HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and that the start of your new year was a blast! We stayed home, Shao went to bed around 9:30, and I stayed up and watched the ball drop...and then some. Insomnia is just so lovely!!!

I HAVE MY COMPUTER BACK!! Can you see me doing the "Snoopy Dance of Joy?" Cuz I AM!!!! So far so good...I got it back yesterday afternoon. Happy days!

Miss Shao has one more day off but I have to go back to work tomorrow morning. However I've been told I am to expect a brunch tomorrow. Sounds good to me! :)

Shao & I went to NYC on Tuesday with her friend Megan, and Megan's mom, Martha. Of course, we picked the very COLDEST day of the entire year to go. But we went anyways, and had a blast! Didn't get to do alot of the things we wanted, due to the cold and the long lines, but it was fun, anyways. Martha treated us all to the Christmas Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall. WONDERFUL! Not to mention we got to sit down, and get warm for two hours! :)
We went to Chinatown, and Shao & Megan did some shopping in a cool store there. We had supper at Mr. Tang's Restaurant...yummy! Saw Rockefeller Center, all the Christmas decorations, and walked for miles. Went in and out of a million stores...mostly to get warm! :)

It is snowing here, just a tiny bit, but the big issue is the 50 mph winds! BRRR. Not looking forward to having to get up tomorrow and deal with the cold. Much prefer staying home! :) In my pajamas, thank you very much!

We are looking forward to a wonderful New Year. Who knows what God will bring to us this year? It is exciting to watch things unfold. He is ever faithful, and has such great plans for our lives. How blessed we are!

Blessings...Nancy

Updates

So...many things to mention!

First of all, Shao is LOVING Ballet Camp! She is learning SOOOO much! I am thrilled for her. We have already put 400 miles on the car...it's about 100 miles a day...translates into LOTS of gas money. I COULD cut that in half, if I were willing to stay up in East Lyme for the 7 hours of camp...don't think so! Plus this week I am dogsitting again for my brother, so that wouldn't work, anyhow. Next week is another story! :)

Rent...not paid yet. I will now owe a late fee. There is a possibility of monies coming in soon, but I am not sure. However, my sister does need me a couple of times next week to clean with her, so that will be good. Meanwhile, for reasons totally unknown to me, Unemployment has a hold on my benefits check, which doesn't bode well for next week's, either. I am going to try and call them tomorrow, but that is a nightmare in itself. Not fun trying to get through to a real person!

Cindy...precious Cindy died this past Monday, peacefully at home, surrounded by family, holding her husband Howard's hand. Pray for this dear family. They have 10 kids, and 4 or 5 of them are under age 10, one is adult, and the rest teenagers. I think all but the oldest are adopted. The littlest ones have only been home a year or two. This has to be devastating, all around.

Stellan...that precious baby boy is doing GOOD! Read his mama's blog for more info, but if you ask me, it's right up the "miracle alley."

We had a BLAST last weekend! The parents of Shao's friend asked us out on the boat, to motor over to Greenport LI for the day! It was such a blast!!!! The day couldn't have been better, weather wise, and we had a lot of fun! Except...for maybe getting on and off the boat in Greenport. Let me set the scene. First of all...me...short stubby legs, short period. Second: dock...fixed not floating. This means it does NOT move with the tides. So if the tide is OUT, the boat is low, but not the dock! Tide: OUT. Movement of boat: LOTS OF PITCHING, both out and in, AND up and down...and not in very good, dependable rhythm, either. Me (again): afraid of heights/falling. Umm...make that afraid of making a fool of myself! :) Height differential: at least 3 feet. Distance differential: at least 3 feet. Summation: I DID it...but it wasn't easy, pretty, or fast. I had to really work my courage up! YIKES!!!!! Next time, I think I will just jump in the water, then SWIM to the swim platform at the back of the boat! :)

Anyhow. It was a blast. This coming weekend Shao has a sleepover at a friends on Saturday night, and I have been invited to friend's for dinner. On Sunday we have church, then I am going to a ladies pool party with ladies from the church. Looking forward to really meeting people...I know one or two by name, other than my dear friend Kathy Mac, who I've known since 1973!!

So...that's our story for now. God is good...all the time!

Blessings...Nancy

Can you say frustrated?!?

Venting here...since July 2nd, I spent countless hours either on the phone, or waiting for a repair man to come and get my new DSL internet service set up. I feel like I am whirling in circles here. People have come out, and into my house...my house wires, etc., are fine. It's outside...the phone lines aren't set up or split, or something, to carry DSL into my house. I was told this would be done by Sunday night at the latest. It's now Tuesday morning. Had to call again. Told the same thing. So....I very patiently made sure the fellow on the phone checked all former comments on the account. That he was well aware that this was becoming ridiculous. I actually had to TELL HIM what needed to be done. Otherwise, I think we would have jumped right back on the carousel of phone madness. And I'm getting dizzy...I want OFF! I THINK I got through to him. I told him I wanted a call from the technician when it was done, and I wanted the technician to hold on the line while I AGAIN hooked up their modem, etc., and made sure it worked BEFORE they left!!!!!!!! This is crazy!!!

Okay...on the home front, things are quiet. I am driving bus this week and next and then will be off for the remainder of the summer, until August 31st. Looking forward to a little down time, the first week I am off. But then first two weeks of August ShaoXi will be going to Ballet Intensive, which is from 9-4 every weekday. And it is an hour round trip...so I will be on the road 2 hours a day, taking and picking up! That's a lot of driving. It's worth it, though. She will be dancing under Joffrey Ballet Company's former prima ballerina and their former principal dancer (male equivalent of prima), so she should learn a lot! I'm excited for her...but I know it will be exhausting. She'll be one tired little puppy by the end of the second week! :)

My car is in the shop. Heaven help me, another bill! Not even sure what is wrong...I have to call the mechanic today, to find out. But it was making some really BAD noises, although it was driving okay. But it sounded like it was in the wheel area, so I was afraid it might fall off, or something! Never a dull moment.

That's about it...gotta go...the phone just rang, and it's the phone service. They must speak to me immediately, press zero...so I do, and now I am on hold. Go figure! So I'd better hook their system back up!!!

Blessings...Nancy

This and that

Nothing much new going on here. Same old, same old. ALTHOUGH...I AM cleaning the house!! Not that I NEVER do that...but I am ORGANIZING! FILING! Actually unpacking and settling in! WHAT?!? What's that, you ask? When did we move? Oh, well. Umm. Well...ah, almost 2 years ago! :) But to my credit (alright, NOT my credit, but DEFENSE, okay?!?!) I no longer have 20 or 30 boxes piled up in various rooms of the house, waiting to either be gone through or put up into the attic! AND, I might add, I HAVEN'T had any (or more than a few, from time to time) for at least..well...probably 9 months? So there! :)

I FINALLY got around to straightening up the small back bedroom, actually setting up files and filing away all the boxed paperwork, etc. It's beginning to look like a room! Of course, you cannot sit on the bed. But not because of junk. Unless you consider stuffed animals junk. Hey, watch it! These are my special fuzzy friends! Yeah, I cannot bring myself to get rid of them. I have purged a few...a very few. The rest? Hey, their part of the family. No can do. Maybe some day. Until then, they sit on the daybed in the backroom, reminding me of when Shao was tiny. Most have a story. Many are Panda bears. Some I bought before she even came home. The large fluffy duck waited in her bassinette for a year, along with her bunny Bun-Bun, whom she sleeps with...or at least, who is one of the privileged few to gain inner sanctum in her bedroom. The rest are relegated to here.

Her dollhouse is in here too. It is large. And beautiful. And lovingly made by her godfather, Uncle Dick. And too fragile and precious to be put in the attic. But I wish there were a little girl to play with it! Perhaps when the twins get bigger...we'll see.

Why all this sudden frenzy, you may ask? Well...my sister just became a Pamper*d Ch*f Consultant. So I am having a party at my house, to help her out. It will be fun, and a chance for some of the folks at work to see our place. Several of Shao's friends' Moms are coming, and of course, bringing their daughters. I imagine the girls will hang out in Shao's room, except when there's food available, of course! :)

While I always feel frantic at this times, I also welcome them. They motivate me, and that's a good thing. I am looking forward to this house being more organized. YIPPEE!!!

Gotta go...lots to do, and bus driving to do, as well! :)

Blessings...Nancy

Beautiful!

My girl is so very beautiful. Last night she danced like a dream. It's funny how they almost ALWAYS place her front and center in each dance number. I suppose it's because she is good? Anyhow, she did a wonderful job. People kept coming up to her and remarking on how impressed they were with her dancing. What a gift God has given her! Speaking of gifts, her godmother is helping pay for her to go to two weeks of "summer intensive" ballet camp. The instructors are from the Joffrey Ballet company, and from the Alvin Ailey Dance company. These are two of the best ones out there. I am excited for her, and I think she will learn so very much.

Poor girl was so exhausted last night. But not so exhausted that she and her friend Stephanie didn't scheme and get us moms to agree to let Steph spend the night! In hindsight, probably not a good idea. Steph woke Sleeping Beauty up at 7 AM. About 3 hours LESS than she would have normally slept, after such a hard day on Friday! Needless to say, Shao was tired and out of sorts all day. We went to the beach for the late afternoon, and then Steph's parents came and picked her up. Shao immediately retreated to her room. I tucked her in awhile ago, and hopefully she will sleep a good 10 hours tonight. Church tomorrow, but it starts late, 11:15. So she really doesn't need to get up until 10.

Blessings...Nancy

Monday...AGAIN!

Sometimes Mondays feel like that movie "Groundhog Day." Which is pretty funny, today, because it IS Groundhog Day. But, seriously! It feels like Monday was just YESTERDAY, and here we are again, trying to get through another Monday. And it's not even that it's so bad. It's just...well....it's just that it's MONDAY. You know, the day after a hopefully lovely weekend, where you didn't have to do ANYTHING you didn't want to do! (Yeah, like THAT ever happens!)

And that sad part is...most of us live our lives longing for Friday. But what that REALLY means is that we are wishing away our lives, one week at a time. Personally, I can't think of a worse thing to do. Seems to me we don't get enough days to truly live out to the fullest, never mind just making do and getting by. I so love my life, with my girl, and with my Lord. And you have to know, that at times it is a really HARD life, in some ways. No "real" job, struggling each month to pay the rent, never really making ANY ends meet. But you know? I'm okay with that, in the greater scheme of things. We are blessed to be surrounded by people we love, and who love us. Shao and I often play the "20 Questions" game, starting off "I'm thinking of a person." One of the first things she will ask is, "Is this person in our family?" And if I say no, then the NEXT question is "Are they in our EXTENDED family?" This is because we have folks in our lives who are truly family to us in our hearts, if not by blood. Shao is so blessed to have multiple sets of Aunties and Uncles, a very special Gramma in her former school nurse, a VERY special Gramma & Grampa in Florida, a wonderful Auntie who lives near the FL G & G. Oh, the list goes on and on! The folks we adopted with...they are DEFINITELY family! My friends from college...oh, yeah. Like I said...we are blessed beyond belief!

So, it's Monday. Normally Shao would be at ballet right now. BUT...today she had band practice from 4:30 to 5:45. I picked her up, we're home for a few minutes, so she can change into her outfit for modern dance. This week is "parent observation" week, so I will go in with her to modern, for awhile. Then it is getting out a half hour later, at 9PM tonight, because TOMORROW they are performing with a local high school's winter choir concert. I guess they are dancing to at least one of the songs they sing? I don't know...we will get more info tonight. So that means she will miss her Tap class tomorrow night.

And on Wednesday she will miss both her ballet AND jazz classes, because it is HER band concert. So much for mom observing those classes! But I will go in on Friday to watch her pointe class, which should be SO cool...first time to see her on pointe!

Meanwhile, it's hard to believe that Cadence and Hayleigh are 5 days old! They came home yesterday. Daddy will stay home for 2 weeks to help, and after that it's all hands on deck. I have the following week off, so I am definitely gonna get my baby fix THAT week! This Fri., after Shao's class, I am going over with pizza, for supper and a small baby fix. The girls are already proving to be a handful, and Jen is worn out. She is nursing, so it is difficult to give her a break. In a month, her milk supply should be in, and then maybe an occasional bottle might be fine, so she can sleep!

Gotta go...girly just advised me!

Blessings...Nancy

It's either laugh or cry!

Today I had to laugh...I drive two boys to a school about 35 miles from town. They are "somewhere on the autistic spectrum." One is in middle school, one in high school. You have to understand that C, my middle schooler, is more on a level of 2nd or 3rd grade, probably...maybe less, considering his favorite activity is to watch Thomas videos. So, yep, he is young. But SMART! Today, as we were waiting for the teacher to come out and unload him, he pointed at the school and said, "You see that building there? It's under arrest, and POW, it's gone, off to jail!" C. does NOT like school much...it interferes with watching Thomas, I suspect. He amuses me, and baffles me all at the same time. Often he will sit in the back seat of the van, chattering and laughing uproariously, all by himself. No clue what is going on, but he obviously is having a blast! Those are the good days. Sometimes there are bad ones. He cannot listen to reason, and gets fixated on things, so if something goes wrong...watch out! The screaming and crying and screeching will begin. But I thought that his idea of sending the whole school to jail was great!

My highschooler, D, is another whole story. Poor sad boy. He is a curmudgeon, at best. He plays these really dark, satanic (in my opinion...he has tried to explain them to me!) video games. He views life as worthless. According to D, everyone else (and I mean EVERYONE else!) is stupid, and HE is the only good one, with any sense. He is convinced he would be the only choice to rule the world, and that is his goal. He thinks God has done a very poor job of it, and is fed up with Him. Yesterday he asked me a question of what I thought about the idea of good versus evil, based on a game he tried to explain to me. It was amazing how much it sounded like a biblical game, based on the end times. He even mentioned a "thousand year reign." Wierd.
At any rate, I have to be careful how much I say. But after a while, I really got upset hearing him speak so disrespectfully about my Lord. I finally told him that it upset me, and that we needed to agree not to speak about this subject, obviously, because we were on totally different "sides". His response? "Oh, so now you are pushing your religion on me?" No, D., quite the opposite. I wish to NOT speak about religion. And anyways, I don't HAVE a religion. I have a God, who loves me personally, and with Whom I have a PERSONAL relationsip. D would not stop arguing. It wasn't pretty. I had to raise my voice and say "D, ZIP it! End of discussion! We are DONE!" Not really loudly...but according to D, he felt he should turn me in for "yelling" at him. I advised him that I had every right to "yell" at him if it was merited (insert scold firmly for yell...if he wants to hear me yell, I CAN!), that I could NOT swear at him, or touch him, but oh yes, I could yell! :) He was quiet all the way home. Thank the Lord!

So, this morning when C sent his school to jail, D looked up from his video game and said quite distinctly "and send the world's worst bus driver with it!" Alrighty then. I was laughing with C about the comment, so D's didn't immediately process. I said "D, what did you say?" He did not look up, ignored me. Finally I turned off the radio and said repeated my question loudly. He looked up and said "I didn't say a word!" I got to laughing. Which was a much better response than anger. Felt better, I can tell you! It was just such a bare faced lie, and came on top of C's mom handed me a small monetary gift and telling me I deserved a million dollars, but this was all she can afford right now! Such a difference between the two families! It just made me laugh, that I drive them BOTH together, and they can have such different outlooks! I giggled all the way to D's school, about 10 min. away, and grinned when he got off, saying "D, have a GREAT day at school!" He gave me SUCH a look! I confused him no end. Too funny.

Anyhow...I am, needless to say, praying for D. He sure needs it. Sad, sad ANGRY kid. And from what I can tell, his mother, at least, is just as angry. She had a huge confrontation with the bus company today, about D walking to the end of his driveway when there's a lot of snow. The van does NOT do well in snow, his drive is practically perpendicularly up, and then down into his yard. No way can I drive up it, if the ground (dirt, not paved) is not clear. Mom doesn't like that answer. No pleasing some folk! At all holidays, C and his family remember me with gifts. D and his family have NEVER done so, and have never even said thank you, EVER. Gives you an idea of where they are in life, huh? Glad I am NOT in their shoes...seems pretty grim!

I told my boss I needed battle pay! But I was laughing when I told her. I mean really...people are a hoot! I will continue to pray for D and his family. But I will pray for MYSELF, as well, that I find ways to "heap burning coals" of kindness on his head, and to remember to NOT take his grouching and complaining and downright rudeness to heart, but instead remember that even though he towers over me, he is a kid, and a hurt one at that, and he doesn't, apparently, have very good role models to follow at home.

All right...enough ranting! :) Have a GREAT day, everyone! I know I will! :)

Blessings...Nancy

Scrooge resides at our house!

SO...did ya miss me?!? :) It's been quiet around here...mostly because we spent the entire weekend hunkered down, with a snowstorm that turned to an icestorm at the end! Actually, to be correct, I should say I spent it that way. ShaoXi managed to escape on Sunday for several hours, to go play in the snow with a friend...whose mom was much more willing than I to drive!

Back to the normal routine today. Not looking forward to the rest of the week. The Northeast is in for what is being the called the coldest temps in YEARS. UGH!!!! Get me OUTTA here! Seriously, it is supposed to be 15 to 20 BELOW...read that again, people, I said BELOW zero! That IS with the windchill factor...it's only supposed to be a balmy ZERO without figuring the wind into the equation. Have I mentioned how very MUCH I detest the cold? My getting-older-every-minute-bones are protesting as it is, and it is only 25 degrees out. This will be one of those times that you need to wrap your entire face in a scarf, or else you won't be able to catch your breath. UGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!

So, most of our Christmas things are packed away, except the actual tree. I had it on all weekend, and really enjoyed the beauty of the lights. Soon enough it will be gone to the attic for another year. Probably sooner than I would like, as Shao seems to want it gone (little Scrooge!) I will not do it JUST because she wants it, but I suppose it has been up quite awhile (since the day after Thanksgiving!) I have to get used to the look of the UNdecorated house. I HATED it at first, so very bare. It should improve once I begin REdecorating with all the usual knickknacks, which are still packed away in the attic. One of these days....

Need to head out to work...wish I could stay home and snuggle with my girl...but she's in school, and my kindergarteners are depending on me to deliver them safely to school. So its off to the saltmines...HA! :)

Blessings....Nancy

School's in Session...WAKE UP!

So...life back to normal...whatever "normal" is! Up at 5:05 (alright...alarm RINGS at 5:05...I get up countless times, shuffle across the room, hit snooze...and repeat!) Icy roads this morning, but no delays for the school I drive for (I know, dangling participle!) Shao left me a frantic note on her bedroom door. Seems senile mom forgot to get her tap shoes fixed, and her instructor, according to Shao, will FREAK tomorrow night. So, I will take them in TODAY, in hopes they can be fixed while I wait...and that they're even FIXABLE! It's always something, eh?

We wait a bit anxiously around here for the arrival of my two nieces, a scheduled C-section on Jan. 28th, but at this point, we're ALL hoping it is sooner, as mama, AKA Jen, is MISERABLE! Poor sweetie, her feet and legs look like they belong to a VERY large person...and Jen, in her usual non-pregnant state, is a size 4! Cadence Rae & Hayleigh Christina both weigh well over 5 pounds, so any time now is GOOD!!!!!!

Other than that, no news...which, as they say, is good news. We plow on in life, just trying to manage each day. Not always gracefully, but onward we go. After all, it sure beats the alternative!

Blessings....Nancy