Computer Wiz

I’m finally starting to feel like my computer skills are improving! I’m certainly no Bill Gates, and Katie still knows more than I do, but I’m learning and I’m feeling proud. I’ve been figuring out how to save things in different ways and in different places and how to retrieve those things. After a couple of failed attempts and a scolding from my computer, I even learned how to “safely” remove the flash drive. Yesterday I had to do a layout for the front page of a newspaper, on a Mac. It took me two hours but I finished it. Well, I helped with it. One of the school newspaper designers had to step in and help before I burst into tears, but still, I saved her work and sent the assignment in. I get some of the credit. Now hopefully I’ll be able to post this blog without cussing or my ego will be crushed.

...Twenty minutes later... I finally got this stupid thing posted. Now I'm totally frustrated. That's what I get for being proud. Who knew you had to use control "V" to paste?! That makes so much sense, doesn't it? Live and learn and try not to lose your mind.

New computer skills

I’m finally starting to feel like my computer skills are improving! I’m certainly no Bill Gates, and Katie still knows more than I do, but I’m learning and I’m feeling proud. I’ve been figuring out how to save things in different ways and in different places and how to retrieve those things. After a couple of failed attempts and a scolding from my computer, I even learned how to “safely” remove the flash drive. Yesterday I had to do a layout for the front page of a newspaper, on a Mac. It took me two hours but I finished it. One of the school newspaper designers had to step in and help before I burst into tears, but still, I saved her work and sent the assignment in. I get some of the credit. Now hopefully I’ll be able to post this blog without cussing or my ego will be crushed.

p.s. I’m now realizing, more than a year later,that I never did post this blog because I did have trouble when I tried to do it. How ironic!

Boob on the loose!

I consider myself a pro-breast feeder. Not that I'm a pro at it, but I'm in favor of it, not against it. Well, now that I don't have to worry about doing it anymore I'm for it. It never was my favorite pastime but I did it long enough to say I did it. That being said, I'm not now, nor was I ever, someone who liked to see people breast feed in public. I couldn't do it in public. It's a very private act in my book. Maybe because it was also a two-handed job when I did it, unlike the girl at UVU today who was breastfeeding as she walked down the hall not using any hands at all! I was walking toward her as I realized I was seeing her entire left breast, except for the nipple which was being used at the moment by her baby who was hanging in one of those front carriers. I'm not exaggerating any of this. There was no blanket in sight. She was very comfortable with the whole situation as was her husband, I assume, who was walking next to her. The rest of the student body, however, is still in shock tonight and wondering if we're living in South America. I'll be looking for an article in the school newspaper soon. I'll probably write it myself.

All this trouble over a slice of ham!

I was late for school today. Actually I never made it to my first class because I got to the parking lot at 9 am and drove around and around trying to get a spot for 25 minutes. I finally left and went to visit Charles at work. Anyway, that's not what this blog is about. Although I could write a seperate blog about the parking situation at UVU, I don't want to waste any more time on it. I got to the parking lot late because of the ham slice on the lunch menu at Lehi Elementary.

I told Tyler he could eat in the lunchroom at school today becauseI didn't have time to make him a lunch and because they were having french toast and a strawberry cup. French toast is great, I thought. He likes french toast! It would be a great change from the slice of bologna that he takes every other day. However, along with the french toast comes a slice of ham and a hasbrown pattie. This is where the trouble began. Most of us would love to get a slice of ham and hashbrowns with our french toast. But not Tyler. The addition of these two items caused him to go into melt-down mode before he left for school because he knew he wouldn't eat them and that the lunch room aide would make him eat it before he left for recess. Jacob and Abby told me the hashbrown was optional. You don't have to take it. But the ham slice comes on your tray. I really wanted him to eat the school lunch so I told him I would write a note to the teacher asking her to not make him eat the ham slice.

The note said, "Mrs. Ash, Tyler needs to eat in the lunchroom today but he is stressed out about eating the ham slice. He won't eat ham. I'm not sure what to do about the situation but could you help me? Forcing him to eat the ham will cause a melt-down. Thanks, Paula." I put the note in his folder and ran out the door hoping I didn't get a call from the school at lunch time telling me Tyler was in lock-up or melt-down mode for not eating his ham slice. Most mothers probably didn't have to worry that much this morning about a slice of ham and I'm sure no other UVU student had to worry about it. I came home from school to see the following e-mail from Mrs. Ash:

"I talked briefly to Tyler about lunch today....I think he wil be ok. I told him its ok if he does not eat his ham and that I will tell Mrs. Hobbs that its ok if he does not eat all his lunch. He is doing really well in class. He seems to enjoy it and participates very well. Hope he has good reports about school. He is a great boy and a good student. I enjoy him. Have a great day and hopefully I will see you tonight at Back-to-school.... Mrs. Ash"

I just found out from Tyler that the strawberries only came with the grilled cheese selection! So I paid $1.50 for one slice of french toast! That's all he got. He didn't bother to get any fruit from the serve-yourself options. I could have avoided all the trouble and been on time for my class if I would have just thrown a slice of bologna in a sack this morning and called it good.

My sense of place comes from being born and raised in Lehi. But the Lehi I grew up in is very different from the way Lehi is now. I long for things to be the way they were then. Fewer people, fewer cars on the road, fewer roads, and no stop lights. My friends and I could walk to each others' houses at night with no fear of anything bad happening. We never locked our doors. You could stop in the street and talk to the car next to you without anyone honking and making you move. We "cruised" main street on the weekends with the rest of the high school. We knew everyone and everyone knew whose daughter I was. Life was simpler.

I'm raising my kids in Lehi but I wish they could experience it the way I did. But we have somehow managed to maintain our Lehi pride, yearly traditions and celebrations regardless of the amount of growth, and luckily, I can still go to the home I grew up in and feel that "sense of place" that made me who I am today.

This crazy weather makes me drink!

One of the reasons I started a blog was to get more experience writing. But when you only write once every 6 months the experience doesn't add up very fast. My life has been too busy to actually write about the craziness that ensues when you try to be a mom to 4 busy kids, a wife to the Bishop, the PTA President, a Cubmaster, a part-time janitor, and a full-time college student. Obviously something's not getting 100% of me, I don't want to say what.

What really prompted me to write tonight was the fact that I was drinking hot chocolate on May 21, 2010. What is happening with the weather here in nothern Utah? Earlier today we enjoyed a successful and warm Field Day at the elementary. The sun was actually shining. It's a rare thing but when it happens it feels so good, I actually smiled. But now it might as well be snowing and I might as well be crying. It's so depressing that I'd have a Diet Coke to make myself feel better if it wasn't 11:00 at night and freezing cold outside.

As I left the elementary today all I could think of was how much I needed a Diet Coke. It's Healthy Lifestyles week at school. I know that contradicts everything Diet Coke is, but after herding 500 kids around in the gym, explaining my Food Guide Pyramid game to them over and over, dodging flying hoola-hoops, yelling at the top of my lungs for them to not forget their coats and to listen for their bell, I needed a Diet Coke. I feel like it does provide me with the the daily allowance needed for sanity. There should definitely be a food group in its honor.

It's never "just" a Diet Coke

I've realized that if I could give up my daily Diet Coke addiction I would probably lose 5 lbs. pretty quickly. Not just because the caffeine keeps you from losing weight but because it's never "just" a Diet Coke. It's always a Diet Coke and a cookie (or two) or piece of cake or whatever morsel of chocolate happens to be lying around. They just go together. Today it was Wacky Cake. Yum. Sometimes I have to resort to chocolate chips. Whatever works. A Diet Coke and carrot sticks just doesn't do it for me for some reason. Oh well, I'll just keep running because I know, no matter how much I think about cutting back, it won't happen.

The original purpose for creating my blog was to post an extra-credit assignment for a class I had at UVU. Of course Charles had to actually create the blog for me. I had no idea how to do that and I still don't. I could barely manage to figure out how to get in here today to post again. I also figured out how to delete the exta-credit paper from my blog, finally, and that is why I need a Diet Coke today. I guess the idea behind the "I need a Diet Coke" blog is to vent my daily frustrations that cause me to drink - Diet Coke. When I was the R.S. Pres. I remember the Bishop told me I needed to drink something harder or add something to it.

Now that I have a lap top I really have no excuse for not getting on here every day to post. But having to use our old computer is one of the reasons I needed a drink every day. The frustration that it caused me made me crazy, thus leading to the drink. Anyway, with school starting again tomorrow and my PTA break over, I'm sure I'll have other reasons for my daily Diet Coke indulgence. I'm making a resolution now to do more to make this a successful blog this year. I'll be starting another blog as well regarding life as a Bishop's wife. It's directly tied to one of the many reasons I need a Diet Coke, however, I feel like I should keep it seperate because of the caffeine. Ha Ha. I'll keep you posted on when I get that up and going (as soon as Charles has time to do it) because I want to get feedback from other Bishops' wives. I'd like to put a book together someday. That's all for now. I need to finish my Diet Coke before it gets warm.