A Time For Everything

There's not much new going on in my neck of the woods. I'm still doing well with the food logging --> not eating things I shouldn't as well as planning some body-hot-spot specific routines. I've also learned that according to Fitbit, fat burn mode burns more body fat for energy than cardio mode does although the cardio will burn up more calories overall.

That's a tough choice for me--because burning body fat for energy by exercising after having fasted since before 7pm the prior evening was my primary method of actually getting rid of my fat stores. On the other hand, I need all the calories I can earn for enjoyable meals. At my height and weight, I have basically no spare calories for treats and have to earn them via exercise.

Any who... since there was nothing exciting to report, I'm going to dig up some random images from blogs past. Let's reminisce.

 Way way back when Sonshine was in high school, the marching band got to play on the steps of the Texas Capital Building. DD and I drove down to see them. (Look how tubby I was!)

Way way back 2010 (I think), some special friend of mine, known as the JAG ladies, spent a long weekend down on Port Aransas and visited the USS Lexington.

Some other friends of mine (and me), spent a long weekend in Oklahoma City helping one another plot and brainstorm some books. That picture was taken in Toby Kieth's restaurant.

Have a great week. Hope you're well.

Happy New Year, too!!! Hope you had a super New Year's Eve. As usual, we were selling fireworks.

Since Sonshine, aka Marching Band Boy, is home for the (belated) holidays, I'm going to share a video of one his programs from high school... They're not as good/polished as the previous two bands we saw, but it still takes some skill for these kids to play and march and perform, and I'm still incredibly proud of my kid.

Last night, Sonshine and I attended the first concert of the East Fort Worth Community Jazz Band.

The band was founded and conducted by Sonshine's high school band director and I was pleased as punch that he just happened to be in town for it. Sonshine's girlfriend joined us for an enjoyable evening.

Because of this...


There's no more of this...







Tonight's the first football game of the FWISD season and for the first time in four years, we're not there. I'm a little bit sad about that...

Well, the game Friday night was all right. The football team lost, but it was a high scoring, relatively close game. I suppose it was nice for the other team to win since it was their homecoming. Their band was huge and put us to shame in both size, playing skill, and behavior. Sonshine did not have such a great night and, subsequently, neither did I. He's hanging in there though, but thinking he needs to lower his expectations. We'll see how that plan goes.

But the rest of the weekend went well. Okay, well, I binged on junk and failed to exercise and have been struggling with making good food choices all week. One of those bad choices was chocolate milk and Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies!

However, in the interest of every day being special, I did drink my chocolate milk out of a wine-type glass!



Now, for something a little more interesting and fun--I caught a picture of a lizard with a grub in his mouth! I stepped onto the back porch and caught the little guy scurrying across the grass, then up the side of the stoop. He took a little detour up my leg, then jumped onto the brick of the house.

Here he is with the grub...

Here on my blog, I tend to refer to my family members either with nicknames or just by relationship. As you know, according to my short legend to the right, my son is Sonshine and sometimes Marching Band Boy on this blog, but in real life I also call him Sonshine,  Bubba, Baby Boy, ocassionally Brass Head, and of course by his name. Hubby is generally referred to as DH here, but I call him babe or by his name in real life. The girls, too, have pet names, namely baby girl or XXXXX Lady for the oldest and baby girl or XXXXX Love for the youngest. The call me various things too. Mostly Mom, or Momma, sometimes Mama-san, Wife Unit. And every once in a while I still get called Mommy.

My full given name is Jennie Linn, after the Swedish singer. These days, you probably know me just as Jen. DH has a sister named Jenny, so when we got married, obviously having a Jenny and a Jennie was going to be a bit confusing. Mostly DH was already calling me Jen, so switching to it on a permanent/regular basis was not an issue.

Now the whole original idea for today's post came from a conversation I had with Sonshine. I was telling him that I never thought his dad and I would have ever named him what we did.

You see, back in high school, I knew a kid named ... And he had a crush on me, was a grade or two  behind me, and I found him just generally annoying. And you know how once you have a bad experience with a person, you tend to shy away from that name--especially when naming your children (or your book characters). I'm not saying the experience was awful and terrible and bad things happened with that boy, but I never would have thought I'd have named my own child that name.

But seventeen, almost, eighteen years later and, you know, I really couldn't can't imagine my son with any other name, though I suppose I'd probably love him just as much!

Do you have nicknames for the special people in your life or an interesting story about a name?? I'd love to hear it.

I knew I might have spoken too soon. It turns out the counselor's office was closed Monday and Sonshine was unable to get his transfer. He did man up and go talk with his directors and they (of course) tried to convince him to remain in band. As of Monday evening he was still on the fence, but I knew he was wavering.

Last evening after I picked him from practice, he told me he was staying in the band. Some of it was apparently realizing that what some of things the band directors said was true, but I honestly believe mostly it's because he loves being in band that much, that he wasn't really ready and fed up enough to walk away.

One thing the directors did say was that if no one tells them there's a problem, they can't address it. And Sonshine gets like me where it festers and he talks to everyone but the person or people who really need to hear it. So I think I need to step up and go to the band director with my concerns as well.

So the end of an era is not the end at all.



Let's see how it goes. Luckily, though, this week is a bye week and a much-needed break.

This morning, Sonshine takes a note from me to the counselor's office requesting a transfer out of band. He gave it all summer and three weeks of school and things did not improve. The new band director is in a tough spot. I get that. But as the weeks have passed and things have happened and other things have not happened, and as I've watched him during games, I've become increasingly dissatisfied with the job he's doing. I won't go into detail, because it would take me hours to get it all down on paper and into some semblance of coherence. I'm sad and disappointed on Sonshine's behalf. But part of me is relieved, and it feels a bit freeing to get past all the drama and the angst.

But in other news...

I have a bloom! Remember I replanted my surviving azalea into a pot? Well, yesterday when I was out watering, I noticed a flower. I've still been worried about it because, sometimes, life conspires to keep me from watering it (or I just plain forget) and it still looks a bit worse for wear. But look:



And I noticed a splash, if you will, of dirt along the patio next to the pot. Someone'd been in the pot digging. Saturday afternoon, I saw one of the handful of possible suspects:




I haven't named this fellow--and it is a fellow. Stevie is female, but this guy is definitely male. So maybe Howard. What do you think?

All that excitement over the first game of the season, all the worry over involvement and it may be a moot point.

The evening started off fine. I got to the band hall in plenty of time and took pictures and just sat and watched. Of course I'm used to the previous band director so many things were different, some a nice change of pace, others just different-not they way we're used to doing things. I heard several kids say they wished ms former band director was still there--even kids who butted heads with her.


I thought the buses were late, but in fact, we made it to Dallas and the host school in plenty of time, despite having difficulty finding the school tucked away as it was in a neighborhood. For the last three years, we've always had two buses for the kids and a truck for the instruments and paraphernalia. We had two buses for the kids, the instruments, and six adults. Can you say crowded? And hot. I got lucky and somehow ended up on the equipment bus with only a half dozen kids, one other parent, and the assistant band director.

Still, though, the evening was going along. Everyone seemed in fairly good spirits.



So we get to the other school, pile off the buses, and head into the stands. One good bit of luck--the school had no visitor stands. For those of you who don't live in Texas or eat, sleep, and breathe football--every, and I do mean every--football field/stadium I have been to is built so that home stands face east and visitor stands face west. That means visitors have the setting sun shining right into their faces for a good hour or two. At the beginning of the school year here in Texas, it's HOT HOT HOT!


We settle in place--with bass drums in front of brass--HUH??--and prepare to play the fight song. Half the kids don't know their music and they're not allowed to bring their binders with sheet music into the stands. Nor have they been given the little mini music things or lyres to attach to their instruments. We're not starting off well at all. Even to my untrained eye.


So we begin the first half of the game...and the kids are not playing much. Percussion is allowed to play a few cadences, but stand songs are few and far between, so the rest of the sections are a bit restless.

And eventually a fight broke out! First real altercation I've seen between band students since Sonshine and I have been in band. I know one of the boys already had something stuck in his craw before the game even started, however, had those children been playing music, the likelihood of that fight breaking out was slim to none. They would have been too busy playing to have any sort of conversation. Both boys were suspended and I heard one was kicked out completely. A shame.

So then it's almost half time and the kids leave the stands to prep for the half time show.... Since show music isn't even ready, not even a single movement, they're going to play a song for the color guard to dance to. Those poor girls, I come to find out, had three days to prepare a routine without a color guard instructor. Not good. I felt really bad for them, bless their hearts. Five returning members with a single year under their belt trying to teach five new girls a routine.

Sonshine's already feeling the disappointment creep up on him. And after the snack break, he spent most of the second half sitting with his fist in his hands. And did the band director or assistant band director notice? No. Because (a) he was hidden behind the bass drums and (b) the band director was busy facing the field and not the band...

Then the lights got turned off with six minutes of game of play left. The game ended up being called. And we packed up our stuff and made the long journey home.

Not an auspicious start to the season.

I told my boy to not think about the band for the weekend. It's a long weekend and to just give it a rest, however, I woke up this morning thinking that he needed to at least let them know how he was feeling and give the band a chance to step up. I don't know if he will or if it will make a difference, but I'd hate for him just quit with attempting to effect the change he's looking for.

I'm feeling sad and disappointed on my boy's behalf right now. I told him I'd go talk to the band or send an e-mail to the band director if he wanted, but he's a big boy and I don't want to embarrass him either, so we'll see how it plays out.

Today's post is about Sonshine...you remember my smart funny handsome Marching Band Boy...



Sonshine who is a junior this year wants to go to Texas A&M to study architecture. Which is awesome. However we can't afford to send him there. We've told him if he wants to go for four years, he's got to get a full ride. In order to do that, he's got to lean on his band laurels such as they are.

He's a good player. The band director has said so and she's not one to just flatter kids to their parents. If Sonshine practiced, he could be better. A lot better.

One of the obstacles Sonshine has to overcome in the next year is the change in band directors. The current band director is retiring. The problem is, apparently, the school district hasn't hired a new one. We thought they had and just haven't introduced him or her to the kids, but Sonshine no longer thinks that's the case. He now thinks it's one of the helpers the band director has utilized this past year and according to Sonshine this guy doesn't do anything.

So going into his senior year, Sonshine has a new band director--one that has been given no time to prep and plan for the upcoming year. usually by now, the show music for next year's UIL contest has been chosen. The kids have heard it. Band camps are scheduled for the summer so the kids can learn not only the music but some marching choreography--and how not to trip over each other in the process. Usually by the first game of the school year, our kids know at least a couple of movements to their music and have their marching uniforms when a lot of schools don't. Next year...not so much. The district is really screwing us over. Our school has enough disadvantages and obstacles as it is.

So all of that to say, Sonshine is going to be on his own this year to a large degree. I told him yesterday that if he wants a scholarship then A) he's going to have to get it through band, which means he has to be in band in college and I don't think he was planning on that; B) he's going to have to practice on his own A LOT this year. If the band director ends up not being up-to-par, it's going to be up to him to keep up and improve his skills; and he's going to have take on a new instrument...

An advantage of playing for a small band is sometimes you get asked to try other instruments. His primary instrument is the trumpet, but he's also played the baritone (looks like a small tuba) and the mellophone (the marching French horn. He thought about going for the sousaphone (that's the marching tuba, that's round in shape that the players have to 'wear' and that sports a really huge bell) for marching season, but with all the other changes, he's going to stick with the mellophone. Anyway, being flexible and being proficient on more than one instrument can only work to his advantage. Not only did he participate in marching band, but he's also participated in symphonic and jazz band. Though I'm sure a lot of kids do too.

Obviously there are other things he has to do to earn a scholarship, like keep his grades up and earn good/great SAT and/or ACT scores, but I think the band thing is going to be the biggest key. That and getting everything applied for and taken on time.

Ugh.

I'm putting a lot on him, because if he wants this, then he's got to step up. Unfortunately, his dad and I have never really put a lot of pressure on him, so it's going to be a learning experience for all of us.

I'm going to have to overcome a few things as well. Like putting it all on him and forgetting about it. I'll have to follow up, day after day, nagging and being the strict mom I have never been. It's going to be a tough year.

It's been a good week so far and we're only two full days in. Revisions on my current WIP are going well and the day job duties are getting done in an efficient manner. What more can you ask for?

Sonshine is back to reading The Hobbit this morning...

I'm back to reading as well. I received two books at my writing group party this past Saturday, so instead of dumping them in the book return at the library, I'm going to read them. Well, try at least. The last book I tried to read, I couldn't get into. I don't know if it was me or the story.

As you all know, Sonshine is also known occasionally as Marching Band Boy. The largest/most important local marching contest is U.I.L. and of course his band has attended. Professional pictures are taken both on the field and after a band's performance. So the first year (2010), I bought a mug with a picture of MBB taken during the performance. It was great picture with vivid colors and caught him glancing at the camera, lips pursed, counting. (if you click on it, it should get bigger and you can see the lips)


In 2011, I bought another mug. I hadn't planned it that first year, but the second year I thought it would be cool to have this little collection of mugs from U.I.L. contests.


So fast forward to this year and mug #3 arrived in the mail! The first two years he played trumpet, this year, he played mellophone (marching French horn).



One more to go--but will MBB be wearing Highlander colors or some other school's colors??

And now, finally...



Another must-have at Christmas time are candles. Now, I like candles any time really--remember I got three lovely jar candles last year for Mother's Day and my birthday?

At Christmas, though, I like the traditional green and red colors and the scents that accompany them. Green = pine...



It's not entirely Christmassy, but close enough with the pine tree motif! You stick one of those mini jar candles and it's like a little hurricane lamp.

Are you a candle person? What are your favorite scents?

It seems, for the past few weeks, I have been struggling to post at the normal time (somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30 am on MWF). Life has been restructured a bit and has definitely thrown my routine out of whack. Ugh. I really hate when that happens. I am very much a creature of habit and all this relative chaos does not make for a happy Jen.

Still no writing or revising although there should be. grrr... Lots of fanfic reading though. Some part of me needs a emotional/psychological vacation and that's how I do it. By reading fan fiction. Specifically, right now, Harry Potter fanfic featuring Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy.

Friday night was homecoming and we actually won for a change--even though we were visitors. I'm not sure who planned that.

Saturday was the big marching contest--the one thing the kids have been working towards since July. And they scored 3s. They are not 1 material because they don't work hard enough collectively for that, but they could have and according to the band director should have gotten at one or two 2s. Several other bands also received crazy scores--one band received two 1s (the best score) and a 4 (out of 5). What??? That's a pretty big discrepancy. *shakes head* We don't even know.

And here are a couple of pics from Saturday:

I had a huge post mostly written for today, but I decided not to post it. Instead, I'll share my great find:


Friday, the weather turned chilly and Saturday Marching Band Boy and band had a contest. We would be out in the cold all afternoon and evening. I wanted to have hot tea with me. So the girls and I went to Target
 and I found a couple of travel mugs in the kitchen section, but there were $10 each. Ugh. So DD and wandered around over to the camping area to look for a backpack and came upon another aisle that had thermoses, and we saw these. I was so excited. And they worked great. My tea stayed hot hot hot all dang day.

As far as the contest went, we won 1st place, BUT But but we were the only school in our group, so it wasn't a real competition for us in that sense. But score-wise, we seemed to have scored on par many of the 1st and 2nd place schools in the other groups.Our color guard however was awesome and I think received one of the highest scores of the night (compared to other color guards).

And I felt so bad for all the color guard members--they were all wearing light-weight, sleeveless outfits. It was down to 48* degrees by 9/9:30 when the awards were handed out.

I ended up having to pull props--ugh--but I got a few pics:

Our music is called Mysteries of the Nile...our props are pyramids.


Here's Marching Band Boy performing his solo during the first song. You can see one of guard girls in Egyptian costume right behind him.

It was a long day and we have another contest tonight, for the school district.

How was your weekend??

Yes. I have discovered that I need to eat more. I've been trying to eat more. But you know what--it's harder than it seems.

Some of you may remember back in April, I do believe, I announced I wanted to lose weight. A lot of it. Twenty-eight pounds to be specific, by June 29th. It did not happen.

I cut out sugar, cut out more carbs, and increased my calorie burning efforts.

Today, I am a mere *seven* pounds lighter than I was on May 6th, when I officially started the program. (My personal program, that is. Not a famous one.)

I do feel better, mostly, but I still want to get rid of a few more pounds.

I think the biggest problem is that when I'm doing well on the exercise efforts I don't compensate with additional calories to feed my body and it goes into starvation mode and begins to hold on to the padding I'm carrying around. And I feel hungry all the time, which I hate.

This week I have made an effort to have more (healthy) snacks on hand. So I've added fruit back into my diet. I had resisted them, aside from berries, because of the sugar--yes, I know it's healthy sugar--but still. So bananas and apples are my friends once again. So far so good, I haven't felt as hungry and I'm working on that. Now I just have to stay consistent with the exercise. I'll let you know how it turns out.

On other fronts, Marching Band Boy went to band camp yesterday and came home with a new instrument. He mainly plays the trumpet, but has also done stints on the baritone.

Last year, he commented on several occasions about how the French horn always seemed to have the coolest parts of their show music.

Needless to say, he came home with the French horn yesterday.


You're saying that's not a French horn. (Am I right?) Well, actually, it a marching French horn, also called a mellophone. It's a brand new instrument and MBB is thrilled to be playing it.

Are you musically inclined? I'm so not! If you are, share your instrument...

So I have fifteen followers now. How cool is that? Okay, so I know a lot of people have way more than that, but I'm always tickled when I see a new one. Hey, Lara!!

Fan girl meet ups are imminent!!

This weekend is my JAG meetup. Tonight is dinner (leaving at 2 today to go early and visit), tomorrow is hanging out at someone's house and visiting some more. I've changed my mind about going. These are my friends and I only get to see most of them once a year. So I'm going to go and hang out and have fun. (After I run some errands in the morning.)

I know there's a parallel here to my family whom I'm terribly bad about keeping in regular communication with. (Hi Mom.) I know, I know. Really, I do. One of these days, I'm gonna do better. I swear.

Next weekend will be Robin Hood meetup. Other folks have met up in twos and threes so I think this will be the largest gathering--there will be five of us. One will be coming from Minnesota, one from Colorado, one from Kansas, and one from southern Texas. Two will fly, two will drive.

I'm just thankful they agreed to come here this time as I wouldn't have been able to justify the expense of going somewhere else to meet people I'd never met before. And since they are coming here, the least I can do is pay for the food. I'm also putting together goodie bags for one and all to remember our time together. I need a few more things for those bags, but I'm running out of time. Time to brainstorm.

In preparation for the RH meetup at my house, I have been busy cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I normally clean this time of year anyway while the men are gone, but because strangers are coming, I've amped it up just a bit to include things I might not normally do. Like clean the ceiling fans and the windows (just certain ones). Clean out the fridge. Mop all the floors. Cut down the dead hedges. (That may fall by the wayside, though.) Anyway...you get the idea.

As I was cleaning last night, I came across a picture of Marching Band Boy.  During UIL competitions, there's a photography company that moves amongst the kids while they're on the field and captures images of them. Then you can go online later and look for your kid and buy copies. I've bought a mug the past two years as well. By the time he's done with high school, I hope I'll have a set of four. :) Any how, I came across a picture and my heart just swelled right up. In case you're new here, I brag about my son a lot. I love my daughters, I really do. But my son...he's something else. Yeah, he's sixteen. A typical teenage boy, not wanting to do his school work and copping an attitude and everything else that goes with that age and gender. I know that, I acknowledge that. But he's so awesome. So here he is (though not the UIL photo as I don't have a scanner.):








And now to wrap this up, another installment of the Twelve Days of Jen. We're getting close to being finished now...

A candle warmer lantern...


The one with the candle I got for Christmas and I thought a pair would be nice. The light bulb is not powerful enough to melt the candle all the way through like the other candle warmers you can buy that heat from the bottom up, but it provides a nice little light in the kitchen at night so that I don't have to turn on the big fluorescent light every time I want a drink of water. But I think I'm going to find some decorative wall bracket/plant hangar thingies and hang them in my writing room.

And that does it for this week! Happy Friday and see you back here bright and early Monday!!