My weekend started off with Wine Tasting which was fun. It was nice to visit with friends from church and enjoy small tastes of many different types of wine. The hostess liked my Merlot so much I think she actually drank about 3/4 of the bottle! Good thing she wasn't driving! :)
On Saturday we went to a party for foreign exchange students. We had lots of fun and Eline met a few new friends, a girl and a guy from Germany and another girl from the Ukraine (who is originally from Russia). We had a chance to taste food from all the countries represented and Eline and I made Speculaas, which are Dutch Spice Cookies, which are traditionally made for Dec. 6th (St. Nicholas Day). Later we went to a Social Work Club social, which was held at one of the member's barn. It was snowing and cold, so we enjoyed some chili (Eline's first opportunity to taste chili, which she really liked), and headed home. We rented a couple of movies, put on our pajamas and the three of us just chilled and watched a movie, before turning in for the night.
The other exciting thing happened was that Chelsea had to bring home a baby doll on Thursday that actually cries and that you actually have to feed and change diapers. It was fun until Saturday night when Chelsea came to my room crying because the baby kept waking up. That baby woke up every 45-60 minutes that night to eat. Now, I'm no expert but I haven't met a baby that could eat that much! Then on Sunday night the baby couldn't be soothed, no matter what she did. Chelsea came crying again around 2:30 in the morning, but I sent her away because there was nothing I could do. On Saturday night I did feed the baby four times, but I wasn't about to sit up all night Sunday rocking a doll, especially since it was her project, not mine. Needless to say, both of us where happy to see Sheldon (Chelsea's name choice for the doll) go back to school! Chelsea told me yesterday that she gets the goal of the project and she definitely doesn't want to have kids. I just told her to hold that thought for about 10 more years!
Last night we went to Chili's for dinner to celebrate Chelsea's 15th birthday which is actually today. Unfortunately Chili's is about the only chain restaurant that doesn't sing and make fools of people. They just give you a free dessert. So that's a heads up for those of you who want to go out for your b-day but don't want to be embarrassed!
Around 8:30 we went to "flock" my friend Michelle's house. It is her birthday this week, and she has been cancer free for a year, so pink was our theme. We went with another friend, Teri, and put flamingos and pink balloons in her yard, and then we used pink streamers to "TP" her trees. Chelsea rang the doorbell and then we all took off running. Later we realized that was pretty silly because we left a sign near her front door which had our names on it! I did discover, however, that Chelsea is very knowledgeable about how to "TP" trees. Hmm, I might need to ask her where she learned that skill! :) By the way, Michelle, if you are reading this, the whole thing was Teri's idea!!!
Thanks for the well wishes for my health issues. I went to have my ultrasound today, and after two techs tried to find the spots on my liver they finally gave up. I was happy to think that maybe they'd just disappeared until they told me that sometimes things don't show up on ultrasound that do show up on CT scans. This probably means I'll have to have another CT scan, which sucks because I hate that barium liquid I have to drink. It makes me sick just to think about it. I'll call the Dr. on Thursday to get the results of my ultrasound (which I already know) and see where we go from there.
Tonight is Chelsea's Soccer Banquet for High School soccer so that should be fun. She just started indoor soccer again, which is nice to watch in the winter because there is no rain or snow (like there was this past Saturday for her outdoor game!). Unfortunately her games are Monday afternoons and I work so won't be able to attend any of them. Oh well, she doesn't seem to care, she just wants to play!
Well, I need to head off to class. Bye for now! Mary
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Starbucks!
They opened a new Starbucks across from my school, so since I was going in early today I thought I'd stop by. Well I went through the drive thru and ordered my coffee. There were two vehicles ahead of me. Finally, after 10 minutes, I got up to the window. The girl at the window said "I'm sorry for the short wait." As she handed me my coffee I told her the wait was actually 10 minutes. She then yelled at me and said "I'm the only one working the drive thru today!" She then proceeded to slam the window closed. Hmm. Someone's having a bad day! Needless to say, I'll be saving myself some money by not bothering to go back there! This is only the second time I've had poor service from a Starbucks. The previous time worked out well for me though so I wasn't upset. About two years ago Chelsea and I were heading to visit family and we always stop at the Starbucks in Missoula, MT. It took about 5 minutes to get our order, and the girl in the window offered us pastries, as well as certificates for free drinks on our next visit. Now that is customer service!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Medical Stuff
Saturday was an interesting day. I went to Eline's soccer game and she tripped and then was kicked in the head. When she finally got up, with help from the coach and another player she was obviously dizzy and out of it. Needless to say I needed to rush her to the emergency room. After a CT scan the Dr. determined she didn't have a concussion which was great, but I think Eline was a little disappointed because telling your friends you have a concussion is more exciting than just telling them you have a bump on your head and the doctor just gave you Tylenol for the pain! :)
Well, today I finally had a follow-up with my gastroenterologist. This was to check up on the spot on my liver and also to look at the pain I've been having in my side for over a year. I thought the pain would be taken care of by the surgery I had in August to remove scar tissue. Although plenty of scar tissue was removed I still have the pain. So, I go to see the Dr. today and he tells me that I have not just one, but two spots on my liver. The one on the left is about 2 inches in diameter and the one on the right is about 1 inch in diameter. I am going Friday for an ultrasound to see if they've changed since the last CT in June. As for the pain, if the liver isn't the cause then I will have to have a colonoscopy. I really have no idea what the plan is for my liver. The good news was that my blood pressure was lower even than normal and my resting heart rate was 52. So at least my circulatory system is working well!
Oh well, guess we'll see sometime next week what they are going to do. As long as I don't miss any school I'm okay with whatever needs to be done.
Well, today I finally had a follow-up with my gastroenterologist. This was to check up on the spot on my liver and also to look at the pain I've been having in my side for over a year. I thought the pain would be taken care of by the surgery I had in August to remove scar tissue. Although plenty of scar tissue was removed I still have the pain. So, I go to see the Dr. today and he tells me that I have not just one, but two spots on my liver. The one on the left is about 2 inches in diameter and the one on the right is about 1 inch in diameter. I am going Friday for an ultrasound to see if they've changed since the last CT in June. As for the pain, if the liver isn't the cause then I will have to have a colonoscopy. I really have no idea what the plan is for my liver. The good news was that my blood pressure was lower even than normal and my resting heart rate was 52. So at least my circulatory system is working well!
Oh well, guess we'll see sometime next week what they are going to do. As long as I don't miss any school I'm okay with whatever needs to be done.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Good Day
Today I found out I got an "A" on two tests. Yay for me! And then I came home and both my girls had cleaned their rooms (which I asked them to do) and Chelsea had cleaned the girls' bathroom and Eline had dusted and vacuumed the living room (which I didn't ask them to do). What a nice surprise to end a very long day! So I have a very tough test tomorrow and need to get busy studying, after Boston Legal, of course!
Teenagers!
AARRGGHH! So Eline's curfew is 9:30 on school nights. She was late about a month ago and I had a talk with her. She was late again last night. She called at 9:35 to tell me she was going to be late, although by then I'd already figured that out. She got home around 9:50. She does depend on rides from friends but I've told her several times to call me if she needs a ride, but she needs to call by 9:15 if she is going to be late. Basically it takes around 15 minutes to get here from her most of her friend's houses so by 9:15, if she isn't already on her way home, she is going to be late.
So this morning I explained again what I expected and then told her that her curfew is now 9:00. I'll still go and pick her up if she can't find a ride, or if I know I won't be able to pick her up she'll just have to stay home. Needless to say she thinks I'm being unfair and went to her room crying. My biggest problem is that if I let her get away with coming in at 9:50, how long will it be before she starts coming in at 10:00 or later? Plus I have another teenager in the house who is watching all of this very closely.
I also announced that the girls would have to start doing their own laundry because I just don't have time to do it. Yes, I know, they probably should be doing it themselves anyway, but laundry is one chore, along with dishes, that I don't mind doing. In fact, I actually prefer them over any other type of household chore. I just don't have enough time to do the laundry for both of them, especially Chelsea, who sees to go through clothes like crazy! So needless to say, that didn't make either one of them happy. I suggested that they take turns, one do both girls clothes one week, and the other do it the next week, and that didn't go over too well either. Oh well, it's up to them to work out.
So enough of being the mean, evil mom today. Now I need to get a paper finished.
So this morning I explained again what I expected and then told her that her curfew is now 9:00. I'll still go and pick her up if she can't find a ride, or if I know I won't be able to pick her up she'll just have to stay home. Needless to say she thinks I'm being unfair and went to her room crying. My biggest problem is that if I let her get away with coming in at 9:50, how long will it be before she starts coming in at 10:00 or later? Plus I have another teenager in the house who is watching all of this very closely.
I also announced that the girls would have to start doing their own laundry because I just don't have time to do it. Yes, I know, they probably should be doing it themselves anyway, but laundry is one chore, along with dishes, that I don't mind doing. In fact, I actually prefer them over any other type of household chore. I just don't have enough time to do the laundry for both of them, especially Chelsea, who sees to go through clothes like crazy! So needless to say, that didn't make either one of them happy. I suggested that they take turns, one do both girls clothes one week, and the other do it the next week, and that didn't go over too well either. Oh well, it's up to them to work out.
So enough of being the mean, evil mom today. Now I need to get a paper finished.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Sunday again
Looks like my weeks fly by! Well, soccer is finally over, at least for high school. Chelsea is in the process of making some hard choices about soccer which will affect her future. One of her HS coaches plans on starting a competition team and many of the girls on her HS team will be playing, and Chelsea's been invited to play also. She is already on an AYSO All-Star team (basically a comp team that plays by AYSO rules). Since this team follows many rules that regular competition teams don't the level of play is a little below that of comp teams. However, her AYSO team has been selected to play in the National Games in Hawaii in July 2008. Although she wants to do both, I don't have the time or money to pay for it all, so I've told her she needs to choose. Personally I'd like to see her stay with her All-Star team because she's played with them for 2 years, the coaches are great, the parents of the girls are great, and I love the AYSO philosophy which emphasizes fair play, positive coaching, letting everyone play equally, etc. Of course, the philosophy of a comp team is to win, win, win.
If I wanted Chelsea to get a soccer scholarship the choice would be easy because recruiters attend competition tournaments regularly. Personally I'd rather her not play on a college team. I know some college athletes and sports really takes a lot of their time and affects their academics. Plus, other than the Olympics, there is really nowhere to go with women's soccer after college, so concentrating on academics is more important. She can always play on a recreation league if she really wants to.
But, I am letting her choose and then she has to live with her decision. There will be no turning back once the choice is made.
Now for Eline's news. She has had her cell phone taken away for the second time. If it happens again she will be suspended from school and will most likely not be allowed to return. Since she is a foreign exchange student the school doesn't get any money for her, so they have no reason to deal with discipline issues with her. I told her I'd prefer she leave her cell phone at home, but she has decided to to leave it in her locker. I told her she could make that decision, but we talked long and hard about the consequences of getting in trouble again. I am also going to let her parents know. She takes it out to look at the time, so I am going to have her get a cheap watch so she will know the time. She is a good kid but she really doesn't comprehend how we can have such a "stupid" rule. I've explained that the teacher has no way of knowing if she is looking at the time or at a text message, either one being distracting to the teaching environment. She still thinks its stupid, but there you have it.
We went to SLC yesterday and found a Dutch store which sells all kinds of Dutch food and other products. The owner is, of course, Dutch so Eline enjoyed talking to him for a little. She especially enjoyed being able to buy things that reminded her of home. I bought some frozen sausages and some mix to make crepes because she was really trying to decide how to spend her money and even though she wanted them she decided not to get them. She was really happy and appreciative when we got home and she saw what I'd purchased.
We also went clothes shopping. Eline needed some warm clothes and has recently discovered the American art of sitting around in sweats. I personally rarely wear sweats, but I know lots of people do wear them, and I am trying to discourage her from wearing them to the store or to school. I did tell her I won't take her to the store with me if she's wearing sweat pants or pajama pants. Chelsea doesn't wear them out of the house either. I guess it's really not so bad if you take some time to do your hair and clean up, but I just see too many women and teenagers who literally look like they just got out of bed, didn't bother to comb their hair or brush their teeth, and decide to go shopping. Not in my house! LOL! Chelsea bought herself a new hoodie and some new shoes so she was happy also.
Chelsea is looking to earn some money for her trip to California with her HS band. She is going to Disneyland and Sea World. I am making her earn some of the money to pay for the trip. And I won't let her sell overpriced cookie dough or wrapping paper. She has created a flyer offering to babysit, do yard work, pet sit, bake (she's a good baker) or other odd jobs. She also collects aluminum cans. If you or anyone you know needs some work done, let me know.
Well, it's time to get the girls up for church so I'd better go. It takes a while to get these two moving in the mornings!
If I wanted Chelsea to get a soccer scholarship the choice would be easy because recruiters attend competition tournaments regularly. Personally I'd rather her not play on a college team. I know some college athletes and sports really takes a lot of their time and affects their academics. Plus, other than the Olympics, there is really nowhere to go with women's soccer after college, so concentrating on academics is more important. She can always play on a recreation league if she really wants to.
But, I am letting her choose and then she has to live with her decision. There will be no turning back once the choice is made.
Now for Eline's news. She has had her cell phone taken away for the second time. If it happens again she will be suspended from school and will most likely not be allowed to return. Since she is a foreign exchange student the school doesn't get any money for her, so they have no reason to deal with discipline issues with her. I told her I'd prefer she leave her cell phone at home, but she has decided to to leave it in her locker. I told her she could make that decision, but we talked long and hard about the consequences of getting in trouble again. I am also going to let her parents know. She takes it out to look at the time, so I am going to have her get a cheap watch so she will know the time. She is a good kid but she really doesn't comprehend how we can have such a "stupid" rule. I've explained that the teacher has no way of knowing if she is looking at the time or at a text message, either one being distracting to the teaching environment. She still thinks its stupid, but there you have it.
We went to SLC yesterday and found a Dutch store which sells all kinds of Dutch food and other products. The owner is, of course, Dutch so Eline enjoyed talking to him for a little. She especially enjoyed being able to buy things that reminded her of home. I bought some frozen sausages and some mix to make crepes because she was really trying to decide how to spend her money and even though she wanted them she decided not to get them. She was really happy and appreciative when we got home and she saw what I'd purchased.
We also went clothes shopping. Eline needed some warm clothes and has recently discovered the American art of sitting around in sweats. I personally rarely wear sweats, but I know lots of people do wear them, and I am trying to discourage her from wearing them to the store or to school. I did tell her I won't take her to the store with me if she's wearing sweat pants or pajama pants. Chelsea doesn't wear them out of the house either. I guess it's really not so bad if you take some time to do your hair and clean up, but I just see too many women and teenagers who literally look like they just got out of bed, didn't bother to comb their hair or brush their teeth, and decide to go shopping. Not in my house! LOL! Chelsea bought herself a new hoodie and some new shoes so she was happy also.
Chelsea is looking to earn some money for her trip to California with her HS band. She is going to Disneyland and Sea World. I am making her earn some of the money to pay for the trip. And I won't let her sell overpriced cookie dough or wrapping paper. She has created a flyer offering to babysit, do yard work, pet sit, bake (she's a good baker) or other odd jobs. She also collects aluminum cans. If you or anyone you know needs some work done, let me know.
Well, it's time to get the girls up for church so I'd better go. It takes a while to get these two moving in the mornings!
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