It’s Finale time!  Having moved back to the Midwest I have spent more time watching TV and now am facing a dilemma.  Which show do I watch tonight and which will I watch tomorrow after work?  Hardly life or death matters, but a choice none the less.  The competition is Survivor’s 2 hour finale starting at 8 or Once Upon a Time(8-9) and series finale Desperate Housewives(9-11)  I have to choose one station over the other.  Back in the day it would have been a no brainer.

Survivor used to be an awesome show.  There were villains, schemers, liars and of course heroes.  The show didn’t have to resort to stupid gimmicks and fake bravado.  I even enjoyed participating in Survivor fantasy team.  The cast selection now seems to include women with their own set of flotation devices and crazy old people.   It’s a shame that most of the elders on the show are simply gags with ridiculous nicknames(dragonslayer/troyzan/tarzan).  This season has seriously been the worst.  I guess I just answered my initial question………………..

I can’t believe I got sucked into Once Upon a Time but I’m hooked.  I guess it has something to do with believing something that no one else is able to see or know.  I actually couldn’t wait to see who each Storybrook character was back in the day.  The back stories are very reminiscent of Lost and further drew me in.  It was interesting to see how they created the back story for each character and gave you further insight into fairy tales we all grew up hearing.  I have to admit that I was happy Henry ate the pastry and fell sick.   Maybe now Emma will see the truth.  Oh God that even sound stupid when I say it out loud.  I guess I’m still embarrassed to admit I watch this.

I am not an avid follower of Desperate Housewives.  Much like Grey’s it grew old and tired but like Grey’s it always seemed to pull me back.  I started watching both show again this last season.  I can’t believe DH is over but like all great neighborhoods things run their course and people move on.  I’ll miss the mayhem on Wisteria Lane.

BTW, is anyone still watching Private Practice?  I was amazed to see that it was still on.  I found those characters to be so unbelievably stupid. Tell me what I am missing??

OK as Cooper would say, “I’m going to hang up now because I don’t have more things to say!”

I’ve been threatening to post again.  I used to be so good about posting all the time.  I would like to say I am busier now than when the kids were younger but that wouldn’t be necessarily true.  Life back then was all about timing.  There were dual nap and eating times.  Timing was essential to get things done.  I remember the one or two hour window between Coop’s morning nap and Noah’s noon nap.  That time was used to go out and do the grocery shopping.  Then it was back home for a noon nap followed by Coop’s later afternoon nap.  I guess that tight schedule made me really plan my day.  There are still schedules……school times followed by homework after school, snack time, then quick play time before eating dinner and off to whatever practice/game we have in the evening.  That leaves all day while the kids are in school to get done what I need to do.  Yes, that was my plan but then I started subbing during the day which left my “chores” to be done while I do all the afternoon things I mentioned above.  I guess that is how I don’t have time to blog.  Yet others have plenty of time to do all that and much more.  I’m in the process of restructuring my schedule and getting things done.  There are only 19 days left of school and then I will get to work on a whole new schedule!!

So this summer I have foregone my curriculum and am relying on a new curriculum I found at the education store here in Fort Wayne.  They have a teacher store here unlike I have seen anywhere.  Holy cow this thing is huge and they have EVERYTHING!!  This is the store  http://www.unitednow.com/  I always have the kids do my “summer school” but this time we are working in a different book.  It’s a bridging book that should help them retain what they learned last year and prepare them for next year.  If you are looking for something check that site and use the key word “bridging.”

More random thoughts…….Shopping.  This is something you hear about all the time but probably never take the time to do.  I know I never did.  BUT, the last two times I have gone shopping I have noticed discrepancies in my receipts at the grocery store and local drug store.  At the grocery store I bought a discounted item(one that had a marked down sticker).  I had loaded all of my groceries on the conveyor belt so I was just watching the screen at all the prices going by when I noticed that the item that was marked down scanned at the full price.  I don’t normally do this or know the price of everything I bought(off the top of my head).  I stopped the clerk and asked her to look at the computer and check the price.  Sure enough it scanned wrong and she took the $14.38 off my bill.  I wondered how often this happens.  I mean who really checks the price of everything and then checks their receipt.  We’ve all heard the stories that there are many mistakes but don’t really think this applies to us.  We’re too smart!  Two days later I was at a drug store and bought one item.  It was only because i bought one item that I noticed the mistake.  I told the cashier that the sign said that the item was .70 cents cheaper.  She sighed and typed into the computer a .70 coupon in and asked me, “is that OK?”  Wow, Really, your going to give me grief because someone didn’t update your computer system?  Yea .70 isn’t much but it did get me wondering how much they make when someone decides to buy their name product because it is supposed to be cheaper yet they don’t offer the discount.  Hmmm  thousands of stores around the country doing the same thing everyday.  Yea that is a lot.  OK that may be a stupid rant but check it out.  I would have been out $15 in just three days.  I wonder how much I could have saved in my lifetime if I had checked every time.  Oh and there is a rule that you can collect so much $$$ for every penny you are overcharged.  I believe that is different for each state.  I just want it right the first time so I don’t have to go through all that.

OK now on to some really random stuff………..Once Upon A Time…..I never wanted to like this but because it was made by the people who did Lost I bit.  I do like it.  My thoughts now are who is August?  He has to be from Neverland, right?  He knows too much but how can he know AND be in Maine?  What is ailing him?  Could he be one of the story tellers(brother’s Grimm)?  I can’t wait to see more…

I am also in love with Revenge.  I can’t wait to see how this plays out.  Someone has to be the patsy for the murder but who can they throw in…Amanda????  Need more intel!!

OK so those are my random thoughts.  I always look forward to your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.  Thanks for always emailing me or commenting here on my site….even if you don’t want me to publish your comments.

Well we are in Fort Wayne.  At least that is what my address says.  We are actually closer to Leo-Cedarville.  We enjoy a Fort Wayne address without any of the amenities.  There is no leaf pick up and we are not allowed to vote.  We are just on the outskirts of the town limit.  The good news is we don’t go to FW schools.  We attend Cedarville(K-3), Leo(4-6) and Leo Jr/Sr High(7-12).  As many of you may have read we live next to a highly Amish community.  We are on the edge of modern society. A mile up the road and you have country, country, country with a few new high end home communities.  There are also a lot of people who have bought acreage in the country and built homes.  Then there is the cute quaint towns of Leo and Cedarville.  It’s exactly as you would imagine, a very homogeneous community.  I’ve never been in such a “pale” community.  Fort Wayne is very multi-cultural as a whole.  Every weekend in the summer there is a festival celebrating every community.  I have to give the city a thumbs up for the festivities here.  There is something going on EVERY weekend in the FW plaza.  However, The largest minority here are the Amish.

Each Amish group is very different.  Every group has different “laws.”    Some can use electricity and are on xbox and online.  Others can not use any of the modern conveniences.  The one fact I have found is that they don’t go beyond the 8th grade in education.  It’s kind of sad that the only time I may see some of the kids after 8th grade is if they are attending a sibling’s activity or have kids of their own(just making me older).  Many think that they are recluse or hate “the English.”  I have not found this to be true at all.  I often talk to the parents and elders at schools meetings and they are nothing more than gracious and welcoming.  They wave to me and make me feel welcome when we run into each other in the market or out around town.

I definitely have to take some pictures so you can all see how cute it is.  I think we picked the perfect area to live.  We are a little bit country and a little bit city.  Perfect!!  Pictures to come later!!

As I said, Dallas was great.  Only Gregg’s station was always in flux as is any station that isn’t number one in its genre.  Gregg was moved from one show to the next.  The last move he was told they were going to build the show around him.  Then there was a shift in power.  Mr. Big B was gone and another guy was in.  When a new PD comes into a station there is quite a state of unrest.  There were rumors, whispering, and the greatest way to deal with issuses…..avoidance. The one good thing to come of it all was that Gregg was given 2.5 months notice that he was being let go.

So with that news we sat down and decided it was time to make a move somewhere we could really settle down.  We set parameters for our search.  We would go to a radio company with a good reputation and a proven track record.  No more going to a failing station with the hopes of turning it around.  We had two radio stations that were courting Gregg that fit those parameters.  One was in Fort Wayne and the other in Vero Beach.  Yeah you can guess which one I was pulling for!  Gregg went down to Vero and him and the owner, yes owner, of the radio station got along swimmingly.  He took Gregg for a ride in his cessna around the beaches.  It was a great station, great owner, and GREAT location.    Gregg was touting the praises of WOWO(Fort Wayne).  He kept going on about the history of the mighty WOWO and on and on.  I kept saying beaches, sunshine, heat.  Finally the day Gregg flew to Fort Weezie for his interview I told him I wold be OK going to FW if that was really what he wanted.  UGH!!  Well you know where we are!!!

Fort Wayne wasn’t my first choice but I have been pleasantly surprised by this town.  This has got to be the cheapest place to live.  I thought Texas was cheap but this city takes the cake.  You could spend $130,000 and get a decent house in an A+ school district.  For $200,000 you could get a truly fabulous house in an A+ school district.  The prices for thing like the Zoo, museums, baseball and hockey games are very inexpensive if not free at times.  Restaurants are so moderately priced that chain stores have gone out of business because they can’t keep up(Outback, Sonic, etc.)  Don Hall has a market here with a number of restaurants and a hotel.  His places as well as others offer crazy priced food(dozen shrimp cocktail $6.99).  I was expecting to see baby shrimp…nope.  It was cheaper for me to take my family to Don Hall’s for burgers(real meat) than McDonalds!!  Not bad!  They say not many chains make it here.  There is one Friday’s and Red Robin.

Being closer to home is another bonus to living in FW.  We went to every Michigan football game.  It was great to hang out with my old friends and meet new ones.  The tailgate was bigger than ever.  I can’t wait until next season.  That also meant we got to see the family.  Instead of seeing G-ma once every 4-6 months we got to see her a few times a month.

I’m not a big fan of the cold.  So I was/am very happy with this mild winter to welcome us back into the cold.  The kids absolutely love the snow.  They also love their school.  The accelerated curriculum that the north is known for was quite a shock for Noah at first but once we got his multiplication tables memorized he was on par with the other third graders.  We didn’t even start Multiplication until the middle of third grade in Texas.

I am happy to be back in the Midwest although Texas will always have a piece of my heart.  This is going to be our home for a while now and I couldn’t be happier with a company and boss than the one Gregg has now.  It’s nice for Gregg to work for someone he truly respects and looks up to.  That hasn’t happened since the old WDFN days with Peter C.

OK so I think that sums up everything up until now.  So for now on I will get back to the more important things like breaking down Once Upon a Time, sharing our favorite things/recipes, and just venting.   So stick around and throw me a note with anything you would like to share.

It’s 9:30 which is well past my bedtime on a school night!!!  TTFN

WOW!  It has been a LONG time since I wrote last.  We’ve been a bit busy.  But now things have settled and I’m ready to do this again.

First let’s cover what has happened, to some degree at least, since I last wrote.  In Sept. of 2009, Gregg got a job in Dallas and I got an 8th grade math job in Round Rock.  Gregg really missed being on the air and he jumped at the chance to be back.  I was looking for a job to help with JJ.  We weren’t making enough money to bring in a salary.  We made enough to cover the bills, food, employees and not use credit cards.  Gregg’s brother, Chris, moved in and helped run the JJ.  It was exciting and cool at first but then really started taking a toll.  Gregg came home every weekend and helped at the JJ then left Monday AM to head back to Dallas.  During the week he was going to Mav’s, Star’s, and Ranger’s games while the kids and I were back in RR grading papers and doing inventory and scheduling for JJ.  That December we started toying with the idea of a partnership.  Someone who could stay behind and run the business while we lived in Dallas.  That just wasn’t going to work.  In the end that was our baby.  I couldn’t wait to join Gregg in Dallas and Chris was ready to move on to New Mexico to be close to his boys.  At the end of the school year I couldn’t wait to get away from the place I once loved but was slowly sucking the life out of me.  It was a lot like leaving an ex boyfriend.  You once loved it but how did you get to the point where you can’t even stand the look of him anymore.  Anything he does annoys you.  But…….maybe it wasn’t that bad……WAKE UP!! So in June of 2010 I quit my teaching job and the boys and I moved up to Dallas.  Chris found work in New Mexico in the town next to his boys so he took off too.  Now JJ was in the hands of our employees.  I was on the phone daily with my managers trying to help with ordering, scheduling and basically everything I did before but without being in the store.  We installed cameras so we could keep an eye on the place but that just wasn’t enough.  The weekends were crazy busy but the weekdays just weren’t that great.  We came back on the weekends a few times a month.  We could see things that we wanted to change but it was too hard to do from Dallas.  Our landlord was sure we were making money hand over fist.  Finally in November or 2010 we decided to close our doors.  Our landlord was beyond eager to reopen JJ under a different name.  He made a few changes to the place and reopened in February 2011.  He believes us now!!  I have a bunch of theories as to what we could have done differently(location, location, location) but I’m not one to dwell on things of the past.  It is what it is.  We really enjoyed opening the JJ and had fun for a while.  I’m all for blood sweat and tears when opening a business but I think next time I will do it with a keener eye.

I LOVED Dallas.  I really enjoyed my time in Round Rock but I guess I missed the bigger city more than I thought.  I loved going downtown and all the things that a bigger city has to offer.  We were in a great school too.  It was a cute neighborhood school so all the kids walked to school.  I missed that.  We actually lived in a city called Frisco.  They had so many fun things for kids.  There were a couple of soccer camps, baseball camps, etc.  Holy cow soccer is big there.  You wouldn’t believe the number of soccer fields.  I drove Coop to soccer cam and it was literally a compound.

We also made some fun friends.  We spent many nights BBQing and chatting poolside(thanks Donna for being such a great host).  My kids turned into fish thanks to Donna’s pool.  It was hard to leave Dallas for Fort Weezie.  It was sad to leave our friends.  It was the first time that Noah cried when we moved.  Which is one of the reasons we are now going to stay put for a while.  It also helps that Gregg has a great job and an even greater boss.

Well more on that later.  I have to get to a 1st grade classroom.  I just love subbing!!  I will never subject myself to teaching full-time again.  :)

As many of you know Gregg is now the cohost on the afternon drive show on 105.3 The Fan.  He is very excited as this was very unexpected.  Mr. Big B called Gregg and the next thing you know(within hours) he had a job.  I had been interviewing all spring to get back into teaching and while we were on vacation Gregg gets a call out of the blue(you got to be kidding me) and get’s a job while I just got a call saying I was not the #1 of the 2 they had narrowed it down to.  I am so sorry to that principal that called me to tell me I didn’t get the job cuz I just said ok and hung up since I had learned 15 minutes before that that Gregg had gotten the surprise gig in Dallas.  Hired by CBS, Really, so much for those burned bridges that a certain old GM started on fire. 

Then less than a week later I got the call for my gig.  I so badly wanted to get back into teaching that I jumped at it.  I LOVE my new school and am having a blast teaching again.  You get a totally new perspective once you have kids of your own. 

We have hired Chris, Gregg’s brother, to run the Jungle Java.  It is doing so well.  We are actually growing faster than our expectations which is nice.  I know I have said this before but I can’t believe how much money people spend on a birthday party.  I figured that once I threw a party at our home, with all the cleanup and food and stuff I probably spent about $200.  So I base that as the norm price for a party.  However I would say the average price of a party is about $250 and we can do 16 parties a day on a Saturday and 12 on Sunday.  We get wicked busy on the weekends.  (:  Next weekend we have our biggest party yet.  They are closing out the place for 3 hours and I believe their tab, with all the food, drinks and extras,  will be around $1,100.  We have had a lot of $500 parties but this is our first $1,000+ party.  What recession?

The boys are doing great at school.  Cooper can write his name and is getting better at it every day.  He loves his preschool in Cactus.  Noah is doing well too.  He is in the math pentathalon club and the Math Superstars Club.  He has always done so well with the spelling and reading(doing so at a 3rd grade level now) that I thought since I was a math teacher I should get him involved in math activities.  I don’t know how to extend the learning much more in reading, but could lend a hand in math.  I have been freakishly surprised at his skills.  The freaky thing is he knows how to do these tough problems without giving it much thought   Of course I thought he was just guessing the answers so I had him break it down and tried using some higher level thinking skills and he knocked it out.  I swear the group is going to think I gave him the answers.  One question was that he had to buy two things that equaled exactly .33 cents and with out much thought he circled the .18 and .15 cent items.  There were 6 things he could have chosen from.  How did he guess these two items?  He’s only in first grade.

G-ma was in town this week and we had a blast.  Yum Yum G-ma.  So sad to see her go tomorrow.  I hope Cooper doesn’t break down at the airport when we drop her off this time.  She is off to Paris and then she will come back to see us again.  Bon Voyage Mon petite.  Returnez-mois, toute-de-suit.

I could go on about my boys.  LOL

Everyone is back in school now.  Noah and Cooper are at Cactus Ranch.  They love it.  Noah is in first grade and Cooper in their pre-school program.  Noah was particularly excited because this is the school that Mrs. St. John teaches at and he just loves her and her 4 boys.  They got to hang all summer so it made the change easier.  Noah has always been easy with change and says he doesn’t miss Teravista.  I’m always so surprised how well he transitions but I guess he gets that from me.  I don’t think Cooper really noticed other than Heathcliff and Preston don’t come over anymore.  LOL

I have started my new job too.  I’m teaching 8th grade and loving it.  We have such an AWESOME staff.  We had a happy hour a week ago and a lot of people came.  We had tons of fun.  Everyone is getting into the school spirit.  We even tailgated at our first high school football game.  Everyone had their pits out and we ate and drank “coffee.”  The boys played football with some of the bigger guys and had a blast.  Unfortunately the lightning delay pushed us from watching the game(boys had to go ot bed) but at least they got to tailgate and see the band.  We’ll try again next week.

Gregg and Chris have been running the Jungle Java.  I’m still surprised at the number of people we get each day that have never been here before.  Next weekend we have birthday palooza.  We have 10 parties Saturday alone.  Guess I am going to have to show my face.

Well I gotta run.  We are closing the Jungle Java early tonight and having a party.  I should get back to prepping and packing up the food to deliver to our party!!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!  Be safe!!

So much has happened since I last posted so I wil try to fill you in.

Mouse has gone over the rainbow.  It was soooo time.  It was said but needed to be done.

We moved off the Path and are on the Bend!  LOL  We moved to the West side of Round Rock and I LOVE our new house.  If you are on my facebook then you probably already know that.  We have a great new house and terrific backyard.  It is perfect for entertaining and as everyone knows that is one thing I love to do.  We have a beautiful pergola and I have a Bouganviella growing through the end trellis.  Perfect for sitting out on a nice warm night(two ceiling fans).  This neighborhood is more mature.  We have huge trees.  So large in fact that we weren’t able to get Direct TV.  We got Uverse instead.  No NFL Ticket so I am a little bummed.

Jungle Java is crazy busy.  It is amazing how much things have changed.  It has been one year now and we are a well oiled machine.  We have art camp at our place all summer.  Mrs. St. John from Cactus Ranch has set up camp at our place and we couldn’t be happier.  The 100 degree heat is also forcing people to come in.  As a result we have had a chance to get away more.

We went to New Braunfels for three days and visited Schlitterbahn Water Park and Natural Caverns Safari Park(watch out for those emus and zebras they are quite aggressive).  We are also going to Dallas to see the Tigers play the Rangers and spending a weekend at Houston to visit NASA and other sites.

We are having one of the best summers ever.  Man oh man I love it here in Texas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you enjoy eating meat do NOT see Food Inc.  Food Inc will do to the meat industry what “Super Size Me” tried to do to McDonalds.  Only it is a lot harder to erase the images you wil see in Food Inc.  I saw a film like this over 20years ago.  I was a Veggie for over 12 years before I was diagnosed with CD 10 years ago then I slowly got back to meat.  Now I am getting Gregg back to the Veggie lifestyle.  They are even making fake meat now without the wheat gluten.  I remember back in the 80’s that it was reported that 1 in 3 chicken pieces in normal grocery stores were infected with Salmonella, hence the need for better contamination procedures and antibacterials.

If you dare to see the film you will know what I mean.  I cn not bear to see it again but I suggest everyone to watch and decide the best choices for yourself.

I still have my views on Lost coming soon.  Suffice it to say I see a lot of biblical references but I do promise I will get to that once things start to slow down.  JJ has been bloody busy and so have I.  I promise to print some thought provoking ideas and would like some great responses.

report back soon.

NIk

Ahh another great recipe from The Gluten Free Vegetarian Kitchen.  We had Mexican stuffed zuchinni.

It’s another beautiful day in Texas.  Man on man I love it here.  The weather rocks and the blue skies don’t suck! I love these 90 degree days and am despising the air conditioning.  Of course I am sure I will love it once the temperature goes above 110!  The only other place that comes close to Austin is Boulder(Denver).  Sure it snows in Boulder but there are 300+ days of sunshine and that includes right after a snow storm.

Tonight is muffins with moms at Noah’s school.  I subbed today for another kindergarten teacher.  They are so cute but I am so cut out for middle school.  I had one little girl cry 3 times.  I can understand that at the beginning of the year but holy cow.  When I mentioned someone had cried in class to Noah he knew exactly who it was.  LOL

I am going to write a whole write up on Lost.  I have a lot of Theories I would like to bounce off you all.  Got the Wings game and Grey’s finale then I can write more.

TTFN