Did someone say, SALSA???

Pretty sad when you get all excited about a few bags of pears, a huge bowl of plums, a surplus of tomatoes, and a great deal at Rite Aid - (buy one get one free on the bags of Peanut M&M's.) Seriously...I've said it before. I need to get a life.

Fall harvest time gets me very excited to do some canning...make some pear sauce (like babyfood), plum jelly, and some fresh salsa. And those peanut M&M's? Well, those are for me, silly! I can't pass up a deal like that! Despite the huge funk I've been in...I'm attempting to crawl out of it through prayer, perserverance, and copious amounts of peanut M&M's. It's just a little thing I find that helps pull me out of a funk...I learned it from my mom. (and you thought you were eating all those M&M's you hid in your underwear drawer, mom?)

I can't wait to start canning tomorrow morning! I think I'll start with the salsa since the tomatoes are piling up. I think I feel those copious amounts of peanut M&M's working already.

Gonna go throw some vittles together and get ready for some Friday Night Football! We're hosting a team from Canada tonight....Saunder's Secondary School from London, Ontario. The talk on the street is that their Junior team won the city championships in 2007. Should be a good game.

Oh, and a note to self: *next time your kid asks for some cash to get a "pre-game" sub at Subway? DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR DEBIT CARD!!!! I ended up paying for 3 football players to eat instead of one. This is a kid who needs to get a job. I'm thinking up several jobs for him to do tomorrow.

Time to get a life...

I'm starting to think I really need to get a life. I mean, really!?! Who spends an entire afternoon watching Fox News while poring over the Sunday inserts and researching online to find the best vacuum to buy for your buck? In the meantime, the dust bunnies are multiplying like, um...well, BUNNIES. I swear there's a time thief in my house and I have just majorly failed the Flyladies' method of housekeeping and organization... But I digress.

So hours later and still no vacuum. I cannot justify spending $400 for a Dyson. (even though I secretly covet one.) I currently have an Oreck which just seems to spit dust back out into the room, making my house the dustiest house ever. *sigh. (This is where I start beating myself up for being a defeated perfectionist.)

Anyways...another day has gone by and I haven't managed to accomplish a darned thing. What on earth is wrong with me? I have had headaches from hell and find myself paralyzed with social anxiety. I just cannot even get motivated to clean my house or go out shopping. Normally the month of September fills me we motivation and hope.

(okay...do ya think I could be depressed?) I mean...I am turning 45 the end of this month. I am feeling a little down about some little life changes. Maybe I need to start jogging. I'm past a "mid-life" crisis (cuz I doubt I'll live 'til 90) and I think I must be too young to start being "menopausal"... I just think I'm in a funk and I need to shake myself loose.

(and man, wouldn't jogging do that?)...now there's a visual.

Something Heavenly

Funny how God sometimes talks to us through the words of a song. I heard this song on the radio this morning after dropping Jake off to school and it just.spoke.to.my.heart.
Things are going so well for Josh right now. We have our son back. Tonight he just told me, "Have I told you how nice it is to be SINGLE...and free of all that (girlfriend) drama?" (Even though she continues to try and call his cellphone and tries to talk to him in school)
We reinstated his text messaging priveleges tonight and immediately put a block on the "ex" gf's number. He finally "gets it" and is thankful we loved him so much to fight to get him back. But now, it's time for healing...just listen to the song.


Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly) lyrics by Sanctus Real
It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
All I can do is surrender

[Chorus]

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Revaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow your will
or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is you want from me
I give everything I surrender...

To...[Chorus]

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to to release all my held back tears

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Something heavenlyIt's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time breathe in and let everything out

Football update

Well it turned out to be an absolutely perfect night for football, despite the weather report. We even had some dedicated and devoted football dads who threw together a pig roast for our tailgating party. (yes, you read that right.) There was some high class state championship tailgating going on, people! It started at 2:00 and wrapped up just before the varsity game began at 7:00.

The JV game was astounding, considering the fact that this team last year did not have an impressive record. We won 21-6. Jacob had the best game of his life! Now I'm not bragging, I'm stating a fact, because I even heard it out of a lot of parents. This is his first year playing linebacker (like his older bro Josh) and all I can say folks, is that they were sayin' his name a lot over the loudspeaker. (making tackles, not scoring)

Now we knew going into the varsity game that it was going to be a battle. We lost to this team last year during the regular season... on our home field. Both these teams ended up in the state championship games in different divisions. We won ours, they lost theirs. So this was a tough game with a lot to prove. Let's just say, especially on our side... REVENGE was their goal. (that sounds just awful, doesn't it?)

Well we won 17-14. It was a tough game...the other team had possession of the ball and they were driving down the field. It was their last chance to score. Josh forced a fumble and one of our players recovered it- game over! The photographer on the sideline told Josh that it was the game saving play. It was an exciting game and the defense ended up saving the day.

What a great way to spend the day; beautiful weather, dual victories, and a class act tailgate party. We got home quite late (or early Saturday morning).

Needless to say, all day Saturday I was a slug- lounging around all day, taking a nap, and shirking my cleaning plans. I guess we all need a day like that every now and then...

...although there seems to be a pattern developing.

Friday Night Football

Well looks like our first "Friday Night Lights" game will be a cold, wet, rainy night. So I packed a thermos of hot coffee, blankets, umbrellas, change of clothes, and raingear. Tonight are the back to back games in Traverse City so we'll be gone all day and late into the night. Updates on the game later.

Trying to get back into the groove...

Man, I don't know why it's been so hard to get back into the groove- but I'm thinking that hormones at that "time of the month" must have something to do with it. Yuck. I swear I've been useless lately. The gloomy, cloudy, rainy weather doesn't help things either...and the fact that my oldest kid just officially moved out yesterday.

It was a tearful moment as I pulled her teddy bears off her shelf and packed them into a box. I was flooded with fond memories as I recalled buying that little teddy bear from the department store when I found out I was pregnant. I remembered her cutting teeth and gnawing the fuzzy nose off that teddy bear...and how she always had it sitting in her crib, on the corner of her bed, then how it graduated to a place high up on a shelf. My eyes welled up with tears as I pulled it off the shelf and dusted off his cute little head. I tried so hard to cry silently while she was in the bathroom...careful for her not to see me getting emotional. But I wasn't quick enough to get it out of my system. She walked in and caught me...and joined me in a tearful moment.

I realize it's a rite of passage when you're 23, graduated from college, and starting your own business. I knew it was coming and honestly, I know it needed to happen...but it still felt sad. I guess I can blame it on the hormones.

A Mother's New Year!

Yes, folks...it's back to school time! It's that time of the year that fills mothers with anticipation of getting organized, getting in shape, and getting back to business as usual.

I am filled with hope for a new year in September because the start of a new school year is a BIG DEAL. My boys are starting their sophomore and senior years. Where has this time gone?

My time has not been my own all summer long. It's been a l.o.n.g. summer with the ex-girlfriend drama playing out right up until last night- on the eve of the first day of school. Because I care...because I want the best for my kids...because I'm involved in their lives...I feel their stress and I feel their pain as well as share in their joy and their achievements. This rollercoaster has taken an incredible toll on our entire family. To know it's finally over (from his side anyway) has been a huge relief. Now we have to wait and see how she handles it with the return of school. They have their first 3 hours together and because their school is so small, the guidance counselor tells me there is nothing he can do to change it. I have the support of the teachers and trust me, we've done our part.

So in light of all this...I'm going to hit the bathrooms. It's a good day to start cleaning.