I am so Proud!

In the process of cleaning out my grandparent's house this summer, I was able to acquire a table and five chairs. I decided I would refurbish, recycle, reuse, (whatever the term is) the set. I sanded, painted, and upholstered.
Table and Chairs-Free
Paint and Supplies- $30.00
Time- Two days (one for painting and one for upholstering)
Equals amazing cool dinning set! Priceless!

Ponder this.....

-Landscaping at the Raleigh, NC temple- not temple worthy, does your landscaping have a temple recommend?
-nobody drinks beer from a straw
-it is better to mow the lawn in the morning or evening (in the south). I lost five gallons of water through glistening
-Costco has rules about their samples. You must 13 years or older to receive samples or have parental permission.
-you want to experience true southern women etiquette-Attend a patsy aiken (designer) sale with southern women. I was overwhelmed with "Excuse me's" and "I am sorry." from 100's of women shopping for monogram children's design clothing. No fights or cross words.

Good to Know

Good to know that swim diapers don't hold anything, except to keep solids out of the pool. Solids, not semi-solids.

El Ciervo (deer)

The deer population in North Carolina is quite large. NC does not have laws restricting hunters from how many deers they can hunt in a season.

My parents have a garden and the deer have been eating it. They ate the beans, cilantro, and the green peppers (salsa). They are Mexican deer. They didn't eat the raspberries (not fruity) or the rosemary (not Italian deer). I didn't know that Deer would be so picky.

We believe they are illegal deer, but we can't be certain until we check their green cards.

Road Driving Lessons

As you may know, I made another driving trip across the U. S. of A. (it has been 7 years since the last cross country trip.) I was reminded of important highway driving rules.

1. The left lane is for passing cars in the right lane, aka you should be going faster than the cars in the right lane if in the left lane.(the signs on the freeway state this, yet many people forget this very simple rule.)

2. Kansas is prettier in the dark.

3. Beware of rest areas in Kansas at night. My mother and I were attacked by bugs of all shapes and sizes while trying to get into the facilities. (One bug tried to hitchhiked on my mother's back, which led to sudden death)

4.The hazardous of driving all day and night causes one to become "punch-drunk" as stated by my father.

5.Plan well ahead with relatives for drop off points so you don't have to drive all day and all night.

6.Don't open a can of Vienna Sausages while driving (may cause spillage)!

7.Prepare in advance for snacks to keep one awake in the middle of the night.

8.Apparently we are the only people on the road that can read road maps, because everyone else has GPSs.

9.Replace batteries in hearing aids of parental unit. West is not left.

10.West Virginia is not as scary as previously believed. I didn't see any cousins married.

Siblings working together

I have watched my mother's and father's siblings work together recently. In the past year, both my grandmothers passed away leaving the division of their things up to their children.
My mother's mother decided that she would give everything away before she passed away, so there would be no fights amongst her children when she died. My mother and her sibling quietly sorted and distributed the remaining items my grandmother had. No fights or hard feelings.
My father and his sibling recently gathered together to divide everything. My dad's parents were world travelers back in the 1950's and 1960's and had collected some priceless items. My aunts organized all the items into categories. Then, each sibling randomly selected the categories they were picking first in. No arguing, squabbling, or complaining. Everyone was able to work together and no feeling are hurt.
Normally, when I have talked with those that have had to divide up their parent's items between siblings, it seems that causes fights, hard feelings, and resentment. It has sadden me to think that after a celebration of someones life is destroyed because of things and emotions masked by sadness.

Jury Duty

Last week, I was called in for Jury Duty. I went in on Tuesday morning. I brought a book for the down time. After check-in, we watched a great cheezy 1980's jury duty is such a great experience, video. My name was called with a group of people and we were taken upstairs into a courtroom. Then, everyone had to tell about themselves, Name, Age, Occupation, Spouse's Occupation, Children (how many and how old) and how you get your news. With 30 people this can take awhile. Then, we were asked by the judge some questions about if we knew some people involved and other pertient questions. (it was a drug case). The two attorneys picked the jury by passing a piece of paper back and forth. It was done. I was not selected.

I would have love to serve on the jury, but that week was not a great time.

Alright

I have unpacked and settled in and have time to update my blog.

I have received and accepted a job offer at Westlake Jr. High in West Valley (Granite School District) mainly as a Reading Teacher. It all happened so fast. I interviewed last Monday and found out before the holiday weekend, while I was out of town.

I feel very blessed and excited about this new opportunity. This school is a title I school which means tons of lower income families and also has 70% minorities. That is right down my alley. Now I can breathe and travel with my parents for a few weeks.

P.S.

Do you remember that time I wrote on my blog? Yeh, that was fun.

Oh, I got a job-more details to come later.