It seems I am not very good at blogging. Every few years I decide I should give it another go. I am sure I won't keep it up for long this time either.

It's been a few years since my last post. Just shy of two years. I was 22 days into a blog challenge. Apparently I cannot even stay focused on blogging for 30 days. But here we go again...

It's been a short summer. I work for the schools so I am off about 7 weeks in the summer. I am back to work next week.  It goes by too quickly.  Faster and faster every year.

My older boys were here less than four weeks this summer.  Dustin, 17, will be a senior this year. Playing football and basketball, manager of the baseball team, taking dual credit courses, busy with all the senior stuff. It seems like high school has flown by for him. As of today, his plan is that he will move here next summer and attend WTAMU.  But... That's still a whole school year away. A whole senior school year. A lot can change in a year. He may decide he doesn't want to move up here. He may fall in love with a girl and want to stay close to her. He may decide to join the Army. Well, maybe not that last one.  We will just have to wait and see what happens.

Seth, 15, will be a sophomore this year. He is going to play basketball and run cross country. He's all about the ladies. Always talking to girls. He spent the entire three weeks he was here was on Facetime with a girl back home. Nothing like walking into the living room in your PJs in the middle of the night only to be faced with a brightly lit phone and a girl's face waiving at you. Weird.  The whole Facetime thing scares the crap out of me, but I'll save that for another post. Seth's a good kid.  Always making everyone laugh. He's fun to have around and we always miss him when he leaves.

Then there's Braden, 12. He's mine. He's the one that lives here. Thank God! I cannot imagine having my child leave my house for any extended period of time. Good thing I am happily married to his dad. Braden is starting 7th grade this year. Where we live, 7th and 8th grade are in the junior high. So he will be in a new school in true junior high style. Changing classes 7 times a day, dressing out for gym. Ugh. That doesn't sound fun at all. He auditioned and made it into Advanced Theater. He is excited about that. He did a small part in a play at his school lat year. He really enjoyed getting close to the cast. He's also taking all pre-AP classes this year. I am not sure he is ready for the homework load that is coming, but I have a feeling we are both going to have to work harder this year. He's also getting braces and a Herbst appliance soon. That will be another fun adventure. He was supposed to get it this summer and we both chickened out. Google Herbst appliance and you will understand. But his overbite needs to be correction so we will gather our courage and deal with it closer to Christmas.

My husband is about four classes away from finishing his bachelor's degree. I am very proud of him. He has taken classes for years while working full time plus some to take care of us. I am happy he will have something to show for it. A degree he can hopefully use to move into a career that will make him happier.  Don't get me wrong, he has a great job and takes good care of us. But I would love for him to have a fulfilling career. Something he could look forward to every day instead of dreading it. I don't know if he will make a change or not, but at least he will have the opportunity. And our kids will also know that if you are determined to achieve a goal and work really hard, you can do it.

And me.... I am the same. Working full time. A teacher schedule, but without all the grading at home crap. My job is cake. It's easy, stress-free, and a great schedule. The pay isn't great, but I work with pleasant people. I should have nothing to complain about.

This is where I will stop for now. So I don't complain.

Challenge Shmallenge

Day 18 - See Day 4.

Day 19 - Disrepecting Your Parents

That's not a very good prompt. It's bad, wrong, disrespectful. Don't do it.
We all have, as children, teenagers and probably early twenties. But as you get older, you will realize your parents, given they are sane and not disfunctional, are right about most things. And like it or not, you will eventually tell your kids some of the same things you hated hearing from your parents.

Day 20 - How Important Is Education

Extremely. I wish I had gone to college directly after high school and stayed and finished it before starting a family. But you cannot tell a teenager 'in love' anything. (See above regarding parents being right.) I want and expect my kids to go to college directly after high school. We are planning to pay for them to attend college (WT at least) even if I have to work three jobs to do it. I want them to do things the right way in the right order to make their lives easier later. 

Day 21 - One of my Favorite Shows

Parenthood. NBC. Love it! Watching it on the DVR right now!

Okay, that's all I got for now! Ugh! Bedtime!

Day 17: High/Low

We played this game at the dinner table a few times. Everyone telling their high and low for the day.  For the past year, that's a little tougher.

Highs:
Our vacation this past summer. Def a high! Awesome trip!
Getting the job in HR and then at Arden. (Even though I miss HR!)
Braden finishing elementary with A Honor Roll for all five years.
Our 10th anniversary. Wahoo!
Paying off Derik's truck!


Lows:
Seth leaving us early in the summer. Bummer!
My granny having to go into a nursing home.


That's it. Pretty good year for the Carleton's!

Day 16: Mainstream Music

I listen to a little bit of everything, including mainstream music. I have everything from Feist to Britney to Jay-Z to John Mayer to a lot of older and more obscure stuff. I like it all. I listen to top 40 radio stations as well as Christian radio. There is good and bad in mainstream music. I am a grown up and I can listen to what I want.

How's that?

Not sure if the person who wrote the blog challenge intended to get Christians to rail against the evils of mainstream music or if they were hoping for someone more like my husband, who would rant about sell outs and manufactured bands (like Nickelback).  Not getting either out of me.

Day 14 & 15

I cannot believe I am only on Day 14. Good cow! I am never going to finish this blasted challenge.

My earliest memory...

I have bits and pieces that are from when I was a toddler. Like my mom taking us to my dad's to visit and running through his bedroom to go to the bathroom.  I can remember where my mom was standing when I came back into the room. Not sure why that stands out. Also, I remember once at my mom's house (before she and Bill got married so I was under 4, I think) our dog, Patty, running into the house and heading straight for the cat food dish. The cat was actually eating and jumped straight up in the air and landed on the dogs back.

Everything else is from when I was 5 or older. So I guess that's it. Nothing ground breaking or traumatic, thankfully.

I decided to check out Day 15, which says My Favoritie Tumblrs. Easy..... I don't have favorite Tumblrs. I am sure some people I know have a Tumblr but I don't check them or look at them or anything.

Day 13 - Just One?

Day 13 is a place you would like to move or visit. How could I pick just one?

When it comes to where to visit or live, I'm definitely a 'grass is always greener' person. Almost anywhere seems better than here. When we were on vacation this summer, I kept saying "We could live here."

Moab, UT was awesome. I think I could be a way more outdoorsy person if I lived in Moab. Biking, hiking, and even climbing. There is so much to do there and beautiful is not an adequate word to describe the landscape.

Idaho, with its green rolling hills and mountains in the distance, seemed like a beautiful place to live.

All the little towns around Yellowstone were quaint and cool, inspiring people to get outdoors.

Even the Black Hills of South Dakota were beautiful and full of little towns that beckoned me to open some sort of little touristy shop and live a simple life.

Seattle was so amazing both times we visited. Derik and I both have said many times that we would love living in the Seattle area. Endless opportunities to explore and plenty of entertainment and culture to experience.

I am sure all of these places have their downfalls. Higher crime rates, state income taxes, etc.  But from a visitors point of view, they all seem better than here.

As for visiting, my list is endless. New York, Chicago, Florida, Jamaica, Brazil, Greece, Italy, England, Ireland, France, all of Europe for that matter, Australia and the list goes on.

Derik thinks there is plenty of places to visit within the United States that we could spend out lives traveling our own country. I know he is right, but to visit other cultures and stand in places with thousands of years of history seems so amazing. I hope I get the opportunity to travel abroad someday. And hopefully Derik will come along too!

Day 12: Bullet Your Day

My Tuesday...

5:30 - Woke up on first alarm (not typical, I normally turn off like 4 alarms).
5:45 - Soak in bathtub until my back feels tolerable.
6:15 - Get dressed and go make Braden breakfast and pack his lunch.
6:35 - Braden emerges from his room, lays on couch watching TV, where I will remind him 20x to eat as I pass back and forth through the house getting ready for the day.
7:15 - Derik gets up and starts prodding Braden to get ready. Yea! Love the mornings when he is here to help and take Braden!
7:25 - Finished getting myself ready, go pack my lunch, eat a serving of applesauce & sit for five minutes.
7:40 - Derik leaves with Braden. I leave for work.
7:45 - Clock in, pull up two computers in the library, check my email, listen to announcements.
8:30 - Attend fundraiser assembly. Realize I am going to be doing a lot with this fundraiser. (At least I got a cool ghost penguin out of it!)
9:15 - Put up new building maps in every room for Norton. (Laminated, cut out, and stapled up in every single room, 48 maps to be exact!)
10:45 - Start printing cutest Kindergarten pictures for parent orientation for Mr. Ulibarri. Good idea, Mr. U!
11:15 - Printer runs out of the blue toner. Go ask Kay for toner. Go check with Norton for toner. No toner in building. Will hopefully finish tomorrow, doubtful though, toner will likely take days.
11:30 - Put books back on their shelves. (I pulled penguin books. They wanted pigeon. Somebody gave me the bird, but it was the wrong one. Ha!)
12:00 - Lunch: grapes, carrots, cantelope, and a small thing of lowfat cottage cheese.
12:30 - Cafeteria duty.
1:00 - Library classes.
2:50 - Round up bus kids and put them on the bus.
3:00 - Sort volunteers forms for Kay.
3:45 - Clock out. Head to pick Braden up at Jalen's where he gets off the bus and go home!
4:00 - Have a snack. Update and print script for PTA meeting. Respond to emails and texts regarding PTA business while watching TV with Derik and Braden. Also, started a load of laundry, wiped down kitchen counters, swept floor, and picked up the bar & kitchen table.
5:40 - Go to Greenways for Back to School Night (parents only).
6:00 - Listen to presentation by Braden's three teachers.
7:00 - Hold PTA meeting to approve budget. (I speed read and we're done in less than 10!)
7:30 - Arrive at home. Derik's grilling steaks. I make rice, green beans, and rolls.
8:00 - Phone call from to my mother-in-law to confirm plans to pick her up at the airport tomorrow.
8:45 - Phone call from Elizabeth to discuss school/kids/Greenways info.
9:15 - Going to Walmart for dog food and other things we ran out. (Just realized I forgot bread! Ugh!!)
10:00 - Started this blog, while eating brownie, listening to Derik complain about the Pirates fans whooping for two hours throughout the ballgame.
10:45 - Time for a bath to make my back and neck stop hurting. Maybe one more brownie. Then bed!

I wasn't tired until I started on this!