Acts of Kindness

This was my recent submission to the Ellen show, I hope Ellen's producers pick my mother for this contest.  She is not a perfect mother, but she does so much for us and our community.  I would like to try to have the repairs to her home completed as a thank you for all the sacrifices she made for me and for others without EVER expecting something back.  She does what she does, because it's the right thing to do.

A mother's love & help are considered a given by most.  My mother was never bestowed with a mother's love.  Her mother was extremely abusive and my mother, Rita, still bears physical/emotional scars from her traumatic childhood.  I tell you this, not so you feel sorry for her, but to understand her parental phoenix-like rise.  I am Rita's daughter, I am a product of rape.  My mother kept me and made me feel loved.  I wasn't an easy child to raise.  I have not always been appreciative of her sacrifices.  I could tell you many stories about how she worked her fingers to the bone or went without shoes (she had holes in her 80's pumps) so my brothers & I could have something.  She did ALL of this w/out reverting to what she knew & what was shown in her childhood from her Mom. 

The biggest act of kindness came from when I became involved with an alcoholic, abusive man (Btw this has been proven in a court of law, so it is not deflamation or slander to say my ex-husband was abusive.) My mother and step-father-he adopted me when I was 17-filed for temporary guardianship of my daughter.  By the time the guardianship was dissolved, my relationship with my parents had dissolved as well.  I didn't talk to them for almost 10 years.  When I had enough of the physical/emotional abuse, my mother welcomed me back with open arms and paid for my divorce.  Rita and Floyd Lee dipped into their retirements to do so.  They now need to have repairs to their home & their walls are about to fall down around them.  Can u help?

Please pray Ellen helps her.  :)

Christina

Oopsie!

So, as a new blogger, I have completely screwed up my bloglovin account.  I inputed my personal blog button on my teacher blog.  So long story short, if you want to follow me at Cowan's Pre-K Caterpillars, this is the link to do so.  I've updated the button so it should route you correctly.  I'm sorry for the extra button pushing I'm asking from all of you, but good news...I have a lot of new posts to share with you and a brand spanking new linky party! :)  I hope that makes up for it!

http://cowansprekcaterpillars.blogspot.com/

Wait, what happened?

Ok, first of all.  Camp Egan was amazing!  I will post pictures later.  (I'm on my Mom's Apple and it doesn't have a SD card slot, go figure!)  

As soon as we returned home from Camp Egan, we packed up and headed out the next day to our annual Hot Springs trip.  My parents bought a condo in Hot Springs way back in the 80's and we have been enjoying that good decision ever since!  It's nice that now as adults, we have a Camp Ogle and just spend time together.  Sometimes it's close quarters and I think if Derek comes next year, we may rent an additional condo close by.

Today, we rented a pontoon boat and tubed on Lake Hamilton.  Well, I say "we" but it was just Alexandra, Tony, Emily and Trey.  I took pics, Mom was safety and Dad was captain.  For awhile, we thought Emily may opt out this year, but she climbed on the tube with Tony and Alexandra.  Alexandra said, "Anytime Emily got nervous, we just talked to her about Sponge Bob!"

When we came back to the condo, I took the kiddos to Taco Mama.  It was yummy, but we did wait a little longer than necessary for our food.  Emily kept insisting on a grilled cheese, so I ordered her a cheese quesadilla and prayed it was close enough.  :)  Thankfully, she was so hungry she never made a comment that the bread was a tortilla. (whew!)


Well, tomorrow will just be a relax day.  I know Mom and Dad plan on massages, but the kids want a break from the sun of Crystal Springs/Magic Springs amusement park.  I thought about giving them a tour of some haunted spots around Hot Springs, but I'll just have to see what they are in the mood for tomorrow.  

Blessed Peace

Today was one of those days you don't plan.  They happen!  Our official plans were to go to a swim party at Kelly and David's house, but somehow I plugged in the party date wrong.  The party is actually tomorrow and tomorrow is our family's 4th of July/Mom's Birthday party.  So I was a little bummed that I wouldn't be able to attend, but thankfully Kelly understood.

So, after picking up Alexandra from Jackie's house, we 

Hey, I remembered to take a picture!  Yay!

headed to Danielle's to help with the moving process.  We weren't able to stay long, but Danielle was thankful that we came by.

Then we went home, made dinner (Jambalaya~a nod to our recent trip to New Orleans) and went for a walk.  It was a nice peaceful day and one I think we all needed. 

Fourth Fun

Tonight, we went to the Meltons to watch fireworks at Tulsa's Boom River celebration.  Our view was perfect because they are just west of the fireworks launch spot! 


Alexandra went to Jackie's house.  Jackie lives in a cool space on Riverside that Alexandra calls the "syringe".  She said they had a perfect viewing spot of all the beautiful fireworks!

I tried a new recipe called watermelon salsa.  A teacher at the urban ag program prepared it (I think she got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman and I was super surprised that it tasted like a sweet salsa.  I wanted Derek to try it, because he's not a watermelon fan and I just LOVE it.  It's hard to eat a whole watermelon by yourself.  Well, I brought it over to the Melton's house and it was a hit.  Danielle and I loved it because it is 0 points!  (We are both on weight watchers.) 

Scrappin' It Up Blog Style

I have a wonderful work friend, Katie, that will be leaving the state this month, who did the most amazing thing on her blog during her first year in Oklahoma. Katie took a picture a day to document her life after college. Then her fabulous mama made it into a book for Katie!

Now, I'm not one to scrapbook, so this maybe a viable opportunity for me to scrapbook virtually.  I like the idea of documenting our family history, because all to soon Alexandra will go off to college and I'll wonder where all the time went.  The next four years will be quite important to all of us, so I'd like to keep track of all that life sends our way!

So, let's move on to my first daily post!  This weekend was great!  It was the last day of TEC camp for Alexandra at the University of Tulsa campus.  She studied about GIS technology which is what drives all of our GPS devices and so much more.  IF Alexandra was writing this post, she could tell you about all the ins/outs of GIS technology.  This was her second year at the camp which is provided by the Oklahoma higher regents of Education.  Alexandra went home right after camp and went straight to sleep.  I think all the nights of staying up late in the dorms and waking up early for camp/activities wore her out!

I went to weight watchers with my friend, Danielle and we both lost this week~that's always nice!  Then later that night, Alexandra went to Mema's to help set up for my niece's birthday.  Derek and I went on a downtown double date with Danielle and Quinton.  We had dinner at Yokozuna which is great sushi restaurant in downtown Tulsa.  My favorite dish is the HOT MESS!  I can't tell you what's on it, but I can tell you for sure that it is delicious!  Then we went to the Max, which is an 80's arcade bar, that has great music and even better video games!  Derek was 100 points from being on the high score list for Pacman.  He said I distracted him, but I don't know about that.  On Sunday, I went with my friend, Angela, to her daughter's first film production shot.  It was neat to see the studio and be able to help with Angela's adorable kiddos! Then we went to my niece's birthday party where kids swam and ate cake.

Today, I went to my new work place to observe transitions and morning routines.  I'm excited to work in such a wonderful facility, but I will miss my friends and students at my old school! 

Ok, tomorrow is the 4th of July and time for another post! 

See you then!

 

The Heat

Tonight was great!  I went to dinner at the Brook with my bestie and a group of her friends.  

I forgot to take pics, but this is a pic of my bestie,
Maria, and my awesome friend, Amber.  Look at how
many people were at the theater!  (Just kidding, this is a
 pic of them at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert!)

Then we went to see The Heat.  The previews looked so good, but I was pleasantly surprised that the movie far surpassed the previews.  Nicely done, Hollywood.  I hate it when producers try to sucker me in to buy tickets to a movie with a great trailer.  If they can make a good trailer, why not just go that extra mile and make a great movie?  Eh-hmm, that being said, this was a great movie for girls night, date night and even a good teen/mom night.  The language is pretty spicy, so if you shield your teen from that kind of language then maybe not a teen/mom night.

Alexandra is still away at her GIS technology camp

Alexandra, Hannah, Hawana, Jessica and Dominique
at the Tulsa Zoo during GIS TECH camp at TU.

and from all the posts she's made on Facebook, I know she's having a great time (even though her page is occasionally hijacked by some of her friends).

Derek had a chance to spend time with his bestie, Clay.  It's a rare time that they get to hang out, because Clay moved to Dallas with his family a few years back.  I don't know what went on over there, but Derek came back all grins and gaffaws.  (I almost said giggles, but I think Derek would object on grounds that giggles aren't manly.)

Overall, a great summer night had by all.

Food Logs :(

Ok, here I am three days into this health thing.  Yeah, it's a thing.  Yeah, I'm struggling.

Something I love about weight watchers is how cognizant I am about what I'm eating.  What I hate about weight watchers is the food log.  I know it helps me.  However, I hate facing the cold, hard truth...the reality of what I have done. 

Today, I ate something I would normally eat on spring break.  Just a little meal deal.  I tried to search on my phone prior to the drive thru trip, but the McDonald's lady was not that helpful or patient.  So I just ordered my regular meal deal.  Nothing big, right? WRONG!  I normally eat the 2 cheeseburger meal deal with medium fries and a soft drink.  2 cheeseburgers alone are worth 16 points!  That's triple the amount of anything I eat at home or from the box (weight watchers meals).  Then the fries were worth 10 points and the drink was 8 points. 

I didn't log everything until well after my food had digested.  Ugh! I thought about how I felt afterwards.  The guilt.  The shame.  The slight fullness, but 34 points.  I wanted something a little more.  Can you imagine if I had chosen something more worthwhile?

This is the part I hate, analyzing my food.  It's easier to deal with blind hunger and just eating whatever I want.  However, that obviously is not working for me.  Right?

Well, true to my word.  I'm not making huge changes this week.  However, when I make changes next week I think I may add 2 more things.

1) I will pack my lunch for work.
2) I will make snacks for after school while I'm working.
3) I will continue drinking 3 cups of water each day (this is the old change, but I'm keeping it.)

Well, here's to the rest of the week!

Getting Started...Again!

So, here I am. Joining Weight Watchers again...let's not talk about how many times I've joined the plan. That's ancient history!

This time I will apply what I've learned from my failed attempts. I will not try to do everything in the first week. During my PowerStart meeting, my leader Reny said,"Make one small change." It was such a powerful statement. I don't have to move heaven and earth my first week, because I know I won't be able to keep up with that. Honey, heaven and earth get heavy after awhile!

So I thought about what one small change can I make this week? This is where I have a teeny, tiny confession to make. I don't drink water. The last time I drank water, by itself, was about a month ago. How unhealthy is that? I'd hate to see my insides. Seriously.

I have an addiction to PEPSI. Just writing the word, makes my mouth salivate. I love it. I'm addicted to it. If I come home and there's no Pepsi in the fridge, I panic and immediately leave the house to go get some. Ok, ok, I promised to be honest here. I immediately start demanding and pleading with my husband to go pick up Pepsi, so I can watch Glee and grade papers. He tells me I'm addicted. He doesn't call it Pepsi, he calls it my crack. I have about 10 glasses a day. One 16 ounce bottle on my desk all day long and a can before I leave work. Yeah. I'm addicted.

So my small change this week will be to drink 3 glasses of water a day. Although it sounds like a small amount, it is going to a small change I can handle.

Side note, a lady at the meeting said I didn't know anything about the 90's because I was too young. {Insert BIG smile, here} I'm 39. However, according to this kind, kind woman at the meeting, I look like I'm in my early 20's. YAY, me! This compliment will keep me going ALL DAY!

Have a great day! Drop me a comment, so I know I'm not talking into a black hole.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Family is important. However, sometimes we have conflicts with...schedules! As a teacher, I find during the school year the toughest time is parent/teacher conferences!

For the first year, I was unable to attend Alexandra's Parent/Teacher conference because our school was also doing conferences on the same day. I could have rescheduled, but Derek really wanted to go in my stead. Although Derek and I dated for a couple of years, he is now Alexandra's official Stepdad. As her Stepdad, Derek can go to conferences. My mom went along for fun and my merry, blended family walked into Alexandra's Spring Conference.

The first news I hear back from conferences is that my mom cried. Uh-oh, was something amiss? No, it was good news. Alexandra's teachers had AMAZING things to say about her, including the fact that she resists peer pressure and she has high moral fortitude. (Hey Mom and Derek, Comment below for direct quotes please.) As her parent, I beamed with pride.

Then I quickly realized, I need to tell her more often I'm proud of her. She works hard to make good choices. :) I must say this has been the best school conferences ever! I wish I had been there to hear it face-to-face. However, I'm so ecstatic that Derek's first accompanied conference visit with his new title was such a smashing success!

Way to go, Alexandra!

Even cooler news? Alexandra was able to take her Geography OCCT on the computer so she found out her results at the conclusion of the test. She scored 85%! I can't wait to see her Reading, Writing, Science, and Math OCCT scores. I KNOW she ROCKED them out!

Another way to go, Alexandra!

And a big thank you to Derek and Mom for going to Alexandra's conferences. It's nice to know she's supported by so many people!

this is a repost from 4/29/2012

Saving Money with Laundry??

     Hello summer!  As a teacher, I look forward to this time of renewal.  As a mom, I look forward to getting my house in order.  It’s so hard to balance work, home and community obligations…so when summer comes around I try to focus on several projects to make my home, well more homey.

    With summer here, I have to be careful with projects.  They must be ECONOMICAL!  I am a teacher after all. 

     My first project this summer was to make my own detergent.  Now I’ve heard of people making tons of powdered detergent, but I’m a liquid kinda gal!  Then my friend, Danielle (see her pic below), told me she made LIQUID detergent and that it worked! 

     I used a recipe I found on Pinterest (a website recommended by Danielle).  I saw several ideas, but finally settled on this one {Source}. 

The original recipe called for:

1 bar of soap of your choice

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soda

Big Pot

Grater

   When I went to the neighborhood Wal-Mart, they were completely out of washing soda and Borax.  : (  Thankfully, I found some at Reasor's across the street.

   

    When I got home, I was so excited!  I started thinking of all the money I could save!  The blog author recommended using Ivory because it helps keep whites and colors bright. I wanted that attribute, but I also wanted a good scent to the soap. So spontaneously I decided to double the recipe and add a bar of Irish Spring!  I began by grating the bars of soap into my pot.  The Ivory was much easier to grate than the Irish Spring.  When it was done, the soap looked like strange grated cheese.

   

      I added 2 gallons of warm water, 2 cups of Borax, 2 cups of Washing Soda, 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar.  I boiled the concoction.  At this point my husband wandered into the kitchen and said, "I hope you're not making meth in here!"  I silently cursed my choice of documentary films on Netflix.

     As the laundry detergent began to boil, my house was filled with such a clean smell that Derek's comment was quickly disspelled.  After the detergent mixture was done boiling, I added 4 gallons of cold water.

     I immediately used the detergent, but after some volunteer work with TYPROS with Danielle...she mentioned that I should wait until the mixture coagulates.  But when I got home the load I had put in the washer smelled super clean!

     A word of advice, don't bother with pouring it into different containers.  I just left it in the pot and put it right on top of the dryer.  I also left a 1 cup measuring cup right on top of the pot to measure the detergent. 

     My final alterations of the original recipe goes like this:

2 cups Borax

2 cups Washing Soda

1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

I bar Ivory Soap

1 bar Irish Spring (or your fav smelling soap)

2 gallons warm water

2 gallons cold water

1.  Grate bars of soap into pot.  Add 2 gallons warm water, 2 cups Borax, 2 cups Washing Soada and boil until bubbles form on top.  Make sure the spaghetti soap strands are all dissolved.

2.  Turn off heat.  Add 2 gallons of cold water.  Stir your soap well.

3.  Let the detergent sit for 24 hours and stir before using.

     I will definitely do this again!  If you try this, let me know how your detergent turns out!  Please leave a comment below.

~What's next here @ the Cowan lab?  Well, I did see some recipes on Pinterest for fabric softener.  I think I'll try it when my fabric softener runs out.  It's gotta be really good, because I'm obsessed with that Downy smell!