Summer's winding down Hodgepodge.

1. It's National Waffle Day (August 24th)...what decision are you currently 'waffling over'? (or share one you've recently 'waffled over')

First, Yum! Waffles. 
Okay, onto the question. I have been waffling a lot over what to do for work at my husbands new duty station. I am at the point that I really want to have a job that I can take with me when I leave, so I don't have to restart again after I move. However, I am not sure that any of the opportunities that have presented themselves are something I would enjoy doing long term. 

2. It's the middle of August, but I'm already seeing lots of autumn-related posts. Do you think we rush the seasons? If so, does that bother you? I saw (here) an end of summer bucket list that included-
make s'mores, read a new (or favorite) book in the park, eat something delicious and bad for you at a state fair, be a tourist for the day, have a pot luck picnic, book a last minute summer getaway, relax by or in the pool, take a hike to watch the sunset, have a day on the lake, try a new summer recipe
Which activities on the list might you squeeze in before summer officially comes to a close?


As much as I LOVE fall, I am not a person who likes to rush the seasons. I think that we spend a lot of time thinking ahead, and not as much time appreciating where we are now. On that list I actually have a lot of those activities planned for the next few weeks. It is still too hot to read outside, thank you desert living. I will be going to the fair this weekend, county not state, but the bad food will still be there. I have been touristing in our new home quite a bit. Pot luck picnic is scheduled. No vacations, no pool, and no lake. The new recipe, always. Tonight is no exception. My daughter and I are making herb crusted chicken with the fresh herbs my neighbor grows. 






3. Your favorite summertime 'art' found in nature?


The skies, I love the way a beautiful summer sky looks, sunrise, sunset, clouds or all blue, I love all of them. 






4. Stephen R. Covey is quoted as saying 'We judge ourselves by our intentions, and others by their actions.' Agree or no? Do you define yourself based on your intentions, your actions, or something else?


I tend to define myself more by my actions, because I know that's how others judge me. I am incredibly sensitive to judgement, both of myself and others, and if for some reason I am judged and found lacking it is very hard for me, especially if that lack is communicated to me second hand.  For example if the work that I do is not up to par, then I beat myself up for not meeting expectations, and if the fact that it isn't up to par isn't communicated to me, but to a co-worker and then passed along gossip style it can fire up my temper faster than anything else. 

5. Are you useful in a crisis? Elaborate.


I would really like to say yes, really I would. I am CPR trained, trained for severe allergies, seizures  and many other medical conditions that can come up as a school teacher, as well as helping planning emergency responses to multiple conditions. However, the one emergency I have been through showed me that I tend to freeze and panic. Maybe I would be different if it wasn't my child. But honestly I was useless. 


When P-nut was VERY young, not quite 2. She had her hand slammed shut in a door that the wind caught. The metal door and wooden frame bent around her hand and it latched shut.  There was blood streaming out of it, and I just froze. My husband however is amazing in an emergency and quickly covered her hand, stopped the bleeding as well as he could and rushed her to the ER. 3 hospitals and countless Dr's later she only needed 8 stitches, and has two scars, one from the stitches, and one on the back of her hand where the swelling caused a blister and she lost all the skin. 


So I was just looking around for a picture to attach for this story, but then I decided that really, no one wants to see that. 





6. What's been your go-to dish this summer? Is it something you'll continue making as the seasons change?


Are we being honest here? Sandwiches, leftovers, and bagged salad. We moved this summer, so the first third was spent making meals out of what we had in our pantry to try and use it all up, the second third was fast food and the kindness of friends and family, and the final third has been quick and easy mostly as I slowly try and build that pantry back up. 






7. Adult coloring books are a thing now. Have you jumped on the bandwagon? If not is this something you think you might enjoy?


I don't want to call it jumping on the bandwagon really. I have used coloring as a coping mechanism since I was in High School. I have carried my fancy crayons, pencils, and markers for years.  It's nice that now finding coloring pages that don't contain cartoon characters is easier, but when this fad stops I'll be happy to continue on as I was before. 
The one way that I have stepped on the band wagon I guess is that I am co-hosting an adult coloring book brunch for the wives that work with my husband. We are having a coffee bar with pastries and a full collection of coloring books and things to give us a chance to get to know each other. 





8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

One way I am getting ready for fall is that my girls and I are starting fall crafting. We have been making stuffed pumpkins and throw pillows for our house all week. It has been a lot of fun, so much fun in fact that I am debating making them for friends and family just to kill time while I wait for a job to present itself. 

Mama shoots photos

Well, honestly, not really. I love beautiful photographs. I would love to be able to take them. A couple of years ago when I was in college I attended a photography class with a friend and learned a lot of interesting things, but I've never done much with it. In fact I only remember the basics, you know the kind of stuff you can look up on any "7 tips for beginning photographers" pin on Pinterest. 

Anyway, that whole blurb was just my intro to my intro for this post. Now to the real intro. (I am all over the place today, I am VERY caffeinated thanks to waking up with a horrid headache) 

Since my youngest was starting school a day later than my oldest, and I am NOT a morning person, I decided it would be fun to do Back to School pictures the Saturday before school started at White Sands National Monument. I figured it would be a cute way to combine both back to school and we have moved into one photo shoot. So off we went. 

Let me start by saying that White Sands is beautiful, stunning (really, and not in the clickbait overstating way) and beyond description. 

I think that the sky in the SouthWest is hard to explain to people who haven't experienced it. When you are in other parts of the country with trees, and hills, it is hard to understand how truly 

vast the sky can be when they aren't in the way. I've lived all over the world, and there is just something about seeing the sky reach from horizon to horizon that speaks to my soul. 

These are really cool pictures of the landscape aren't they? White sand, blue sky, desert foliage. Ahhh, the beauty of God's creation. 

But wait, wasn't this supposed to be a First Day of School photo shoot? Where are the children? Oh, the children. Well, yes. They were there. Daddy was too for that matter. 

Something else about being in a very sunny place covered in WHITE, it's bright, really blindingly bright. Like squint all the time bright. 

So here is how the photo shoot actually went. 

"Girls, go stand on that hill"

"Okay Mommy"

Notice the angle of the sun, it was not shining directly in their eyes, in fact it was perpendicular to them. 

"It's bright Mommy"

"Sorry kiddo, close your eyes and open them when I get to three."

SUCCESS!!

Now time for the other kiddo. This should be easy, she's older. 

"Open your eyes kiddo."

"I'm trying, it's too bright."

I'll spare you most of the other shots that followed this same thread. 

"I said open your eyes, not your mouth" Sigh. 

Okay, I give up. Here, take these. 

And that's all folks, at least my far off shots were cute. 

Time to head home. 

So note to self. Next time, white sand is like snow, and too bright for shots with kiddos who hate the sun in their eyes. 

Hodgepodge

1. I read here four creative activities to try this month. They were-calligraphy, make your own cookbook, dance or learn a new type of dance, and letter writing. Which activity on the list appeals to you most? Will you add it to your August? 

They are all actually pretty appealing to me, I think of all of them, letter writing, or writing my own cookbook are the most appealing. I always want to revive the tradition of having a pen pal, I am just not always as good at it as i would like to be. 

2. Bertrand Russell is quoted as saying, 'To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.' Agree or disagree? Explain. 

I agree. It is hard to appreciate what you have without not having other things that you want. I think that also it is hard to be happy based on things at all, so maybe that is why I agree. 

3. August 17th is National Thriftshop Day...are you a 'thrifter'? If so, tell us about one of your best or favorite finds. 

I am not a thrifter, at all. Not that I don't want to be, but mostly because I don't have the patience to search through the crud to get to the good. 

4.  On a scale of 1-10 (with 1= almost none and 10=loads) how would you rate your sense of wanderlust? What kicks your wanderlust into high gear? 

I would say I have a 4, I like to think that I want to travel places, I adore looking at travel lists, learning about the history and culture of people all around world, but I have such anxiety about travel that I probably won't ever go. 

5. Has life felt more like a marathon or sprint so far this month? How so?

Marathon this month. Getting settled into a new home, and finding a new job is taking much longer this PCS than it did last time. I am working very hard on giving myself and others grace when perfection isn't achieved instantly. 

6. What do you need to get a jump on before fall officially arrives? 

Starting this year I want to work on making changeable seasonal decorations for my house. Couch pillows, wall hangings, etc. So I need to start making the couch pillows for the fall decor. 

7. What's the last thing you did with friends or family where you lost track of time? 

Every night when my girls and I curl up to read together. This is my favorite time of day and I really hope that the change to Secondary school doesn't make my oldest too busy to do this. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The girls have started school, and we have had a few hiccoughs in that area, but hopefully they are all ironed out. I have a lead on a few more job opportunities, so I hope that one of those pans out, but until then, I'm pretty bored here at home. 

Olympic Hodgepodge

1. Are you watching the Olympics? Your favorite summer Olympic event? I read recently a list of the most iconic Olympic moments in history...what stands out in yourmind as a great moment from some past summer Olympic games?

Yes! I love the Olympics! My family is not so involved as I am, I like every event, I would watch every single event if there was a realistic way to do it, and parent, and sleep. My favorite summer event is probably the.... diving? no gymnastics? Maybe the decathlon? It's just too hard to choose. 


2. Have you ever been to Rio? How about the place that started it all-Greece? Have you ever been to any of the Olympic Games in person? Is that something you'd like to do? Have you ever met an Olympian in person?

No, no and no, Yes, I was thinking today that attending an Olympics should be added to my bucket list immediately. And I don't think I have met an Olympian in person. 


3. The ball's in their court (tennis), cross the finish line (track and field), on target (archery), make a splash (diving), on a roll (gymnastics), out of one's depth (swimming)...which Olympic-related idiom best applies to your life right now? Explain.


Is there an Olympic idiom for not waiting patiently at all. I want a job, but after applying for a ton of them, no luck finding one that is the right fit for my family. Not even the perfect one (which I did apply for but so did 25 other people, and I'm STILL waiting to hear) just a fit that won't make our lives harder instead of easier. So I guess I am at "the ball is in their court" waiting for a choice to be made about the jobs I have applied for. 

4. What have you earned a 'gold medal' in recently?

Cleaning? Drinking Coffee? Annoying my middle schooler? 


5. What is it (or who is it) that motivates you to eat right, exercise, and do what you can to be healthy?

Honestly I like healthy foods, so that's not hard unless I am super stressed out or bored. Exercise? It's weird I enjoy doing it, but hate doing it on my own, but I don't want a trainer. I have marginal motivation to work out when I am only there for myself, and when I have a trainer, they just annoy me so I don't want to go at all. The ideal situation for me is when a friend asks me to help keep them on track, then I always show up and work hard. 


6. Are you young at heart or an old soul? Explain.

Neither? I don't think I have ever thought about this and have no idea what my answer is. I really feel like neither of them apply to me, but of the two young at heart applies less. That's definitely my husbands thing. 


7. It's National S'mores Day (August 10th)...are you a fan? Will you celebrate with a s'more today?

Not really, I prefer just the toasted marshmallow, sometimes with the graham cracker, but the combination of all three is way to sweet for me. 


8. Insert your own random thought here.

School starts in just a few days and David goes back to work after taking leave so that I could start work this week. Too bad they haven't finished the hiring processes so we are all just sitting here. I'm not sure if I will be better off next week when things get back to normal, but at least I can start to find my place here. If I don't get a job here, I think I'll work on getting my New Mexico Teaching License first, then maybe go back to school. 

Meal Planning

Dun, Dun DUUUUNNNN.  

This seems to strike fear into the heart of every person I have ever met. Don't get me wrong. Sometimes I love it, but other times, I really, really, hate it. A Lot. 

I think that the hate usually stems from my frustration over my families strange likes and dislikes, and lack of newness in the planning. While with my family the limitations on meals are all in their heads I know other families with allergies that tend to feel the same frustration. So as I am sitting here starting to plan meals for the second half of the month, I figured I'd practice good avoidance technique and blog about the process instead. 

First things first. Pick how long you are going to plan for. 3 days, a week, two weeks, a month? The choice is up to you and how often you can go to the grocery store, or go between visits. At our last house we had a big pantry, two full sized refrigerators and a chest freezer, I could have planned for 2 months at a time easily with just quick trips for fresh veggies every once in a while. And since for a long time I was the only one who wanted the veggies, it was even easier. This house, not so much, one fridge, one dorm sized fridge and an itty bitty pantry with flimsy shelves that feel like they will collapse with the weight of a large bag of sugar on them. So for me we are doing a two week plan. 

Step two, find a really cute calendar or printable to put the meal plan on. This can easily kill a half an hour, especially if you go on Pinterest. Then you can tell your family that this meal planning process takes HOURS and they will be extra kind to you on meal planning days. 

Okay, no, the real step two. I ask each of my family members for one meal they do want, and one they don't. Sometimes these requests cancel each other out, and that's okay. They know that's how the process works. For example my oldest ALWAYS asks for Chicken and Rice Casserole, but my youngest doesn't love it, so she will sometimes veto it. My youngest LOVES blue box mac and cheese, but my husband and I will sometimes use our veto for something a little more meal like. 

This time our list looked like this. 

• AJ - wants Asian Chicken  and doesn't want Baked Potatoes (shocking, potatoes make her gag)
• P-Nut - Pecan Crusted Chicken and it all sounds good. 
• David - Nothing too Heavy, but no specific requests. (Thanks, honey, that's super helpful)

Well That gives me two things. out of 14. Yay. Not. But it's a start at least. It looks like we will be eating a lot of chicken dishes this fortnight. 

Okay. Then the next thing I look at is how much time I will have to cook the meals this week. Since I am currently unemployed and only one of the kids has picked up their chosen extracurricular activities in our new location this is much easier than it used to be. I just have to make a meal that is quick to eat on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Something that can be eaten after Jiu-jitsu but before bed. 

Step 4, I think I'm on 4, right? Whatever, it doesn't matter, all that matters is getting this done. I hate meal planning, did I mention that? Is to start entering the requested meals into the open slots and then start filling in with some favorites. Don't forget to add in days for leftovers or eating out. You don't have to do these on the days you plan them necessarily, but it allows for some things to go a way that you didn't plan for them to go. I also add one to two new meals each couple of weeks. You know what this means, MORE PINTEREST!!!! I mean we have to research those recipes right??  Always mark where you have the recipes save so that you can find them later, this is one of those learn from my mistakes moments.

And after all of that you have a completed meal plan. Yay! Now to start making the grocery list, and that's a whole different ball of wax. 

Back to School

It's that time of year again, when everyone is getting geared up for back to school. Outfits are getting picked, mornings are being greeted, and the all important school supplies are being purchased.

So, with the million blogs detailing back to school what do I have to say. Today we are going to talk about school supply lists and teacher gifts. I have been on both sides of this spectrum, for multiple grades over the years, so I feel like I've got a bit of a reason to have an opinion.

My girls have attended 6 different schools in 2 different states, this year we start schools 7 & 8. One thing I have noticed is that there are a couple of different ways that schools do supply lists.

1. The district wide list - This list is the same for every student, at every school, in multiple grades. It is usually something pretty general, crayons, pencils, scissors, notebook, tissues and sanitizer. This is great for an overview but does not take into account the teachers opinions at all. Parents will feel like they are on top of things and pre buy this list only to find out that their child's teacher has extra needs, or doesn't want the students to bring or use one of the items. These lists can also be difficult in districts with schools that cross the socioeconomic spectrum. Things that some schools have the funding for, others may not, creating more need. 
2. The school wide list - This is similar to the district wide list, but generally is split up by grade and the teachers get some say in the process. Keep in mind again though that your childs teacher may have some changes just like the district wide list. 
3. The individual teacher list - While this is the hardest type of list to distribute, it really is my favorite kind. It allows each teacher to ask for the supplies they know they will need, and not the ones they won't. In the long run I think that it is a huge cost saver for the parents because they are not buying superfluous items and then having to send in supplemental items later in the year. 

If you childs school uses one of the first two kinds of lists I have some suggestions. First, don't open anything until after you talk to their teacher, and keep the receipts. If the supply list asks for 3 composition books, and 1 ream of writing paper, but your childs teacher won't use the composition books, you can return them.  Second be prepared for the childs teacher to have a classroom wish list at meet the teacher. Don't be angry that you bought all of these fabulous supplies off the list and they don't want them, remember they didn't get a say in what was on that list. And third, please buy the actual thing that the teacher asks for. Here is my personal example and the reason why. When I taught preschool we asked parents to buy a specific type of scissors that are perfect for little hands. Yes, they were more expensive than the normal preschool safety scissors by about $0.50. So frequently parents would save money by buying the cheaper scissors. The problem came when their child was unable to operate the cheaper scissors. When you are working on scissor skills with a large group of 3 and 4 year olds, they have to be able to operate their scissors independently. The teacher does not have the ability to hold each childs hand and help them cut like a parent does at home. As a result of parents refusing to spend the extra $0.50 I was unable to teach scissor skills to 60% of my students. Was it worth the savings? I think not. Teachers always have a very good reason when they ask for a specific item or brand of school supply. They know how expensive they can get, and know that you as a parent want to save money when possible. 

Sorry, I went off on a little tangent, school supply lists are one of my pet peeves, and before you say I just don't understand how frustrating it can be, let me tell you that my husband is one of the, "buy the exact district list buying the cheapest things rather than the correct thing and then complain when they teacher asks for more," kind of person. So every.single.year. we have a discussion about the list. Every.Single.Year. 

Teacher gifts. This is another hot button issue it seems. So let me tell you this once and for all. They are not required. Your childs teacher will not like them any more or less depending on how pinterest-tastic your start of the year gift is. They are always appreciated, but not required. For beginning of the year teacher gifts my favorite that I ever received were things off my wish list, but nicer. For example, I had hand sanitizer on the list so one parents sent in a gift with a large cheap sanitizer, a smaller high end moisturizing and sanitizer, and some good hand repair lotion. Fabulous. My hands were not cracked and bleeding within the first month of school. Useful, and caring. The best kind of gifts. Another parent bought me an adorable assortment of colored pens, markers, and dry erase markers. Trust me, no teacher ever has enough of these, and they are always helpful. The favorite teacher gift my girls ever gave was personalized stationary and matching pen. These were SO inexpensive, but so fun. I just picked up a pack of multi colored pens and had the girls pick a color for each teacher. (and yes we sent one to every teacher, specials teacher, and aide they had) Then we used that color to print a monogram of their last name at the top center of a half sheet of paper, printed them out, tied the pen and some envelopes to the stationary and off they went. We were able to give gifts to 12 teachers for less than $15. 

Why the title?

Seriously, what's a "DirtBoyz"?

Why the Diva's? 

Where did you get this from? 

So, a little bit about me. and why in the world I picked this title for my blog. What I do, or in this case did before I started to blog, and who I am. 

DirtBoyz (okay seriously that took too may tries to get my computer to recognize that as a word) The easiest way to describe a DirtBoy is that he is an Air Force heavy equipment operator. Or a military person who plays with giant Tonka trucks for a living. So who is the DirtBoy in my life? My husband. Dave has been in the Air Force for 16 years, and we have been married for almost 13 of those years. Being a military wife my husbands job has come to define me in some ways. Every time we move I have to leave my job behind and restart from scratch, so I can't always say "I'm a teacher, or I'm a preschool director" because more often than not I used to be that and am not that anymore. 

Diva's I have two beautiful children, both girls. This is where the Diva's come from. In reality this is not an accurate description of my girls. They are not divas at all. They are sweet girls who know how to work with people around them to try and work out the best for everyone, definitely not diva behavior. But why should I lose the chance for a fun alliteration? Currently my girls are in the older kid stage of their lives, not teenagers, but not small. This is the best thing ever! They love me and their Dad, they love to spend time with us, and they are independent enough to help with chores, follow directions, and do stuff on their own. I feel like this is the sweet spot in parenting between the sleepless overload of baby and toddler life and the sleepless worry of teenagers. Can we just freeze time here? 

And Me! So now you know where I got the name for the blog from, time to tell you a little bit about me. I am originally from Arizona, but not the hot desert part, I'm from Flagstaff, land of snow, mountains, and amazing people. I lived in Flagstaff from birth through 7/8 of the way finished with college. Then I was off to England for my student teaching. I met my husband while I was in England and we got married rather quickly. Since then we have lived in 5 different locations England, Georgia, Nevada, Missouri, and New Mexico. In those locations we have had multiple houses, so if you don't count the couple of month long stays with family while we looked for those houses, we are currently in our 8th house. That's in slightly less than 13 years, which would be an average of a year and a half in each of those houses. But, our last house we lived in for 4 years and one month, which means my average is WAY lower.

What do I do for a living? Ummm. I have a degree in History and Social Studies for Secondary Education, however, I haven't been employed as a teacher for this, ever. I have worked in a Cashiers Cage overseas, exchanging dollars for pounds and working with slot machines (don't get me started on any no one should bother with those), run a home daycare, made my own products to sell on Etsy, worked as a receptionist/office manager for an appraisal company, taught preschool, and then was the assistant director for the preschool. And now? Well, we just moved again 45 days ago and I have had no luck finding a job. So for now, I'm back to Stay-at-Home Mom.

This whole blog is a way for me to feel like I have something to do other than apply for jobs all day long, especially when both kids are in school all day, I will need to have something to do or I will go crazy, and don't suggest I clean. Well I'll clean, but 1. I won't do it all the time, I'm not that crazy and 2. we are currently in one of the smallest houses we have lived in in a long time and it only takes 45 minutes to do everything, including dusting door frames, baseboards, fans and blinds. So I will explore my interests, blurt out my thoughts on parenting, job hunting, and life in general and mostly just hope I don't go crazy.