Saturday, November 22, 2008

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Ramen Noodle Salad (easy)

Mix #1
1 lb bag of coleslaw mix
1 C. sunflower seeds
2 pkgs ramon noodles

Combine crunched up noodles, coleslaw mix and seeds

Mix #2: (dressing)
1/3 c vinegar
½ c. sugar
½ c. veg oil
2 pkgs. Seasoning from noodles

Pour dressing over mixture #1 just before serving

i don't know how people come up with this stuff, but my sister provided the recipe, i have it prepared and i'm bringin' it to the work pot luck tomorrow. i hope it's yummy!

seasons

last weekend was summer - 80 & sunny
this weekend is fall - 65 & sunny, with changing leave colors
next weekend is winter - 10 & snowy
after that, i come back to "winter"

i planned this well...as long as i survive two winters in one "winter"
(i'm going to MN for both thanksgiving and christmas this year)

Monday, November 17, 2008

perspective

life keeps getting put in perspective for me. it's tough to absorb, but good. some days i think i've got it so hard, but...relatively speaking, the things i complain about are ridiculous.

morning

i hate mornings. i'm not good at 'em. i try not to talk to people at work before 10am. it makes things easier for all of us. :-)

this morning i had to start with new hires before 9, though...and i did ok. and then i went to get some coffee (which turned into hot chocolate 'cause i'm feelin' awake) and ran into a manager i need to recruit for. i asked a few questions and finally he said, "ya know, my head is still foggy - let me look think about it and get back to you."

i'm so proud that i was able to catch someone before they "woke up." last week i got burned pretty bad 'cause i wasn't functioning, yet and someone had a lot to say to me.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

my glasses

i've got three decent pair of glasses that i've collected over the years. one for my desk, one for my car, one for my purse. makes it easy and convenient, should i ever need to see better.

a few weeks ago, i stepped on the ones for my desk...and put off getting them fixed. finally, i got so frustrated yesterday that i took my lunch break to go get them taken care of. and now they're just about perfect. yay!

what'd i get frustrated with yesterday? the fact that i had to reach down into my purse to get glasses instead of just grab the ones i had sitting on my desk.

how lazy am i?

my sister, my hero

she's awesome. truly awesome. i'd even say she's my best friend. wasn't always, but at some point, something changed, and i know i can go to her with ANYTHING.

anyway, she's a 4th grade teacher in northern minnesota near a native american reservation. that place is a mess...and she gets their kids. she's probably the only stable person that several of them have in their lives - and school is the one thing they can count on being there. the stories she has are amazing...and i pretty much stand in awe of what she can do. last year she potty trained two fourth graders by giving them stickers at the end of the day...

so there was a car accident on monday morning that killed a 9 year old boy...and his mom is in critical condition at the hospital. that boy was in my sister's class. it is rare that i hear my sister call out for help, but she has...which means i gotta do what i can. if you're the prayin' type, throw up a prayer for my sister and her class...and the counselors...and the school. i just can't imagine explaining death to a bunch of 9 year olds who have lost their friend. ugh.

sad post. sorry. my way of coping is by askin' others for help, i guess.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

coaching '08-'09

You may remember that last year I had the easiest tryout ever - signed 11 girls after tryouts, got 1 more without a problem. I was amazed. You may also remember that old club pulled some shenanigans with another coach that made me mad, and I decided it’d be my last season with that club. But then I forgot to do anything about it…

There has been so much more drama around coaching this year that I don’t even know where to begin…but I will. 

A couple months before tryouts, I emailed old club to see if I’d have a spot. My assistant had been helping with summer clinics and I hadn’t been asked, so I wasn’t sure. They said “it’ll probably work out that way, but we’ll confirm soon.” Three weeks before tryouts, I got an email telling me when tryouts would be for old club. I decided if I was going to coach for them, I’d go it alone and “dump” my assistant. I asked them if they had another spot for him in hopes that I could give him options. They strongly suggested I stick with him after being “completely shocked.” I talked to him, he talked to them, we all talked, I felt bad, I didn’t know what to do, I told the club that I’d just coach with him again and told him the same. I mean, what was one more year? Meanwhile, I was talking to a new club about the possibility of coaching for them (sneaky, I know). My assistant knew about it, but old club didn’t. For a couple weeks, I talked and checked it out and didn’t know what to do – new club is shiny, sparkly, fun and high quality. Old club is a known quantity, but I’d sorta made a commitment. A week before tryouts, new club & I decided that we probably had enough girls to have a 13s team, so I should go for it. I told old club that I wouldn’t be coaching for them again…then I told old Assistant. Oops. It’s not the nicest, most responsible thing I’ve done, but somehow it’s all worked out. (funny how that happens)

Old assistant has become head coach for old club and I think he’ll do great. And old club didn’t get screwed over too bad by my leaving so late in the process. (assistant woulda never done it had I left three weeks before tryouts – he woulda bailed, too – yay for procrastination)

I’m the head coach for a 13s team for new club. Of course, because change is usually hard, it’s been rough. I went from 4 girls to 16 back down to 6 up to 8, finally finishing at 12 at 10pm the night before signatures were needed. I’ve got some girls that are a bit rough around the edges…but they’re the ones that learn the fastest and grow the most in a season. I’ve got some really great girls that will lead the team in a lot of ways. I’ve got some involved parents that don’t seem overly involved, yet. I’ve got an “assistant” with 25 years of coaching experience, including college. The new club is so fun and so organized and so talented that I don’t know what to do with myself. We’re truly a team of coaches, tryin’ to teach some kids a great game – the support is amazing.

That was a lot of words…if you skimmed it, just know that I had coaching drama, got through it and am soooooooo excited about the coming season that I don’t know what to do with myself. And thanks to those who put up with my reactions to the drama…there was at least one very rough, long night.

www.alcisvolleyball.com

Monday, November 10, 2008

it doesn't hurt to ask

last month i realized i was low on my monthly cell phone minutes, so i upgraded to the next highest plan. i knew it wouldn't kick in until the next billing period, but i thought i could make it just one more month.

i just checked my bill - and have an extra $75 charged for overusage. darn.

as the subject suggests, i called good ol' AT&T and asked if they could help me...and he's managed to find a way to knock $65 off my bill. i only have to pay $10 extra for my misjudgment. whew.

go AT&T and the iPhone!

Friday, November 7, 2008

donuts

coming in to a fresh, glazed, warm donut on a friday morning is one of my favorite things ever