no, it's not rush hour. it's that big dump truck of my brain backing up to unload.
today is a heavy day. one of those days where being an adult isn't fun. where understanding human emotion and how people feel because you've been there isn't a good thing because you know you're going to cause someone pain. not because you want to or because you dislike the person. because it's business.
last night i had to hit the 'reset' button on one of my sons. he had been building up to a good melt down lately by his tone of speaking, his lack of respect and his inability to re-engage his brain after the Christmas holiday. last night he got called out on it. generally when this happens there's more under the surface than the actual mis behaving that is going on. so of course whatever that is comes out in the general angst of being called out on things. today i am sure his brain and emotional senses are much lighter. but it sure does weigh on my heart to know that they are now at the age where they worry about peer related things.
i hate the fact that the first 15 min of the news is generally about the latest investigation child protective services is doing because of a heinous thing that some one has done against a child or children. wtf is wrong with people today?
i'm getting very irritated that the projects required from the school are much more involved than a project should be. what happened to projects that the kids could do from start to finish by themselves? i already put in my 16years of school, why must i put in more and by more i don't mean checking homework and helping them to study. i mean spending hours making sure a project is exactly as spelled out in the uber detailed directions? I really do think that this knowledge should be part of sex education. what kid would want to have an unexpected pregnancy when they know they will be doing a ton more school work in the future regardless of the fact that they already did it. and it's not that i'm against it. but they just pile it on and when you have 3 kids 1 year apart and two at home it just gets overwhelming in addition to all that has to be done on a daily basis.
once upon a time before becoming involved in a business that takes not only my time and support but also my bank account, I was one of those happy worker bees that didn't really think about things. leaving a light on at work, printing needless things, wasting a bit of time here or there. i did my job, i got paid and that was that. that is, until i crossed the lines so to speak. where it comes out of my account for toner cartridges, electric bills, office supplies, pay checks, etc. etc it's not just some random budget that pays it. it's my budget and it sure is eye opening.
from here on out, every time my daughter says "i bet its fun being an adult" i'm not going to suggest that she concentrate on being a child and enjoying her childhood, i'm going to let her read this. i suppose there can't be much more mommmy guilt associated with shattering her dreams earlier than i already have....right?....blah.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
the important things
A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2" in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "Yes."
Then he took two beers out of his bag and poured them inside the jar filling in the jars into the gaps.
"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter - like your job, your house, your car.
The sand is everything else. The small stuff."
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.
Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
So the students shocked asked and the beers ?
The professor replied : No matter how stressed your life is , there would be always time/space for a couple of beers with your friends!
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "Yes."
Then he took two beers out of his bag and poured them inside the jar filling in the jars into the gaps.
"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter - like your job, your house, your car.
The sand is everything else. The small stuff."
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.
Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
So the students shocked asked and the beers ?
The professor replied : No matter how stressed your life is , there would be always time/space for a couple of beers with your friends!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
This blew my mind
I mean really made me stop in my tracks and just go "wow". And that doesn't happen much at all. However I had to put it out there to share, and as a reminder to myself that every little thing we do can somewhat help leave less of a footprint on this planet.
I will be purchasing some of these bags. I can assure you that with 5 children I have contributed my fair share to the landfills through the use of items with names like Huggies and Pampers. I can also assure you that many times the huggy or pamper was in a plastic baggie.
Now that we are at the phase of "oh please God let it be true done with diapers" area of our lives I think that I might also be able to lessen my consumption of plastic bags.
Read on. Be astounded. 14 Billion....yes 14.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Plastic bags still dominate Boerne shopping scene
by Elena Tucker - Staff Writer
Locally, H-E-B offers alternatives for environmentally conscious
San Francisco banned common plastic grocery bags in March 2007, and one year ago H-E-B began marketing a new reusable canvas tote, but in the Texas Hill Country, plastic is by far the carrier of choice if simple observation of customers is an accurate gauge.
In December of 2006, H-E-B initiated a pilot program in the form of canvas bags that sell for $3.97. By April 2007, the company claimed to have sold more than 8,000 bags.
Although the bags are displayed gift-like throughout the Boerne location, and despite the statement by one store manager that some customers religiously bring in their own cloth bags, on a busy January morning, no grocery shoppers were seen to be packing reusable canvas totes.
Robert Bateman, president of plastic bag-producing Roplast Industries explained in a National Geographic interview that standard plastic grocery sacks sells for about one cent.
“The plastic bags are so inexpensive that in the stores no one treats them as worth anything … they use two, three or four when one would do just as well,” he said, noting that plastic bags “are becoming a victim of their success.”
H-E-B stated in a San Antonio Express-News article last year, that two years of more careful bagging had saved plastic bag usage by 136 million pieces.
But the effectiveness of such a significant-sounding reduction may be questionable.
Austin City Councilman Lee Leffingwell, in pushing for plastic bag restrictions in his own city, estimated that San Antonio probably buries more than 1,000 tons of plastic bags each year in its landfill.
Environmental journalist, Larry West, believes that anywhere from 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags a year are used and tossed out around the globe.
Those numbers translate into more than one million plastic bags each minute.
Whole Foods Market publishes a statistic that is four times higher.
What bags don’t end up in landfills — or littering urban and rural landscapes — show up in the ocean to the tune of about 46,000 pieces of plastic for every square mile of ocean. Plastic bags, adds the Whole Foods Web site are responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of marine animals each year, and, said David Barnes of the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags are now seen “almost everywhere” in Antarctica.
As environmental issues come again to the forefront, and as 2008 gets underway, consumers, politicians, and experts continue to debate the virtues of single-use polyethylene bags versus corn- or soy-based “plastics” versus paper.
However, there is no debating that the practice of toting groceries in reusable, normally canvas, bags, is far and away the most economically and environmentally sound choice.
Last year was the 30-year anniversary of grocery store plastic sacks. It might have been one of those birthdays that H-E-B - along with other reusable tote advocates - would have preferred not to celebrate.
Other points of grocery bag interest according to Whole Foods Market:
* Number of plastic shopping bags used each year, in the US alone: 14 billion.
* Percentage of plastic bags returned for recycling: 1 percent.
* Annual cost to US retailers for giving away “free” bags: $4 billion.
* Barrels of oil required for US annual plastic bag consumption: 12 million.
* Number of trees cut down for paper bag consumption, in the US: 14 million.
I will be purchasing some of these bags. I can assure you that with 5 children I have contributed my fair share to the landfills through the use of items with names like Huggies and Pampers. I can also assure you that many times the huggy or pamper was in a plastic baggie.
Now that we are at the phase of "oh please God let it be true done with diapers" area of our lives I think that I might also be able to lessen my consumption of plastic bags.
Read on. Be astounded. 14 Billion....yes 14.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Plastic bags still dominate Boerne shopping scene
by Elena Tucker - Staff Writer
Locally, H-E-B offers alternatives for environmentally conscious
San Francisco banned common plastic grocery bags in March 2007, and one year ago H-E-B began marketing a new reusable canvas tote, but in the Texas Hill Country, plastic is by far the carrier of choice if simple observation of customers is an accurate gauge.
In December of 2006, H-E-B initiated a pilot program in the form of canvas bags that sell for $3.97. By April 2007, the company claimed to have sold more than 8,000 bags.
Although the bags are displayed gift-like throughout the Boerne location, and despite the statement by one store manager that some customers religiously bring in their own cloth bags, on a busy January morning, no grocery shoppers were seen to be packing reusable canvas totes.
Robert Bateman, president of plastic bag-producing Roplast Industries explained in a National Geographic interview that standard plastic grocery sacks sells for about one cent.
“The plastic bags are so inexpensive that in the stores no one treats them as worth anything … they use two, three or four when one would do just as well,” he said, noting that plastic bags “are becoming a victim of their success.”
H-E-B stated in a San Antonio Express-News article last year, that two years of more careful bagging had saved plastic bag usage by 136 million pieces.
But the effectiveness of such a significant-sounding reduction may be questionable.
Austin City Councilman Lee Leffingwell, in pushing for plastic bag restrictions in his own city, estimated that San Antonio probably buries more than 1,000 tons of plastic bags each year in its landfill.
Environmental journalist, Larry West, believes that anywhere from 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags a year are used and tossed out around the globe.
Those numbers translate into more than one million plastic bags each minute.
Whole Foods Market publishes a statistic that is four times higher.
What bags don’t end up in landfills — or littering urban and rural landscapes — show up in the ocean to the tune of about 46,000 pieces of plastic for every square mile of ocean. Plastic bags, adds the Whole Foods Web site are responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of marine animals each year, and, said David Barnes of the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags are now seen “almost everywhere” in Antarctica.
As environmental issues come again to the forefront, and as 2008 gets underway, consumers, politicians, and experts continue to debate the virtues of single-use polyethylene bags versus corn- or soy-based “plastics” versus paper.
However, there is no debating that the practice of toting groceries in reusable, normally canvas, bags, is far and away the most economically and environmentally sound choice.
Last year was the 30-year anniversary of grocery store plastic sacks. It might have been one of those birthdays that H-E-B - along with other reusable tote advocates - would have preferred not to celebrate.
Other points of grocery bag interest according to Whole Foods Market:
* Number of plastic shopping bags used each year, in the US alone: 14 billion.
* Percentage of plastic bags returned for recycling: 1 percent.
* Annual cost to US retailers for giving away “free” bags: $4 billion.
* Barrels of oil required for US annual plastic bag consumption: 12 million.
* Number of trees cut down for paper bag consumption, in the US: 14 million.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Give
Hello 2008. Happy New Year. I am pumped about the new year. 2007 was fantastic. It had ups and downs, bumps and bruises and we all survived and learned from it. No children were maimed or killed off so they are equally grateful. :)
Instead of focusing on resolutions this year I am going to focus on a word. Of course I have the normal resolutions that everyone does. Work out, eat better, get more organized. Those I am working on as more of a lifestyle change instead of changing it all at once and then stopping because it got overwhelming.
I have pondered many words over the past few weeks and I think I have settled on the word of the year. GIVE. It encompasses many things of course and I'm going to narrow it down into bite size chunks, especially for the kids, but it fits. I really thought about kindness being the word, but I found that in practice runs of my word that I was in fact kinder to everyone when I was in the spirit of giving. I can give in kindness and it serves both my words that I had pondered.
I am going to talk to the big kids about little things. Giving more random acts of kindness type things. Instead of stopping at Sonic for a drink treat, why don't we go to HEB and grab a $10 dollar gift card and stick it on a random persons vehicle. Or why don't we pick up the tab of the person behind us in the drive through line (whatever drive thru that may be....however, I will draw the line at walgreens pharmacy). Give a kind word to someone who looks like they need it. Give some space to the stressed out person checking out in front of you who has 11 items in the express lane. Give 10 min to read to your little brother or write a nice note to a family member. Things that take hardly any of our time, but make a impact when we take the time. There has been a quote that stuck with me for a long time now and I try to keep it in mind. It says something to the effect of "their burden may be much larger than yours". We never know when the person we're irritated at may have a burden so much larger than ours. And in the event they do have a really large burden sitting on their shoulders I really don't want to be the person that adds to it.
We are very blessed. We have the same struggles many do; our overhead is pretty large for this family and for our business, we are always pressed for time, the laundry is never caught up, and the children think we secretly hide their favorite things in the middle of the night when they really forgot to put them in their place, but when we look at the big picture we are blessed. So I want our family to focus on being a small blessing to the rest of the world in little bite size chunks. And after we're able to do that, move onto bigger bites.
So here's to baby bites and being better at giving. :)
Instead of focusing on resolutions this year I am going to focus on a word. Of course I have the normal resolutions that everyone does. Work out, eat better, get more organized. Those I am working on as more of a lifestyle change instead of changing it all at once and then stopping because it got overwhelming.
I have pondered many words over the past few weeks and I think I have settled on the word of the year. GIVE. It encompasses many things of course and I'm going to narrow it down into bite size chunks, especially for the kids, but it fits. I really thought about kindness being the word, but I found that in practice runs of my word that I was in fact kinder to everyone when I was in the spirit of giving. I can give in kindness and it serves both my words that I had pondered.
I am going to talk to the big kids about little things. Giving more random acts of kindness type things. Instead of stopping at Sonic for a drink treat, why don't we go to HEB and grab a $10 dollar gift card and stick it on a random persons vehicle. Or why don't we pick up the tab of the person behind us in the drive through line (whatever drive thru that may be....however, I will draw the line at walgreens pharmacy). Give a kind word to someone who looks like they need it. Give some space to the stressed out person checking out in front of you who has 11 items in the express lane. Give 10 min to read to your little brother or write a nice note to a family member. Things that take hardly any of our time, but make a impact when we take the time. There has been a quote that stuck with me for a long time now and I try to keep it in mind. It says something to the effect of "their burden may be much larger than yours". We never know when the person we're irritated at may have a burden so much larger than ours. And in the event they do have a really large burden sitting on their shoulders I really don't want to be the person that adds to it.
We are very blessed. We have the same struggles many do; our overhead is pretty large for this family and for our business, we are always pressed for time, the laundry is never caught up, and the children think we secretly hide their favorite things in the middle of the night when they really forgot to put them in their place, but when we look at the big picture we are blessed. So I want our family to focus on being a small blessing to the rest of the world in little bite size chunks. And after we're able to do that, move onto bigger bites.
So here's to baby bites and being better at giving. :)
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