It's 10:00 PM...

What are you doing right now? Sleeping I hope for your sake!

I'm helping John with his homework... we just found MORE (we've already completed 3 assignments together this evening with me reading and him doing the computer thingys... he'd already done at least 4 other assignments already). We have at least 6 more to do!!!! They're due 1 hour and 5 minutes ago up at the Computer Lab on Campus... So that John can be cleared to take his test tomorrow... It's a good thing I drank 64 oz. of Mt. Dew today!

6:00 is going to come very early Lindsay!


Now I'm in trouble for writing this... My most patient person I've ever met in my life, my husband, is losing his patience... I think it may be time to wind down.

Habits...Another Rant... It's something I excel at ;)

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a
habit." -Costco Connections July 09 pg 11 ( I think it's originally from Aristotle)

I read this quote the other day and I've been thinking about how true it is. The few things I am excellent at are something I have practiced perfectly long enough for it to be part of my routine and become a habit. Whether it be drinking enough water, certain routines used in teaching, etc, etc. (OK so not really etc, there aren't many things I'm excellent at!)

But the same is true for all of the things I'm horrible at, eating junk, lack of exercise (which thanks to Lindsay has been getting lots better :), not thinking before I speak/react, my lack of patience, etc, etc, etc (and yes all of those etc count with many many more!). These are things that have also become a part of my routine either in a counter productive form or they are non existent. I have not practiced perfectly long enough for it to be a habit. There is much I still need to become excellent at by repeatedly doing them correctly/well/best for me.


Stepping away from me to be a tad bit... ok a lot... judgemental.
I guess what I've noticed is that some people in my life (including myself) complain about things that only THEY have control to change. Complaining about not being good enough at X, not liking how they responded to Y, and wishing they wouldn't have done Z. So my advice is practice perfectly what YOU want YOU to be and excellence will eventually come.


Here's the issue...Don't pretend to be one way when you're really not, just because you think it's what I or anyone else wants you to say or what type of person you think I want you to be. We're human, we're not always going to make everyone happy (believe me I never make everyone happy EVER!) I'd rather know the REAL you than the you you think I want you to be.

I guess my thing is be who you are, not who you think you should be because of me or anyone else.


Ok so moving on to the nicer (only slightly) version of me :)
So I have a few things I'm going to work on doing repeatedly so that I can be excellent at doing them. I have a spiritual goal (daily scripture study for 20 minutes), a physical goal (continuing to walk 5 days a week with Lindsay), and a relationship goal (writing to my brother every week for the rest of his mission, :(I've been the opposite of excelling at this).

What do you want to do repeatedly so you can excel at it?

Dear College of Hubby's Choice,

I write this is with the utmost respect for lifelong learning, education, and college in general. I mean I am a teacher after all, and I am thrilled my husband's going back to school. I just have a few small (with major consequences) changes to suggest/complain about :)

First of all, some of the courses my husband is currently taking are RIDICULOUS! I mean what class has 12 assignments due every Tuesday that aren't even graded but must be done in order to take the test that is due on the SAME day... (ok do I sound a little annoyed? I HATE my husband spending hours at school and coming home angry with himself, and this particular class isn't helping me have a happy John).

Let's move on to the next "are you kidding me?!?!?" class. It's a library class, but it's online. (What?) He has assignments and tests for this class as well, but the tests are honestly worded so they are trying to trick you and if you don't read it exactly correct, with all the commas in the right place you're screwed! I mean honestly what kind of teacher writes a test with questions meant to trick/screw over/frustrate the students?

So dearest college, you're kicking my butt, is basically what I'm saying. It would be different if it was me, but it isn't, it's my wonderful husband. Please be nicer to him. And if at all possible, please be LESS frustrating!

Oh yeah, one more tiny request, please require teachers to give students a syllabus for the semester with ALL assignments on it. This homework hunt on blackboard each week to even find out what he needs to do is getting old.

Sincerely,

Erika

The funniest Scrabble Game EVER!

I LOVE my family! This last weekend was the family reunion that John and I knew we were in charge of for the last two years. We had a great time seeing many family members for the first time in a long long while. I also found out that I have a few family members close by which is fantastic!

Friday night was spent eating, introductions, and playing games. I sat down and watched my dad's oldest brother's (my dad was the youngest of 9) family play Scrabble. The ages ranged from 17-78 and let me tell you, I've not laughed so hard in a long while! Here's some pictures of the Scrabble board and the group that played. My Aunt Shirley kept asking why I thought she was so funny, but she's like me in the fact that she says whatever comes to mind and tells you exactly what she things of things. Because of this I love her dearly and thoroughly enjoyed her company! Thanks for such a great Friday Night!

PS this was wayyy back in June, I wrote the post but didn't have the pictures so I never posted it. We'll see how this works :)

Oreo Cream Cheese Chocolate Covered Truffles

The original recipe is in the "Cooking the Costco Way" cookbook (thanks to Sarah for picking me up a copy and making these so I knew how yummy they are). Here's our recipe:

3 packages of cream cheese
2 package of oreos
3 cups of melting chocolate (we used ghiradelli 70% pure cacao chocolate chips)

• let cream cheese come to room temperature
• crush 1 package of oreos (use a plastic bag and a rolling pin)
• mix both together thoroughly
• refrigerate mixture for 10-20 minutes
• use gloves if possible to roll mixture into 1 inch balls
• refrigerate for 30-45 minutes
• melt chocolate in a double boiler (metal bowl inside a pot filled with 2 inches of water on low heat) *** do not allow water/steam to get into chocolate!
• line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil
• crush 10-12 more oreos
• roll oreo/cream cheese balls in chocolate and place on pan
• Sprinkle oreo crumbs on top
• Refrigerate until chocolate coat hardens
• Eat and Enjoy!
• store in the refrigerator and give the rest of the oreos to the kids so you have more truffles to enjoy :)