YouTube and Middle Schoolers

Here's another get-rid-of-a-scrap-of-paper entry:

Students often recommend YouTube videos to me. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised! Other times, I think, "Kids actually spend time watching other kids play MineCraft??!?!" Then there are times I just think, "Boy, am I oooooooold!"

Charlie the Unicorn is strange. I might have enjoyed it as a sassy pre-teen. Charlie's stoic attitude and the urban legend tweak are mildly amusing . . . but I really don't get the appeal. And yet I have students who can quote from it. Hmmm.

Unbelievable Dub Step Dance Crew . . . it's interesting to watch the way a person can move his body so dramatically, but the music is enough to make me leave!

Yep. I'm old. I'll take Tom and Jerry and Fred Astaire.

Tiaras!

Okay, this is about more than just tiaras . . . I'm getting rid of another scrap of paper, but it has a story attached. This may be my legacy - random stories about random scraps of paper in my life.

Approximately a decade ago, I went to this Theatrical Costume Company www.theatricalcostumeco.com/ to buy a deerstalker (Sherlock Holmes style hat) for my nephew Luke. His birthday is in early December and this is something he really wanted. As the clerk went into the back storage area to find the hat, I waited in the front and looked at the display case of tiaras.



War began.
"Ooh! That's beautiful!"
"No. I'm just here to get Luke's birthday present."
"I've wanted a tiara for a long time."
"No. Christmas is coming up and I'll be spending plenty of money. Now is not the time to buy something for myself."
"I rarely ever buy something for myself. I really want that tiara."
And so the war waged on . . . and by the time the clerk returned with the deerstalker, I "had" to have the tiara.

Sometimes these stories end up with a "that was dumb. It's just a thing. It wasn't worth the money." HOWEVER, in this case, I can say that I really enjoy my tiara. I wear it a few times a year and always love how beautiful I feel when I wear it. In fact, I should probably wear it more often! It's lovely and I'm really glad that I treated myself to it.

This website is *not* well-designed or maintained, however I included the link since it has the pertinent info. The company is still in business and is still the source of the nicest tiaras I've seen for under $100. (I was appalled when I shopped with Louise at Crafts Direct . . . the high prices and less beautiful tiaras made me a firm fan of Theatrical Costume Company.) Besides, theater and costumes are a huge part of my life.

Ice cream machine rental

As I was clearing out more old scraps of paper, I had to blog about this one before chucking it. In May 2014, I rented a soft serve ice cream machine and bought the soft serve mix. It cost $250, but was so worth it! I got it for Alex's college graduation party (along with a keg of root beer) and we all had fun making root beer floats! It was a wonderful party with lots of friends. It was sad, too, as my mom died soon after. In any case, seeing the receipt made me smile. We had a lot of fun, even though it was an unnecessary expense. Louie thought I was going overboard, but I'd do it again!

CaterRent Food Service Equipment Rental and Sales
260 24th Avenue North
Mpls MN 55411
612.588.1188

One Thing? (Focus on the Positive #10)

Well. Time does have a way of slipping by.

Here's what's been on the white board for the past month-plus of my life:

We got the railing done (for his dad), but Louie wasn't super happy to spend the Saturday after Thanksgiving putting it up in the drizzle. Now it's done! It has been a help to Lou.

I'm still pulling stuff together for the fiduciary accounting, but may just wait until the 1099s are mailed . . .

I did what I had to do for Block of the Month, but never finished the January block (Kathie's design) and the February block was too big . . . and I should get up to my studio and make the March one! In any case, my favorite sewing thing this past month was making Angela's Christmas stocking. I really like how it turned out!

I go through phases in my focusing on the positives in life. I'm trying to stay prayerful and praise-focused. There is so much to be thankful for! Truly, just "making it" to Thanksgiving break was huge. Then getting to Christmas break. But here it is, January 1st, and there is so much I want to do still!

I have lots of to-do lists and goals . . . and I've done my official goal-setting for 2017. (Perhaps in another blog entry, I'll share that process.) For my "One Thing" and positive focus, I'll be using a plan my sister Louise came up with. It's called the Friends and Family Fun Encouragement Experiment (aka Triple F and Double E).

I'll blog separately (and weekly?) about that!

One Thing #9 (Focus on the Positive)

So my last post was for the week of Sept. 12-17 . . . Jeanne will scrub out the fridge.

I did, but not super-thoroughly. And the two-plus months since then have been very full. Work has been exhausting, emotionally draining, and generally unpleasant. (I know - way to focus on the positives, right?) Ugh!

There was one glorious, amazing week in there. Louie and I flew out of MSP on 9/25 and back in on 10/1. We were in Maui and it was simply fantastic! The island is beautiful and our time together was so very nice. We are blessed!

Today, I'm struggling. Self-pity? "Down" time after seven weeks of intense go/go/go? Disappointment in my siblings-in-law yesterday? Midlife hormonal changes? Don't know. Don't really care. This is not where I want to be.

To focus on positives, I'm going back to the message board. Instead of one thing per week, I'm going to put up one thing as a priority. If it's done quickly, great. I'll put up a new thing. If it takes a long time, so be it. The message board will just be a reminder.

We'll probably always have more to do than time to do it. Trying to focus on one thing at a time may help. It will also help to praise God in ALL circumstances and not just when I'm feeling positive. The act of praise can change the attitude of the heart.

Things I'd Be Okay Never Hearing Again . . .

"How do!" (How am I supposed to answer that? Is it short for "How do you do?" I strongly dislike this greeting.)

"And so on down the line." (I wouldn't mind this one so much if it were not used in EVERY single conversation! Sometimes several times in a single conversation. It just gets old after three plus years.)

"Good morning!" (At 5 a.m., my eyes are barely open. Greeting me this way in a LOUD voice, especially after I've specifically requested that it not happen . . . this is why I try to avoid the upper level of my house until after I've had a few cups of coffee.)

"Whatever you want to get rid of." (It's good food. I don't want to "get rid" of any of it. I'm asking your preference for a flavor. Find a better way to indicate that you have no preference.)

One Thing #8 (Focus on the Positive)

Wow. 9/11/16 . . . time sure flies by. I remember 9/11/01 vividly. Having CNN on all day at NPMS. The shock and disbelief. The prayer.

And over the last few weeks with workshop and the first two weeks of school, I've thought that perhaps I wouldn't be able to get back on track with my "One Thing" project. I think part of the reason I got off-track was again selecting a goal that was too vague. My last "One Thing" was "work on the basement bathroom repair list" and I *did* successfully do three things on the list! However, it was too open-ended *and* I neglected to put a date on the whiteboard for that week. And so the weeks have passed by with the typical start-of-school crazy busy-ness. And I've gotten far off-track.

On the *positive* side, it has been a fantastic start to the school year with many "hurray" moments! It is Sunday and I am married to a wonderful man. I was able to help Louise for almost five hours yesterday and I have many wonderful things to look forward to (like a shower for Angela this afternoon at her godmother's house).

My new "One Thing" for this week: "Scrub out the fridge." This has been on my to-do list for too many days and I keep not doing it . . . we have vegetables rotting in there and I keep finding other things to do instead of dealing with it.

I need to continue to strive to focus on positives and not get discouraged by the things that don't get done (or by the evil in the world and all the hurt and hatred that exists).