Foot in Mouth and Doofy Brain

Today was Homecoming Sunday. I wasn't in the children's ministry room and worried so much about that. I feel like I should have been there. Plus my mouth and worries kept getting in the way.

Started out the whole foot in mouth thing when my mil comes down to the front while we are practicing and tells us that everything is very slow and there is no excitement. I blurbled that we could either have excitement during practice or excitement during worship. Jeez! I mean, I see her side of things. I do. I've been to all the same seminars she went to 15 years ago at Willow Creek and I know what they said to here. But then I've also had the opportunity that she's never had and that is to attend a larger church and see how it's really done in practice, not just info given in a seminar. Here's the dealio...we are a small church. We only have so many musicians. We are all doing more than one thing at church so there is no time for a musical rehearsal to go over notes and other details AND have a dress rehearsal so we meet Sunday morning. We really can either give her the fakey fake excitement she seems to want so that we are like what she thinks big churches are like or she can let us bang out notes, take things a little slower so that everyone knows their parts (especially with a couple of us not having been on the stage recently) and do what we need to do to prepare so that when worship time comes, we can let go and worship! But still, she didn't deserve me snarking on her.

Kept up the stupidity telling a little girl who was running down the hall with a biscuit that the kids shouldn't be eating in the Sunday school room and then came around the corner and saw that the teacher had ALL the kids eating. Apparently that's been done for years. So I let the little ones bring their food in and, sure enough, there were crumbs all over. Plus, I noticed that someone gave the girls orange SODA to drink. #1...it's breakfast time, SODA? For a 3 and 5 year old? That isn't YOURS?! #2...it's ORANGE! They are 3 and 5. That means they spill. On the carpet. I swear, doesn't anyone think anymore?

Then I didn't say hi to anyone because I was freaking out over the adult in the elementary room not showing up. I didn't say hi. My big thing with this time doing the children's ministry that it was going to be able relationships. And I didn't even say hi.

Finally, after praise time was over and we are getting ready for the sermon, I feel like I need to go around and check the different children's ministry areas to make sure all is going well. I get down to the nursery and the first thing that greets me is a room that looks like it threw up toys. There are 3 adult helpers (one of the deacons stayed to lend a hand), the teen helper and a 3rd grader. I notice the 3rd grader due to the fact that he's stomping around on the toys and then sits on a rocky horse and starts bouncing around. This is his mom's first week in the nursery and for some reason she's decided that it's okay for an 8-year old to be in a nursery that's already packed to the gills with people who are supposed to be in there, babies, toddlers, and toys. I tell her that I'd be glad to take her child to his class since he's not supposed to be in the nursery. Okay, so not most tactful. But then the other helper and the deacon both say that he's a helper! Um, deacon...you were part of the pow-wow about nursery helpers needing to be at least 13 years old and approved by the leadership. Ugh! I did go and speak to the mom after but I couldn't get the situation out of my head during the sermon. Hate that!

So now I'm starting an online Bible study called, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God. I feel like going with the children's ministry was me saying yes. I really am worried about leading this ministry. I got burnt last time. Now I'm getting paid and I feel like there's so much more pressure. I guess I need to pray that God will put a hand over my mouth as well as giving me the strength and leadership I need to lead this ministry.

Oh my.

Summer days...

Geez...where did July go? This blogging thing is harder than it looks. I'm back at work, the girls are at Band Camp, Kenny3 & Lorie have less than 3 weeks left at home and they'll both be at college and we've still not heard from Day. I'm concerned about Kenny, Lorie and Jo. They are having such a hard time dealing with not only the total abandonment but also the accusations that we are bad people because we loved her and welcomed her into our family.

I'm having a hard time organizing myself with working with school, working at church, the dogs, and the house. It's hard not to slip into a poor me attitude. Hopefully once school starts and we can get into a routine, I can get into a routine, too.

The weight's still creeping up and I'm not finding time to exercise.

Oh, and I'm still a whiney-butt.

Today I didn't schedule myself to work because I have a dental apt this afternoon. My plan was to help out at Band Camp, do some housework, do some organization with CM and start working on my lesson for tomorrow. Somehow, I've lost a couple registration forms, I can't focus on the lesson, I can't figure out how to organize myself so I can get some housework done. Wish I liked housework even an eensy bit.

And I'm not really psyched about this dental appointment. Boo.

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

Ah, vacation. It was way too short. Anne and Greg, again, rented FancyPants (which is not called FancyPants anymore) and all 15 of us hightailed it to the beach. I don't know what was different about this year. The week seemed to go by really, REALLY quickly. Maybe because we all "knew" the house and weren't quite as impressed by it all? I can't put my finger on it.

I impressed the kids and the hubster by actually getting in the ocean, not once, but twice! And I got in the pool every day but one.

The storms were pretty impressive. Once really and truly did look like the mothership in the clouds. But, luckily, the lights stayed on. Or maybe unluckily. Last year when the lights went out is when everyone kind of bonded.

I'm kind of ready for the Las Vegas trip...kinda. I'm a little worried about taking another week off. I hope what I'm doing with the church makes up for the vacations. But it IS the summer. I'm pretty much homebound for the school year because of my job. Ah well, I can only do what I can do. They either love me or they don't.

OH, and I'm .2 lb lighter than I was before I left for the beach. I really think it's the birth control pills. But I ache so badly when I don't take them. What to do, what to do.

Lights out!

Major storms came through last night. The Kennys game at 8 got canceled. We hunkered down to watch a movie and enjoy the light show out the windows. What we didn't count on was the electricity going out. Plus we were right in the middle of the place where the storm WASN'T. We got some thunder and some lightening, but not much. So it was hot, humid and boring. Kenny put Star Trek on his phone and we watched that until the battery died. Everyone went their separate ways by 10. I got woken up around midnight by the lights coming back on and the TIVO powering up. Boy that's a noisy program! I got the house settled and then headed back to bed. Wish I could figure out why I feel like a Mack truck mowed me down today!

Get the facts, people!

Okay, pet peeve time! Again. Why, why, why do people let themselves get all het up about something when they don't have all the facts? And why, why, why when they find out the facts do they not apologize and move on? When did being wrong about something become the worst thing in the world? Being wrong doesn't make you a bad person. Clinging to wrong beliefs doesn't either...but it kinda makes you an idiot.

Case in point. Today on the news they are showing the story of a public school bus driver who got information from a student that they didn't eat lunch. The reason was because the school wouldn't let him eat as he didn't have any money in his lunch account. So the bus driver decides, for whatever reason, to blast his employer. On Facebook. Now me, myself, and I? I don't take anything a child tells me as fact. I'm sorry. Children are immature and tend to make things bigger than they really are. And middle school students (the child in question was in middle school) are really bad about this. But, this gentleman decided to take as fact what this child said. The school system, of course, saw and investigated. Videos show that the child didn't even go through the lunch line! So how in the world could he have been denied lunch?! Hellooooooo! But the story goes that the school system spoke to the employee about what the video showed and asked him to take down the Facebook post. And he refused. So he was fired.

So now this man's story is all over Facebook and the news media and, of course, people are listening to the part about this poor child who didn't get lunch. But what about the fact that the child lied? What about the fact that the parents didn't put money in the child's lunch account? What about the fact that after the employee knew the real truth, he didn't act in an appropriate manner? He's on the news saying he'd do the same thing again. Really? You'll lose your job over a lie a child told you...AGAIN?

Seriously, I don't understand people. And I am the world's WORST at backing myself in a corner. But if even I can see the stupidity in this? That's saying something!

Paint

We spent a good part of last week painting the JAM room. It turned out cute but I, of course, see all the things that still need to be done that I need to rely on somebody else to finish. I hope to get those finishing detail done and not have it be like everything else in my life...waiting for someone to find the time.

But pushing through to get the painting done gave a nice present...the Sunday school teacher decided to work on her room instead of waiting for my schedule. I'd planned on Monday stripping wallpaper/border and getting the room prepped, Tuesday painting the first coat and Wednesday the second coat. She came in Friday and Saturday and banged it out! So now I'm free to work on other things.

Wish I could get myself out of bed. :) Granted I have made several calls and emails plus done some research in my prone position so I'm not being a total lazy bum. Just a bit of one.'

Geek Squad

Seriously, talk to me and the last thing you'll think is "Geek Squad." I know just enough about computers to be dangerous AND irritating.

Our county school system is strapped for cash because property values in our county took a nosedive. They are making major changes including, but not limited to, removing all media clerks from all schools, making our Technology/Data Specialists share schools (and removing 10 of the 20 positions) and pulling the Intels (that's Instructional Technology Liaison to those of you not in the know) out of the schools to the county-level (but not a county-level paycheck...hmmmm!), removing 10 of the 20 positions and sending them to schools to work on an as needed thing. I actually got picked and was kind of thinking how nice that was. Then I found out that it was based on seniority with RCPS and had nothing to do with knowledge or personality. Now I know that I wouldn't have gotten chosen based on knowledge, but even though I can be quite a pain in the rump on a personal level, on a work level I'm the one to know. I get things done. I go above and beyond and I'm willing to do the stupid things (okay, so I may gripe about the really stupid things...like 2 hr lunch duty, but I still do it).

But no. I have eight years with the county and that's more than at least 7 other people (3 people retired or switched positions at the end of the school year). What is sad is that some of those seven are really nice guys and know computers really well and would be a great addition to the Geek Squad.

The System Support Specialist that is over my school came by while I was working summer clerical hours and gave me the 411. She said that some people were accepted to the Geek Squad that they wouldn't have chosen. But then when I said that my principal was trying to figure out how to keep me, she said he couldn't have me. So maybe, MAYBE, she didn't mean me.

I'm kind of hoping that they can't find the hours to keep me here now. It would be nice to have the decision be taken out of my hands.

Crap. I make a sucky adult!