Sweet rewards...

Because I am a good mother, a good teacher, a good wife, and an overall good person who deserves a reward for all the things she does, I am going with my good friend Carmen to see Bon Jovi and Daughtry in Greensboro on March 16th. We had to buy our tickets on EBay (she's probably buying them as I am typing) and we had to pay around $130 apiece for them. But by God, I deserve it! I work as hard for my money as anyone else in this house and if I want to go, I should go. We are even taking the 17th off of work and we may even try to find a hotel in Greensboro that night. BECAUSE WE DESERVE IT!!!

We have had a rough day here at the Cornwell house. We started the morning with four really grumpy people getting ready to go to Sam's basketball game. I had to be there at 9am to work the concession stand. Then Sam played at 10am (lost agin, but played better). We had a birthday party at the YMCA from 11am-1:30pm for Brad and Amy Bridges little girl, Sydney. All the while, the Cornwell clan was GRUMPY!!! We took some movies back to the video store, then came home. Brad went to bed, I covered myself up in the recliner, and we sent the kids upstairs to watch a movie and play dress up so we could try to snooze. It was a pretty fruitless attempt, but I may have gotten a total of 15-20 minutes of sleep. Brad just went out to feed the cows so I am gonna load up the kids here in a minute and go see mom (it's her birthday today). We have to go to the in-laws for dinner tonight at 6 because it is Brad's brother's birthday today, too. Church in the morning, basketball pictures tomorrow at 2:15, I have to go to the grocery store at some point this weekend... ugh... it will be time to go back to work before I even blink. Ah well, not rest for the weary. At least I have the circus next weekend and now Bon Jovi on March 16th to look forward to!!

Moment of Truth...

I am watching the new show on Fox called Moment of Truth. It is pretty stupid, but it is putting me in the mind to tell the truth, so here I am. Here for confession...

I ate at Mi Pueblito's today and I ate a Texas Fajita and lots of chips, salsa, and cheese dip. It was delicious. I cooked cubed steak with gravy, mac and cheese, mashed potatos, and green peas for supper. We ate early (around 5:30) because Sam had basketball practice. Brad (who is notorious for this...) just left to go to Dairy Queen to get a blizzard for each of us (his idea, not mine). I know I don't need it. I will hate myself after I eat it. I just couldn't make myself say no. So, just so I will be somewhat accountable for how bad I have blown it today, I am posting it here. Don't call me fatty or anything, that would hurt my feelings. Just understand that I am human, I am totally addicted to chocolate, and I am WEAK!!

Bobcats arena?...

Anybody have simple directions to Bobcats Arena? Carmen and I are taking our kids to the circus Sunday and we are afraid we'll get lost. (We've done it before!)

Also, before I go to bed, I just have to share that I met my new dentist today and he is only 29 years old. That has to be one of the strangest feelings. He came in and shook my hand and introduced himself to me and I swear, he looks like he's 15 years old. Very weird.

Cloverfield and Hot Stuff...

My brother Billy and I went to see Cloverfield last night. Mom and Dad watched my kids for us and we headed to the movies to see something besides the latest animated release. I don't know if I really liked it or if I just had not been to see an adult movie in so long that anything would have been good. I think it was pretty good... different, at least. I wanted to see it just because it was a JJ Abrams movie (he's the creator of Lost, incase you didn't know). It was far-fetched, but it had to be. The premise of the movie itself requires that it be far-fetched. Just to catch up anyone who may not be familiar with what it is, a creature attacks Manhattan and the movie is "supposedly" the tape from the hand-held video camera of one witness. It even has the "Property of US Dept. of Defense" at the beginning. Abrams likes to make you think, makes you wonder, makes you say "Hmmm...what if...?" He is very intelligent and he has his own very identifiable style. Kind of like M. Night Shamaylan has his style (which I also love, by the way).

When Billy and I got out of the movies, I took him by the grocery store and I picked up another Janet Evanovich book. I'm still looking for Three to Get Deadly but the one I got last night, Hot Stuff, is not one of the Stephanie Plum bounty hunter novels. I did a little scrapbooking and then got the kids in bed late (around 11pm) and I started reading. I read about half of it and then I finished it in about another couple of hours this morning. It was good, too. She, too, has a very unique style. Her books are very readable. Fast and entertaining. The main characters are women you can really relate to. If you don't have a lot of time for reading, I would definitely recommend trying one of her books.

Back to JJ Abrams for a second, Lost returns to television on January 31st. I swear I don't think I have been so excited about anything in a REALLY long time. I absolutely CANNOT wait! If you are not a fan, there's still time to get the first three seasons on DVD and catch up. Go for it! You won't regret it.

Oh, by the way, books...

I finally finished reading Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich last night. If you want a good, fun read that doesn't involve a lot of deep thought, these Stephanie Plum bounty hunter novels are the ones for you. They are seriously, very funny. The main character is so likeable and human that you can't help but laugh at the situations she gets herself into. I started this one back around the time school started, and as you can see, I haven't had much time for reading. I look forward to reading the third book, Three to Get Deadly.

I did buy the Jenkins/LaHaye book about the apostle Mark. I have been reading it a little at a time in the evenings before bed, but it makes me really sleepy. It is tougher reading and I have to read slow to let it sink in. Even though this book, and the previous one about John, are fiction novels, they are based on the Bible and I seriously have learned more about the Bible from reading these books than I have from anything. I guess because it tells these stories in a more chronological fashion and in a language I have an easier time understanding. I like the history it involves and it makes watching the Discovery Channel and National Geographic much more interesting. Plus it spawns some pretty interesting conversations with the hubby, since he's such a Bible buff. He likes John Grisham too, and I bought him the newest Playing for Pizza for Christmas, but he hasn't had time to even start it yet.

I saw a new Stephen King today at Best Buy while I was picking up a few things I needed for Sam's computer. It was called Duma Key, I think. I love Stephen King so much more since he started writing a monthly editorial column in Entertainment Weekly. I think he must be a genius! If you've ever read Desperation and The Regulators, you would have to agree it takes a really smart person to write two completely different books and use the same names for the characters in both books, even though they are totally different people. I read his column tonight, as a matter of fact, and ironically it was about reading. He was talking about something I have never heard of (maybe some of you have?). It's called a Kindle. Some kind of hand-held device, made me think of an MP3 player except you download books and the screen displays the pages for you to read. You can change the font size if your eyes get tired, push a button to turn the page, etc. Sounded really neat, especially since I really want to read the next Janet Evanovich and if I had a Kindle all I'd have to do is download it and start readng. Pretty cool, I think.

Meterology??...

All week long the TV weathermen have gone on and on about the 3-6 inches (maybe more!) of snow we should expect for today. Late last night they started to stumble around, looking for a way to tactfully take back their forecast while maintaining some dignity. Then today, what did we get? A cold, dreary, rainy day with a little wet snow to finish it off! So think about it, what other profession allows you to make your best guess about what will happen, with no repercussions whatsoever for whether you were right or wrong? Palm readers and psychics, I suppose... but for some reason meteorologists are more revered and respected. I'm not sure I see why. I'm really pissed that this "winter storm" was another flop. My kids were excited again, darn it!!! So was I!!! And...nothing. Ugh!

Sam lost his ball game today. They played terrible, bless their hearts! Sam is so distracted by the crowd and he just dances around like he's lost. He smiles a lot. I was so excited after the first game because he really played a great game. But it has been downhill since then. I hope this is not an indicator of how his athletic career will turn out. :)

I went shopping this afternoon. I had a 30% off coupon for Kohl's and the had lots of their winter stuff on clearance. They had discontinued bras on sale for $9.99 and $11.99 (plus I got 30% off of that) so I stocked up! They had some of their cute winter girls' dresses on clearance too. I bought several dresses for $4-$10. You can't buy clothes that cheap at WalMart! Lily was thrilled to get some new dresses (yes, she STILL pitches a fit to wear pantyhose and dresses EVERY day). I got a pair of nice comfy athletic pants for Sam for $2. I bought myself a soft, cozy new robe for $10. I just love great deals!

Well, Brad took Lily to Taco Bell to get some supper and they should be home soon so I guess I need to go get some drinks ready. Maybe we'll find something good on pay-per-view later. And I think I am gonna spend some time on my scrapbooks tomorrow.

Slushie...

Well, it wasn't much of a snow...but it was enough to get us out of school. I know, I know, I have to make the day up later and I'll regret it, but I don't care. I am even hoping we will be out tomorrow, or at least have a delay so I can take it easy in the morning. I just watched the news and they showed a big map of North Carolina with a big blue blob centered right over Shelby that says 3-6 inches on Saturday. I'm not getting my hopes up, but my fingers are definitely crossed. I mean, my kids are going to go through their entire childhoods without ever experiencing a "real" snow if things don't get moving. They were dying to go outside this morning, and they did have a ball, but good grief!!! It was raining and all there was on the ground was slush! They will really have a cow if it ever snows for real.

Today was an overall good day though. We cleaned Sam's room and rearranged his furniture. Sam played on hotwheels.com for a while and Lily took a good nap. I took a long bath, shaved my legs, and read some of my book. Maybe one day I will actually finish Two for the Dough and I can update the "books I've read lately" part of my blog.

Fingers are still crossed for snow on Saturday and at least a two-hour delay tomorrow...

so glad...

Today I was reminded of how hard it was to be in middle school/junior high. You know, what we see as so trivial and absolutley meaningless is like life or death to kids that age. And kids that age are so cruel to each other. It is really hard to watch some days and I am so glad that I am past that stage in my life. I guess now I have my own kids growing into that stage to look forward to. Oh well...

Praying for snow... or ice or whatever...

Weekend update...

Well, another weekend has come to an end. It is always amazing to me how quickly my weekends fly by.

This weekend we played basketball again on Saturday. Sam's team didn't play as well as they did last weekend...plus they played a more aggresive team so they lost their game. Sam cried, but I was ready for that. He doesn't like losing nearly as much as he liked winning. I tried to stress the "have fun" sentiment to him. We went to get Billy and Lea Saturday afternoon to hang out for a while here at the house and after he rode his four-wheeler for a while, Sam shot ball with Billy. Billy was always really good at basketball and he tried to show Sam a couple of things. Sam listens to Billy so maybe Billy's pointers will stick in his mind for next week's game.

Friday night I went to my friend Katie's house and had a girls' night with her and Becky. We went to eat Fast Jap and then we watched Pirates of the Caribbean. It was a nice, relaxing time. We laughed a lot at the restaurant because there was this woman that you had to see to believe! She was so messed up on something that she could barely hold her eyes open. She was wearing next to nothing (and she was a big girl), she had on tons of makeup and jewelry, and she even had little sequin thingys glued on her face. She smoked about three cigarettes WHILE she ate her food. Watching her eat was the funniest thing I had seen in a very long time. She had shrimp sauce running out of the corners of her mouth and, at one point, she even picked up her plate and put the edge of it IN her mouth and RAKED her rice into her mouth! We were crying, we were laughing so hard! Some people are clueless. We were sitting at the table right beside the woman...laughing hysterically...and I'm really not sure she even knew anyone else was in the restaurant. Pathetic, really. But it was really funny for us. Anyhow, it was nice just to be without the kids for a while and enjoy some adult conversation. I love Becky and Katie!

Brad and I went to Wal-Mart tonight to pick up a few things, mainly shredded lettuce for my lunch this week. We dropped the kids off at Maw-Maw's while we shopped to give her a little time with them. After we got home, we got their baths watched some cartoons, and Brad is up there putting them in the bed as we speak. He's been doing a much better job of helping with the bedtime routine lately. As a matter of fact, he is doing a great job helping around the house in general. He washed clothes all week while I was recovering from that nasty head cold and, of course, he took care of the kids while I went with my friends Friday. It always makes things so much easier when you have a little help and you feel like you are not totally own your own. I love him a lot and he has no idea how appreciative I am of him when he does even little things to help out.

I watched Titanic last night. I love that movie. I always think of how Jack inspired Rose to live her life to the fullest and to "make each moment count". Sometimes I know I need to be reminded of that. With all my planning and cleaning, and planning of my cleaning (how silly that sounds!) I don't take the time to enjoy myself or the people around me. If I could change anything about myself (besides shrinking myself about 6 or 8 dress sizes), I would make myself spend less energy on things that just won't matter in the long run and I would spend more time and energy on the things I will look back on and remember as precious in 30 years. Guess I should "plan" to watch Titanic more often, huh? Nighty-night.

Ugh...strep...

Sam and I stayed home from school today and I took him to the doctor. He has a terrible case of strep throat. He'll probably end up staying home tomorrow too, just to be sure he is better. I hate being a teacher when my kids are sick (not to mention when I am sick myself). It is more work to be out than to just go to school and make it through the day sick. Sometimes I wish I had a normal job!

I have a crusty cold myself that hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday afternoon. Don't know where it came from! I have sneezed approximately 4,000 times today. I did at least rest a little today when Sam and I weren't at the doctors or the pharmacy. I would really like to stay home tomorrow myself and veg out on the couch on cold medicine but it looks like Grandmomma will have to keep Sam while I do the teacher thing.

New pictures...

I put some new pictures on Winkflash...check them out using the link to the right!

Basketball and Otters...

Sam had his first basketball game on Saturday. I have always sworn I would not be one of those crazy sports-crazed mothers but I SO enjoyed watching him play. He did so well and I was SO proud! He was adorable, first of all, in that little uniform. When he went out on the court, I held my breath, not quite sure what would happen. His tendency is to clam up and get shy and nervous in front of an audience. At first he was hesitant, but after just a few minutes of play, he was all into the game and he seemed to forget all about the people watching him play. I was totally impressed (probably mostly because I'm his mom, of course) by the way he kept his eyes on the ball and followed the directions his coach had given him. At the end, he said his coach told him that their team won because they had the most fun! And that is what I told him... I wanted him to have fun, fun, fun...win or lose. And I think that he did. Can't wait for next Saturday.

So, a pretty normal weekend otherwise except that mom and dad told me Saturday that they have discovered an otter in the fishing pond! Becky & I went over to try to catch a glimpse of it Saturday but he wouldn't come out for usto see him. Everybody else in my family has seen him at some point or other except for me. Mom took some really good pictures of the otter (Sam & Lily are calling him Otto) and his vicious looking teeth! He is in otter-heaven out there with all those fish. Dad says he and mom stood on the deck yesterday morning and listened to him crunching on a fish he had pulled out of the water. Yuck! Not sure what they are gonna do with him... call wildlife people to have him removed, hope he goes away on his own, who knows... I just know he probably can't set up residence in the carp lake since the fishermen will not like him eating all the fish. Won't be too good for business, you know? But I think it is so neat... never heard of otters being around here, but apparently they are. Who knew?

My resolutions...

You know how New Year's seems to make you want to start over with better habits. Well, I am absolutely overwhelmed with resolutions to do things better and different. In a lot of ways, I suppose that is good. But then, I also know myself well enough to know that I probably won't stick to about half the resolutions I start, so that is depressing in and of itself. Maybe by putting them out there for everyone to read, I will feel some sense of responsibility to stick to them, who knows...

1. I want to continue to improve my "homemaking" skills by developing some kind of cleaning/cooking plan. I have the e-mealz plan (the food's not so great, but if nothing else it has taught me HOW to make a meal plan for the week and a grocery list to accompany it), and I have fly-lady to help with the cleaning.

2. I want to take better care of myself. I want to floss and remember to take my vitamin every day. I want to start exercising, even if it is just a few times per week of walking. I NEVER exercise and I am starting to feel a lot older than I should feel. I want to drink lots of water and get off of the diet rite.

3. I want to try not to WORRY about the little things that really don't matter. For example, Lily pitched a fit for a bobby the other morning. I had not bought any new ones lately, hoping she would be giving it up soon (yeah, right). Well, I decided not to fight that battle. I went to Babies R'Us and I bought 7 new bobbys so that instead of fighting with her because we can't find her bobby, I can save my sanity and just get another one out of the cabinet.

4. Home time is family time and Heather time, not work time. I refuse, especially on the weekends, to bring work home. I am going to use my weekday evenings to clean my house, cook supper, take kids to practices, etc. I want my weekends to be for relaxing. I got all of my scrapbook pages put into books this weekend and I am only about 6 months behind now and I would absolutely LOVE to get caught up and stay that way.

Well, it's not much, right? Surely out of all that, I can manage to stick to a few of these. I know, I have big plans, big hopes, big dreams... but what's life without those things?