

(She is the oldest and tallest to so it makes sense).

43 laps total - that is a whopping $15.05 -

and you thought .35 wouldn't add up to much.

 Lawson was thoroughly disturbed that M 

had beat him in laps.  

He took it really hard and was completely shocked,

he had to leave the room for a few minutes. 

He kept wanting to believe that she had had more time,

or a smaller lap to run.

He could not take in that she had outdone him.

I think because his brothers have been ribbing him the past 

several days because M has taken him down the last 

few wrestling matches they have engaged in.

He is starting to get worried.

(I felt a little responsible in M's winning, because when I saw

that she was considering quitting I said 

hey, keep going, you only have two more laps to go before you 

pass Lawson.....ooops....but dang it

I know that would motivate the heck out of me to push through).

A little "healthy" competition never hurt anyone.....right?

Ethan had his Eagle board of review on 

Thursday the 28th of April.

I was very proud of him.

He had to answer many questions about scouting in general,

his life ambitions, the problems in the world today, etc.

I can't slow the pace down.

The kids keep growing.

I feel like I look like I am crouching down in the photo with

Ethan....but I am not.

He has passed me by.

Ordinary Days - 

7 minutes you will want to invest HERE

An Unbelievable Scare.....

Last night McCauley and I had a girls night.

The boys were at scouts and baseball practice, Kev was doing his thang.

So M and I wanted to have a little fun.

We delivered a dinner to a family in the ward and 

were off to Ross to try on shoes and clothes.  

M likes to go through the size 5 women's shoes and see what she "fits" into.

Then we both get a load of clothes to try on and head to the fitting rooms.

I focused on new workout gear last night.

I made a purchase, we decided M should hold off because she didn't 

find just the right thing.

Well, after that super fun time we had one last stop to make.

PUBLIX - 

sweet, our favorite store.

I had finished gathering, printing, clipping and organizing my coupons 

and we were ready to get down to business.

It was later than we usually go,

so none of my usual cashiers were working.

No biggie I thought.

Earlier this week my favorite cashier Kathy told me that  they 

had changed their coupon policy...

my heart skipped a beat or two,

I asked her to please fill me in.

She said they no longer permit overage.

Oh, alright....no problem.  Can't blame Publix really for that.

So that was it....I thought.

One of my coupon friends called me the next day saying that

she had gotten roughed up a bit on her latest trip to the store, 

they had not let her use some of her coupons. 

She was frustrated and wondered what was going on.

I said, listen, I will be going to the store tomorrow,

I will let you know how it goes,

hopefully it was an isolated incident.

Back to last night,

after a good bit of time pulling our purchases together

M and I were at the check out.

I went to one of the young men that were checking.

(I won't name names so you don't pass judgement)

As he was ringing our items through he says I notice you have 

coupons, yes, you are correct.

Well, our policy has changed, I will need to have my supervisor 

come go over these with me to make sure they 

are all acceptable.

hmmm?

I said I know you are not allowing overage anymore,

there should be no problem.

Well, I see that you have the razor coupons, and I will not be 

able to accept those coupons.

Why on earth not?

They are manufactures coupons, they are for the exact item 

described.  Publix will get every penny back + .08 extra

for each coupon.

Sorry no.

I say go ahead and ask your super.

He does, well, ok, I guess we can accept them.

Of course.

Well, he scoured each and every coupon, declining one after another.

By this time Jeff, the supervisor was there as well,

he was backing him up.

I won't tell the complete story it is just too long,

but essentially they kept having to dig items out of my bagged up 

cart of groceries and returning them.

It went on, we no longer accept Target coupons....

really, since tonight?

The checker started to get upset and saying that he didn't

know what my problem was,

that they didn't make the rules, why was I questioning everything,

and so forth.

His face was going red and I was looking over at Jeff....

like...really?

Jeff kept telling him to stop it, to settle down, it took 

a few tries for him to settle.

I was in shocksville...

Stuperland.

McCauley looked so scared, she said mom this isn't right.

What are they doing?

Why is he taking our groceries out?

Man, it was so mortifying.

Finally, after the checker says, Jeff, you are just going to need to 

void this whole thing out and start over.

I said, no thank you.

Please return my coupons and you can keep your groceries.

I asked Jeff for the managers name and his hours 

for the following day.

I was having an extremely tough time keeping 

from tearing up.

As Jeff was getting a paper and writing down the managers 

name he kept saying I am so sorry this happened.

I said, I just can't believe what you are doing.

I cannot believe what you have done.

I cannot believe this policy.....

(I know waaaaaaay too much drama....like I said....shockville)

Then we turned around and walked out of the store....

I thought we did anyway.

M didn't catch on that we were not taking our cart with us,

she had turned around and snatched our cart and was following 

me with our goods.

She was like mom......our food!!

Ohhhhhh....

honey, we aren't taking that.

I walked it back in as the workers and shoppers looked on.

But mom, what about our buttery syrup, and the

fudge covered oreos that I picked?

Can you say..... Humiliation.

I felt so bad.

...........................................

OK, so I was thrown into deep dispair.

I can not imagine not using coupons,

and not shopping at my Publix.

That is my store.

I love my store. 

I spoke with Tina today,

not looking for sympathy, I knew I would get none 

from her, she does not support or agree w/ my couponing.

She said you will just have to learn to pay full price

like the rest of us.

Sounds like a lifestyle change.

No Never.  I can't.

Sounds like you'll have to.

I won't.

Noooooooo....

Nooooo.

NO.

crying my eyes out.

...................................................

The time came when I was needing to go speak with the manager.

He only works until 5pm today....it was 4:00.

I was so scared.

I was trying to figure out what to wear.

I wanted to look good, but not too good.

Classy, but not like I was trying too hard.

Smart, thrifty, something that gave me confidence.

I chose a simple brown dress with cream crochet trim,

small pearl necklace and stud earrings.

At first I had on heels......over the top,

I put on flip flops.

I felt appropriately dressed for the occasion.

I had pulled together my coupons from the night before
(minus the Target ones)

so I could go over them w/ the manager.

 I brought a note pad to write 

the new policy down and make sure I got it.

The kids were wishing me luck,

Lawson was giving me pointers on what to say,

he actually said he wished he could just go in and 

take care of it.  

I said to please just say a prayer in their hearts that 

everything will go well.

At the front desk I asked to speak with the manger....

Mr. Johnson.

I saw him come out of his office and went to meet him.

I introduced myself and asked if I could take a few minutes of his 

time and talk to him about an experience I had last night.

I wanted to get clarification on the new coupon policy.

He invited me into his office with his business assistant Tara.

The office was no bigger than a postage stamp....

Two chairs, Tara and I were sitting, Mr. Johnson stood.

I began......

I know this is going on....

I will try and cut.....here are just the highlights....

I say so I understand that you no longer take Target coupons - 

yes, we still take them.

So it is my understanding that I can only use one of any coupon

that says "one per customer per purchase",

well, one per item.  You can get as many as you have a coupon for.

So have you taken away the expired store coupons?

No, you can use all you want.

I don't understand what has changed.

He said all my coupons were perfectly fine.

Here is the bottom line - 

there are many dishonest couponers that are using BJ 

Club coupons - ie. using $7 M&M coupon on a .50 bag of M&Ms.

They are robbing them blind.

This is the issue.

Blatant abuse.

The manager is sick to death of it.

He instructed his clerks to LOOK at every coupon.

Read what it says and accept it accordingly.

So, they are just a little over the top and not understanding some 

of the wording.

The meeting was so good.

I said, so I can go out there and use these coupons

and there will be no trouble?

I can keep shopping at the store that I love?

Yes!  Yes...please.

Please tell your friends that everything is fine.

Please continue shopping with us.

I am going to give you a gift card for this experience.....

I was looking like I was going to try and say no...

but he said don't even try to say no because it is happening.

Shop early from now on when one of us is here.

He said Jeff was mortified, I guess 

he emailed them both last night after the incident.

So apparently they knew I would be calling.

I walked out of the office.

I saw Kathy checking at the speedy isle....I didn't get to talk with her.

But she was definitely wondering what went down.

After my small fast shop,

I saw Jeff on my way out.

We greeted each other with Glee...at least that was 

how I greeted him.

He looked very 

relieved after I told him that it was all worked out.  

I still get to shop here!!!

Whoohooo!

life is back to normal.

What a scare.

I couldn't help it....

Feast your eyes on these bad boys.

These little delicacies. 

V gave me this little box of treats yesterday on Easter.

It was given as a thank you gift for hanging out 

with her kids on Friday,

(don't tell her, but we would never need thanks 

for playing tenis and swimming with their crew)

It is exactly what we would want to be doing anyway.

Had a wonderful time.

She and Nate were on a romantic getaway in

Orlando.....total fun hogs!

I am just jealous....but also happy for them that they make time 

to get away alone.

I had intended on eating only 4 of these cookies.

But, I decided it wouldn't hurt to eat 5.

I saved 5 for the kids to eat.

They were too afraid to try them....weirdos.

So then I was forced to eat 2 more.

I offered the last 3 to Ethan, he ate 1, and then had to rush off to 

baseball.  I realized I had already blown the whole day 

so I went ahead and ate the last 2.

I have to say I loved the tangy yellow lemon the best.

Green mint was my least favorite.

Thank you V....

I had a lot of fun!

Prepare to work hard tomorrow....

we will all pay for my choices.

"Speak"

Melissa Christensen's review 

Apr 24, 11  ·  edit

status: Read from April 21 to 24, 2011

Ethan is in 8th grade at DeLaura Middle School this year. He came home earlier this week with a parental permission slip that needed to be signed in order for him to participate in the reading aloud of "Speak" in his Language Arts class. At first when I read the paper I said, No Way. If you need parental approval it is a definite no go. Nope. No ifs ands or buts. Ethan was like, mom, my teacher said no parent has ever said no. I don't want to sit in another room by myself and do some other assignment on my own. Please look into it. So Kevin and I did. I got online and looked up the parent reviews for this book. Read many. Every review I read was positive and in support of this book. Finally after holding a copy for myself at the library, and Kevin and I going over the contents of the book, and the "Red Flag" topics.... underage drinking, rape, premarital sex, abortion....now this all sounds extremely bad, but these are the topics that we discussed with Ethan that night before signing the paper. We talked about our beliefs and his understanding on what each topic actually meant. Rape = sex without permission. ok...I guess this has come up in school. 
I was anxious to get my book. I was highly skeptical. I was able to pick it up the next day and, have been racing through it. I just finished it this afternoon. I waffled on what rating to give it. This is one of the very few 5 stars I have given. This was a thought provoking book. It was sad and disappointing. This little girl went through so much, but as the book goes on she finally starts to come through the other side of this huge trial. I love the symbolism the author uses throughout the book. How she relates nature to life. This young lady was able to find the strength she had within herself and grow. I do recommend it.....especially for parents to read if your child has been assigned it. You will be able to discuss these issues and talk openly about them with your teen. It was a good opportunity for us to take advantage of. 

A few books...

Melissa Christensen's review 

Apr 21, 11  ·  edit

Shelly gave me this book. I really liked it. It was about a family that lived practically homeless their entire life.....and that was exactly how they (at least the parents) wanted it. The parents were dysfunctional on many levels. "The Glass Castle" is a memoir of one of the daughters, who is now a journalist. There were many moments where I was really hating the parents, and then in the next chapter, the dad steps up and does something pretty awesome. I thought the dad came up w/ some ingenious gifts....very creative and convincing man. I liked how the kids stuck together for the most part - they understood that they stood a better chance taking on the world together. They were always there for each other. I was constantly amazed at the situations they were in that they were not killed, assaulted, or worse....what could be worse? It is amazing the things we all take for granted on a daily basis....a bed, a toilet, food, shelter, this was eye opening. These kids were survivors no doubt. Yes, you should read it.

(Tina you can borrow my copy)

Melissa Christensen's review 

Apr 21, 11  ·  edit

My sister in law recommended this book to me. The first half is a pretty tough read, tough meaning sad and hard to swallow. This book revolves around the jewish round up in Paris France. I was really clueless about all of this part of history (most history). I know basically the "Anne Frank" story, that is about it. Through out the book I kept thinking, along with the girl Sarah, whom the book is about, she kept wondering what made her different from other children, she couldn't imagine why she and all of the other people with her had to be treated that way. WHO HAD DECIDED THIS? AND WHAT FOR? Because they were Jews. But I still don't get it. So what? So you are saying that because they were Jews....Jews that crucified Jesus Christ hundreds, and hundreds of years ago, they were being murdered and tortured? These are supposed believers in Christ doing all of this? It makes no sense. The book was good overall, I did learn a lot about that time period. I would recommend it.

I am starting this book today.

I am quite leery, last night Ethan pulled out a parental permission slip

that required a signature in order for the student to be able to 

read "Speak" along with the class.

RED FLAG.

I got it to read first.

I will report in a few days.

The Solution....

Remember how I said that Ethan was having a really 

hard time eating due to his recent 

orthodontist visit?

Well, Kevin came up with a solution to that problem.

I think you may enjoy the video.

(be sure and mute the music)

A better copy of the video......just in case.

Barf - out!

Proud....

This past Sunday I had to go early for Ward Council.

I needed to be there at 8:30.

Now that Ethan is a teacher, he helps with the sacrament set up,

and greets people at the door with the programs,

so he needs to be there at 9:30 (Ryker to).

I have been leaving my meeting early in the past, but finally said no more.

This is ridiculous, we are all going together.

 You kids can set up the primary room while I am at my meeting.

I stayed for the entire meeting that went long.

I was sort of anxious to get down to the primary room and 

see what kind of craziness what going down.

I had determined in my mind that I would not go out 

of my mind if they had resorted to wrestling, 

or being insane on the coveted microphone,

but that I would just help them do better next time.

When I walked in this is what I saw.

I was so dang thrilled with them.

I guess Vanessa also had to be there early for choir,

so four of her kids were in there as well.

I saw Lawson playing at the piano - he wasn't playing a church song,

but his new song for the upcoming recital -

Mission Impossible 

(amazing how quick you can memorize a song

you actually like!)

Ryker and V's older boys were quietly playing hangman,

now I didn't notice if they were using church words....

but I loved it.

McCauley and Izzy were indeed at the mic,

but M had the big Article of Faith poster down and 

was helping Iz memorize number one.

Declan was just milling around, and didn't mind 

posing for a quick picture.

I looked around the room, they had the table cloth on,

chair covers, door magnets up.

It made me feel very happy.

Yesterday I got Ethan out of school and took him to his 

Orthodontist appointment.

We have been hearing about this "Herbst Appliance"

for a while now.  Neither he nor I had any idea what it was they 

kept referring to.

Well.....Ta-daaaaa!

This contraption is massive.

It blew my mind when I saw what they had 

inserted into his mouth.

This will stay in for 10 months!!!

It may be hard for you to see but he has four silver caps on,

these caps help anchor the tube and rod that you see on either side.

These are kind of like shock absorbers.

There is a bar across the bottom and top of the mouth as well.

This appliance will hold his lower jaw in a forward direction,

while at the same time applying pressure to the upper 

jaw in a backward direction.

His cheeks poke out just a little, looks like 

he might be eating.

He has a very difficult time talking,

certainly it will get much better.

Eating is out of the question, I got him a large chocolate shake 

yesterday, made him a "yummy" vita mix this 

morning, and told him I would save the rest in the fridge for 

when he got home.

He tried eating soft scrambled eggs last night.

I was trying not to watch him try and get it down his throat, 

kind of like a pelican.

Supposedly this will also improve w/ time.

He cannot move his jaw from side to side at all.

Man....I don't know about you....

but I would be 

CRYING MY EYES OUT!!

I would be loosing my mind and literally 

going insane!!

I would be a beast!

10 MONTHS OF THIS FREAKING TORTURE!???

Are you kidding me?

I have not seen him cry, but I have.  

secretly.

I have not seen him lash out, or complain.

I feel bad for him.
I guess I should get over it, he is not the first kid that
has had to be uncomfortable w/ their braces.
but still...

How could anyone tolerate such a load of crap in their mouth?

This morning I heard him try and practice talking out in the front room.

I can only imagine how cruel kids can be 

with the whole metal mouth stuff.

We shall see how it goes.

I am proud of that kid.

Come run with US.....

Today I finally threw down the cash and registered
for the Disney 2012 MARATHON!
Sunday, January 8 @ 5:30am
I am excited as this will be my first Full marathon.
Why not come run with us?
Or come run the half which is on the day before....
we will be there cheering you on!!
OR....come and be in our cheering section and spend a few nights
on Disney property having fun and spending time together??
Please!!
Say yes.
Come to Florida.
If you already live here...come to Orlando!
The "WE" I am referring to is our little
NECK & NECK team.
We will be supporting Thyroid Cancer awareness 
and raising money for ThyCa: 
Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc.
My very dear friend Tina just had her second
scan to check and see if there were any new tumors
in her thyroid. 
Nope!  
She is clear for now.
We started the team because of her battle with 
Cancer.  We are excited to be running "for a cause"
and a purpose.
If you won't join our team....
we would still love your money.
hehe....there it is out of the bag...
(that was uncomfortable)
But why not join our team?

Doesn't this look so E X C I T I N G and fun?

Let's pretend this is us running for our life...
this pretending may come in handy
on the actual run! 
P.S. - hurry and register....the price goes up on April 25th!!

Need I say more.....(take 2)

Back story HERE.

OK, I guess I did have just one more thing to say....

DON'T YOU LOVE THESE THINGS?!!

Kevin (the person I am mad at) and the boys are 

supposed to be going camping tonight,

I could not hold myself back from picking these bad boys 

up today at Publix - they are $3.19 

well worth it for the thrill they provide 

(even w/out a coupon!)

Need I say more?

April 15, 2011

Opening night.

Atlas Shrugged - part 1

Dinner and a movie w/ T.

Wooooohoooooo!

Until we meet again.....

So far so good.

I am two months into my goal of attending the temple 

once a month.

See, it's not so impossible.....

.....not at all.

It is not even hard,

 especially when I am lucky enough to be able to hook

up with a few choice spirits for the event.

Shelly, Kara, me and Lindsy (just met L - very nice)

(This might be a bit too jovial in front of the temple....) 
These ladies drove over from St. Cloud w/ Shelly and Kara's

mom, April.  We met for the 10:00 am session.

Our session was tiny, only 12 in attendance yesterday.

I had in my mind to really focus.

I was sitting up straight and tall....eyes open....thinking about

the sister I was going through for - Belle.

Really trying to connect and focus.

I am doing pretty good....

Shell leans over just as it is time to make a change....

"oh, by the way my mom is a speed dresser, it is always a 

competition.......".

what?

I was not intending on taking part....however, I have always

prided myself on the knowledge that I am quite speedy myself at 

dressing, curiously during our session I found my fingers to be bumbling 

and clumsy yesterday.

Somehow the pressure of just knowing there was a competition

going on got imbedded into my mind.

whatever.

Back to my original intent.

Focused in.... 

thinking, pondering, digging deep.....

Shell leans over, can you believe .......yada, yada....?
(edited....she basically just whispered some off the wall comment,
that was unrelated the the experience)

what?

I am going to miss that girl.

Shelly is moving,

has moved already really.  

She and her husband and two adorable little girls

will spend a few months working in Mississippi,

then on to Utah, for school at BYU.

She has been missing from our little "Sculpt Your ASSetts"

class for a few weeks.

Missing from our runs, and early morning adventures at "Our Club".

It is a huge loss.

We had lots of fun together.

I am very excited for her little family and their big adventure.

Their future looks bright!

Good luck Shell!

Love you.

We ate at an amazing Green diner afterwards (can't remember the name),

but I do recall the exceptional pile of hummus,

and my Greek Chicken Wrap very clearly.

Thank you Sister Munns!

This is a picture of the car fire I drove past on the way home

from the temple.

This is not the best picture.....but while driving

it was the best I dared get.

This car was ABLAZE!

Not the End.

Today was a full Saturday.

A run on the beach with V@ 6:20 - magnificent.

Our families turn at cleaning the church @ 8:00.

Ball games from 9:00 - 4:30.

Barbecue @ 6:00.  Tonight was extra delicious.

Kev wanted to spice things up a bit by throwing in some shrimp.

I am pretty sure this is a first for us.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

My skewer is the one with the zucchini.

Ryker is the official timer man for the chicken, as well as the sprayer 

of Kevin's "secret barbecue sauce".

After dinner the kids headed over to a friends.
K and I had an errand to run with one of our trucks.
We picked it up at the truck yard and I followed him to Palm Bay.
It needs some final work before our driver takes it to Ohio
to sell along with one of our trailers.
I can't believe how emotional I feel about this.
It breaks my heart a little bit.

As you will see in the truck tour the inside of the truck 

is made out to be "old school" which is pretty cool I guess.

We have had this truck for one year.

The acquiring of this Bad Boy was a pretty rough ride.

Kevin was out of the country in Afghanistan when all of the paper work

came together for it.

That left me in charge of getting the job done.

Working with the DMV and trying to communicate with Kevin

was excruciating.  I was back and forth at the DMV 

office no less than six times....

hours at a time on every visit. 

I remember I was in the throws of my yearly cough....it must have been

at its peak because I remember coughing my head off.

Miserable. 

I was in the process of having a miscarriage.  

Is that too much information?

Sorry, I debated about putting it in...but it was life at the time,

I want to remember.

It is just so amazing to me that one year has passed.

I have loved this year.

I am not in any way regretting, or distraught about that time in life.

So don't think twice about it.

Heavenly Father knows his business.

I am his business...you are to.

I am journalling really..... reminiscing, and thinking back.

That is all. 

Back to acquiring this truck.

The purchasing was horrendous....

but the planning of it was a super thrill for Kevin and the boys.

All of our sons are on the board of directors for our company.

They helped design the look.

I remember K spending hours coming up with this exact look.

How big the smokestacks should be, what shape, size, how tall?

The front bumper, how low, how wide?

The chrome visor, straight across and square, or should it 

come to a V in the middle?

The lights, placement and style, the tires, the bolts......

We have learned a great deal over this past year.

We will be better and stronger because of it.

The other night Kevin told me he was grateful for this experience.

We can both see much clearer how quickly things can change....
 What a difference one month can make, 

one week, one day, one decision.
We can have everything, and then not so much in a snap.
It is humbling to experience,
but also invaluable.
We are lucky to know this early in life.

We know we are excessively blessed in every way.

Is the sun setting on Universal Exports....?
No way.
Looking forward to the future.

SUPERSTAR....

                              

Ryker front and center on the Beach Side Little League Page.

I clicked on the link today for a friend and lookie who I saw on the little

league website!  

I was like Lawson, is that Ryker?

yep.

The crossing guard called me over yesterday on my way to 

pick the kids up,

(She is the nicest lady on the face of the planet...

she knows every child and mother by name and uses it ever time she 

sees you.  She is a little grandmother.  She makes everyone 

feel very special.  Her name is Joan, her husband Bob

does the block next to hers, the one right in front of the school.

They are so kind.

I remember there used to be a mean crossing guard when Ethan first 

went to kindergarten.  What a difference, beging and ending your day 

with a little bit of sweetness.)

She had a newspaper clipping in her hand,

She said is this your Ryker?

Indeed it was, he was attempting to get a kid out on third,

reaching for the ball.

If I can find that link to I will post it also.

Talk about big news around here.

: )

Sweet Curb Find....

A few days ago some neighbors across the street curbed this 

sweet chair.

I saw it over there and liked what I saw,

but didn't really have a way to get it back to the house by

myself at the time.

I assumed there was something bad wrong with it anyway -

maybe it smelled, or had an ugly stain on the seat, 

likely the back was broken out or something else.

I decided I wouldn't think about it, even though it 

was almost exactly what I have had in mind for our bedroom.

I kept seeing it throughout the day, being tempted,

but finally it was gone like I knew it would be.

The next day I noticed the chair in Charlie's garage.

Huh.  Lucky.

Anyway, keeping a short story short.  

He could not use the chair in their place, 

and none of his kids had a need for it.

So he asked if I wanted it.

After a quick inspection of circling the chair, 

smelling it, sitting on it, and lifting the pad and seeing that it was

an Ethan Allen with clean tags still intact.

(my other favorite chair in the front room is E.A. also)

I was like, you bet I will take it off your hands.

Isn't it sweet?

It has not one problem with it that I can find.

I wiped it down thoroughly, and purchased two pillows to the tune of $18.

The color is not perfect....but it will do for now.

It is in our bed room.

Kev is a little bummed that I gave our clothes hamper 

to the boys to make room for it.

(The people got rid of it because they just needed the extra space)

Update on Herbie:

After two days of Charlie being a dog owner, I guess he

could not stand having to come over to our place and try and 

wrestle our broken gate, move the semi tire and force his way into

our yard to get his dog.

(first time I have been grateful for the broken gate)

because the next thing I knew,

 Herbie does not come back to sleep for two days straight.  

I did not loose any sleep over it.

Then I see Charlie out working hard on a new project and

scavenging for wood scraps.

I asked him what was up.....he was making a dog house for his dog.

Herbie has not been back since.

Say Hallelujah!

All is well that ends well.

Scotties Weekly Special....

On January 18th I went to my first DPO 

(DeLaura Parent Organization) meeting.

I had been feeling guilty for not being involved at Ethan's
school up to that point, so I decided to dive in and see what was what.

That night I met Ms. Shirley, their new principle.

I really like her.

(I love that I can take silent pictures with my camera 

while I pretend to text)

I like that I came in right when she did.

You can see DeLaura's mascot - a Scotty Dog.

Below that is this years new t-shirt design winner.

While at this meeting an opening came up that needed to be filled.
  One of the ladies was going back to work,

the lady that was the chair person over the school store.

They needed to find someone to take over for her.

ME.

I will do it.

Whooohooo!

Sweet job.

This is the school store -
"SCOTTIES SURF SHACK"

I loved it at first sight.  

Right away I saw some hidden potential that was going untapped.

I added the beef jerky the first week, we double our money 

back on those bad boys.  Raised the price on tic-tacs .25, we were barely breaking even.

We also sell PE uniforms at the store.

This is just a small sampling of our goods.

 This is the view in front of the store, the cute beach scene.
After waiting patiently for some time

I finally found an amazing sale on Altoids - .69/ reg. 1.99

I bought out our local Walgreens, we sell them for 1.50 per pack.
(most things are extremely cheap and an exceptional bargain for
the kids....the hot sellers (mints) can be a bit more)

You can see the drawing gift basket, all donated items from my couponing.

I made frequent shopper cards - for every 5 purchases of at least 1 dollar,

they get entered into the drawing.  For every 20 cards we will have 

another drawing.  We are at 10 cards right now.

I made prepaid cards as well, which are not selling - 

(for kids that don't like to carry cash)

they could purchase them in 

either $5 0r $10 dollar increments.

Here are some of the items I made up at Vista Print.

I was so excited with how it all turned out.

We have a weekly special that is a super hot deal every other week.

Sales are up by leaps and bounds.

I need to get the actual numbers to really prove it though.

I am working on that.

After I went to the school store and made my observations the first time I 

came up with a few recommendations and ideas.

They follow just for fun -

it is long......skip it if you want.....go to the end, which was the

catalyst for me writing about the store today in the first place.

Delaura School Store Improvement Ideas

I would like to propose a few ideas for our school store.  If I understand correctly the store is to used to help raise funds for the DPO....right now that does not seem to be very effective.  It looks to be almost pointless....$2 here, a whooping $6 another day...and that is not even all profit.  I really enjoyed getting trained and brought up to speed w/ Kristen Barry.  We got to brain storming and I think came up with some good ideas.  (I wish I was in person w/ you ladies.....this is certainly not as effective as a live presentation....oh well).  

1. I was really surprised that it was so dark in the room where the store was.  I asked about this, and why there was not a single kid hanging out on all those fun beach chairs, etc.  I was told the lights are never on, to save cost, and that the kids are not allowed to hang out in there, that it is for the faculty.  Really???  Really ridiculous.  Could we get permission to have the kids feel welcome for 45 minutes each day - 8:45 - 9:30?  and have the over head lights on?

2. Can we get permission to sell other items? - such as a wider assortment of mints....Altoids, Breath Savers, etc.? I know gum is not allowed.  What about other fun/cool/helpful items, such as mini hand sanitizers (like you can get at Bath and Body), w/ the little back pack holders, maybe mini mirrors to keep in your back pack for a quick teeth check after lunch, chap stick, nail files, lip gloss?  These are just ideas.  I love to bargain shop and am a huge couponer...I see steels and deals all the time I could snatch up for us.

3. There are several water bottles in there....are these to sell?

4. Last years Delaura t-shirts....what is the deal with these?  Can we sell them off at a steep discount just to move them out.....a buck a shirt???  What ever....Just something to move em out.

5. Could we take kid requests of what they would like to see in the store??  I know we cannot compete w/ the cafeteria....which means no snacks, beverage, food of any kind...correct?

6. My son is an 8th grader at the school, he had no idea there even was a school store until I became involved last week.  He made his first Mentos purchase today!  I propose we hook into the morning announcements.  Lets pump the kids up on the fact that there actually is a school store.  I can't tell you how many times my son asked me to get him graph paper.  THERE IS SOME IN THE SCHOOL STORE!!! Would have been great to know that for both of us.  I think it would be fun to run weekly specials....the deal of the week, first come first served basis.  We need to liquidate a bunch of yellow paper.....lets move it out.  We can stock up again when the back to school sales start up again for .10 cents a pack.  Some of that stuff looks like it has been in there forever.  

7. It seems like the signage around the store is pretty outdated....can we encourage the clubs and ourselves to update these so they are meaningful to even look at?  I would like to make a bigger, bolder poster w/ what the store has to offer to hang up....is that alright?  I will have it printed at vista print....what else could we use?  Maybe frequent shopper cards????  I think that could be really fun.  Could we do that??

8. My son suggested a raffle once a month....I hear that "raffles" are not allowed.....what about a Drawing of Chance????  for a suggested donation of $1 per ticket..or 10 for $5??  I could come up with the bulk of the basket....and add in some items from the store.  What do you think??

9. This is not an idea, rather a question - Who takes out the garbage....and keeps up the place?  is that me?

I hope I am not going over board, but I really feel that there is some untapped potential for that little store and we could be doing much more with it.  I would love to be present when you meet with the principle if you would like.

10.  One more idea I just thought of....what if we had students as "guest" clerks??....one of us would still be present to over see at all times, but heck yes friends would come shop from friends!!!  I think they would love that.  We could have interested parties put their name in at the school store, we would draw a name once a week and have it announced on the morning announcements. I love it! I would want to do it if I was a kid!

I am enjoying my little assignment.

I keep the store stocked.

Make the deposits when needed, and keep track of the cash 

sheets and different logs.

I do the calendar of volunteers each month, we are only open 

from 8:45 - 9:30 each day.

I fill in when needed when my clerks are sick or need a morning off

for any reason.

I am in charge of specials, pricing, and announcements.

The best part is interacting with the students and faculty.

I am getting my foot in the door, 

and seeing what is what at that school.

There are many regulars that stop by the store....

where in the world do they get their cash???

Today as I was signing out in the front office, I was filling out 

a note for our treasurer.  A few kids were checking in for being late.

The last girl I recognized.  

I have seen her around the neighborhood

many times.  She plays the drums, same as Ethan.

When I turned around to look at her I was shocked.

She looked horrendous.

She had a low scoop neck top on, her entire chest, neck, and arms 

looked like they had been beaten badly,

no wait, she has been in an accident,

no, her eyes, her mascarra, her makeup she was a wreck.

I was so flabbergasted trying to put it together.

 She did not look as I remembered her

bright and shiny, happy.

I kind of gasped, and said, oh my gosh,

I am so sorry, are you ok?

Oh my gosh, how horrible, wow....

Then I stopped.

The other moms in the room were quite.

She kind of pulled her shirt up a little and signed her late slip and went out.

Joan, the office manager said, um, you know those were all hickeys 

don't you?

It had dawned on me when I stopped and let the impossible 

take form in my mind.

It broke my heart so bad.

Who did this to her?

Was it just a funny game to them both?

Was she showing off today?

What mom would let her daughter set foot out of the house in such shape?

Does her mom even know?

Is she hurt?

Is her innocence gone forever?

Will she get her shiny brightness back?

There are so many questions in my mind.

She is no more than 14 years old.

Post Script - I asked Ethan if he saw this girl today in band.  He said yes,  I think she
was there why?  How did she look?  Did she have all of these red marks all over her?
No why?  You mean a rash?
No, like big blotches.....ok Hickies.
What are hickies?  What are you talking about?
Love you guy.
He said this girl I was talking about in his class looked perfectly fine.
So......I am trying to say this is not the girl from his band class after all.