Good evening everyone. Today I tried to work on my english paper. The problem is with college online libraries. With the school I'm getting back into beginning in June, AND with the community college I'm currently in, both of their online library databases were extremely complicated. Are all online libraries for looking up articles and such, extremely hard to understand? From what I hear, they are. I made a comment about how difficult it was for me to navigate through their online library, and Erin nodded. I'm thinking her school online library is just as complicated.
So, after a while of trying to figure it out, I decided it would be alright to take what I have done so far in to class tomorrow and ask the instructor for help. How can we research if the site we are supposed to use is so hard to navigate? Maybe I'm just making it too hard. Who knows. So tonight, on World of Warcraft, I decided at the level I was at that I needed to change continents so that I could start leveling up against characters that are equal to me. Where I was at, the highest level creature I could find was still about 3 levels lower than me. Well when I flew over to this Alliance territory called Stormwind. I was in the city, and oh my Gosh it is huge. I spent a few hours there and am still trying to figure out where the main gate is. I want to be able to go out into Elwynn Forest so that I can resume leveling my character up. However, I keep feeling like I am running in circles.
So anyway, from the way it looked outside, it seemed to me like the grass might still be too damp. I have the next day and a half off before returning for the next work week. So I figure I will do the weekly lawn mow probably tomorrow afternoon. Something interesting has come up recently though.
I think I may have mentioned that Erin heard from a recruiter for the Iowa National Guard stationed here in Clinton while she was at work. Well, I finally emailed him yesterday afternoon after I woke up. When he emailed me back, he asked if it would be ok with me for him to call after 6. He said that he had some warrior training he needed to take care of, and that he really wanted to sit down and see what can be done. I told him that I would be home all day and just mainly trying to relax. By 10PM last night, I hadn't heard anything from him. I thought about emailing again but figured I would just wait it out. I figured that he probably got busy and would eventually call. This morning I had an email from the guard recruiter again appologizing for not calling last night and asking when I was free for him to call on Monday. I told him that I am off all day, minus the hour that I will be in class.
I didn't get a response from him, but figured we will see what happens tomorrow. I'm not sure right now if I will be joining the guard or not. The thing that would definitely make it seem to be a very nice option would be if he said that they do want me to join, and offer me a nice chunk of a sign on bonus. Extra money is always a plus, and receiving however many thousands of dollars in a bonus would help with paying stuff off. At this point though, I'm not counting on anything. I figure, if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, then it doesn't. I had long since decided that I didn't need to try to join the guard as of a few months ago. Speaking of extra money, this afternoon my employer called and asked if I was free to work an extra shift tonight at the hospital. They were going to be having extra guards on duty, each one sitting with a patient that needed extra observation.
Well, I was working on my English paper, and this is my long week coming up, so I really did not feel up to taking on another shift. When I mentioned it to Erin, what she said was "Hey, it's more money hon." I was like "Yeah, I just don't feel like it." When I first started with my employer, in the first month I worked so many hours because they called me every week about multiple extra shifts. I pretty much took every single one of them. Although my pay checks that first month were really good, I was really tired too. Then I was able to at least change my work schedule from 30 hour work weeks, to rotating. I work 30 hours one week, and 40 the next. I'm happy with that. Especially with also going to school. I figure as long as I never miss work, I am happy about my schedule. Would the extra shifts help? Of course! I can't explain really well the reason why I have not felt up to offering to take extra shifts too often lately. Mostly probably because of everything eles going on in life. What can I say? Busy Busy Busy.
So in closing I will say this. Yes I love making extra money whenever possible, but some times it doesn't seem worth giving up a night with the family, or letting my school slip any more than I already have. Sometimes, if I have been home not needing to do anything at all during the day, then yes I am willing to take extra shifts. But there were quire a few times when they called me, and I was either out doing something with the family, or we were getting ready to head out somewhere, and I had to stay home so that I could go into work. Those nights suck! I love my job, but when you are there working because the other guard called in or whatever, especially on fairly short notice, its definitely a sacrifice in order to be willing to work extra for the boss. So, I'm willing to do it. I just wish they would let me know ahead of time. In a few weeks there are extra days that both myself and the other guard will be working. The boss called me two weeks ago and told me the dates and asked that I include them in the schedule when I write it up. That is perfectly ok. I know in advance when we will be working extra and when it happens it will feel perfectly normal.
So, I guess the lesson for today is go with your gut. When I say that, I mean as far as being employed. If you have absolutely nothing going on and would like to, take the shift, help them out. If you have big plans, spending time with your family, or anything else that you feel would just suck to not be there because you worked extra, then go with your gut. If you really need and want the extra money, then do it. If you are happy with your regular hours, and it isn't the most important thing, then go with your gut and spend time with your loved ones. I will write more for you tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Day 18
Good evening everybody. I got pretty close to the same amount of sleep today that I did yesterday. If you asked me today if I slept more today or yesterday I wouldn't have the answer for you. Yesterday my sleep was an hour nap here and there. Today, I went to bed at 6:30, and got up just after 10. Ally's soccer game was scheduled for 11:30, and I wanted to get there 15 to 20 minutes early. Mainly what my plan was to talk to the team before the game, making sure they remembered what they practiced on Tuesday. I was planning on us all being there, but Erin felt sick to her stomach and asked if I didn't mind going myself. I did mind. Being really tired because of the little sleep, I didn't want to go with the girls by myself. However, I agreed to go. We got to the fields just around 11:15, and when we pulled into the complex the entire complex was completely empty. I'm talking no cars, no parents, no players, nothing at all! I instantly thought "oh shit. They cancelled the games because of the rain last night."
Before I talk about the funny part about that, I want to talk about something else that is some what related. When I was in soccer not that long ago, to have games cancelled or post poned, etc, it had to be very bad conditions out. If it was just wet and muddy because of rain, we played. If it was tons of snow, then yeah, they delayed the game. So here's the funny thing. Are you ready? Today the grass may have been wet because of the heavy rain last night, but that was it, and yet, they cancelled the games! I parked for a few minutes, and called Erin. "Hello?" "Hey hon," I said, "is there anyone we can call to find out if the games were cancelled? There is nobody here at all!" "I don't have a number for the coach," She said to me. She mentioned that maybe I should wait until closer to 11:30 and maybe people would start showing up. Well there was '1' car that pulled in a minute or so later, and after another minute or two, it pulled beside me, rolled down his window and he told me that he just got off the phone with someone and found out that the games were indeed cancelled.
"Son-of-a-" I said, "Thanks man, I appreciate it." So drove home, and I made a late breakfast. I scrambled up some eggs, diced up ham and cheese and mixed it into the eggs. I cooked the little hashbrown patties that I told you all about in a previous blog entry, and cooked up some bacon. All in all, fairly cheap breakfast, but really good and filling. I'm a sucker for bacon any day. One of the things, food wise, that I am thankful for Erin about is bacon. With my ex, she hated bacon, so the only time I was able to have it myself was anywhere outside where we lived. That included things like if we went out to eat, and I ordered breakfast, 9 times out of 10 I would order a side of bacon. Had to get the bacon fix somehow right? Yeah, well that was what I did. Thankfully now it is different. The whole family likes bacon so I don't have to leave the house to enjoy it.
When I got home from work this morning, I wrote down a list of things I wanted to do this weekend. It was anything from clear out furniture, work on my english paper finally, mow the lawn, get out and exercise by walking or whatever, etc. I believe there are a few other things I wrote down that I could think of off the top of my head. However, I can't remember the extras.
So on the list, a few things did get done, which makes me feel pretty good. Some furniture got moved where it needed to go, which was good. I completed 2 pages of my paper for English, so I am able to put a check mark on that one on the list. I would have mowed the lawn but it was still pretty wet so I didn't get to that yet. So, other than the fact that I didn't get much sleep, I am happy with how today went. One of the biggest things on the list was I planned for us to go to Aldi's today to grocery shop. I had set part of my paycheck aside as the grocery budget, to get us to the end of the month. Good ol stamps hit on the 1st.
So, I will close with this. Last night at work, an older lady brought her son up to the hospital for mental eval. He said he knew that he needed help but was more afraid of being locked up with the key being thrown away. He left a few times to go smoke, and I had been posted outside. I made it very casual looking, definitely as though I was just "there" but not necesarily to stop him. I chatted with his mom while the doctor was in there talking to him. His mom left the room and was out near where I was. She was just worried about him and obviously didn't know what she would be able to do with him the way he was. After a while, he eventually did just get up and walk out. She talked about things that he did, such as hunting and stuff like that which he really enjoyed. Things that made him happy. I left out the specifics, but told her that it is definitely important to enjoy the little things. That if there are hobbies or whatever that make you relax and feel good, that it is good for him to do those things. It was weird, I felt like I should be a psychologist (not a psychiatrist because that requires way too much freaking school). I'm not going to go to school to be a councelor, but it was interesting to be feeling as though I was giving advice.
So in closing, I will say the lesson for tonight is this. I believe this saying was off of a movie, but I really beleive in it. It makes sense. The saying was "To make a difference, and change the world, all it takes is 1 random act of kindness at a time." When you try to look at it from God's perspective (which is difficult for us since none of us really truly know what His plans are), it makes sense. So, there you have it. Random acts of kindness. It could be, randomly giving someone a $20.00 tip, helping someone with something randomly, giving someone a gift unexpectedly, etc. You'll be amazed at 1) how they react to the random act, and 2) how it will make you feel. For me, when I tried it, it made me feel lifted up. I hope you all enjoyed what I wrote for you today. I will write more for you tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
Before I talk about the funny part about that, I want to talk about something else that is some what related. When I was in soccer not that long ago, to have games cancelled or post poned, etc, it had to be very bad conditions out. If it was just wet and muddy because of rain, we played. If it was tons of snow, then yeah, they delayed the game. So here's the funny thing. Are you ready? Today the grass may have been wet because of the heavy rain last night, but that was it, and yet, they cancelled the games! I parked for a few minutes, and called Erin. "Hello?" "Hey hon," I said, "is there anyone we can call to find out if the games were cancelled? There is nobody here at all!" "I don't have a number for the coach," She said to me. She mentioned that maybe I should wait until closer to 11:30 and maybe people would start showing up. Well there was '1' car that pulled in a minute or so later, and after another minute or two, it pulled beside me, rolled down his window and he told me that he just got off the phone with someone and found out that the games were indeed cancelled.
"Son-of-a-" I said, "Thanks man, I appreciate it." So drove home, and I made a late breakfast. I scrambled up some eggs, diced up ham and cheese and mixed it into the eggs. I cooked the little hashbrown patties that I told you all about in a previous blog entry, and cooked up some bacon. All in all, fairly cheap breakfast, but really good and filling. I'm a sucker for bacon any day. One of the things, food wise, that I am thankful for Erin about is bacon. With my ex, she hated bacon, so the only time I was able to have it myself was anywhere outside where we lived. That included things like if we went out to eat, and I ordered breakfast, 9 times out of 10 I would order a side of bacon. Had to get the bacon fix somehow right? Yeah, well that was what I did. Thankfully now it is different. The whole family likes bacon so I don't have to leave the house to enjoy it.
When I got home from work this morning, I wrote down a list of things I wanted to do this weekend. It was anything from clear out furniture, work on my english paper finally, mow the lawn, get out and exercise by walking or whatever, etc. I believe there are a few other things I wrote down that I could think of off the top of my head. However, I can't remember the extras.
So on the list, a few things did get done, which makes me feel pretty good. Some furniture got moved where it needed to go, which was good. I completed 2 pages of my paper for English, so I am able to put a check mark on that one on the list. I would have mowed the lawn but it was still pretty wet so I didn't get to that yet. So, other than the fact that I didn't get much sleep, I am happy with how today went. One of the biggest things on the list was I planned for us to go to Aldi's today to grocery shop. I had set part of my paycheck aside as the grocery budget, to get us to the end of the month. Good ol stamps hit on the 1st.
So, I will close with this. Last night at work, an older lady brought her son up to the hospital for mental eval. He said he knew that he needed help but was more afraid of being locked up with the key being thrown away. He left a few times to go smoke, and I had been posted outside. I made it very casual looking, definitely as though I was just "there" but not necesarily to stop him. I chatted with his mom while the doctor was in there talking to him. His mom left the room and was out near where I was. She was just worried about him and obviously didn't know what she would be able to do with him the way he was. After a while, he eventually did just get up and walk out. She talked about things that he did, such as hunting and stuff like that which he really enjoyed. Things that made him happy. I left out the specifics, but told her that it is definitely important to enjoy the little things. That if there are hobbies or whatever that make you relax and feel good, that it is good for him to do those things. It was weird, I felt like I should be a psychologist (not a psychiatrist because that requires way too much freaking school). I'm not going to go to school to be a councelor, but it was interesting to be feeling as though I was giving advice.
So in closing, I will say the lesson for tonight is this. I believe this saying was off of a movie, but I really beleive in it. It makes sense. The saying was "To make a difference, and change the world, all it takes is 1 random act of kindness at a time." When you try to look at it from God's perspective (which is difficult for us since none of us really truly know what His plans are), it makes sense. So, there you have it. Random acts of kindness. It could be, randomly giving someone a $20.00 tip, helping someone with something randomly, giving someone a gift unexpectedly, etc. You'll be amazed at 1) how they react to the random act, and 2) how it will make you feel. For me, when I tried it, it made me feel lifted up. I hope you all enjoyed what I wrote for you today. I will write more for you tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
Friday, April 23, 2010
Day 17
Hello everybody. Today was bit odd. I got home just after 6 am just like I normally do. I put on episode #2 of Hercules season 1. I had watched episode #1 Thursday morning; while waiting for Lex to get dressed and get her stuff together for school. By 6 am, I'm pretty tired and have to do something to keep my mind occupied, otherwise I will very easily fall asleep while relaxing in the recliner.
So this morning, I got online and emailed my instructor. Basically I said that I plan to hopefully catch up from where I'm at, by monday. She wrote back saying that if I was able to come up to the school, I could meet with her and she could help me. I told her that I would love to, and that I will when I get time, but that things have been so hectic with work that my days are off. She understood, and said she would see me Monday. The reason I feel so far behind is, last Wednesday, we were told about the final paper we will be doing for the semester. It is an arguementative paper. I may have already written about this subject. Well anyway, by Monday, the new syllabus that just came out over the weekend, which I was not able to access till Monday said we needed to bring 2 checked out books on our subject. Panicking, I looked ahead to Wednesday and then Today, knowing what my schedule has been like lately. Of course, after the 2 books due Monday *which I missed that day*, Wednesday we needed 2 articles that day.
The reason why I have been panicking is because when we received the assignment, I thought "Cool, I can research this, and do a good paper." Then I thought "Damn! I have to read 2 books within a short time frame, and find 2 articles, all while looking info up and trying to get my draft together? Holy ****!" I guess it doesn't take a lot to overwhelm me these days. I guess that is the sign that the end of the semester is approaching. This is the first time all semester that I have felt overloaded with things to do for the ONE class. I can understand when I'm taking 2 or more classes online starting in June that I might feel overloaded at times. But with just English? Wow. But I'm sure it is just because I missed 3 days because of schedule conflicts and what not, that I then looked at everything I needed to do going "OMG!"
So, back to today. Sent Lex off to the bus stop by 7:35. Headed upstairs, knelt in prayer, once again working to continue giving all my worries, cares, and stresses to God. Then climbed into bed. Not quite two hours later, Zoe had gotten up, was upset, and had actually succeeded in getting her bedroom door open. She walked right up to my side, screaming, and yelling DADDA!" I was like "oh my gosh...." You know how you feel when you have barely slept, you're dead tired, but you are forced awake, kinda as though you are a zombie? That was me. I couldn't tell my body to stand up for a few minutes, by then, Zoe had went downstairs, even with me yelling "ZOE! Get back up here right now! ZOE!" To which she was like "Noooooo! Uh-uh!" So after a few minutes, I caught up with her, brought her back upstairs, changed her diaper, changed her clothes, and went downstairs with her. I put the gate up on the landing so she couldn't leave the TV room, and I put on the wiggles.
Then while she was watching that, I grabbed my Fire Fighter blanket from when I was in the Air Force, and curled up on the recliner. I figured I would fall asleep, and I actually didn't mind the idea. Next thing I know, I look up and Wiggles is almost over. So I then put on Elmo's Adventure in Grouchland. This time I pulled Zoe up with me on the recliner, and with her lounging on me, I fell asleep again. I woke up hearing the credits to that, and put on a different wiggles movie. Half way into that one, Zoe still lounging on me, I woke up to Erin's voice from upstairs. She was calling for me to come upstairs, and so I reluctantly dragged myself out of the comfy recliner and went upstairs.
I had wondered why Erin didn't get up with Zoe when she had gotten up and woke me up, but had not been able to ask yet. Apparently Erin had been up and down with Zoe all night for some reason. Zoe hasn't been feeling well and so she was not sleeping well. When I got upstairs, Erin had successfully switched out the old original bed that was in Zoe's room for the little girl twin bed that my parents had given us for her with a bedroom set. She said she knew I was asleep downstairs when she tried to call down there and didn't get a response. Normally I'm not one to be asleep while watching shows. I doze off, but not completely gone, no longer with us type of sleep. This morning though, that was the case.
I would have gone back to bed when Erin was up, but today we had plans to pick up a king size bed to replace the one we had in our room. Our king actually was 2 twin beds put side by side with a king size head board. So, now we have an actual king, which is nice. It'll take some getting used to because we are so used to there being a crack between my side and hers. Now we are on 1 single bed. It'll be really nice, it is just new. The mattress itself is a pillow top and so it is pretty comfortable. We moved out the twin box springs and mattresses, and moved the king mattress and the box springs for it up from the bed of the truck. Then we put Zoe down for a nap, told Ally to please work on making sure her room was picked up, and we layed down. Erin got up after just a little while, because she was going to go to Wally World to pick some things up, and then she was going to pick up some Taco Bell for dinner for us. I stayed home with my alarm set for just after 7 Oclock. I don't know how much sleep I have had today, but oddly I'm pretty awake and alert. THANK GOD FOR MT DEW! ;)
So, one thing interesting happenned last night. You could say I probably scored brownie points with the ER nurses. Well 1 thing was I must have walked out about 4 times with the same nurse escorting her to her car. There was a rapist running around Clinton, and so now we make sure the nurses, staff, leaving patients, and families can ask us to walk outside with them to make sure nothing happens to them. I have no problem doing it. In fact, I enjoy being of use to them. Well last night there were 2 full cakes down in the little kitchen area that usually has pre-made meals put in the fridge for overnight staff. It was from a retirement ceremony, and was free to everyone. I mentioned it upstairs and the ER nurses seemed to have no idea. Later I took one of the cakes, plus a stack of plates and forks upstairs and dropped it off in the ER. They were thrilled to death with excitement. I don't think I have ever gotten that positive of a reaction out of them. So, needless to say things are going well with the job. ;)
In closing tonight's entry, tomorrow morning is Ally's 2nd soccer game. Ally tonight was saying that she wants her team to beat the 2 goals that they scored last game. I was like "Well Lex, if you and your team mates will pass ahead of eachother, and shoot hard at the goal when you get to the first white line like your coach and I taught you at practice, I think you could score a lot more than 2! ;)" It's the truth! keeping forward momentum, plus taking shots on goal will increase their scoring chances. It's not about winning, but if they want to score, then these will be the things they do. I think they will do well, if they all remember what they practiced and use it during the game. The girls on her team all have the ability to kick the ball really hard, and if they kick it hard as they can at the goal, the goalie might block some but not all of them. So, I'm anxious to see how they do! The funny thing is, I was so focused not on their score but on their playing and having fun that when Ally said 2 goals tonight, I said "2? I didn't realize you guys scored 2!" So, tomorrow will be an interesting day. So much to do this weekend. Furniture to move around tomorrow, stuff to take out of the house and get rid of, research to do for English, and to start piecing together the paper. Then on top of that, I have my blog entry, exercise to get in if possible, and to write in my book. *takes a breath* Wow. Will be one hell of a day! I will write more for you all tomorrow.
Thanks for being here!
CB
So this morning, I got online and emailed my instructor. Basically I said that I plan to hopefully catch up from where I'm at, by monday. She wrote back saying that if I was able to come up to the school, I could meet with her and she could help me. I told her that I would love to, and that I will when I get time, but that things have been so hectic with work that my days are off. She understood, and said she would see me Monday. The reason I feel so far behind is, last Wednesday, we were told about the final paper we will be doing for the semester. It is an arguementative paper. I may have already written about this subject. Well anyway, by Monday, the new syllabus that just came out over the weekend, which I was not able to access till Monday said we needed to bring 2 checked out books on our subject. Panicking, I looked ahead to Wednesday and then Today, knowing what my schedule has been like lately. Of course, after the 2 books due Monday *which I missed that day*, Wednesday we needed 2 articles that day.
The reason why I have been panicking is because when we received the assignment, I thought "Cool, I can research this, and do a good paper." Then I thought "Damn! I have to read 2 books within a short time frame, and find 2 articles, all while looking info up and trying to get my draft together? Holy ****!" I guess it doesn't take a lot to overwhelm me these days. I guess that is the sign that the end of the semester is approaching. This is the first time all semester that I have felt overloaded with things to do for the ONE class. I can understand when I'm taking 2 or more classes online starting in June that I might feel overloaded at times. But with just English? Wow. But I'm sure it is just because I missed 3 days because of schedule conflicts and what not, that I then looked at everything I needed to do going "OMG!"
So, back to today. Sent Lex off to the bus stop by 7:35. Headed upstairs, knelt in prayer, once again working to continue giving all my worries, cares, and stresses to God. Then climbed into bed. Not quite two hours later, Zoe had gotten up, was upset, and had actually succeeded in getting her bedroom door open. She walked right up to my side, screaming, and yelling DADDA!" I was like "oh my gosh...." You know how you feel when you have barely slept, you're dead tired, but you are forced awake, kinda as though you are a zombie? That was me. I couldn't tell my body to stand up for a few minutes, by then, Zoe had went downstairs, even with me yelling "ZOE! Get back up here right now! ZOE!" To which she was like "Noooooo! Uh-uh!" So after a few minutes, I caught up with her, brought her back upstairs, changed her diaper, changed her clothes, and went downstairs with her. I put the gate up on the landing so she couldn't leave the TV room, and I put on the wiggles.
Then while she was watching that, I grabbed my Fire Fighter blanket from when I was in the Air Force, and curled up on the recliner. I figured I would fall asleep, and I actually didn't mind the idea. Next thing I know, I look up and Wiggles is almost over. So I then put on Elmo's Adventure in Grouchland. This time I pulled Zoe up with me on the recliner, and with her lounging on me, I fell asleep again. I woke up hearing the credits to that, and put on a different wiggles movie. Half way into that one, Zoe still lounging on me, I woke up to Erin's voice from upstairs. She was calling for me to come upstairs, and so I reluctantly dragged myself out of the comfy recliner and went upstairs.
I had wondered why Erin didn't get up with Zoe when she had gotten up and woke me up, but had not been able to ask yet. Apparently Erin had been up and down with Zoe all night for some reason. Zoe hasn't been feeling well and so she was not sleeping well. When I got upstairs, Erin had successfully switched out the old original bed that was in Zoe's room for the little girl twin bed that my parents had given us for her with a bedroom set. She said she knew I was asleep downstairs when she tried to call down there and didn't get a response. Normally I'm not one to be asleep while watching shows. I doze off, but not completely gone, no longer with us type of sleep. This morning though, that was the case.
I would have gone back to bed when Erin was up, but today we had plans to pick up a king size bed to replace the one we had in our room. Our king actually was 2 twin beds put side by side with a king size head board. So, now we have an actual king, which is nice. It'll take some getting used to because we are so used to there being a crack between my side and hers. Now we are on 1 single bed. It'll be really nice, it is just new. The mattress itself is a pillow top and so it is pretty comfortable. We moved out the twin box springs and mattresses, and moved the king mattress and the box springs for it up from the bed of the truck. Then we put Zoe down for a nap, told Ally to please work on making sure her room was picked up, and we layed down. Erin got up after just a little while, because she was going to go to Wally World to pick some things up, and then she was going to pick up some Taco Bell for dinner for us. I stayed home with my alarm set for just after 7 Oclock. I don't know how much sleep I have had today, but oddly I'm pretty awake and alert. THANK GOD FOR MT DEW! ;)
So, one thing interesting happenned last night. You could say I probably scored brownie points with the ER nurses. Well 1 thing was I must have walked out about 4 times with the same nurse escorting her to her car. There was a rapist running around Clinton, and so now we make sure the nurses, staff, leaving patients, and families can ask us to walk outside with them to make sure nothing happens to them. I have no problem doing it. In fact, I enjoy being of use to them. Well last night there were 2 full cakes down in the little kitchen area that usually has pre-made meals put in the fridge for overnight staff. It was from a retirement ceremony, and was free to everyone. I mentioned it upstairs and the ER nurses seemed to have no idea. Later I took one of the cakes, plus a stack of plates and forks upstairs and dropped it off in the ER. They were thrilled to death with excitement. I don't think I have ever gotten that positive of a reaction out of them. So, needless to say things are going well with the job. ;)
In closing tonight's entry, tomorrow morning is Ally's 2nd soccer game. Ally tonight was saying that she wants her team to beat the 2 goals that they scored last game. I was like "Well Lex, if you and your team mates will pass ahead of eachother, and shoot hard at the goal when you get to the first white line like your coach and I taught you at practice, I think you could score a lot more than 2! ;)" It's the truth! keeping forward momentum, plus taking shots on goal will increase their scoring chances. It's not about winning, but if they want to score, then these will be the things they do. I think they will do well, if they all remember what they practiced and use it during the game. The girls on her team all have the ability to kick the ball really hard, and if they kick it hard as they can at the goal, the goalie might block some but not all of them. So, I'm anxious to see how they do! The funny thing is, I was so focused not on their score but on their playing and having fun that when Ally said 2 goals tonight, I said "2? I didn't realize you guys scored 2!" So, tomorrow will be an interesting day. So much to do this weekend. Furniture to move around tomorrow, stuff to take out of the house and get rid of, research to do for English, and to start piecing together the paper. Then on top of that, I have my blog entry, exercise to get in if possible, and to write in my book. *takes a breath* Wow. Will be one hell of a day! I will write more for you all tomorrow.
Thanks for being here!
CB
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Day 16
Good day everybody! I hope you all have been doing well. I am doing pretty well myself. It surprises me actually. Today I think I slept better than I have in months. I am not 100% sure as to why that was. I can only think of one thing that I have started doing differently in hopes to improve everything in life. What I did was, at 7:40 after Ally was on the bus and I was fully ready to go to bed, I knelt down beside the bed and prayed. Recently I was inspired by what Melissa had posted. It made me begin thinking. So I have been working to give all my cares, stresses, and worries to God. If we give everything over to him, and have faith that he will take care of it all, then we have nothing to stress over. Then I went to bed. The next thing I know, Zoe's voice was waking me up from down stairs hollering "DADDY!" as she came up the stairs. I knew I was sound asleep because it took a minute or two for me to un-blurr my vision. I looked hard and long at the clock, and realized "Holy shit! 3:30!" In a way, I could have stayed in bed if I allowed myself, but at the same time, I felt pretty good. So around 5:30, I went over to Jewel/Osco and used the atm, pulling out money that we owe Erin's coworker for a used pillow top king size bed, and then the grocery cash. While I was there, I thought fried chicken and potatos sounded like a good dinner on pay day, so I picked some up.
MMMMMM! You know? After I had my gall bladder taken out, my stomach would twist at any grease. It isn't as bad on grease now, but it does just twist randomly even if I haven't eaten anything. So, there are times, like today, when I tell myself "What the hell? Why not? have something you enjoy!" The thing I love most of all about fried chicken is the thing that is the worst for you. The skin. Yup, thats right! I love the fried chicken skin. It doesn't bother me about how unhealthy it is, mainly because we really don't eat fried chicken often. If anything we don't eat out a whole lot really. If we do, we most of the time eat at Pizza Ranch right as Erin gets off work. Good food, plus a discount for the family. ;)
So, yesterday I wrote both in the journal, and in my book, and also I read quite a bit in the book I'm reading. The thing I have not done hardly at all in about a week is exercising. I walk a lot, but I haven't actually gone to the Y, or gone outside with the soul purpose of exercising. I guess I'm still trying to find the right routine for me. Things that relieve stress for me are writing (of course), and playing World of Warcraft whenever I have time. Today I got on and played for about half an hour but that was it. Waking up at 3:30 or 5 has it's set backs, but thats ok. I really didn't mind not being able to play. Did I want to play? Sure? But it was alright that I didn't have time to do it.
It had been a few days since I had written in my book. Yesterday when I sat down to write, I only had about 40 minutes of free time before having to get to work. I ended up completing not quite 3 pages. It amazed me with how the events played out. I am starting to think that my book will probably fall somewhere within the horror category. The scene that the characters just experienced was a place that apparently was haunted and they witnessed someone being beaten and thrown around the room by some unseen force. When I sat down to write, I had no idea where the story was going to head. As I wrote, I got chills. It was playing out in my mind at the same time that my fingers were typing the words onto the page. Then when I came to a good stopping point, I went back and re-read it, and was like "wow!" There have been a hand full of these hair raising events that have already happenned in my book, and the funny thing is that it has not even gotten to the big beefy plot of the story. It will be quite interesting when it is done. It is almost like a doomed honeymoon, with lots of stuff happening. Only, the characters are engaged and not married just yet.
So tomorrow we will be getting the king size mattress and box spring from this guy Erin works with. I'm guessing he drives a truck too because he said he would be able to bring it over. Otherwise I was going to offer to come pick it up myself. That should be a blast getting that upstairs. There is a few other things that we need to get from the garage up to the 2nd floor of the house, and I'm really dreading that. Oh well. It will have to get done. This is why I hate moving. You have to relocate heavy ass pieces of furniture, including beds, dressers, etc, and you kill your joints in the process. The thing is, we still have so much stuff to do around the house. I think about 2 floors to stain, 1 floor to put tile or something else down. There is still stuff in the house that I need to load in the truck and get rid of it. I haven't gotten rid of everything yet either because not enough time during the day, or not enough energy to get myself to do it, or whatever.
Oh well. In closing, I'm just going to write about one more thing. Apparently a National Guard guy came into Pizza Ranch to eat lunch while Erin was working today. They got to talking and Erin mentioned my former service, and that I am currently a security guard. The guy told her that they were located here in clinton and that I should talk to them. That I would get more towards my GI bill than I'm already approved for, and can give them one weekend a month for good money. Erin got his card and brought it home for me. I do intend to call them, and who knows, maybe it will work out. Maybe I could get a sign on bonus. Who knows. My only concern is, if I 'can' join, the training involved. I can't afford to have to take a month off from work and go to army training for a month. The main reason is, yes I will get paid for being gone, but then when I'm back, I may or may not be employed with the security company. The big problem with that is this. If I was active duty, heck yeah! Lets do it! As guard though, I would be part time, and so I wouldn't have very good ways of being able to pay bills. So I will talk to them and see what happens, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. Who knows what opportunities God will send my way!
If I seemed like I was rambling on and on today, I appologize. Today is one of those days that although motivated to write, my mind is not 100% with the task at hand. I will write more for you tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
MMMMMM! You know? After I had my gall bladder taken out, my stomach would twist at any grease. It isn't as bad on grease now, but it does just twist randomly even if I haven't eaten anything. So, there are times, like today, when I tell myself "What the hell? Why not? have something you enjoy!" The thing I love most of all about fried chicken is the thing that is the worst for you. The skin. Yup, thats right! I love the fried chicken skin. It doesn't bother me about how unhealthy it is, mainly because we really don't eat fried chicken often. If anything we don't eat out a whole lot really. If we do, we most of the time eat at Pizza Ranch right as Erin gets off work. Good food, plus a discount for the family. ;)
So, yesterday I wrote both in the journal, and in my book, and also I read quite a bit in the book I'm reading. The thing I have not done hardly at all in about a week is exercising. I walk a lot, but I haven't actually gone to the Y, or gone outside with the soul purpose of exercising. I guess I'm still trying to find the right routine for me. Things that relieve stress for me are writing (of course), and playing World of Warcraft whenever I have time. Today I got on and played for about half an hour but that was it. Waking up at 3:30 or 5 has it's set backs, but thats ok. I really didn't mind not being able to play. Did I want to play? Sure? But it was alright that I didn't have time to do it.
It had been a few days since I had written in my book. Yesterday when I sat down to write, I only had about 40 minutes of free time before having to get to work. I ended up completing not quite 3 pages. It amazed me with how the events played out. I am starting to think that my book will probably fall somewhere within the horror category. The scene that the characters just experienced was a place that apparently was haunted and they witnessed someone being beaten and thrown around the room by some unseen force. When I sat down to write, I had no idea where the story was going to head. As I wrote, I got chills. It was playing out in my mind at the same time that my fingers were typing the words onto the page. Then when I came to a good stopping point, I went back and re-read it, and was like "wow!" There have been a hand full of these hair raising events that have already happenned in my book, and the funny thing is that it has not even gotten to the big beefy plot of the story. It will be quite interesting when it is done. It is almost like a doomed honeymoon, with lots of stuff happening. Only, the characters are engaged and not married just yet.
So tomorrow we will be getting the king size mattress and box spring from this guy Erin works with. I'm guessing he drives a truck too because he said he would be able to bring it over. Otherwise I was going to offer to come pick it up myself. That should be a blast getting that upstairs. There is a few other things that we need to get from the garage up to the 2nd floor of the house, and I'm really dreading that. Oh well. It will have to get done. This is why I hate moving. You have to relocate heavy ass pieces of furniture, including beds, dressers, etc, and you kill your joints in the process. The thing is, we still have so much stuff to do around the house. I think about 2 floors to stain, 1 floor to put tile or something else down. There is still stuff in the house that I need to load in the truck and get rid of it. I haven't gotten rid of everything yet either because not enough time during the day, or not enough energy to get myself to do it, or whatever.
Oh well. In closing, I'm just going to write about one more thing. Apparently a National Guard guy came into Pizza Ranch to eat lunch while Erin was working today. They got to talking and Erin mentioned my former service, and that I am currently a security guard. The guy told her that they were located here in clinton and that I should talk to them. That I would get more towards my GI bill than I'm already approved for, and can give them one weekend a month for good money. Erin got his card and brought it home for me. I do intend to call them, and who knows, maybe it will work out. Maybe I could get a sign on bonus. Who knows. My only concern is, if I 'can' join, the training involved. I can't afford to have to take a month off from work and go to army training for a month. The main reason is, yes I will get paid for being gone, but then when I'm back, I may or may not be employed with the security company. The big problem with that is this. If I was active duty, heck yeah! Lets do it! As guard though, I would be part time, and so I wouldn't have very good ways of being able to pay bills. So I will talk to them and see what happens, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. Who knows what opportunities God will send my way!
If I seemed like I was rambling on and on today, I appologize. Today is one of those days that although motivated to write, my mind is not 100% with the task at hand. I will write more for you tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Day 15
Good afternoon everybody. We are officially on Day # 15. I guess that means there is roughly about 350 blogging days left. Will I continue writing here after that point? It is very possible. I might recreate the blog with a regular name and post a link to it from this blog on the 365th post so that anyone keeping up with the blog can then change over to the new one.
So lately, it has been difficult for me to find the strength to go to class. Its not that I don't want to go. I do. But at the same time, I don't. It isn't the 'class' itself. It's more of the having to get myself out the door, to the college, and to class. I am really looking forward to the beginning of June. That is when I am resuming classes online with American Military University towards my bachelors degree in hospitality. I think the big plus I see in the classes I will be resuming online is that they are online. I enjoyed being at a physical campus for part of the semester, but after a little while it got really old. Being the shy type that I see myself as, I realized really quickly that I enjoyed being an online student much more because of a few reasons.
Reason number 1) With being an online student, you have more flexibility as far as when during the day you will do your homework or post comments and whatnot. Going to a physical class on a physical campus, you have to be 'able' to get to the school at the specific time frame. If you can't, sucks for you!
Reason number 2) When you're a student online, you don't have to be physically in a small class room with your class mates. Yes you have to deal with each other on the chat board, and have to respond to each other. Basically you deal with the other students as much as the teacher wants you to do, but other than that, no real direct involvement with the other students. After going to school at the community college here, I am really looking forward to that again because I like to be more solo when it comes to school. Can I work in groups? Sure! Do I like to? Not really. How often in school, be it high school or college (since I know not everyone has taken college classes yet) have you had a group of students that was pleasant with everyone in the group? I was recently in a group of students working on writing a 3 page narrative together. At first, I thought our group was great. We all made it to the study sessions and put ideas on paper and such. Then after the first 2 meetings, one of them stopped showing up.
We talked to the teacher and she said that me and the other gal should just do the paper between the two of us and the other gal would have to do her own version. Well, then I emailed my version to the gal still remaining with me in the group. She tried to open it, but couldn't. She emailed back saying she has had a rough weekend, that she couldn't open the document, and that she felt maybe we should just turn in our own versions. I said "sure, whatever, no problem." Point is, with that experience I don't perticularly care for being grouped up. What was the point of me getting together with them on my off time when I ended up turning in my own version anyway? Basically a waste of time I think. Oh well!
So today was a pretty good day. The worst part is always how tired I feel most of the time. I'm sure as things in life improve, and I give all my worries, cares, and stresses to God, that not only will life start to take a turn for the better, I'm certain I will have more strength all around. To show just how tired I felt, we were watching buffy through netflix live stream. I was laying on the couch and I noticed after a while of laying there that my eyes kept drooping. I know I dozed off a few times. I almost wished that I would crash entirely and not wake up for a few hours. But, my usual routine is to doze off slightly, but to keep fighting it, resulting in me never really falling asleep for long. Either I wake myself up, or Erin says something and I'm awake again.
Roughly around 5:30, Erin was on World of Warcraftand I decided to get on too. Currently my night elf priest is level 11. I had just hit level 11 yesterday before signing off for the night. It happened a lot quicker than I thought it would, but that was because I was working on a quest in this cave swarming with bad creatures. I spent probably about an hour, maybe slightly more, in the cave trying to find the last part of this quest. Everywhere I turned, there were more guys I had to fight my way through. So, my experience went up quickly, and ended up with me being right at the edge of becoming level 11. On Erin's advise, I bought some new clothing for my character increasing the stats. Then I sold my old clothes, and ran to the priest trainer. I had a few new spells and tricks I was able to learn, including the really awesome ability to resurect the dead. I love that ability. When you go into a huge fight with a group, with me as the priest healing and trying to keep people alive, occasionally someone will die. It could be that I couldn't heal them fast enough.
That could be because too many things were attacking them at once, and it takes a few seconds for my healing spells to cast. If it doesn't cast before they run out of health, unfortunately they die. The positive side of that is, now I have this spell and can bring someone back to life if they are killed. This mainly works if they have not left their body yet, I believe. If they have released their spirit then I don't think I can res them.
So, yes we have been playing World of Warcraft daily. The difference between playing today, and playing back in my last life (first marriage), you can't let world of warcraft become your life. It is an awesome game. I will give it that. Is it fun to play? Heck yeah! Is it addicting though? Yes. It can be very addicting if you let it. I think the way Erin and I are on it is very safe because yes we might be on it for an hour or 2, or whatever, through out the day. But after a little while, we each randomly will get off and focus on other things. Say we have a netflix movie on the tv, after we level up or whatever on wow, at least with me personally, I set a goal for myself. Like, last night I wanted to hit level 11. I hit level 10 quick because I was so close. Then once I hit 11 I was like "cool." And logged off. It takes a lot to level up the higher you go, so if you can go a single level then you are doing good. :)
So today Erin made chocolate chip cookies. If you are new here, and do not know me personally, please check out the blogs that I'm following. One is one of my best friends, Melissa from Florida. The other is my wife Erin. Erin is going to school to become a trained chef, and has done a lot towards it already. On her blog she has posted pictures of things that she has done, both unofficial stuff, as well as some that were paid jobs as well.
In closing, the lesson for today will be moderation. They say "Moderation is key." They aren't lying! This goes for everything. It could be eating very fattening, yummy treats. If you go hog wild with them, then you will feel the results of all that going through your body. Same goes for things like role playing computer games. World of Warcraft for instance. It is a great game, and should be a "part" of life. Not life it self. This goes for lots of games out there. Play them, enjoy them. It is important to enjoy the little things in life. Just don't let them become who you are! That is all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed, and perhaps got something out of what I have written for you here. I will write more for you tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
So lately, it has been difficult for me to find the strength to go to class. Its not that I don't want to go. I do. But at the same time, I don't. It isn't the 'class' itself. It's more of the having to get myself out the door, to the college, and to class. I am really looking forward to the beginning of June. That is when I am resuming classes online with American Military University towards my bachelors degree in hospitality. I think the big plus I see in the classes I will be resuming online is that they are online. I enjoyed being at a physical campus for part of the semester, but after a little while it got really old. Being the shy type that I see myself as, I realized really quickly that I enjoyed being an online student much more because of a few reasons.
Reason number 1) With being an online student, you have more flexibility as far as when during the day you will do your homework or post comments and whatnot. Going to a physical class on a physical campus, you have to be 'able' to get to the school at the specific time frame. If you can't, sucks for you!
Reason number 2) When you're a student online, you don't have to be physically in a small class room with your class mates. Yes you have to deal with each other on the chat board, and have to respond to each other. Basically you deal with the other students as much as the teacher wants you to do, but other than that, no real direct involvement with the other students. After going to school at the community college here, I am really looking forward to that again because I like to be more solo when it comes to school. Can I work in groups? Sure! Do I like to? Not really. How often in school, be it high school or college (since I know not everyone has taken college classes yet) have you had a group of students that was pleasant with everyone in the group? I was recently in a group of students working on writing a 3 page narrative together. At first, I thought our group was great. We all made it to the study sessions and put ideas on paper and such. Then after the first 2 meetings, one of them stopped showing up.
We talked to the teacher and she said that me and the other gal should just do the paper between the two of us and the other gal would have to do her own version. Well, then I emailed my version to the gal still remaining with me in the group. She tried to open it, but couldn't. She emailed back saying she has had a rough weekend, that she couldn't open the document, and that she felt maybe we should just turn in our own versions. I said "sure, whatever, no problem." Point is, with that experience I don't perticularly care for being grouped up. What was the point of me getting together with them on my off time when I ended up turning in my own version anyway? Basically a waste of time I think. Oh well!
So today was a pretty good day. The worst part is always how tired I feel most of the time. I'm sure as things in life improve, and I give all my worries, cares, and stresses to God, that not only will life start to take a turn for the better, I'm certain I will have more strength all around. To show just how tired I felt, we were watching buffy through netflix live stream. I was laying on the couch and I noticed after a while of laying there that my eyes kept drooping. I know I dozed off a few times. I almost wished that I would crash entirely and not wake up for a few hours. But, my usual routine is to doze off slightly, but to keep fighting it, resulting in me never really falling asleep for long. Either I wake myself up, or Erin says something and I'm awake again.
Roughly around 5:30, Erin was on World of Warcraftand I decided to get on too. Currently my night elf priest is level 11. I had just hit level 11 yesterday before signing off for the night. It happened a lot quicker than I thought it would, but that was because I was working on a quest in this cave swarming with bad creatures. I spent probably about an hour, maybe slightly more, in the cave trying to find the last part of this quest. Everywhere I turned, there were more guys I had to fight my way through. So, my experience went up quickly, and ended up with me being right at the edge of becoming level 11. On Erin's advise, I bought some new clothing for my character increasing the stats. Then I sold my old clothes, and ran to the priest trainer. I had a few new spells and tricks I was able to learn, including the really awesome ability to resurect the dead. I love that ability. When you go into a huge fight with a group, with me as the priest healing and trying to keep people alive, occasionally someone will die. It could be that I couldn't heal them fast enough.
That could be because too many things were attacking them at once, and it takes a few seconds for my healing spells to cast. If it doesn't cast before they run out of health, unfortunately they die. The positive side of that is, now I have this spell and can bring someone back to life if they are killed. This mainly works if they have not left their body yet, I believe. If they have released their spirit then I don't think I can res them.
So, yes we have been playing World of Warcraft daily. The difference between playing today, and playing back in my last life (first marriage), you can't let world of warcraft become your life. It is an awesome game. I will give it that. Is it fun to play? Heck yeah! Is it addicting though? Yes. It can be very addicting if you let it. I think the way Erin and I are on it is very safe because yes we might be on it for an hour or 2, or whatever, through out the day. But after a little while, we each randomly will get off and focus on other things. Say we have a netflix movie on the tv, after we level up or whatever on wow, at least with me personally, I set a goal for myself. Like, last night I wanted to hit level 11. I hit level 10 quick because I was so close. Then once I hit 11 I was like "cool." And logged off. It takes a lot to level up the higher you go, so if you can go a single level then you are doing good. :)
So today Erin made chocolate chip cookies. If you are new here, and do not know me personally, please check out the blogs that I'm following. One is one of my best friends, Melissa from Florida. The other is my wife Erin. Erin is going to school to become a trained chef, and has done a lot towards it already. On her blog she has posted pictures of things that she has done, both unofficial stuff, as well as some that were paid jobs as well.
In closing, the lesson for today will be moderation. They say "Moderation is key." They aren't lying! This goes for everything. It could be eating very fattening, yummy treats. If you go hog wild with them, then you will feel the results of all that going through your body. Same goes for things like role playing computer games. World of Warcraft for instance. It is a great game, and should be a "part" of life. Not life it self. This goes for lots of games out there. Play them, enjoy them. It is important to enjoy the little things in life. Just don't let them become who you are! That is all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed, and perhaps got something out of what I have written for you here. I will write more for you tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Day 14
Good evening, and welcome to day 14. I have officially completed two weeks of my 365 day quest. Today, Lex's soccer practice went pretty well. I didn't do the main coaching. I could tell that their coach was hesitant to say "Hey man! Their all yours!" I wish. I had a few exercises for them, but decided to just help along side of her. That worked out pretty well. With us both there, I do believe the girls learned something. First she had the girls partner up and pass the ball back and forth.
She kept telling the girls "Make sure you kick with the inside of your foot." After a little while of passing back and forth, I stood beside the coach and asked her why exactly they should only kick with the inside of their foot. She said "That's what we were told, to have them kick with the inside of their foot." I was like "ok, well that is still correct, there are actually two 'right' ways to kick. With the inside of your foot, and with your laces."
Ally kept doing hand stands while she waited a few seconds for her partner to pass back. I hollered out "Lex, what sport are we playing?" She was like "Soccer?" I was like "Yup! So why are we practicing our gymnastics here?" She was like "I was just practicing!" I was like "But this is SOCCER practice. Not gymnastics." To try to get the point across to Lex, I tried something. Lex's partner had to run to the restroom, so I filled in for her. Every time Lex tried to do a hand stand right after she kicked me the ball, I kicked it back at her pretty quickly. One time it hit her in the hand on the ground. The other time she couldn't stand up in time to stop it. It went right past her. When it went past her, one of her team mates that was on my side turned to me and laughed, saying "thats funny. She should stop doing those huh?" I was like "That's why I am trying to kick it back at her while she is doing a hand stand, teach her that she will not be able to see the ball."
So next came two lines, dribbling to the goal passing back and forth, and then one of them shooting it at the goal. At first, they kept passing it behind their team mate, and they would have to stop and come back to get it. The coach called the team back to the center line and talked to them for a second. Before she resumed the drill, I stepped in and used Lex as an example. I was like "ladies, when you pass to your team mate, pass ahead of them. That way they run to catch up to the ball. Lex run that way." As lex took off, I kicked the ball about ten feet ahead of her, and she sprinted to it, just like I was wanting her to do. Then the coach resumed the drill, and now the girls did a really good job at passing. Occasionally they passed behind them, but most of them passed ahead just like I had shown them.
Then, noticing that a lot of the girls kept trying to take the ball all the way into the goalie before shooting, I stood on the outer box and said "Ladies, by the time you get to the line I am standing on, shoot!" The coach looked at me and was like "They can take it in the box though." I was like "that's true, they can. The point is this. The closer they get to the goal, the more likely the goalie will stop them. If they prepare to shoot when they hit this line, it is harder for the goalie to stop it."
So, they started doing that. Not only that, they were kicking harder. The coach began randomly chatting with me about last year with the team and stuff like that. I think that was a good sign. I'm glad she seems open to letting me help her teach the girls. I'm hoping she will open up more and let me teach the girls some drills of my own that I learned as a player when I was younger. I'm sure she will. This is all new for me, as a coach I mean. I have never coached, but now I actually like the idea. Who knows? Maybe I will become a coach on a regular basis. The great thing is this. When Lex and I were driving back home, I commented to her that I think she and her team mates learned some good stuff today and made good progress. I felt really good about how it went with me assisting the regular coach.
So in closing, I will say this. I believe I might be tapping into yet another thing that can and probably will be a positive change in me. If you asked me a year ago I would have told you there would be no way that I would ever be a coach. Now, I have surprised even my self. So I think Erin and I will probably go to the YWCA and I will volunteer myself as a coach. At least for next season since this one has started. We will see what happens. I will keep you all updated. I will write more for you all tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
She kept telling the girls "Make sure you kick with the inside of your foot." After a little while of passing back and forth, I stood beside the coach and asked her why exactly they should only kick with the inside of their foot. She said "That's what we were told, to have them kick with the inside of their foot." I was like "ok, well that is still correct, there are actually two 'right' ways to kick. With the inside of your foot, and with your laces."
Ally kept doing hand stands while she waited a few seconds for her partner to pass back. I hollered out "Lex, what sport are we playing?" She was like "Soccer?" I was like "Yup! So why are we practicing our gymnastics here?" She was like "I was just practicing!" I was like "But this is SOCCER practice. Not gymnastics." To try to get the point across to Lex, I tried something. Lex's partner had to run to the restroom, so I filled in for her. Every time Lex tried to do a hand stand right after she kicked me the ball, I kicked it back at her pretty quickly. One time it hit her in the hand on the ground. The other time she couldn't stand up in time to stop it. It went right past her. When it went past her, one of her team mates that was on my side turned to me and laughed, saying "thats funny. She should stop doing those huh?" I was like "That's why I am trying to kick it back at her while she is doing a hand stand, teach her that she will not be able to see the ball."
So next came two lines, dribbling to the goal passing back and forth, and then one of them shooting it at the goal. At first, they kept passing it behind their team mate, and they would have to stop and come back to get it. The coach called the team back to the center line and talked to them for a second. Before she resumed the drill, I stepped in and used Lex as an example. I was like "ladies, when you pass to your team mate, pass ahead of them. That way they run to catch up to the ball. Lex run that way." As lex took off, I kicked the ball about ten feet ahead of her, and she sprinted to it, just like I was wanting her to do. Then the coach resumed the drill, and now the girls did a really good job at passing. Occasionally they passed behind them, but most of them passed ahead just like I had shown them.
Then, noticing that a lot of the girls kept trying to take the ball all the way into the goalie before shooting, I stood on the outer box and said "Ladies, by the time you get to the line I am standing on, shoot!" The coach looked at me and was like "They can take it in the box though." I was like "that's true, they can. The point is this. The closer they get to the goal, the more likely the goalie will stop them. If they prepare to shoot when they hit this line, it is harder for the goalie to stop it."
So, they started doing that. Not only that, they were kicking harder. The coach began randomly chatting with me about last year with the team and stuff like that. I think that was a good sign. I'm glad she seems open to letting me help her teach the girls. I'm hoping she will open up more and let me teach the girls some drills of my own that I learned as a player when I was younger. I'm sure she will. This is all new for me, as a coach I mean. I have never coached, but now I actually like the idea. Who knows? Maybe I will become a coach on a regular basis. The great thing is this. When Lex and I were driving back home, I commented to her that I think she and her team mates learned some good stuff today and made good progress. I felt really good about how it went with me assisting the regular coach.
So in closing, I will say this. I believe I might be tapping into yet another thing that can and probably will be a positive change in me. If you asked me a year ago I would have told you there would be no way that I would ever be a coach. Now, I have surprised even my self. So I think Erin and I will probably go to the YWCA and I will volunteer myself as a coach. At least for next season since this one has started. We will see what happens. I will keep you all updated. I will write more for you all tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
Monday, April 19, 2010
Day 13
Good evening everybody. Today went pretty well. It was interesting, as most days are though. This morning I had my alarm set so that I could get Lex up and get her to the bus stop. I remember it going off, and I remember just laying my head down for another minute. I think what happenned was I was sure I set the snooze to go off in 15 more minutes and then next thing I knew it was 8:25 and Erin was asking me if I got Lex up. So I jumped up, turned Lex's light on. It was already light by that point and she looked up at me like "huh? what's going on?" I was like "Lex get up and get dressed quick. I will get your breakfast on the table. I overslept, so when you're ready to go I will drop you off.
So by the time I got back from dropping Lex off at school, when I got home Erin had gotten Zoe up and was getting ready for work. Zoe was scheduled to go to the new baby sitter we have for her. That is going well. The new sitter, being very much like a grandma, loves having Zoe there. She told Erin that Zoe is the most well behaved, sweetest girl that she has. I think she said a few other complimenting words but I don't remember exactly what Erin told me. After the melt down with the original baby sitter, it is nice to hear good things. We knew that Zoe was not a problem child, but it is still nice to hear the care giver tell you how much they really like having them there.
So tonight for dinner I made stew and 5 cheese bread. It was good. I am definitely a meat and vegi's guy. Can't get any more meat and vegi's than beef stew loaded with carrots, corn, cellery and potatos.
This afternoon, Lex had a good swim lesson. She is definitely one of, if not THE best swimmer in the class. The funny thing is, she's the most wild of the group as well. The instructor would splash the kids randomly during the lesson, and Lex would keep splashing back over and over until the instructor would say "alright lets go back to the wall and do the next exercise." I didn't say anything to her during the lesson, but mentioned to Erin through a text what she was doing. When we left, I talked to her a little bit and Erin talked to her when we got home. Basically what we told her was that although it is fun to splash, that when she is at a lesson, she needs to pay attention 100%. I know she is young and it is so hard to stay focused and so easy to play around.
So to close this out, last topic of discussion is health care. Are you a supporter of there being a universal health care program? Do you have health care currently? I have been a supporter of Obama since day 1. I know there are people out there, some of them are friends of ours, whom think Obama is the worst. Oh well. I will not argue with you if you are one of the people who believes that. We are all entitled to our oppinion. The reason I wanted to talk about health care today is mainly because of my own health. Erin and I were insured by the state of Iowa through medicaid when I was no longer employed by schwans. We were still employed with them up until after I was with my current employer for a few months. Then we received a letter from DHS saying that Lex and Zoe are still insured, but Erin and I are not anymore because we make too much money. Too much money? I wish I felt that way too! Wouldn't we all like to feel and believe that we make too much money? Some day! Some day!
So, the important thing is that the girls are still insured. That's very important and very good. So, with Erin and I not having health care currently, that is a little stresser at least on my end. I'm sure Erin feels it too, but I don't know what she thinks about it. I had the option when I first started with my employer, to get health benefits through them but I decided not to for 2 reasons. Reason number 1: We had health insurance through the state. Reason number 2: We have enough trouble trying to pay all the bills with both our paychecks combined, and then take away a decent chunk per month to pay the premiums from my employer? So those are the reasons why I didn't go for it. So, health wise, I have been slightly concerned and wanting "to" go and get checked out extensively. When I first had my gall bladder taken out, I had the worst stomach issues. After eating, my stomach would randomly twist and turn and I would end up in the bathroom (no details needed there). Well, lately the past week or so, I am a lot more tired. I'm sure that could be nothing, but still. Lately even if I hadn't eaten anything yet, I some time feel like crap. My stomach twists and of course, back in the rest room again. It has made me wonder if maybe there isn't an underlying issue. Hopefully I am fine, and just over doing it in my head. All the same, plese keep us in your prayers just to be on the safe side. :)
It's stressful enough not being about to cover all the bills. I like to be able to pay whatever we can, even if it is not that much. As far as bills go, take the energy bill for instance. I don't know why, but that bill is our worst one. It is the bill that is so far out of control, it is not even funny. It is reassuring for us to hear that all across Iowa, there are many thousands, I don't know the exact number, but there are like 85,000 people having trouble paying their electric bill. What can we do? I have no idea.
My goal at least by the time I reach my one year mark here on this blog, I want to go completely off the grid. What I mean by "off the grid," is I want to have solar and wind power be our only source of electricity for our house. I want to get away from the electric company, who is the only one in this area I believe. It will happen. I have faith that it will. It's just like my dream of being a full time author, I know that will happen as long as I keep working on it and never give up. Hense, I am here on the blog writing every day no matter how much or how little I feel like writing. I try to write as much as I possibly can, but some days I am happy to just have a page written.
So in closing, today's lesson is this. If you think you feel like something might be wrong with you, try your hardest to get checked out by your doctor. I know it might be difficult, such as with Erin and I not having health care currently, but if you are able to then get looked at. It could be something serious and it is best to catch things near the early stages rather than when it is too late. I hope that I will not be eating my own words in the near future! Again, please pray for us as far as that goes. So there you have it. I will write more for you tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
So by the time I got back from dropping Lex off at school, when I got home Erin had gotten Zoe up and was getting ready for work. Zoe was scheduled to go to the new baby sitter we have for her. That is going well. The new sitter, being very much like a grandma, loves having Zoe there. She told Erin that Zoe is the most well behaved, sweetest girl that she has. I think she said a few other complimenting words but I don't remember exactly what Erin told me. After the melt down with the original baby sitter, it is nice to hear good things. We knew that Zoe was not a problem child, but it is still nice to hear the care giver tell you how much they really like having them there.
So tonight for dinner I made stew and 5 cheese bread. It was good. I am definitely a meat and vegi's guy. Can't get any more meat and vegi's than beef stew loaded with carrots, corn, cellery and potatos.
This afternoon, Lex had a good swim lesson. She is definitely one of, if not THE best swimmer in the class. The funny thing is, she's the most wild of the group as well. The instructor would splash the kids randomly during the lesson, and Lex would keep splashing back over and over until the instructor would say "alright lets go back to the wall and do the next exercise." I didn't say anything to her during the lesson, but mentioned to Erin through a text what she was doing. When we left, I talked to her a little bit and Erin talked to her when we got home. Basically what we told her was that although it is fun to splash, that when she is at a lesson, she needs to pay attention 100%. I know she is young and it is so hard to stay focused and so easy to play around.
So to close this out, last topic of discussion is health care. Are you a supporter of there being a universal health care program? Do you have health care currently? I have been a supporter of Obama since day 1. I know there are people out there, some of them are friends of ours, whom think Obama is the worst. Oh well. I will not argue with you if you are one of the people who believes that. We are all entitled to our oppinion. The reason I wanted to talk about health care today is mainly because of my own health. Erin and I were insured by the state of Iowa through medicaid when I was no longer employed by schwans. We were still employed with them up until after I was with my current employer for a few months. Then we received a letter from DHS saying that Lex and Zoe are still insured, but Erin and I are not anymore because we make too much money. Too much money? I wish I felt that way too! Wouldn't we all like to feel and believe that we make too much money? Some day! Some day!
So, the important thing is that the girls are still insured. That's very important and very good. So, with Erin and I not having health care currently, that is a little stresser at least on my end. I'm sure Erin feels it too, but I don't know what she thinks about it. I had the option when I first started with my employer, to get health benefits through them but I decided not to for 2 reasons. Reason number 1: We had health insurance through the state. Reason number 2: We have enough trouble trying to pay all the bills with both our paychecks combined, and then take away a decent chunk per month to pay the premiums from my employer? So those are the reasons why I didn't go for it. So, health wise, I have been slightly concerned and wanting "to" go and get checked out extensively. When I first had my gall bladder taken out, I had the worst stomach issues. After eating, my stomach would randomly twist and turn and I would end up in the bathroom (no details needed there). Well, lately the past week or so, I am a lot more tired. I'm sure that could be nothing, but still. Lately even if I hadn't eaten anything yet, I some time feel like crap. My stomach twists and of course, back in the rest room again. It has made me wonder if maybe there isn't an underlying issue. Hopefully I am fine, and just over doing it in my head. All the same, plese keep us in your prayers just to be on the safe side. :)
It's stressful enough not being about to cover all the bills. I like to be able to pay whatever we can, even if it is not that much. As far as bills go, take the energy bill for instance. I don't know why, but that bill is our worst one. It is the bill that is so far out of control, it is not even funny. It is reassuring for us to hear that all across Iowa, there are many thousands, I don't know the exact number, but there are like 85,000 people having trouble paying their electric bill. What can we do? I have no idea.
My goal at least by the time I reach my one year mark here on this blog, I want to go completely off the grid. What I mean by "off the grid," is I want to have solar and wind power be our only source of electricity for our house. I want to get away from the electric company, who is the only one in this area I believe. It will happen. I have faith that it will. It's just like my dream of being a full time author, I know that will happen as long as I keep working on it and never give up. Hense, I am here on the blog writing every day no matter how much or how little I feel like writing. I try to write as much as I possibly can, but some days I am happy to just have a page written.
So in closing, today's lesson is this. If you think you feel like something might be wrong with you, try your hardest to get checked out by your doctor. I know it might be difficult, such as with Erin and I not having health care currently, but if you are able to then get looked at. It could be something serious and it is best to catch things near the early stages rather than when it is too late. I hope that I will not be eating my own words in the near future! Again, please pray for us as far as that goes. So there you have it. I will write more for you tomorrow.
Thanks for being here.
CB
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