Weird Question

I know, I know....where have I been? In the pool, that's where and I can't bring the laptop with me! ha, ha.....I think of things to write about at the weirdest times....and so it never gets done.

So, taking a shower tonight and I am starting to use new face products...I feel like the sun is just eating away at me and I wear a TON of sun screen, surf shirts, hats......so as little sun as possible is getting to me.....and I'm looking around the shower and I have a handful of gels, scrubs (both face and body), bars of soaps.....what to do with it all? I love all of this stuff, but I RARELY use it. What do you do? Do you have a ton of this stuff in your shower? How do you choose what goes in the shower and what doesn't? Do you pick a new gel each day?

I know, this is random, but this is what goes through my head....don't worry, I have a lot of ponderings going through my little raisin of a brain, so stay tuned for more!! :-)

Neighbor Problems

Going through the mail last night and had a weird envelope that just had our house address, no name on it. No return address, no nada.

Open the letter up and it is addressed to: Dear neighbor....blah, blah, blah, you aren't supposed to have boats in the driveway, according to "the rules and regulations." and then more blah, blah, blah, you are running a business and more cars parked on the street, and blah, blah, blah, work truck and trailer parked on street. Signed, "neighbors." No name, no nada.

I showed it to my hubby and he laughed b/c we don't have a homeowners organization and we don't have rules and regulations. So, not sure where the letter writer is getting this from. Wouldn't it have been more pro-active to approach us? The most cars out front at a time is three b/c there isn't a lot of overlap of parents and lessons.

I emailed all my swim parents and told them to make sure they watch their parking, they can even double park behind me. We moved the boat to the side yard and the other truck is parked in the drive. We will do our best, but we live here so we want to keep the peace. I daresay when anyone on our street has company, there is limited parking on the street. We are the only boat on the block, but not in the neighborhood.

Ultimately, if you have a problem with someone, just go to them. It was pretty spineless of them to write an anonymous letter, especially one with false information!

Swimming

On Monday I started my summer swim schedule. I had over 25 new students. The first day is more for the parents b/c I have to explain all the paperwork and procedures with ISR lessons. Then I get in the pool a few minutes with the students and then hop out of the pool and begin the same routine with the next set of parents. Makes for a tiring day, not to mention the fact that I'm swimming at two different pools, in addition to my own pool.

Tuesday was much smoother and we are well on our way! I already have students almost floating.....it is so very exciting.

I have some interesting parents and students. I have to say my most challenging set of students is a family of three boys, ages 8 mo - 5 yrs. They only speak Spanish. If you know me, I speak very little and I have a very nice Texas twang to it! So, here I am with my limited Spanish trying to encourage them to "float like a starfish" and lots of buenos! It is stressful. I pulled "alto" out of somewhere today (means stop) b/c the oldest was grabbing and holding onto my swim shirt and wouldn't let go.

Regardless, it is tiring, but very rewarding. It is going to be a fun filled, exciting summer!

The Sack Lunches

I thank all the veterans and soldiers that keep our country safe and lay their lives on the line so that we may live the life we do. Enjoy the story!

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight... 'I'm glad I have a good book to read Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.

'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time..

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base '

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. This is your thanks.'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me.. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got t o my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand..'

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached o ut his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane..Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word.Another twenty-five dollars! Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.

It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it..'

News Coverage

KSAT came out to the house on Thursday and taped a lesson and did interviews. I think that it went GREAT. I was the intro story on the 10 p.m. news AND they aired it again at NOON!!! Yippee!!!! Here's the link to the story. Enjoy!!!

One thing I'll miss.....

....not going to miss a lot from this past year...more to come as time passes.....but there is one sight that I will miss if only for the chuckles at 7:25 in the morning.....there is a crossing guard that is an elderly lady. She is almost scary; won't wave, doesn't smile. But, she does calistenics on the side of the road, dances by herself and it is HILARIOUS.....she needs to work on her crossing guard skills b/c she'll see kids a block away and make you stop for them and get the kids to run across. Wouldn't it be safer just to wait 'til they get to the corner???? I'm afraid they will trip, fall and hurt themselves. Alas, I'm just a driver noticing things in the 'hood.

Potty training woes....

Is it really THIS hard to go potty? She's PERFECT at the sitter.....doesn't even wet during nap time.....unfortunately, she WILL NOT poop on the potty. Not scared, just won't. Will NOT tell you when she has to go (just right afterwards)! Doesn't matter if she's in panties or diapers....poops.....do you know how GROSS this is???? I do and it is something I can very well do without in my life!!!!

I bought stamps and she gets one stamp for pee, two for poop.....we only earn one at a time. She'll tell you how many she can earn, just won't do it.

Cookies at the sitter if she poops on the potty....no cookies and is mad at sitter, "going to tell my mommy" b/c sitter won't give her any cookies!!! OMG, REALLY???

Any, any, any words of advice would help and be appreciated. I'm all about bribing, but just don't know what the motivator will be. We were at a neighbor's house playing yesterday and she pooped in her panties....swooped her out the door, went home, bathed and straight to bed. Oh, my, how unhappy she was....but it won't fix the problem.

Please help!

the longest week EVER

....I don't think that time could pass any slower than it is this week. I've finished all my testing, have to finish writing one report......99% of my room is packed, will take the rest home tomorrow.......sit at my computer all day trying to find things to do......VERY excited about next week b/c I'll be swimming FOREVER every day!!! Still trying to work out some times for KENS to do their interview; it won't be until next week. Still crunching numbers in my little brain to make this "swim thing" work! I feel good about it and I think that's the direction we are heading. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. with it RUNNING through my head!!! Talk about torture!

Anyway, I appreciate all the positive vibes and prayers you are all sending me! :-)

Prayer Request

I don't ask for help very often (which can be both good and bad), but I'm at a cross-roads in my career and need some prayers to help me hear what path God wants me to take....here's the deal, in a nut shell: I've resigned from my current position, looking for another teaching position; I have a FULL, FULL book of swimming this summer, in fact, had to take my name off of the instructor locator page b/c I'm too full!!! KENS 5 (local news station) wants to do a full blown piece on me (YEAH!).....so, do I take the step off of the cliff and look for a semi-permanant pool in SA to swim all year/into the fall, or do I keep on looking for a teaching position and swim only in the evenings and the summer......these are my options that I am praying about and need your prayers, too.

Thanks a bunch and I hope everyone has an OUTSTANDING day/week!! :-)