25 Random Things About Me

Let's see. . .

1. I really like angels. I'm not quite sure why. . . I'm not particularly religious but I really love angels and have collected them for years. I can fill a seven-foot tall Christmas tree with them! But I don't put an angel at the top of the tree - that might make the other angels jealous- we put a star on top of ours.

2. In fourth grade, I was one of the three French hens in the Christmas program at Lakeview Elementary and I was scared to death. I was not born to perform. It still makes me pretty nervous to present at faculty meetings and things like that.

3. In restaurants, I like to sit in booths with my family. It's cozier or something. And I hate sitting with my back to the restaurant, facing the wall. I just won't do it. I make my children sit there.

4. Sometimes as I walk up to my front door with my keys in my hand, I press the unluck button on my car key like I think it's going to magically open my front door.

5. I'd really really like to have more children even though I can think of a million reasons why I should stop at two.

6. My first date with my husband ended with a kiss in Riverfront Park in Spokane overlooking the falls on Friday the 13th. So now I consider Friday the 13th a lucky day. We even thought of getting married on a Friday the 13th but there wasn't one that worked for us.

7. I got married on a Sunday. I think that is very unusual. But it was great! It was easy to find a photographer, florist, even a minister for a June wedding on a Sunday (Saturday? fuggedaboutit!)

8. I have lived in four time zones. My oldest daughter had lived in four time zones before she entered 2nd grade, so I feel sympatico with military wives.

9. Men with British accents make me heart melt and my knees quiver. No idea why. . . Well, maybe because of Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice, but that's just a guess.

10. I really really don't like dogs. In fact I am allergic to them. But I have a dog. That's the true test of how much I really really love my husband.

11. I worry way too much about what other people think about me. I try not to care, but I do. I'm a pleaser at heart and I bend over backwards to keep everybody happy.

12. I really like to sing. And I really can't. But my husband really likes to hear me sing, because I only do it when I'm really happy.

13. I really use the word really too much. I've just realized that. I also say "All right, class" about a hundred times a day, but I like it better than "Attention." It just sounds friendlier.

14. I have had five miscarriages. Sad, huh? But it makes me feel truly blessed to have the two amazing children that God gifted to me.

15. I have felt a calling to motherhood from the time I was a very little girl. Before I got pregnant with Kenzie I felt her spirit trying to escape from me. So even though we weren't planning on having children so soon, we went for it. If you ever meet my oldest you will understand; she has a huge forceful spirit (in a good way!).

16. When I got pregnant with Becca, I really didn't want to be pregnant. I had just lost a baby at 14 weeks and was still grieving and wanted more time, but God must know best. Becca is the best thing that ever happened to me.

17. I could live on bread and butter and Pepsi with steak once a week. Making myself eat heathy food is a daily struggle.

18. I really want to live in the Northwest again. I miss my family and my friends. I still consider it home. I feel like I am on an extended break from my "real life" living here in Florida.

19. I really don't like snakes. I ended up in a Port-a-potty at a campground in Montana with a snake once and that was all she wrote, folks.

20. I wish I was taller.

21. I have perfect eyesight and do not need glasses. I see better than anyone in my family by far.

22. I am an amazing speller. And seeing spelling mistakes, especially from teachers or my administrators (!) drives me insane. When I was 8, I went up to the manager of Excel (Dale Lowry, I think) to tell him that the sign over the Pepsi was spelled wrong. So I don't think the spell check gene in me is going away anytime soon.

23. When I was five, I got caught shoplifting crayons from K-Mart by my mom. yeah. . . bad. . . spanking, grounding, you name it. And she made me take them back to the store and apologize to the manager! Thanks mom! That mortification was a lesson learned well.

24. I breastfed McKenzie for 15 months and I loved it. Becca for 8. I really don't understand why some people have such a thing against breastfeeding in public. Why the big deal? That's what they're there for, right?? But women who breastfeed past 2 or 3 kind of creep me out. I try not to judge, but I think it's a little weird to breastfeed your kindergartner.

25. I can't wear flip-flops. The whole thing between my toes thing just doesn't work for me.

Oxbow Eco-Center Hike

So we were looking for a place to hike where we could take Sophie (because, really, who would want to take her for a walk after we just got back from a hike?) and we didn't want to go too far . . . so we ended up at the Oxbow Eco-Center, a place McKenzie has gone to on field trips. We checked online and they let you bring your dog and there were about 3 miles or so of groomed trails on the 224-acre preserve. Perfect!

So we started off, except Mike and I really didn't know how to get there. I had a vague idea and he had an even vaguer idea, so we doubled back to go print directions at home. While Mike was mapquesting, I looked for my sunglasses and realized that Mike had left our bag of water bottles on the kitchen floor. Oops. Can you tell we haven't done this whole hiking thing in a while?? No sunglasses, no directions, no WATER!!

We arrived at the Oxbow Center about 25 minutes later and I used their facilities before we started on our trek (that part I haven't forgotten. . . I'm just not a pee-in-the-woods kind of gal). We had a little trail map and decided to make a big loop, about 3 miles in all. The day wasn't hot and the terrain is flat (we have to drive 300 miles to find a hill. Seriously.) so we thought 3 miles would be just about right. Sophie was all set to go!! She was having a total smell-fest! We hadn't gone down the trail too far when we ran into Officer Byrnes, the School Resource Officer at SLWK8 and his wife, Lily! Small world! Our county has 300,000 people, and we were 20 miles from home, so it was kind of funny to run into someone from our school.

We continued on and heard something in the bushes. Hey it's an armadillo! In the wild. . . not dead, in the middle of the road. Cool!

Sophie was convinced that her job was to protect us from the evil armadillo, so she lunged at it but being Sophie, didn't bark, so I had time to take a picture before going on our way.

After a while we came to this bridge where we took I took a photo op. Hiking for me is really all about taking pictures, don't you know?

So this bridge was over a small trickle of a creek. I'm not trying to insult it. . . it's probably a big roaring creek during big rainstorms. . . but today it was just a little bitty creek. To the north (I'm just making that up, I have no idea if it was north or not, but let's just say north) it looked like this: clear, crystal water, green vines hanging down, and a sandy creek bottom. . .

And to the south (again, no idea, do you think I carry a compass around??) it looked like this: crystal clear water, but no green vines and no white sand in evidence at all. Hmmm. . . Kenzie and I thought it was odd. Well, it was Kenzie who pointed it out. I don't have time to ponder these kinds of things. I'm too busy taking pictures.

These spiky palm fronds (I'm sure Kenzie could tell you the name and the genus) lined the path. They make a cool sound when you brush past them. And they were spiky enough to keep Sophie (and Mike) on the trail.

Hey, take a look at this weird vegetation. . . it is weird, don't you think? Mike thinks I walk slow. Nope. Just lookin' at stuff, weird stuff like this.. After all, this is a nature hike, right?

See? Here's a tree attacking another tree, or hugging it I guess. Depends on your perspective and your state of mind. The things a tree will do to get more light and water. Really selfish if you think about it. Which I don't, usually.

Ah. . . The mighty North Fork of the St Lucie River. Rivers in Florida really don't look like rivers in the northwest. I can't imagine whitewater rafting down this. Kayaking maybe. . . the whole alligator thing though keeps my feet on dry land. We were, however, looking for manatee. We've never seen one in the wild but that doesn't keep us from looking.

Here's McKenzie pondering the great questions of life. Or thinking, Mom, when are you going to put the damn camera away and leave me alone? Nah. . . she's had a camera in her face since she was born. She's used to it. She's probably one of the more photographed kids ever. Cute, no? But I think her eyes are closed. Ugh.

So we continued around a bend in the river, also known as an Oxbow (I remember that from Oxbow Bend in the Grand Tetons and hence the name Oxbow Center), and the terrain was actually hilly. Not like, really hilly, but Florida hilly. So like 6-8 feet hills, but outside of the county garbage dump, that's as hilly as I've ever seen it around here.

The ubiquitous palm tree. I had to take this gratuitous shot. It is Florida, after all. I think it's a rule.

See the hill? I am at the top and Mike, Becca and Sophie, the super hunter, are at the bottom.

The trail turned away from the river at this point and we headed inland. Becca was holding Sophie on the leash through this part. Well, more accurately, Sophie was pulling Becca down the trail, but why get picky? Until Sophie got wind of another critter and then Becca was on the ground, but she didn't let go of the leash! I've got to give her credit for that. She has her wimpy moments (I'll get to that in a moment), but she can be tenacious when she chooses to be. It turned out that we had run across another armadillo. He's kind of cute, in a homely sort of way.

By this time we were about a half mile from trail's end and we were all thirsty because we had left the water bottles in the car (I know, we're rusty at this hiking thing), so we were moving along pretty quickly. Mike had been holding Sophie's leash since the whole armadillo incident, but figured Becca could hold it during the home stretch. So Mike calls up to Becca to call for Sophie and Becca wouldn't answer him. It turned out she had been crying the whole time! Not because she got hurt falling to her knees, but because Mike had laughed! Oh Becca, Becca, Becca. . . what are we going to do with you and your fragile little feelings? I explained that Daddy is a big stupid man and that the silent treatment never works, because he would never notice. Well, maybe by next Wednesday or Thursday he would figure it out, maybe. Maybe not. If she was mad, she needed to say she was mad and why. Sweetie, men are really very clueless. You have to just say it. So hopefully it is a lesson she takes to heart because it is one all women must learn eventually.

Think my dog had a good time? She had a continuous grin on her face the whole time, except when she put on her fierce "scare-the-armadillo-must-protect-family" look.

And here is one last shot of our beautiful, 72 degree weather in January, hike. (I just put that last part in so all my northwest friends would be jealous and come down and visit me).

Scattergories

*Rules:
USE THE 1ST LETTER OF YOUR NAME TO ANSWER EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

THEY HAVE TO BE REAL PLACES, NAMES, THINGS. NOTHING MADE-UP!

TRY TO USE DIFFERENT ANSWERS IF THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU HAD THE SAME 1ST INITIAL.

YOU CAN'T USE YOUR NAME FOR THE BOY/GIRL NAME QUESTION.

1. What is your name? Kendra

2. A 4 Letter Word : kiss

3. A Boys Name : Kevin

4. A Girls name : Krystal

5. An Occupation: Kindergarten teacher

6. A Color: Khaki

7. Something you wear: Keds

8 A Beverage : Kool-aid

9. A Food: Key Lime Pie

10. Something found in the bathroom : Kleenex

11. A place: Kansas City

12. A Reason for being late: Kids

13 . Something you shout! Kiss my ass!

If You Can't Change the Problem, Change Your Thinking

Okay, well, I'm on a more even keel today. Had time to process a little bit and realize a few things. The things that were there, but not really making sense the other day. I still have "issues" to work through, but I don't feel quite so overwhelmed!

Two things have helped me and brought me some comfort. The first was the necessary step of counting my blessings, something I probably don't do often enough. I have a wonderful, supportive husband, two fabulous, bright, amazing children and everything else is gravy. It never hurts to take the time to look at everything in your life and remember the blessings. My life will never be perfect, but it's time I started to appreciate all that I have.

The second was the realization that no matter what everything will be okay. God hasn't steered me wrong yet and I'm obviously on the path that I am am for a reason, even if it's not apparent to me. An old friend helped me remember that our lives are most at peace when we accept the will of God. That's a hard lesson for me. . . but one that I am working on.

Is Discombobulated a Real Word?

If it is. . . then that is how I feel. Just really mixed up in my head. I am a very level-headed practical person, usually, so this is quite a change for me. I've just been re-examining my life, as we are all wont to do at the beginning of a new year. And I'm not at all sure about where I am. I feel like I've been sleepwalking for months, even years, and now suddenly I am rethinking everything. Why now? Not quite sure. Its disconcerting to say the least.

When we moved to Florida and I went back to work I feel like I got on a treadmill that keeps picking up speed and I haven't been off of it since. No time to stop and analyze, just quick, get over each hurdle as it comes. And the strange thing is I don't want to think about it. I'm happier being ignorant. Ignorance is bliss right? I don't want to think about whether I love my job, or where I live or if I'm living a passionate life. Because what if I decide I don't or I'm not? That would mean some big decisions and upheaval and I'm not someone who is happy rocking the boat. So I am trying to hang on to the treadmill, at least for now.

Tour of Our House Part II

Alright, continuing on the tour of our little house, well not so little, I guess. It's the biggest house I have ever lived in at 1860 square feet. It's just about the right size for us. If i could tweak it a little I would add a guest room with separate bath so maybe someone would come visit us! A studio to hold all of McKenzie and my craft stuff. And a walk-in pantry. And maybe a basement for storage (not gonna happen in Florida). Okay, so our house is too small for us, but it's ours and it will have to do for now!

Highlighted today will be the master bath, just off of the master bedroom. There is a door off the master bedroom that leads to a hallway. On each side of the short hallway (maybe 6 feet long) are two walk-in closets. That may be one of the reasons that we bought this house. A walk-in closet for each of us??? Unheard of. And very, very, very nice. It would be hard to go back to sharing a closet after this. On to the bathroom itself. . .

Going clockwise around the room we have a small linen closet, with no linens in it, just hair stuff, meds, girl stuff, TP, etc. That kind of stuff takes up a whole lot of room! Then there is the toilet. Mike kind of likes it when the commode has it's own separate space for privacy. I like that idea, too, but it's kind of nice not to be shut up in a little room to do your thing; that can be kind of claustrophobic if you're in there for any length of time, in my opinion. Total run-on sentence. Sorry. Next to the toilet in a large walk-in shower (Mike's favorite part of the house), then there is a large corner tub (girl's favorite part of house) and then on to double sinks. There's a window over the tub, bad for privacy, good for natural light. Two other pet peeves: No drawers in the bathroom and there is no light in the hallway. You have to walk all the way down the hallway to reach the bathroom light. You can stop and turn on the lights in the closets if you really need to see, but those doors are usually shut. So if I was going to build this house again I would add a lightswitch right inside the door.

We have made a few changes since we moved in: we painted it blue (I'm still not entirely sure it's the right shade of blue. . . I think I would like it to be a little lighter, grayer, and slightly greener); I replaced the light fixture over the sinks and the sink faucets; I added a cabinet over the toilet; I changed the towel bar and Toilet paper roll holder and changed the hardware on the cabinets. Small changes, but it feels a lot more spa-like now. You may, of course, have your own opinion!

Getting to Know You 2009

1. What is your occupation right now ?
Teacher

2. What color are your socks right now?
I'm not wearing socks. I live in Florida. Who needs socks?

3. What are you listening to right now?
Kenzie is being obnoxiously loud while playing with the dog.

4.What was the last thing you ate?
Fuji Chicken Salad from Panera

5.Can you drive a stick shift?
Of course. My first car (Smurfmobile) was a stick shift.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
Mike. He asked if he should pick up dinner on the way home, hence the Panera salad.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Very much so.

8.How old are you today? 35

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
College basketball, but I prefer to watch sports in person

10. What is your favorite drink?
Pepsi, on ice or fresh-squeezed lemonade

11. Have you ever dyed your hair
Noooooooo. Never (Okay. that's a lie)

12. Favorite food?
I don't have time to list all my favorites.

13. What is the last movie you watched?
Sex in the City, I think.

14. Favorite day of the year?
I have 52 (Saturday)

15. How do you vent anger?
I tend to lecture and when I'm really mad I clean.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Baby Beans

17. What is your favorite season?
Fall, love crunching around in the fallen leaves

18. Cherries or Blueberries?
Cherries, no question.

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?
If they find the time, but it won't hurt my feelings if nobody responds.

20.Who is the most likely to respond?
Hmmm... Maybe Carolee?

21. Who is least likely to respond?
Anyone who doesn't waste as much time as I do online. : )

22. Living arrangements?
Three bedroom, two-bath, two car garage house with a fenced yard.

23. When was the last time you cried?
Last Wednesday (1/7) at the doctor's office. My neck was killing me and I was so frustrated that I had to wait so long.

24. What is on the floor of your closet?
On the left, drawers of craft supplies; at the back, extra pillows and blankets and my wedding dress (boxed up); to the right shoe cubbies.

25 . Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?
N/A I 'm not sending this, so I'm not sure that applies to me.

26. What did you do last night ?
Took a nap after work, then meant to grade papers but ended up watching Grey's Anatomy instead.

27.What are you most afraid about?
I don't really worry about that kind of thing.

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
Cheese burgers -real cheese, not American- and Bacon, of course!

29. Favorite dog breed?
short-haired, goofy dogs, but I'm partial to black and white dogs

30. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday, I guess.

31. How many states have you lived in?
Four (Washington, Utah, then Washington, then Utah, then Washington, then Texas and now Florida)

32. Diamonds or pearls?
Why choose? Both.

33.Favorite flower?
If somebody gives me flowers I'm not gonna be picky about what type!
But I love the way Lilacs smell and I'm partial to lilies and wildflowers.