JWalking: The Blog

ADHDMe gave us an offer we couldn't refuse.... We're playing the "Assign me a letter and then I'll write 10 things I love beginning with that letter" game. So, without further delayed school openings.... 10 Things I Love That Begin With The Letter "S". 1. SCHOOL—It makes everyone's day so much brighter when it's in session. I spent 17 years in school and continue to grow, study and learn every day. It's a good thing! 2. SEWING—In today's tough economic times, when I could be going to myriad close-out sales, I choose, instead, to triple-patch my holey jeans at my sewing machine. I'm making a door "pillow" to keep out the frosty air we've been experiencing lately. Extra button holes, to make a CJ blouse wearable at school. Elastic ties to keep the cover on the faux Pottery Barn Teen lounging sofa. And, eventually, I'll finish those chairs for my sister. (I know, I said those would be first on the list after ...

When it snows Ain't it thrillin' Though your nose Gets a chillin' We'll frolic and play the eskimo way Partyin' in a Winter Wonderland! I t's a January tradition that our county's school board designates teacher training opportunities at the end of the month, giving the kids a long weekend. Coming off two weeks of vacation at Christmas, this is a time-off luxury! For us stay-at-home moms, however, it's an extra day and a half off with the kids and a weekend in between. We love you, but.... It's winter time, and we don't do marathon TV/Computer/Game time. How do you keep them from clinging to you all day, "with nothing to do....."? So, we decided to turn some of that time off into a party—a Winter Wonderland Celebration! A playdate with good friends, lots of crafts, winter-themed snacks and air hockey. AND, PJs for all! We had a (snow) ball, and God blessed us with just enough real flakes to set the tone!! We pulled out (mo...

I've been tagged by Mrs. Patterson 5 to play Picture Tag. The instructions are to go to your picture files, pick the fourth folder and the fourth picture in that folder and explain it! I 'm not sure my 4x4 photo could be any more boring. But, of course, every photo has a story, and this one does, too. This is a picture of RJ2's bedroom, except that there was no RJ2 at the time and we did not yet own the bedroom! It's from our househunting trip that we did back in early 2001 in our plans to leave the Chicago area to move to central Virginia. A not-even-two-yet CJ and I flew out to check out the area and to see if the house we previewed through the digital photos and Internet was where we wanted to live. The owner was home at the time. I remember her being desperate to move. She also said something about this not being a kid house (If she didn't actually say that, then she said it through our Realtor). Anyhow, CJ was hanging out with one of my sisters, looking at the...

M y girls gave some very special presents for Christmas this year. Had to share.... RJ2 is very proud of her birdhouse. She doesn't like to color, but she does like to paint (and glue, apparently!). CJ got so frustrated toward Christmas because she couldn't come up with a gift for me. After a knockdown/drag-out with me (long since forgotten now), she managed to create "the perfect gift." "If your kids ever said something bad about yourself, look at this board to make you feel better." (Funny how she managed to come up with this after our spat....) "Your hair looks so pretty and shiny." (If only it DID look like this....) "You are a great blogger." ("And why haven't you posted any of my stuff lately?!") "I have never known anyone with a bigger love of coffee than you AND THAT IS A COMPLIMENT!" (It is?!....Cool!) "You are great at playing bells." "You are so good at baking." "Your gardening i...

I t's hard to come back to central Virginia's greenish brown when you've delighted in the crisp whiteness of a Winter Wonderland. (Took RJ2 a little while to master that alliterative lyric!) Even harder to come back to posting! In fact, we're aiming for once a week for awhile.... Don't like resolutions, but do want to capitalize on my renewed energy to Clean up (and out)! Straighten up! Finish up! And otherwise maintain.... All that would be something new! Here's to making something of today in 2009! We're back....