September

Well,

Fall is here, hear the yell back to school, ring the bell brand new shoes, walking blues climb the fence, books and pens I can tell that we're going to be friends

It's that time of year again. I don't want to bore you all with school stories, but of course, the classroom antics are interesting as usual.

On top of that, it's my um, 20th high school reunion next weekend. That should be interesting. The closer we get, more people are posting old and new pics on classmates. It's pretty funny. The amount of big hair is not really so surprising I guess as just amusing.

It is strange though, the change in the weather (even if it is just the monsoon flaring up), school starting, football, and I don't know who lit those fall scented candles in the dining room... I seem to just feel a static of excitement in the air. Whenever anyone asks what my favorite season is, I always think of Christmas, but then I realize that it's really the build up that I love. Right after Christmas is always a let down, so winter is not really my favorite. I love the crescendo as football leads to halloween leads into Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. I do love Fall. I don't even care when they start putting Christmas stuff up in the stores. To me, it's all just part of the fun. And hey, if they want to clearance the other holidays before they actually happen, I just get a better deal, YAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA PICKERING!

It's my Grandma's birthday today and I just thought I should mention it. She was a rockin' grandma. Mom and I were talking the other day about how she loved to read romance novels. When I was in high school and a young adult, she would pass the ones on to me that she thought were tame enough. Mom was a little shocked because she said her mom wouldn't even let her read East of Eden in high school, but I said, "Hey, that's what grandmas are for. It might be weird if you gave your daughter romance novels."

Grandma was great. She took us places, like out to the AF base to see a movie or shopping. Grandma was Oklahoma through and through. She married Grandpa at 15 and never looked back. She raised her 2 sons and 10 years later, her little daughter. (World War II happened in the middle there) By the end of her life, she had trouble remembering who was on her side or not. She was always fiesty and full of life and I miss her. Edith was "Jack" to her family and Grandma to us and will never be forgotten.

Reading list.

I stole this 100% from a blog called "Troy and Nancy" The comments are hers and I don't have time to change them, or really want to for that matter. I don't necessarily agree with them and I've read 35 books from the list. (I'll add asterisks so we can see if I can count) - Monique

I read on another blog that the average adult has read only 6 out of 100 of the following books! (I don't know if those stats are true, but I guess it doesn't matter). I've bolded the books I have read.
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (awesome - one of my favorite)*
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (It's on my list to read. Love the movies)
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (great book)*
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (some of the best books I've ever read)*
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee*
6. The Bible (the majority of it)-not enough of it
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (weird, but interesting)*
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (read it in high school, can't remember it)*
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (high school - BORING)*
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott (pretty good)*
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete work of Shakespere (no interest)
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (great book)*
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (just remember a lot of swearing, sorry Alexandra)*
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot*
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (hated the movie, so no interest)
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald*
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (HATED this book; couldn't even finish)*
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll*
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (boring, wouldn't recommend it)
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens*
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis*
34. Emma - Jane Austen (pretty good, rare occasion where the movie is better)*
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen (not her best work, but still a good read)*
36. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (read 1000 Splendid Suns and did not like it, so no interest)
37. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
38. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (started off good, but didn't like the ending)
39. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne*
40. Animal Farm - George Orwell (high school read - don't remember much)*
41. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (Angels and Demons is better)*
42. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez*
43. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving*
44. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
45. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
46. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
47. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
48. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (another high school read. remember the conch and "kill the pig, suck it's blood, bash it's head..." or something like that)
49. Atonement - Ian McEwan
50. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
51. Dune - Frank Herbert
52. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
53. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (on my to-read list)*
54. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
55. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
56. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens*
57. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (high school, but I do remember liking this one)
58. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
59. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
60. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
61. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
62. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
63. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
64. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (one of my favorite; great book)
65. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
66. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
67. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fiedling
68. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdi
69. Moby Dick - Herman Melville*
70. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens*
71. Dracula - Bram Stoker
72. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett*
73. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
74. Ulysses - James Joyce
75. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
76. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
77. Germinal - Emile Zola
78. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (movie sucked, so no interest)
79. Possession - AS Byatt
80. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens*
81. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
82. The Color Purple - Alice Walker*
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert*(not sure I finished)
85. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
86. Charlotte’s Web - EB White*
87. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (hated it, thought it was stupid)
88. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle*
89. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
90. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad*
91. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery*
92. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
93. Watership Down - Richard Adams
94. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
95. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute*
96. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
97. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
98. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
(The last two were missing, so I made some up)
99. Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton (Interesting read, but hated the ending)
100. Twilight series - Stephanie Myers (only read one and HATED it.*
I know, I know. I thought it was so shallow and silly, especially after just finishing the masterpiece of Harry Potter. No comparison.)

I got 23. How many did you get? I know a lot of people won't agree with my reviews, but if you found you had similar views, please share with me some other books that you liked. Or, post this list on your blog and do your own reviews.

Happy 13th of July

Ok, I know that this is late, but I was sticking with the whole one post at a time thing. Anyway, I love small town 4th of July, especially where it's cool enough to have a parade! Emma and Riley got to lead out the parade with Thad's cousin Ell and his horse Amish.
Of course, they were all looking away in the first picture. I think Emma's favorite part was throwing candy at people.
Everyone was saying at church that the whole town had signed up to be in the parade and they were wondering who would be left to watch it. Well, the out of towners, of course, US.
Lauren was out fishing during the parade, but made it back in time for lunch, getting soaked in the canal, and of course sparklers.
I was a bit devastated that we didn't go watch "actual" fireworks, but a storm was brewing and the kids didn't seem a bit disappointed, so... Happy Independence Day!

Koooosharem, UT

This seemed like a good time to write about how much fun David has in UT. This first picture is his nightcrawler digging uniform. He didn't want to ruin his jeans. I'm not sure why he didn't just wear his holey jeans. He did find 16 dozen worms though, in about 20 minutes, enough to last the rest of the week fishing.
And speaking of fishing, here's David restringing his hook after one of the, I think it was 11, fish that got away. You would think he would change poles, but he's a man of habit. One of those fish was reeled all the way into the boat, but grandpa's hook was still caught in the net with his fish and he broke loose.
This must be after losing another one. This day, Emma caught my limit, 4, I caught her limit, 2, and David would have had a lot more than he did. Technically, that's not true, it just means that we would have been done fishing a lot sooner.
After a long day of fishing, a little sunburn, and dinner at the Cafe, there is nothing like a good game of cards to finish off the day.

Summer

It has been so long since I posted, I'm not sure that I even read my blog anymore. After reading Mer's Bos/Mas blog, I had to post this pic. There is definitely some sibling magic that can turn two kids who can torment each other like no other back into the best of friends in the blink of an eye. On a side note, this picture is just way too 21st century for me. Also, meet Sonny, the soccer dog. He is learning a few new sports. Soccer with Emma, Tennis with Lauren (pictures to come), etc.

Emma can be a pretty harsh coach! We all miss her, she went to Utah with her Fullmer Grandparents. When we talked to her on the phone, she said that she was cold. I had a hard tinme feeling sorry for her when it's about 110 degrees outside.

Hey Sonny, quit hoggin' the ball!Oh yeah, something about blogging just seemed a little too much like work for me to focus on it for the last 2 weeks, but I will try to do better.

Life is just so daily

I'm borrowing a little quote there from Mary Engelbreit that just so aptly describes my life lately. (Many other peoples' as well)

Last week on wednesday, my dad had a major stroke. I found as I read Megan and Tom's posts that I don't think I'll be able to write about it. Megan was pretty thorough if you want to read her blog. The first day I was at school while Megan was texting me all that was happening. Luckily, my students had just left when I got the text that said the doctors thought that my dad wouldn't ever talk or walk again. I absolutely broke down. My poor mom has been at the hospital non-stop. My dad gets very anxious when she's not there and she hates to leave him because they usually end up strapping him down. Unfortunately, yesterday she got that stomach flu that's been going around and has had to stay home in bed.

On a good note, my dad seems to be doing hugely better than they expected. We went to see him for home evening on Monday since he got moved out of ICU. The girls had made him get well cards and Lauren read them to him. Both girls said that they needed their tickle monster to get better quickly. Dad reached over (with his left hand) and started tickling Emma's side and smiled. They told him funny little stories and he smiled and nodded. Earlier that day, he said his name and sorta counted to 10. I don't know much since then but I think that his therapy has been rather hard on him. They also have had a really difficult time with his feeding tube. The first 2 times at least that they tried to place it, it didn't go all the way down past his stomach the way it is supposed to. The next time, I think it was making him uncomfortable and he pulled it out. Yesterday, when he coughed it dislodged it and they had to take it out. I don't really know much about it, but I think that my mom is getting worried about him getting the proper nutrition. Anyway, I wish I knew more right now and I'll have to get over there tomorrow and check on him. This week was also progress reports, so it was a little crazy.

On a much lighter note, thanks to Megan, Rueben, and Catcher for coming to visit me at school today! It was so much fun for me, the girls, my students, the other teachers. You can't imagine how much joy a little 4 month old brings to the dreary walls of a school. Thanks also to all who called, texted and came by to brighten my day as I begin my 38th year.

Well, it is late and I am going to go find something else to distract me from going to bed on time.

Hung Jury

Somehow it seems that my trial was only interesting when nobody was allowed to hear about it. Anyway, the poor kid who got killed last year by PIR got no justice this time around. Of course, he was the one who started waving a gun around. I'll give him credit. He was going to put it down and fight with his fists before his girlfriend grabbed the gun, but I'm just guessing that the other gun probably wouldn't have come out if his hadn't first. Also, poor guy had weak taste in girls. The problem was his girlfriend blamed the same guy for grabbing her gun and shooting her boyfriend. Sadly, that was not the gun that killed him so it kinda damaged her credibility. Wait, credibility? Of the NINE witnesses, not one was believable. So, seven guilty, five not, but this guy went home free.

ps. don't let your kids party in the desert.

also, I didn't think you could get the same cold twice in a row! Blast!

fun, fun

Well, who would have thought that this "2 week" jury duty would be well into its 3rd week and threatening to go next week. At least we are through with testimony and such. We are going into deliberation and hopefully that won't take too long, but I won't be the one holding my breath. I'm dying to talk about it. It's not really all that exciting, but you know me, I'm a talker. Even with jury duty, spring break was fun. We had a great time at the ball game on Thursday, "Go Cubs", when in rome or chicago, or mesa or whatever.

Easter was a great time with all the cousins at Nana B's. My kids didn't want to come home or go to school the next day. Oh wait, with mom at jury duty, they didn't go to school the next day. They took a little extra vacation. Will post pics soon.

Lame, lame again

Ok, I have to beg for a little break. I know that I haven't been on in a while and I miss it so much, but life is crazy right now. I'm afraid that I have a bit more than just jury duty. I've been spending most weekends trying to work on water tower stuff and feeling like its not really going anywhere. There are now official people involved, but they don't seem to be looking for random helpers right now, mostly money, which I cant help with much.

On top of this, I got sick. At first I jusst thought that I had a scratchy throat from, um, raising my voice, at my students. Then my brains started leaking out my nose nonstop. I got called to jury duty on Tuesday. Jury selection continued the next day. Of course, I have to make the lesson plans any time I have a sub, so I was doing both jobs. The second day of jury selection, the judge had to call up a whole new group of people because he released so many the first day. So, being a half day at school, I taught in the morning, rushed to jury duty, got picked to sit on the jury, and got out of there by 6. So, the next day, I got to go to school to make my sub plans and my sub hadn't shown up so I taught for about an hour or so and then made copies for future subs. Then I went back to jury duty for the first day of a trial that the judge says should last about 2 weeks. Read into that whatever you want. Although, none of the jury pool raised their hands when asked if they had heard about this case on the news.

So, lucky me, hacking away, my nose stopped leaking and plugged up, we didn't have court on friday, so I got to go to field day and spend the day yelling to get kids attention with about 250 kids outside where I added a sunburn to my list. Oh yeah, and my team mate is getting married this weekend and so she had a sub all week who turned out to be crazy hat woman. Wait, we already called her that before this week. We just thought we were talking about the crazy HATS, now we know it was the crazy LADY. I swear, she showed up late every day and never stopped talking for one single moment and always ran out of things to say so kept repeating herself, over and over and over again.

Did I mention that this is the end of the quarter, grades are due and I get to spend my spring break next week on jury duty? Jury duty doesn't start till after lunch, but what can you do in the morning and still get back downtown, parked in a garage 4 blocks away and up to the 9th floor of superior court by 1pm.

At least court should make for a good post when it is over. Is it coincidental that there are 3 teachers on the jury? Well, that is my excuse.... I know, still lame

Home Evening

We had Fullmer family Home Evening tonight at Karen's house. It was soup night and I was lame and took pillsbury fake croissants. However, here are some of the soups that were there. In the back left corner, is Rose's Pasta Fagioli which was absolutely fabulous. Rose also brought the potato soup in the back right corner that she adds crumbled bacon to for added flavor and hip girth. The brocolli potato on the front left is Karen's and although I didn't eat any tonight, it is wonderful and I am eagerly awaiting the recipe. The front right is Chicken enchilada soup that Rose also made (Rose was busy), I just had a little taste of that, but it was super yummy. Because I had to save room for this...Lindy made fried ice cream cake. Oh, my, gosh... it was to die for
Just to give credit where credit is due, Karen also made homemade bread that was so yummy and warm. Thad and Lily made their famous much requested chili. Dave and Phyllis brought a tasty green salad with Milae's homemade ranch dressing that is literally the best ranch dressing ever. There was more to the evening than eating, but I'm not sure I remember what. J/K. It is lovely though to have a fun evening filled with family and loud children and good conversation.

So, I decided to stock up on my posts since I rarely get to them during the week. Just read one every other day and they will last all week.

ps. David laid down about 450 square feet of sod in our backyard yesterday. It looks like such a tiny patch in our backyard, but it will continue to grow as we can afford it. We can't play on it yet, and the girls are anxious. Sonny has not given up his plant eating habit. David put up a fence around the grass, but unfortunately it is not Sonny proof- dang it.

Childhood has its moments of pure joy!

Is there anything better than learning how to do a cartwheel? Straight legs will come eventually, I think.
She got up after one series of cartwheels and said, "I love cartwheels, they're so fun!"

Ah, change...

Last weekend, I put a new faucet on my sink. It was actually kind of fun. When we bought our house, the design center showed us several lovely new faucets for around $500. I thought this was a little high, so we decided that we would take the plain one that came with the house and change it later. Well, faucets,that I wanted anyway, are still about $250 at Lowe's and such. However, a few weeks ago, Tuesday Morning had some faucets on sale for $99. I found this one and David thought that this was a project that could wait, but he's not the one using the sink with water splashing all over the place from that low faucet. So, I decided to undertake this project. Once I was down on the floor under the cabinet, Lauren wanted to come help, which was fine of course. We only needed David's help for one little pin that we couldn't quite push in to lock the sprayer into place. I love it. It was easy and we donated the old faucet to a friend who was in need of one.

And the outgoing one?

Lauren on the other hand, was awake, but unwilling. Who would have thought that this is the actress, the one whose life is a stage? And yet, she will not let me take a picture of her. What is her problem anyway? The goofball tackled me with a pillow and practically slammed my camera into my face.
Does she really think that this is going to be a better shot?

Or this? Well, my silly teenager is having a blast in middle school and we seem to be surviving 13 so far. We did have a little "no boyfriends allowed" issue, but I'll let her tell that story.

What, photos?

So, I've been feeling guilty about my lame posts lately and decided to take a couple pics that I could post. Of course, Emma's in bed, so...
poor Emma doesn't even know that I'm taking pictures of her in her sleep. Of course the flash in her eyes may have been a big hint. She's been such a help and inspiration. When I get down and feel like I want to give up on this water tower thing, she chimes in with, "We can't let them tear down the water tower mommy." She gets her shy little self out there and asks people to sign our petition and reminds me that it is the future generation that we are doing this for. She's also really impressed with the whole Tom and Reuben farmer thing. She tells me how glad she is that they're doing this and she even said that when she grows up, she hopes that she can marry a farmer. What a doll!

I'm the lame blogger

Yes, I am aware of the fact, but there is a new post on the Save the Water Tower site that includes a reference to the account that the Chandler Historical Society has set up for the cause. Yay, more people involved! I love it!

One step closer

Okay, for anyone following the water tower progress, a blog has been set up and I'd love to have you post. For anyone who wishes I would post more often, I'm sorry, just really busy and tired. If it's not report card time, it's midterm time, etc. I will post and respond soon, I promise. Oh yeah, the water tower site is www.savethewatertower.blogspot.com I'm working on getting the bank account and paypal set up soon.

Stealing the tag

A...attached or single: attached for almost 17 years.
B... best friend: My sisters
C... cake or pie: Cathy's Rum cake or my apple pie (not so humbly)
D... day of choice: As a school teacher, definitely Friday.
E... essential item: Totally copying, my glasses.
F... favorite color: Ask Emma. I either tell her, "Emma color" or "Rainbow", meaning, I just can't choose.
G... gummy bears or worms: Wow, with a mom who loves these, you would have thought, but I don't like either one either.
H... hometown: Chandler AZ, land that I love!
I... indulgence(s): pedicures
J ...January or July: Um, uh, wow, probably 2 of my least favorite months. I always have post-Christmas let down in January although of course I love the weather. I heart the 4th of July and no school, but not much else about July unless we're out of town, think Oregon or Utah.
K... kids? Lauren- 13, my, yay, teenager!, and Emma- 9, my little one
L... life is incomplete without: Stealing again- my family... and books
M... marriage date: May 25, 2001
N ...number of siblings: 4 sisters. Elise,Merilee, Emily, and Megan. 5 brothers. Bobby, Jaimie, Tom, Chris, and Ty.
O... oranges or apples: I love both, but they have to be fresh
P ...phobias or fears: Strange little bird phobia that only occasionally induces panic attacks
Q... quotes: "Try a little harder to do a little more." G.B. Hinckley
R... reason to smile: My kids at the end of the day, pretty things, fun music
S ...season: The holiday season, right before Thanksgiving straight through to New Year's
T... tag you're it.
U ...unknown fact about me: I'm really picky.
V ...very favorite store: Melrose Vintage on 7th ave north of Indian School.
W... worst habit: I think I should just let Merilee fill this out for me, oh wait, that would be... being lazy
X... x-ray or ultrasound: Do some people actually prefer one or the other?
Y... your favorite food: Have I mentioned that I have a hard time with favorites? I love crab legs, steak, Elmer's tostadas, Mary's mom tacos, chicken n noodles, curried meatballs w/rice, yum this list could go on...
Z... zodiac: taurus
Characteristics considered positive
Positive traits of Taurus people are:
discipline
hard-working
good sense of humor
prudent
great work-ethic
artistic
loving
creative
romantic
sensual
sexual
attentive
comforting
strong
steady
shy
organized
cautious
harmonious
trustworthy
calm
tenacious
stable
patient
resourceful
easygoing
careful
dependable
honest

Characteristics considered negative
Negative traits are:
controlling
stubborn
hyper-sensitive
gets stuck in ruts
little to say
resentful
moody
horrible temper
possessive
Jealous
overly self-conscious
are these the traits they write for everybody?

Saturday, 9am, Soccer fields

Ok, here's a quick update. We decided to put out feelers to see how people really do feel about the water tower. We're (yes, that may be me and Emma) going to go out to the soccer field this Saturday and try to get people to sign petitions that we can present to the city to encourage them to be more helpful with the support of the tower. If anyone can make it, we should be setting up a table at the soccer fields about 9am on Saturday. Any and all support will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Water Tower Update

Ok, Mom talked to JC and he said that the window of opportunity for tearing down the water tower is blocked until March because they can not tear it down during soccer season. Who knew that those thousands of van driving, gazebo toting soccer moms would come in handy for historic preservation? So, the way I figure it is we have at least a month and a half to get 3% of the population of Chandler to donate $10 to save the tower. Everyone should be feeling nice and happy about living in Chandler again now that they've captured the rapist. So, maybe we should try to start the three people thing. Like I'll ask 3 people to donate $10 and ask them to ask 3 people, etc. Except, I'm going to ask everyone who reads this blog to donate and ask 3 people, so it shouldn't take as long, unless of course only 3 people read this blog. This can really grow exponentially. Let's say maybe 9 people read this. If you ask 3 people, we're already at 27, if they each ask 3, we're at 81 and if they all ask 3, we're at 243, then 729. Add those up and in 4 rounds we're already at 1,089 and we only need a total of 10,000 to save the water tower. By the way, the next bump would be to 2,187 and a total of 3,276. We'd be a third of the way there. See how easy this is! Only $10 to save a piece of history so that future generations do not forget that one day, there were farms in Chandler Arizona. Cotton comes from fields that once filled the space where they live and play.