Wishing I were here!

It was tough getting up this morning and heading back to work after a great weekend with my sis! So, I was wishing I was back here to hang out and relax and be silly!

Sunday, A terrific weekend!

Here we are on a beautiful Sunday in Denver! We headed to one of their favorite restaurants-Steuben's! It was FANtastic!

 Tony and I drinking to a great weekend!

 And all of us together at their house as a final send off!

So good to spend quality time with my sis and hubby at her new house! much LOVE!

Saturday...shopping and Gerald

On Saturday we decided to start off our day by getting a pedi! Here is kate and Kissa choosing colors!

 Then we went to my favorite lunch place at Schlotzsky's!!!!

 So as you can see Carissa decorates her house for Halloween! one of Kate's favorite decorations was Gerald, the Spider!!

 More with Gerald the Spider!!

Friday...and we're off to Denver!!

On Friday, we were off to Denver to visit my sister Carissa! It was Kate's first time on a plane! We were excited!

Thursday--52!

This is the number of conferences I completed from 3:30-7:50 thursday night. i was supposed to be finished at 7:30 but people kept waiting and kept coming. The 2nd to last parent said, "I don't care if you are supposed to be off by now, you are going to sit here and conference with me." Luckily my boss walked by after and said that I was finished and the parent could email me if she had any questions. I don't get it. Most of my conferences were pleasant, however. so that was good. I'm just not sure I see the point in conferences much anymore considering everything is online now. But, I'm done, until spring!

Aunt Kissa and Skype

Tonight I got to skype with my sister in Denver! I can't wait to see her this weekend! This was my first time with Skype and it worked pretty well! I loved being able to see her--even though the sound faded in and out because they have sleety rain in Denver....only a few more days!

My Dinner Guests

Jim's, no, Canada's Journal (only early 90s grads from U of I get that reference): I got home. I took Kate to soccer. I went to Kate's conference. I picked up Kate. I got Subway. I ate.

...and had the BEST dinner guests a girl could ask for!

Monday, October 22- "A ^%$&^%$ Storm!"

So I was all excited to head home after Kosama on Monday. Then, I realized that I had to go to Riggen's conferences, and I knew Matt wasn't going to be able to make it. I always feel uncomfortable being the solo parent. So, we made it through his conference and then I realized I coulnd't take him to soccer practice so that went out the window. Then, I was all befuddled! I had not even started dinner which was yet again, I new recipe. It took some work to prepare supper and then it didn't taste that great. Matt still wasn't home. we were coming on 7:20 by that time. Then, we had to talk with riggen about his conference which was pretty stressful and then, and then, and then. I wanted to watch the debates, but their bickering just further aggravated me. I didn't even want to take a picture. So I guess I didn't have a great day. Matt suggested I get a picture of a nuclear bomb to symbolize today, but I thought this was more appropriate. Sunny day (or so I thought) and yet it rains on me.

Really, I shouldn't be this whiny, but you know, sometimes you just gotta let it go!

Banana Bread Vampires!

I made banana bread early this morning. Mathew loves it! When I saw the 3 rotting bananas on the counter, I decided that Mathew needed some bread and I wanted to see him smile and rave about my bread! So I baked up a loaf and it was the prettiest loaf ever! Perfectly brown and perfectly cooked! I was so excited! and so was Mathew and the kids! This is all that is left of the loaf this evening...I guess it was a hit!

Saturday, October 20--Cupcakes can cure a fever.

Today was a good Saturday. I went to my Kosama assessment in the morning and had great results! I lost 4% of body fat and an inch from my waist! But how do you take a picture of that? Instead, we hung out at home besides going to Riggen's game while Kate had a fever. You know she's sick when she barely says a thing and won't even come down to check her phone; poor thing. So we went to the new super big Hy Vee on Hickman near Riggen's game and the had these fancy cupcakes! I got a peanut butter cupcake for Kate. She was still under the weather when we got home, but she did smile seeing the cupcake! 

Friday, October 19--Bordenaro's Pizza!

Ah, we so needed a night together to hang out and enjoy good pizza! We headed to the south side's great pizza joint: Bordenaro's! We enjoyed onion rings and their thin crust pizza! The kids were anxious to dive in!

John Nicol's Funeral

This year I have attended too many funerals. The process of slipping on the black dress and hose, brushing my hair and my heart weighing heavy is sometimes too much to bear. This time it was my parents' best friend, John Nicol. He was a Vietnam War Veteran and died of pancreatic cancer caused by his "duty" of handling Agent Orange-although the government continues to NOT admit there's a correlation between Agent Orange and cancer. sickens me. Every one of his unit members has died from complications of cancer; yeah, like Agent Orange doesn't cause cancer. 

Anyways, John was always a funny guy who enjoyed drinking, smoking, 60s music and partying with friends when he had the chance. He was always smiling and loved to drive fast in his boat when our families joined together for vacations. He was also a member of the Topeka Firefighters and even acted as trainer for the new recruits. He was a good man. Just an old fashioned good man. He believed in helping his fellow man but did not believe in God. and that's what made John great. He saw the goodness in everyone and everything. So instead of pictures from his funeral today in which his body was carried through town on the back of an old fashioned fire truck, I stopped to see the world as John would've seen it-"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" style or in the Garden of Eden: I took small pleasure in finding the beauty of this dreary day.

Wednesday, October 17

As luck would have it, Wednesday was another long day because after work I had to drive 3 hours to go to my sister's house; except this was to attend a funeral on Thursday. There were a few great moments on my trip; it allowed me time to think about fun memories with the Nicol's and the good times with my own immediate family. So as the sun was falling, the landscape was beautiful and I was humbled yet again by the majesty of life.

Tuesday, October 16

Today was a very long day. It started at 5:15 when I rolled out of bed to go to Kosama class. Then, off to work at 7:15, then conferences right after work until 7:30, then home to watch the debates. So, who wants a picture of conferences and the debates? How about one where it shows my heart and soul? My family. I made this collage awhile back and just love it. It spans over the past year and includes some of my favorite moments. How thankful I am for their support, love and cheer.

Halloween-y Stuff

I should have been more creative with my title. I collect Dickens' village series and so last year I started collecting Department 56 Halloween stuff too. My sisters are more into Halloween then I am but I do really enjoy the decorations. So here's my little Halloween village, complete with pumpkin water tower, the headless horsemen, a mummy and an abandoned pumpkin patch. Ya'll need to stop over so you can witness it yourself! and I bought those sticky windown clings to put on our front door with my sister's home made Halloween wreath--but it's too dark out right now to get a pic of it. Just getting in gear for the Fall season which I hate to admit is upon us!

If only life was really like Monopoly...

And I don't mean to say that if only real life were like Monopoly, I'd be a billionaire; although, today I would be because I won Monopoly this morning. 

But I what I really mean to say is if only life were that easy... 

Today my dad lost his good friend and my family lost a good man; my heart is very heavy and sad. Thank you John Nicol for the wonderful memories and may peace be granted to your loved ones.

Crazy weather day, but we had fun!

We had another busy Saturday. The day began with weird, rainy weather at Riggen's game. Then mom, Kate and I headed to Jordan Creek for some shopping! Kate found some good buys! and mom was gracious enough to hang out with us.

 Then, we headed home and cleaned the house but the reward was a night of games!! Here the two weirdos of ours are playing Headbanz--just putting on the headbanz makes me laugh!

 Then, we dove into a night of Star Wars Monopoly, and yes my husband has all the rent and prices memorized! I think we're leaving it to work on tomorrow too! :)

Dinner guests!

We had some lovely dinner guests tonight-my parents. We ate some good chicken, green beans, rice, salad and fresh fruit. It was so great having them spend the evening in our house! We watched the Steelers game together after, actually, it is still going on but it was nice to just sit and chat and be cozy. You can tell from my mom's smile where I get my smile and from my dad's eyes where my son gets his eyes. Such good people, such a good evening.

Everybody clean up!

Another busy day in the Snyder household but at least we got to eat dinner together! granted, it was 7:20 at night, but it still counts! So the kids were left to doing the dishes--they only argued about it for 15 minutes when it took them 5 minutes total!!  but hey, it's done and they are being responsible kiddos! gotta love them!

Happy Mail!

Today was a good, busy day. I was very excited to come home and super excited to see this in the mail!! My baby sister is pregnant with her first child and just bought her first house!! I"m so PROUD of her and Tony and can't wait to meet their new little one! We'll be seeing you soon, sis!

Sunday, October 7--Dust Devils and Winning Goals!!!

Sunday I zipped from Ames over to Waukee to watch Kate's soccer game. The EXCELLENT news is that Kate scored the winning goal!!! The 1st win of the season--all others have been ties or losses. She was SO excited! and so was I! Right after her goal, this dust devil whipped through the side lines! It was fascinating to watch as it went from one end of the field to the other. The ref stopped the game as it whirled by and picked up some bags on the sidelines! what a cool thing to see! Now if I was a science teacher, I could've made a lesson plan out of it......but I'm just a proud mom today!

Saturday, October 6--Scrapping Time!!!

So Saturday was one of my favorite weekends of the year! We finally got together to scrap!! I have been scrapping with Sue and Wendy since yeah, 2001!!!! We used to get together once a month and have 2 weekend scrap sessions a year, but we've been busy ladies in the past 2 years so we still get together, just not as often. But this weekend we met at Sue's new house!!!! It was a GREAT place for our weekend scrap-a-thon!!!

 We usually have "set things" that we eat over the weekend with a few changes here and there. Each Saturday night is Sue's spaghetti!!! It is her aunt's recipe and is fantastic!!! But, well, Sue is getting used to her new stove top and burnt the sauce. So here's she's trying to look sad about the sauce while we went with plan B and ordered taco pizza from Jeff's and had it delivered! No worries! It makes for a great story!

 ...and here we are chowing down on Jeff's pizza in her reading room because the dinner table was taken over by scrap supplies! note the cricket in the picture too!

 and well, here we are Saturday night in our comfy pjs--a requirement! and loving our time we get to spend together without adult responsibilities or kid distractions!!!

Friday, October 5-A day in the life...

Today was a busy day at work. I've been getting in around 7-7:10 most days this year and leaving at 3:30 to attend Kosama classes. You are all thinking, yeah, that's a typical 8 hour work day, which it is. But for one moment here I'm going to get on my teacher high horse and remind all that dealing with over 100 personalities in one day, along with their parents and the 200+ essays and assignments I have to grade, and the extensive amount of reading I have to do to prepare for college-leve AP and IB history classes is sometimes too much. Now, of course, everyone has stress in their jobs. I love my job. No question about it. But sometimes I have to pause, look at my desk and well, just sigh. This is what my desk looked like by 8am Friday morning. I will walk through it with you.

Of course, the laptop which holds my teaching life. then to the right of that, a stand of quotes to inspire, the Vicks bottle so i can breathe with a constant runny nose, the Camelbak that I refill every hour, the set of plastic flowers my friend made me to cheer up my desk, the coffee can of pens, pencils, highlighters, sharpies and the ipod dock to listen to music. then every drawer is pulled, full of teacher stuff and folders. then the books. you can see two books right away, but there are 3 more history books piled under the essays i'm grading, the journal articles i'm reading and the syllabi I have to follow. and of course pics of my family.

So, i just thought i would give you a quick look into my busy day and why sometimes hearing "Mrs. Snyder, Mrs. Snyder..." can almost bring me to frustrated tears. But then, hearing "Mrs. Snyder, I have a question because I don't understand..."brings me to great joy because kids are learning. It's a balance like all other jobs; i just happen to do mine daily with 100 people walking through my door.

Give Thanks!

I picked up Subway tonight because the man is out of town, and Riggen will EAT subway! So we headed out to my folks' house and chatted it up with them. I took good care of my mom's plants while she was away--my black thumb is at least turning to a pukey green color now--and she gave me this beautiful plant as a thank you! How cool is that? I can't wait for it to bloom--almost there--see top! Thanks mom, you shouldn't have!

Wednesday, October 3--Dinner on the deck!

It was 82 degrees today! 82 om October 3!! I was so excited! I can still show off my painted toes and wear sandals to work! and have dinner outside! Kate is showing off our spread on the back patio--please ignore the dead plant in the planter that hasn't moved since June. It was a great night for a bbq!

You Know You Can Wear These When...

you don't have to stand all day. Today I had the fortunate opportunity to present at the Regional Great Lakes Social Studies Conference with my friend and teaching-partner-in-crime, Christine Schaefer. I hemmed and hawed about what to wear as usual but decided on some BR pants and these shoes. I love these shoes; actually, I love any shoes with a strap. But I can only wear them for an hour. Tops. Then my feet die. I have really wide feet-thanks mom!-and so finding shoes is a bit tough for me. 

I've been wearing the same heeled Dansko sandals since 2009. I walked the himalayas and the Great Wall in those shoes; I walked the Berlin Wall in those shoes. I love them. But they aren't featured here. Because they smell so badly I didn't get close enough to take a picture!

 Back to the point....these are the shoes I wore today which made me feel tall and a bit like  a New Yorker. Although, I confess, I wouldn't know what a New Yorker feels like. I haven't even been to New York! Ah yes, the point. I like the shoes. for an hour. Tops.

Monday, October 1--Thoughts on Books

I love reading. But I have the hardest time finding good books lately. I troll through HalfPrice Bookstore, kindle apps, our local library and suggestions on B&N website, the New York times and of course friend suggestions. I had a great conversation with my boss last week about some books because she is an avid reader too, then with my friend, Sue. I decided I need to read some books with great writing. Sometimes I just pick up whatever is nearby and the writing is terrible, but I keep reading anyways. So, I'm currently reading John Lawton's Blackout (of the John Le Carre style) and although it's a bit too descriptive--some pages don't get to the point--I take a deep breath and keep reading. Because the story is really good and well written. I'm just impatient. The next book I'm reading is by Russell Banks. He wrote Cloudsplitter which is a historical fiction novel about John Brown's sons. Can't wait to dive into this new one! I'm also on the waiting list for the Book Thief. I heard about it over a year ago and mentioned it to Kate. It's intense. Fall is a good time for intensity. I tend to be on the cheap side for books. I don't buy a kindle book over $10 and I prefer books from the library or half price. However, it often happens the books I borrow are the books I love, and the books I pay full price for, are the books I could do without! 

Sunday, September 30--Soccer and Hair cuts!!

Kate had a great soccer game today, but I forgot to take a picture because it was so exciting!! It ended up being tied but she played quite well!

Then Riggs and I went off to get his haircut and get our groceries for the week! Here is his new cut--he looks so much older?!?!?!

Saturday, September 29--Hawks WIN!!!

Well, I must say I must be a good luck charm, or maybe my husband's gargling tequila is what did it! Because the Hawks looked great and WON! Thanks Amy and Scott for inviting us! It was a great day!

 Heading into Kinnick....

 GREAT seats to catch all the action!!!!

 ...and now the Beer Song!!!!