Twenty Fourteen

As 2013 fades into 2014 I have been mulling over how to make changes in my life that will result in a happier, less stressed me.   I've narrowed it down to a simple formula.

(Crafty Time + Exercise Time) = Happier Me.

Happier Me = Happier Family.

Seems simple enough, doesn't it?

The formula will require some work, however.  This work hinges on one little word. 

BALANCE.  My word for 2014.

Balance for me can only be achieved by setting a New Year's Resolution and sticking to it.

"Learn to say NO."  

Selfish?  Yes.
Necessary?  I think so.

I spent a huge chunk of 2013 both volunteering for and accepting projects/assignments/responsibilities that resulted in major time commitments. 

Major commitments take time away from my daily walks. 
Major commitments take away creative time. 
Too many major commitments make me cranky.
Very cranky.
Cranky is not a positive thing.
A Cranky Me is not Happy Me.

I do not have to say YES to every project.  I have the right to be choosy. 

Every crafty project is not my responsibility.  
Every school project is not my responsibility.  
Every photography project is not my responsibility.
The polarity of the world will not reverse if I occasionally say no.    

2014.  I will set aside time for walking and exercising because a FIT ME is a HAPPIER ME.

2014.  I will set aside time for JulieWorld because a CREATIVE ME is a HAPPIER ME.

2014 is all about BALANCE.

Christmas Morning Favorites

After Christmas morning was all said and done it became clear that my kids would have been happy with just one gift each.  For Jay it was this magnesium fire starter.  Once a pyro, always a pyro.

Meg's favorite was a toy she had when she was younger that had long since gone the way of the donation pile.  (A fact that she's never forgiven me for.)  I surprised her with a replacement and she hasn't put it down since.

For those wondering, it's a Hoberman Sphere and it does "amazing" things.

All that fretting on my part and I could have made them both happy with fire and spheres.  If only I'd known....

Ack!!!

I'm usually ready for Christmas weeks before the big day but somehow I am struggling this year to get it all done.  Between working and all of my volunteer hours at the school along with all of the other things I offer to do for friends/school/cheer, I am exhausted and so not ready.  I keep asking myself "How can that be?" knowing that I did 90% of my shopping online.  Oh well, it is what it is.

Today is Meg's last day of school so I spent the morning wrapping her gifts.  I plan to have her help me wrap the other ones on Monday.  My list for today is full but I wanted to share a few fun photos with you.

Meg pleaded for an Elf on the Shelf this year.  Yes, she knows "the secret" but she thought it would give her a bit of the magic of the season back for her.  I surprised her with an elf on December 2nd, her first day back from the Thanksgiving/Cheer weekend.

Every day after school she walks in the door and immediately sets about to discover what sort of mischief Mr. Elf has been up to while she was gone.  Here are just a few examples of what she's found...

I must admit that having Mr. Elf around has been a lot of fun.  I have no doubt that we'll see more of his mischievous adventures before December 25th arrives.

We Are the Champions!

I tuned in to the game as soon as I got home from work.  It was the start of the third quarter.  The score was Hoffman 8, Jensen Beach 6.  Within minutes both teams scored again making it 14-14.  It wasn't long however before Jensen Beach quickly pulled away.

  Final Score  

Jensen Beach 36, Hoffman 14

The Jensen Beach Falcons 

now hold the 

Pop Warner National Title 

for the 

Junior Midget Division II.  

They truly deserve it.

We are so proud of you!

A Big Happy Birthday...

to my nephew Clay who turns 16 today.  I won't embarrass him with a photo but wanted him to know that his Aunt Julie is wishing him a wonderful day!!

I'm working tomorrow so will miss most of the upcoming Super Bowl.  (Really sad, darnit.)  Game time is at 1:15 EST.  I won't be home until at least 2:15 but will gladly accept text updates should any of you be watching.  *wink*

We're Going to the Super Bowl!!!

The Pop Warner Super Bowl, that is.  Yes, our little Jensen Beach football team, the one Meg has cheered for all season long, won their semi-final game this afternoon in Orlando against the Gilroy Browns of California.  Final score - Falcons 36.  Browns 0.  Through the wonders of streaming technology, I was able to watch the game on ESPN3.com.  (Can I just mention how cool this was? !!) The broadcast commentators had nothing short of rave reactions as to the speed and depth of our little team.  We have a few players that will undoubtedly go far in the sport, made more special due to the fact that everyone must maintain their grades to play in the league.

I snapped a few stills from my Iphone while watching the game....

And yes, he slipped through and scored on this play as well.





The Final Stats....

Impressive, aren't they?  As you can see, neither team did any passing.  The Falcons had no need and the Browns had no chance.  

We are scheduled to play the Hoffman East Redhawks of Illlinois in the 57th Pop Warner Super Bowl Game this Friday for the title of The Best Jr. Midget Division II team in the nation. Game time is 1:30 EST and can be viewed via live streaming on ESPN3.com.

GO FALCONS!!!

Proud Mommy Moment

While in Orlando last weekend Meg and I had the opportunity to meet up with Jay and Colleen.  They've recently moved to a new area of town and it couldn't be a more perfect fit for them....close to shopping, restaurants, bars, parks, etc., all within walking distance.  I'm so very happy for them and can't wait to visit again.

And speaking of happy!  Their RN licenses were waiting in the mailbox when we returned from lunch/shopping.  

They've both worked very hard and we are so proud.  Colleen was just promoted to RN at a clinic where she was already employed while Jay has two interviews scheduled for next week with two local hospitals. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

And now for the Christmas card photo.....

I am so lucky to be their mom.  LOVE YOU!

Regional Cheer Competition

We are back from a very fun but absolutely exhausting cheer weekend.  You may remember that Meg's squad won their district competition in October, allowing them to compete in the Pop Warner Southeast Conference Regional Cheer Competition in Orlando.  All Junior Midget squads (12-14 year olds) performed yesterday. The competition started at 8:00 AM with a different squad brought out ever 4 minutes....for 5 hours.   (Yes, five hours.)  Our girls performed at 9:04.

The district cheer squads are placed into divisions based on team size (small, medium and large) as well as skill level (Level 1-4 with 4 being advanced acrobatics and skills).   With 17 members, Meg's squad is classified as Medium with a Skill Level of 2.  As it turned out, they were in the most competitive division, with 16 teams total representing Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida.

We were all up at 5:30 AM to see the girls off but not without a group photo, of course.  (The two in jeans are teen coaches who help the two adult coaches with practices.)

The girls were shuttled off at 6:00 AM with most of the parents arriving at the arena by 8:00. Here is a link to yesterday's performance, courtesy of a competing team's mom mom who took the video on my IPhone while I snapped photos.

JBFC Regional Cheer Competition

Meg spends most of the routine in the back row, far right.  She is a back spot which means she is the person in the back spotting and catching the flyer when doing lifts and stunts.  At about the 2 minute mark or so she moves to the far left for the dance portion.

Only the top two squads for each division move on to Nationals.  With that slight fumble at the very end of their routine we knew deep down that they probably wouldn't advance.  (Throughout the day there were fumbles that took down entire squads making ours fairly minor but typically only flawless performances place in the top two.)  Later, however, when they set up for the awards and we saw that they had trophies for the top FIVE finishers we became hopeful that they would come home with something.

And look....a four state territory and our girls placed 5th overall in their division!!!!!  We are sooooo very proud of them!!!

Trophies are good.  :-)

And to make the weekend even sweeter, our Falcons football team WON their regional championship game, 38-8, and are off to Nationals!!!

GO FALCONS!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Warm Thanksgiving wishes to everyone!  We actually woke up to 46 degree temps which is rather chilly for our area.  I am loving it.

Meg's regional cheer competition has put a damper on Thanksgiving with family this year.  She and I will be heading to Orlando tomorrow where we'll spend some time with Jay before the weekend's cheer activities begin.   Meanwhile my family is all gathered on the opposite coast for what I'm sure will be a fabulous feast. Randy is working today :( but should be home by the time we head to our dear friends' home for dinner.  Kelley puts on a grand spread for 25-30 people every year and we are so grateful to be included.

As our contribution to dinner I made Pioneer Woman's Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms.  (I used turkey sausage.)  Because this is my first attempt I baked a few ahead of time to try.  Oh wow!  Are these ever good!!!  (ummm...these four are already gone....oops!)

I have a huge casserole dish ready to pop in the oven later this afternoon as well as a small uncooked batch that I've put in the freezer for another day.  (I used 32 oz of mushrooms so I increased the recipe proportionately.)

Not to be outdone, Meg wanted to make more of the pilgrim hats that we took last year.  Being my daughter *wink* she used the supplies on hand and also created these cute little turkeys.

Excuse the cellophane but we are bombarded with little ghost ants so we wrapped them up rather quickly.   She used mini chocolate chips for the eyes and a peanut butter chip for the beak.  Peanut butter serves as the glue along with some orange tube icing for the feathers and buckle.  Very, very cute.  And if it's like last year, they will be gone within 10 minutes of our arrival.  LOL!!!

My love to my family.  Sorry we couldn't be there but hope you have a wonderful day and holiday visit.

A Birthday Wish...

.... to my wonderful mother.  She would never forgive me if I posted a photo (or her age) but I wanted to give a shout out on my blog.

Love you Mom!!!!  I hope you have a wonderful day.

PSA

Sorry for the lapse.  It's been busy here.  Meg's football team had another round of championship ball last Saturday (they were victorious once again) followed by a cheer performance at the Pineapple Festival on Sunday.  And then there's practice three times a week....

In addition to Meg's activities, subbing has been keeping me very busy.  I think I could work everyday at just the one school if I truly desired but I'm trying to keep it to a maximum of three days a week. Yesterday I had a second grade class.  Tomorrow I have a new group of first graders followed by my first kindergarten class on Friday.  Ironically, I was never one to have much patience with small children but in my "older" years I'm finding it very rewarding and enjoy it immensely.  

And now for a Public Service Announcement....

RaceTrac Gas Stations are having a free coffee week.  It started on Sunday and ends this Saturday.  I had a coupon last week for a free hot beverage and have been a regular ever since.  I mean....look at the coffee bar!!!  Totally awesome.  And yes, I'm enjoying a sugar free vanilla latte right now.  Tastes even more delicious when it's free.

Carrying On Family Traditions

Homemade noodles, more specifically, homemade chicken and noodles, is a family favorite that's been passed down from at least as far back as my father's paternal grandmother.  What makes our family's meal somewhat unique is that the chicken and noodles must be eaten over top of a huge mound of homemade mashed potatoes.  Because the noodles are labor intensive we usually only enjoy the meal at Christmas.  

The story  ...  My father remembers his grandmother making this meal but it's uncertain as to just how far back the tradition goes.  Dad's mother, my grandmother Helen, learned the recipe from Great-Grandma Barbara because they were a favorite of Dad's father.  So of course when my dad married, it was my mother's turn to continue the tradition.  My mom recalls one particular meal years and years ago.  She tediously prepared a batch of noodles and was very proud of the results only to be disheartened when my grandfather, her father-in-law, make an off hand comment to the effect of "The noodles aren't thin enough." In my family, that is the trick....they must be rolled out paper thin and then cut by hand in a thickness scarcely wider than a mere shaving.  This is not an easy technique to master.  I spent many childhood days watching Mom tediously roll out the dough, wait hours for it to dry, roll the dough into a spiral and then painstakingly cut the noodles in slivers.  It was my job to toss the spiral noodles as she sliced them.  (Tossing dry dough was a very entertaining job!)  It was also an important job as it allowed the noodles to unravel and dry flat.  

Up until last year, the noodle making tradition stopped with my parents.  I mean, why would we kids want to slave over a table of noodles when Mom and Dad did such a great job?  *wink*   Well my very wise fifteen year old nephew, Clay, decided that it was time for someone to carry on the tradition and he was up for the challenge.   Under the tutelage of my father, he was the first person in either his generation or mine to make homemade noodles.

 

Fast forward to a couple of weekends ago when my mom and dad were visiting. We'd eaten out on both Friday and Saturday evenings so my dad, who loves to cook, asked what he could make for Sunday.  Meg, who eats nothing, piped up with "chicken and noodle soup!"  (Because she doesn't eat mashed potatoes [umm...eats nothing remember] she thinks of it as soup.  It is so not soup.) My dad could hardly refuse a request from Meg so we decided to follow Clay's lead and learn the technique.  (Sorry...no divulging the secret family recipe here but I am happy to share the technique.) 

 

The dough needs to be rolled until it is "see-through" thin, almost like parchment paper.  I didn't get any photos of that stage but do have one from Clay's batch. Notice how you can see the grain of the butcher block through the dough.

Next up comes carefully rolling the dough in a long, tight spiral followed by slicing the ends into ultra thin noodles.  

Meg, like Clay, had a difficult time cutting the noodles "Grandpa Delbert Thin" but I didn't do too bad my first time around.  I will add that Meg's comment of "This is a LOT of work for one meal!" did not go unnoticed.  It is a lot of work, but in our opinion, soooo definitely worth it.

Next up comes my childhood role...tossing the spirals to loosen for drying.  Once the noodles are dry they can be added to a pot of previously cooked chicken and broth.  (Sorry...secret family recipe. *wink*)

But I am very happy to share the end results.   Don't let the brocolli fool ya! It's merely there for presentation.  LOL!!! This meal is all about the carbs.  

Let me present to you....

Homemade Chicken and Noodles Over a Mound of Mashed Potatoes

BEST. MEAL. EVER.  

Halloween Photos

Meg chose to be a genie for Halloween this year.  She totally rocked the look.

I snapped a quick photo of her with friends (girlfriend to the left along with her older sister and her friend to the right) before they headed out for a fun night of trick or treating.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bring it On...

I'm hacking horribly from my current chest cold but by golly, I'm ready for flu season thanks to my wonderful local Target pharmacist.  

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

...it's off to work I go.  

I had my first substitute assignment on Thursday, Oct. 17th.  I was extremely anxious the entire week but as soon as the class began arriving my nerves settled.  They were a very energetic 5th grade class who definitely kept me on my toes (one boy in particular .... 'nuff said) but all in all, I think it was a good day.  

This past week I was scheduled to work on Monday and Friday for two different 3rd grade classrooms. My class on Monday was phenomenal.  Awesome group of kids.  On Tuesday evening I received a phone call from my girlfriend, the first grade teacher for whom I volunteer.  Three days into her maternity leave she needed a sub for her sub who had fallen ill.  So for Wednesday and Thursday, I graduated from Teacher's Helper to Teacher for my little group of first graders. Great kids but when you get 18 six/seven year olds together (some of them on the autistic spectrum), it is quite the experience.  I was literally drop dead exhausted both evenings.  

By Thursday evening my throat was a bit scratchy but I assumed it was from all of the talking I'd done this week.  Friday morning I awoke to an undeniably sore throat (and a tad bit of stuffiness) but felt fine and headed in to my scheduled 3rd grade assignment.  Another awesome group of kids.  (So far I'm finding 3rd grade to be the best age!)  At about noon I was suddenly hit (and I mean SUDDENLY) with a wave of nauseousness, clamminess and shakiness.  I tried my best to shake it off but finally had to call the office to let them know that I needed to go home.  I got home around 1:00 on Friday and have spent the entire time since in bed with a fever/chest cold.  *sigh*

Yesterday my teacher girlfriend informed me that her reading specialist, who comes in for an hour each morning, is now sick with a fever.  Bottom line....those cute little first graders have managed to bring three teachers to their knees in the span of five days!  

So far my upcoming week is free from assignments and I need to keep it that way for at least the first few days.  I have a feeling that the school is going to be very short staffed but they'll have to find some fresh blood.  *wink*

With all of that said, I really, really enjoy subbing.  The hours are great, the staff is great, the students are great (mostly, LOL!) and I really love my time with the kids.  I just hope that my immune system can keep up them.      

I'll leave you with these ...

Made by one of my third grade students on Friday morning.  

and this one, made by the same student later that day...

Birthdays

Randy and I are both October babies.  This year we celebrated our individual birthdays with dinner dates while Meg was at cheer practice. (Sneaky, huh?) His choice of restaurants was The Olive Garden while I opted for Carrabba's Italian Grill.  We had two really nice meals, with uninterrupted adult conversation, and have decided to make dinner dates a much bigger priority in our house.

While at Carrabba's I discovered one of the best cocktails I've had to date (and trust me, I am a very good taste tester *wink*).  It's called a Razzamatini (raspberry martini) and it was absolutely delicious.  I've done some online searches for the recipe and will definitely be do some experimenting at home.

My birthday also brings something that my entire family looks forward to each year...home canned goods from my dear friend Catherine.  Below are her tried and true favorites in my household.  Bread and butter pickles (she is so kind as to send two jars which I share with my dad), peach jam (to die for) and good old fashioned peaches which my daughter has now claimed as her own.  As you can see by the empty jar, she had polished off an entire pint before I could even get the photo taken.  LOL!!!  To quote Meg, "they are better than candy!"

I've dreaded birthdays my entire adult life so it's really nice to have something to look forward to.   Many thanks again, Catherine.

The Results Are In !!!

The local competition was held yesterday.  The girls did AWESOME!

First place in their division!!  Off to the Regionals on Thanksgiving weekend.  

Go Falcons!

My Project for the Week

Meg's cheer squad has a competition against other local squads tomorrow. They've practiced EVERY night this week so it's been a very busy week.  I've spent the last six days making spirit sticks for the girls. As with most projects, things always take longer than you anticipate.

I started off with Christmas garlands (teal from Lowes and white from Walmart) and some Halloween garland (black/silver from The Dollar Tree) and white pvc sprinkler pipes (Home Depot).  I spray painted three 30' lengths of pipes black (Krylon for plastic), taped them off in a spiral using painters tape and and added another coat of Krylon in teal.  Randy then cut the pipes in 16" lengths to make the batons.  I glued 3/4" end caps, spray painted black, to the ends of the pipe using E6000 adhesive.  The poles each then got sprayed with a clear coat to help minimize chipping.  (Krylon)

I cut the garlands into various lengths (20" - 25") and tied the ends off with ribbon from my stash to prevent fraying.  In addition, the white garlands each got 4 jingle bells, two bells attached to each ribbon end.   I tied the three garlands together with strands of white and black grosgrain ribbon using just a basic knot.  Around that knot I tied a silver ribbon with another four jingle bells, two on each end.

Using E9000 adhesive I glued the center knot to the front of the pipe and then wrapped the ribbon around to the back (adhering with glue there as well) and tied the ribbons into a tight knot.

The bottom of the base cap has their initials in white GinX rubons.  (My favorite rubons of all time and yes, I'm still hoarding.)

You can see a portion of the grosgrain ribbon that isn't visible in the first photo here.  Also the blue on the pole is photographing a wonky color.  In actuality, it's a pretty teal color that matches the garland perfectly.

This angle shows the initials at the bottom.

Easy-peasy, right?  Well, yes and no.  There's shopping all over town for inexpensive materials.  There's drying times between paint coats.   There's lots of measuring, cutting and tying.  There's threading ribbon through tiny jingle bell holes...not an easy feat with arthritic thumbs.  Then there's touch ups for paint that leaked under the masking tape.  You get the idea.  Plus.....there's 17 to make! Yeah, even assembly line fashion and a little help from Meg, the project took all week. Meg thinks they're beautiful so it's worth the effort.

So that folks was my week.  Off to another football game.  Go FALCONS!