we have a free weekend. well, sort of. free as in no hockey games, nobody has to work in a concession stand and we aren't traveling anywhere. it's our last free weekend until march 27.

i would really like to organize the garage and basement, exercise, stay OFF the computer, maybe attempt to make some good food, hang with the dudes (any good movies out there?) and play a little volleyball with my montrose peeps.

but, again, it's my last free weekend for over two months.

how in the world would YOU spend it?

every so often, the husband goes over to the storage unit (aka his mom's house) and brings home a load of our stuff. i stopped wanting any of it about two loads ago. i can't think of anything i really miss except for these little red lodge canoes, this one star thingy that i'd hang above my stove and the cool antique rocking chair my grandma gave me for my wedding. oh, and the dog-sleeping-on-the-bed picture. that's it. that's all i want. everything else i need is here.

problem is, there are boxes and boxes of things left to unpack. i don't want anything else cluttering up the house. it's great the way it is. so what do i do with it all? the bigger question: who in the world would want it? i told the husband to just leave anything that isn't here at his moms. he he. i'm sure that will win me some points :)

oh. and while i'm at it, what do all you frequent movers do with the unpacked boxes when you are done with them? we have half a garage full now.

this story is seriously a blow to my self-esteem but it is so funny i have to tell it. it makes me giggle just thinking about it.

i was playing with a friend's 3-year-old at hockey practice. I was holding him and swinging him around and dipping him up and down and all that. i finally stopped and was holding him facing me, his little legs wrapped around my waste. he grins and looks at me so very sweetly, puts a chubby finger under my nose and says "what's dat?"

i said, "what's what?" thinking i had some kind of food on my face.

he starts to pet me under the nose, all across my lip, giggles and says, "like a man."

i about died laughing.

guess it's time to wax the ol' upper lip, eh girls? and to my little brother who is thoroughly enjoying this post...SHUT IT. :)

i know when God is really trying to work in my life because He sends me the same messages multiple ways in a short period of time. in the past couple of days, i have been bombarded with the phrase "God makes everyone for a purpose." He makes us each the way we are for a reason. And He does not make mistakes. sigh.

i struggle. the biggest, hugest struggle in my life is trying to be a good parent. i want my boys to grow up to be honest and kind and loving and full of joy. it is this last desire that makes me crazy. the oldest j boy is such a special kid, but he's a kid i have a hard time understanding. he is ultra-competitive and cries still if he loses. he would rather not try something than risk failing at it. he is very intense and can also be very distant. my job is to try to let him be who he is. i get this. but it is so hard to let him be who he is when i know that those qualities aren't especially good ones. i asked him what he would do if a friend invited him over to play baseball with a bunch of other boys. he said "it would depend on how many people there were. if there was an uneven number i wouldn't go because the teams wouldn't be fair. the team with less players would lose." i was blown away by this line of thinking. it scared me. how do you overcome a thought process like that?

BUT. i know, and am being reminded, that God made my big j for a purpose. His purpose is much greater than mine. i pray that i can do right by God, and by my very special big j.

amen.

amen.

working from home, i don't have access to an IT department to help me with my computer problems. i am lucky this thing continues to plug along despite my inability to understand it much. anyway, yesterday i signed up for this service called Norton Jump Start. i paid some money and then logged on with a man named carlo. he virtually "hooked up" with me and could see everything on my computer. his purpose was to clean it up and help it work faster.

he was really really nice and very helpful. my computer is just zipping right along today.

but like i said. he could see everything on my computer. he was going through my files and my pics and my well, everything, and it truly felt like the dude was ruffling through my underwear drawer.

he was like "so this picture labeled "girls girls girls" on your desktop...do you need that?"

i felt myself explaining that the picture was of my college girlfriends from our annual reunion. i don't think carlo cared much, because he kept right on digging through my undies.

"looks like you work from home. do you have a payroll?"

GET OUT OF MY UNDIES, CARLO.

"i see you have a web cam. how often do you use that?"

OUT, CARLO.

"and itunes. do you use that much?"

NO CARLO. I SUCK AT TECHNOLOGY. I STILL HAVE WILD BOYS FROM DURAN DURAN ON MY PLAYLIST. AS YOU CAN APPARENTLY SEE.

"you really have tons of useless stuff on here. should we just get rid of it?"

SURE. CAN WE DONATE IT TO THE GOODWILL? SOME OF THOSE UNDIES ARE MY OLD FAVORITES.

this went on for over an hour. i was uncomfortable the whole time. i know this is what all the computer fixer guys do--they look through your stuff--but i guess next time i will be a little more aware of what i label things. and i will clean out the drawer a little bit first.

it's the little things. today i will talk about things that smell good.

you see, a few funky issues happened with the new house and they all involved bad smells. the vent on the top of the house froze when it was -28 outside and the boys' bath smelled like sewer. not good. the plumbers have been here and it's sunny now so it's all better. ahhhh. nothing like a good smellin' bathroom.

also, the washing machine wasn't hooked up for nearly two weeks. i had to go buy new undies and socks. we finally found someone strong enough to help the husband haul it inside and i have been doing laundry ever since. the clothes smell really nice and downy fresh. i may be noticing this even more because the machine in the rental was on its last legs. not sure our clothes ever really were clean. sorry if you noticed ;)

and on my last happy note, i am especially excited to have a cat that goes to the bathroom OUTSIDE again. we couldn't let pounce go outside in the rental because he'd get crushed by the traffic. we had to resort to the litter box, which he hated as much as we did. now...no more litter box. life is so very good.

tomorrow's topic: things that LOOK good. there may be photos.

our first big hockey weekend. it was fun! man, i love watching these kids. big j is my steady defense guy who thinks about his every move and chases down anyone who crosses his blue line. little j is the scrappy little guy who makes me laugh with his tenacity and pure love of the game. mostly, i love how the kids have all grown together as a team. they won 3 of 4 games this weekend and were just a blast to watch. yep. i'm a biased hockey mom. you can tell by my frozen toes and fingers.

not to leave you disappointed, i do have a great "scorekeeping" story that nearly tops my national anthem debacle of last year. so i'm keeping the digital score clock and am totally caught up in the game. i hear all these people start shouting out this kids name and i'm thinking "sheesh. leave the poor kid alone, whatever he's doing." i'm trying to figure out which kid they are all yelling about, when i realize i have forgotten to start the clock back up after a goal.

the name they were yelling was "clock! Clock! CLOCK!CLOOOOCKKKK!"

he he he. oops.

art girls: help.

little j is a pack rat. he's also an avid artist and crafter. (kinda like you :)) we have to keep every picture he's ever drawn, every craft he's ever built. and he sometimes produces 3 or 4 masterpieces per day.

i am trying to figure out something we can do here. what are your thoughts on a giant corkboard wall in his room? too messy? too corky? too push-pinny? got any other ideas? he refuses to let me "store" his art in boxes. every piece is special. even the man-eating sunflower with blood dripping out of its fangs.

help me out here ladies.

while you're at it, i could use your help with my OTHER pack rat. the big one who won't let me throw away a tube of caulk that has about 3 oz. of caulk left in it. it's a good thing he's cute.

i sat down yesterday to figure my year-end taxes. i started my own business four years ago and it looks like this year i made more than i did at the agency i left. i say this without pride but quite a bit of regret. here's the thing. last year, i also FELT and ACTED like i did at the agency. last summer/fall i was stressed, crabby, not able to sleep, i didn't have time to workout, i said things that weren't nice, i was self-absorbed and not fun to be around.

it felt familiar. it felt icky. and i didn't like myself much.

i just had an entire 11 days off and my head is now back on track. it's ironic, because it was the week between Christmas and new years four years ago that i decided to leave the agency life to be a freelance writer. i needed my life back.

it appears i need my life back again.

i am thinking about the correlation between money and happiness. God is right. money does NOT make you happy. things do not make you happy. in fact, money and things can be pure evil. they are so very temporary. the things that matter--the things that make a life--those are free. love, family, friendship, happiness. all free.

so. i am re-evaluating the way i go about my business for 2010. i will still do the work i so enjoy. but i will do it in a balanced way. i will learn to say no when i need to say no. my family has to come first.

i thought i learned this lesson once. good thing God doesn't mind teaching things twice.

there he is. the husband. before we had the dining room table set up, before we had the washer and dryer hooked up, or the shower tile re-grouted, or the front porch properly scooped off...he was in the back, building an ice rink. sigh. i live with a man obsessed.

and i am in trouble, because just across the ice is the varsity hockey coach, and next door is a man who owns a power auger and a big pumper hose and a four wheeler with a blade. you see where i am going with this? there is nothing more insane than three grown men meeting in the middle of the night to make smooth ice. apparently, this job can only be done in the deepest cold of night. i think maybe the beer just tastes better then. i do have a front row seat to this insanity, since my bedroom windows face the ice rink and the moon has been shining nice and bright. men do weird things.

for sure.