The Chronicle of November 2019

Starting off Right
The first Saturday of the month found Ken & I at the temple. We've made a goal to go monthly, and Saturdays are the only day he's off that the temple is open. During the weekday, his schedule is too erratic to count on.  We had to wait to go, though, after I had a couple of VK classes.

We ended up at the temple too late for the session before lunch and we really couldn't stay for the next one at one o'clock. So we decided to do initiatories, something I haven't done in years. Even better, I had four family names on my phone in my Family Search app, so I got to do family names! It was exciting for me and an incredible spiritual experience. Their baptisms had been done back two years ago before the OKC temple closed for it's renovations. So it was well past time. I think my ancestors were ready for me. The next time I go for a session, I will be able to do a name for family, too. There is something more satisfying about doing the work for your ancestors.

Birthday Girl...HOW old?
Analiese had her SEVENTEENTH birthday this year. It's really terrifying. She's a junior and it all means she has one more year of school and then.... My babies will all be grown! To be honest, she's a little nervous about it, too. I don't think she feels quite ready for adulting, even with her college classes and learning to drive.

On her actual birthday - November 6th, I had made a cake for her to celebrate in Seminary. Now, with a past Seminary birthday, she'd complained that I'd used a plain old box cake mix and canned frosting. So, I did it again, with a twist. I put a whole lot of black food coloring in it, trying to make both cake and frosting (white) black as midnight. Looking back, I should have used chocolate. Instead, my cake looked like a zombie/decay sort of purply-gray. There was way too much frosting, and some stomachs didn't agree with it - oops! (And mouths were funny-colored for a while) But the class thought is was funny and she enjoyed my joke.

I picked her up at USAO, took her to lunch, and then took her back for her afternoon class for a real treat. We went to the Boomerang Diner, a 50's styled burger joint. They had catfish, which she loves, so she indulged.

Her birthday dinner was that Sunday, when everyone could be home. Saturday night had been a barn dance (yes, at a real barn on a farm) that she wanted to go to (yes, a young man was sort-of involved), so dinner had to be Sunday. She invited a gal who is her study-buddy in her USAO algebra class (and a roommate of Allison), Allison, and - last minute - another friend of Allison & Jonathan from the college and the YSA ward.

Ken made her favorite chicken and dumplings; I made her favorite German chocolate toffee caramel crunch cake (mouthful). Allison, in particular, really liked it.

Analiese loved her gifts; we all did a good job choosing this year. Jonathan gave her a Harry Potter blanket and House Griffindor socks. Ken & I gave her a shark flashlight and a Halloween countdown calendar (for next year, but she loves Halloween). We all hit the mark!

VK News
Last month, I was able to use my VK tokens. They give us tokens for a variety of things, being on time, no cancellations, lots of open bookings, five-apple feedback, etc., and their social media group - the Hutong - gives more for trivia, teacher tips, etc. I had saved up 1000 points, enough to get my own stuffed Dino! He's the hottest item in the token center and I had to redeem him as soon as I could before he got snatched up! They only put up so many online every week. I had ordered him mid-October, and I was told it could take up to eight weeks (coming from China). Well, I got him on November 7th; not too shabby! He's very cute and is a great ambassador.

It helps make a linking relationship with my students. So many times it seems like we are only talking about the differences between America and China. With my Dino, and the student's on the video, it's a bridge that says we do have commonality. Kids pay more attention with Dino, too!

The week of Thanksgiving, there was no Seminary. This became VK booking prime time. Not a lot, really, since the new Chinese Minister of Education edict has them not taking classes past nine p.m., Bejing time. So I only really taught one or two classes a day.  I take what I can get.

Oooh, but I almost blew it Saturday. I forgot to set my alarm and woke up at 6:00 a.m. to my phone buzzing, reminding me that I had a class starting...RIGHT NOW!!! I jumped up, threw my VK shirt on over my nightgown, and ran out of the room. Ken plugged things in for me and I got into my online classroom only one minute late. Whew! No lipstick, hair a wreck, but I was there. Only two classes this morning, but that was enough. It could have been much worse. I think I was a little overtired.

A HAPPY LOW-CARB THANKSGIVING
I'm supposed to be on a low-carb diet; one of the sister missionaries is a pre-diabetic. I wanted her to have an nice Thanksgiving and I wanted to not blow my diet entirely. So a whole lot of experimenting was going on.

The turkey was no problem; it has no sugar or carbs (think refined flour), so I did it my traditional way: basted in butter and ginger and roasted to juicy perfection. The gravy was a low-carb choice using xantham gum instead of flour for thickening. The recipe I used included butter and heavy cream; it was tasty, but rich! Mashed potatoes are pure starchy carbs and I made some instant potatoes for others; but I also made a cauliflower "mash" (really not the same) for a healthy option. I made a green bean casserole that wasn't like the traditional - it had a pork-rind crust! Actually, it was pretty good: Jonathan and Analiese loved it! I thought the sauce was a little heavy, I'd maybe cut it in half next time, but the flavor was good.

Some things stayed the same: Cranberry jelly (I like to eat a little of that with my turkey). I made some stuffing for Jonathan (I had a little) and the sisters brought yams, much to Allison's delight. Jonathan furnished Dr. Pepper, for those who wanted it.

Dessert was the issue. I decided to try my hand at low-carb pecan pie and pumpkin tartlets. The pumpkin was like little custards I baked in muffin cups. The pecan pie had a crust of coconut flour that smelled SO good, but came out salty. Also, I forgot to cover the edge with foil and the outer crust was burnt. Erg. The filling was dry, but didn't taste so bad. My main sweetener, stevia, which comes from a plant, leaves a funky aftertaste. I could really taste it in the pumpkin. But the pecan pie had a sugar free maple syrup in it that actually helped. Also, I whipped up some low-carb whipped cream. Not very sweet, and with that pesky aftertaste. I was very embarrassed by the outcomes; not a very festive end to our meal. Allison and Analiese both liked the pumpkin, surprisingly. The sisters were very kind. Ken, however, told me in no uncertain terms, that sugar was better and made me promise that I wouldn't mess around with Christmas. Sorry!

Analiese has always loved the leg. It's huge!

Visitors in our neighborhood. The palomino was the ringleader!

Pom all cozy in a hoodie sleeve!

Where Did You Go? (OCTOBER EDITION)

What Happened?

EXODUS 20

8 Remember the ^asabbath day, to keep it ^bholy.

9 ^aSix days shalt thou ^blabour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy ^astranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in ^asix days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord ^bblessed the sabbath day, and ^challowed it.

It happened one Sunday. I had had a busy week as usual. I was tired and worn out from all the demands of life. I had a to-do list everyday, and that included Sunday. 

MARK 2

27 And he (Jesus) said unto them, The ^asabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

I felt spiritually stunted. I dreaded everything I "had" to do on Sundays, even including going to Church. And I knew it wasn't right; some changes had to be made.

ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS (Good, Better, Best)

We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.

Jesus taught this principle in the home of Martha. While she was “cumbered about much serving” (Luke 10:40), her sister, Mary, “sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word” (v. 39). When Martha complained that her sister had left her to serve alone, Jesus commended Martha for what she was doing (v. 41) but taught her that “one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (v. 42). It was praiseworthy for Martha to be “careful and troubled about many things” (v. 41), but learning the gospel from the Master Teacher was more “needful.” The scriptures contain other teachings that some things are more blessed than others (see Acts 20:35; Alma 32:14–15).

So I took back my Sabbath. I still had to play the organ at Church every other month, but that meant that every other month, I did not! I still had to set up and study for Seminary because I had class the next day, but as a covenant commitment, it was a worthy and needful thing to do on God's Holy Day.

But the change I made is right in front of you. I stopped the blog. At first, I felt it was only temporary, but as the quality of my Sabbaths increased, the less desire I had to tie myself down to it every week. There have been a few comments about it, but not enough outrage to make me feel guilty about. My mother suggested that maybe I could do a small one once a month. So here, six days into November, I will give you October. We will see if it continues past that.

Downer

I was asked if I had stopped because of something I was embarrassed or sad about. Now, that wasn't the reason for stopping, but I could see how you might think that. Because, life isn't always hunky-dory, and we were facing something I was very anxious about.

We went through bankruptcy. This is very embarrassing for me. I feel like I'm a reasonable, intelligent person, but I have a serious math phobia. Ken, admittedly, has been very apathetic towards our finances and everything I try he'll jump into, mess around with, and I'll give up on it, leaving it to him. Then he gets tired of it and nobody's paying attention. So, we'd gotten into a big mess.

Though, to be honest, the biggest part of our mess wasn't entirely our fault. We had a house in Altus that we could not sell (upside down because of debt, that WAS our fault) and could not rent because we couldn't afford to fix major issues. The house had been kind of a lemon from Day One.

We had to hire a lawyer, do a lot of paperwork, and go to court on October 2nd. I would get grumpy every time I had to do something for it because I hated the fact that we had to do it! I was afraid to go to court, afraid of being accused and belittled and shamed. 

Which wasn't the case at all. The lawyer's office had compiled all of our paperwork, we only had to show it to the clerk and affirm it was us and that all the information was correct. I walked out of there feeling much better about the whole thing. I felt a WHOLE LOT better when, a couple weeks ago, we received a letter from the court releasing us from our responsibility for the house.

Now, that is only part of dealing with the problem, we know. We are also attending our church's financial self-reliance classes religiously (no pun intended). We've read the information before; it really isn't new to us. But...the group setting, the support of partners, the sympathies of others enduring similar challenges - THAT has made all the difference. We're on board together and talk weekly about things (not all financial). It's helping a lot: finances, marriage, family, etc. For the first time in our whole marriage, I feel like we're getting things under control. Crazy, huh?

By the way, we're using Google Sheets to keep track of our budget. They have a budget template already set up, so much easier than reinventing the wheel! It's simple to use and we can both access it from our phones and the computer. We looked into a lot of crazy/expensive/complicated things.  But we research this out, even watching videos on how to use it (thanks YouTube!). This was the best option for us and we highly recommend it!

The Girlfriend
You've heard rumors, but this is Jonathan we're talking about. I sometimes call him Leo the Late-Bloomer because he does not progress (read: grow up) quickly. For example, he dragged his feet when it came to driving. I told him, he would enjoy it, get to love the freedom it gave him, and wonder what he ever hesitated about. When he finally got around to it, he found out: Mom was right.

I said the same thing about dating: get going and you'll love it! He'd gone out - once - with a girl from the YSA ward, but after the first experience, he wasn't really that excited about continuing. He likes girls; he's just shy/scared.

Well, there's a relatively newly baptized member in our branch: Allison. She goes to USAO where she's studying to be a math or chemistry teacher. She's a cute, smart, super-nice girl and we hit it off at church right away. I've even picked her up a time or two. Jonathan didn't know her, but said she should think about going to the YSA ward. I suggested we invite her to dinner the next time the sister missionaries came over and he could talk to her about it. But I warned him...she's cute!

I knew he thought that during and after the dinner. He was tongue-tied and hardly said a thing to her at dinner! But she texted me (yes, I had her phone # before he did!) asking for his number since she didn't get the info about the YSA ward. They texted and agreed they'd go together to the ward that Sunday. By the end of church, on the ride home from Norman, he'd gotten up the courage to ask her out!

And that, as they say, is that. It didn't take long for them to be more than just dating. They are boyfriend/girlfriend and the teasing gets pretty crazy here. He goes over to USAO a lot to hang with her, her roommates, and her friends. She comes here for dinner, Sunday activities, Family Home evening. She even moved her records to the YSA ward.

I refuse to speculate where it's going, though I do know Christmas plans are in the making. She gets along great with the family, even with Ken's weirdness! Analiese is friends with her, too, and she's helping Analiese with her math and chemistry.  I know Jonathan is very happy and gets antsy missing her when she goes out of town. We tease him A LOT. He's twitterpated!

Halloween

Dino dressed up for Halloween!

You know this is a big one in our home. Ken has always loved it and I think Analiese isn't far behind. She had the house pretty much decorated for it the day after my birthday in September.

She calls this the year I had fun making up her face. She wanted to do special things for the Halloween dance. Some character from a game called "Five Nights at Freddy's" named The Puppeteer. She showed me what she wanted and I did it. And when it was done, it freaked me out! It was great, I did a good job, but spooky!

Ken went with her to the dance (he drove & stayed). I did his face, too.

Analiese with friends (and my past online students)!

Then, the day before Halloween, at Youth Activity, she wanted me to do a spiderweb on her face. I think she meant a little one on her cheek, but...OVERACHIEVER! Actually, it looked pretty cool, too.

She had to work on Halloween, so she couldn't dress up. She did put on black lipstick and black eyeshadow. But nothing near as fun as what we did earlier! She was kind of bummed she had to work and couldn't dress up. But I think the other days made up for it.

TEACHING
Seminary, as always, has been a great, spiritual ride. Sometimes a squirrelly ride, too! I wonder where some of them get their energy that early in the morning. I understand the ones who are dozy...

VK has been interesting. New Chinese government regulations will soon affect my ability to teach a couple of lessons after Seminary. I'll only be able to on the weekends and in the evenings. Still, I am seeing a reduction in weekday evening bookings, though Fridays and Saturdays are booked full! But I'll only really be able to earn good cash on holidays and vacations, it seems. I haven't gotten any new certifications lately. I haven't had the time, energy or desire to do so.

Big Bad Wolf Puppet for a class!

I have also been tutoring one student for EPIC charter school. I really haven't put myself out there with advertising, but I've been afraid to overbook with everything else I'm doing (like traffic control: who can drive what where and who do I need to drive where). This one student, though, is a doozy. He has autism, ADHD and possibly ODD. We've been kicked out of the library as a place to meet and now we've been meeting weekly at a Behavioral counselor's office. Seriously. In fact, it's been more like therapy (for him and his mom), than it has been tutoring him in writing.

I prep for these sessions for hours, trying to find ways to tempt, coerce, and coax him into doing his writing. I do not know how much longer I can keep doing it, though. He acts out, seeking attention, and is rarely cooperative. He talks violently, tries to act violently (but has a begrudging respect for me, so he doesn't), and does whatever inappropriate thing he can get away with. Like drawing a male cat. Anatomically correct. His writing will not improve until his behavior improves. I am not trained to work with that. I dread going to our sessions.

On the sad-but-true good side, it's not going to last much longer. I tried to send in my October invoice to EPIC, but they said he only had $10 in learning funds left. Also, he's about to get kicked out of their program because - surprise! - he's not doing his work. His mom took him out of school because of all the trouble he was causing there, but he's only gotten worse at home. I sympathize with his situation; his home life isn't great and he wasn't dealt a decent hand in life. But I'm not doing this for free and I'm barely doing this for money.  I'm not trained for this and my nerves (even though I'm holding myself together admirably when I'm with him) are fraying.  We'll see how this plays out.

CONFERENCE!
The best thing EVER! I saw a sister in our branch at the store the day after conference and she said, "Maybe I'm getting old, but doesn't conference just seem to get better and better each time?" I don't agree with the former, but the latter is so TRUE!

I learned things that helped me re-evaluate goals. I had answers to prayers. (Actually, all of conference congealed into one big answer to a major issue I was having!) I got ideas for Seminary lessons, and I felt so much love and support from Heavenly Father!

I was able to attend all the sessions, including the Women's session. On Saturday, between the morning and afternoon sessions, Ken, Jonathan & I went to the Rock Island Art Festival downtown and enjoyed a food truck lunch! I don't know why these events are always planned on conference weekends, but we can enjoy them in between! I had (fresh, homemade) potato chip BBQ brisket nachos. So fattening, so good!

The temple announcements are always exciting, but I was super happy to hear of the one scheduled to be build in Arkansas. We have friends in both Bentonville (where the temple will be built) and Little Rock. Currently, they either have to come to our OKC temple (4 hours) or go to Memphis TN (? hours). This is a great blessing!

Chickasha HS Homecoming Parade (4 of my 6 seminary students are in band!)

This month, the youth showed off their talents.

The sister missionaries left us a note on our mirror!

A FAIR WEEK

Routine
By now, things are settling down into patterns. Analiese has college classes MWF, work TTHS. Ken works M-F, but the hours fluctuate. Jonathan is all over the board, but we take things a day at a time cuz Ken doesn't know his hours until the night before. CRAZY! How does one plan?

But Seminary is daily, with one or two VK classes right afterward. In the evening, I have one or two during the weekday, with three or four on Friday and Saturday evening. Saturday morning is usually filled up with at least four classes, too. Then, there's YW for Analiese and BoM class with the missionaries for Ken on Wednesday in the evenings. Saturday evenings, Jonathan has been gone of late...on dates. (Raise eyebrows here). When he doesn't have to work, he's with said girl at the YSA ward in Norman (Raise eyebrows more). Tonight, he picked her up so they could watch a YSA online fireside together with the sister missionaries. (Raise eyebrows higher!)

VK
Kind of a fun week. Monday was Teacher's Day in China. One of my students sent me a special e-card to celebrate the day. I was touched. She always seems a little "too good" for my class, so it was a surprise!

Friday was Mid-Autumn Festival (much better than that silly Friday the 13th/Full Moon nonsense. It's popular in many Asian cultures, but more so in China. I enjoyed sharing rewards with the kids based on the festival (lanterns, moon-watching) and the food (mooncakes...look them up on Pinterest, they are beautiful!). I would tell the ones in the morning to eat a mooncake for me! If I could have found an Asian bakery close by, I might have been tempted to purchase one. But...they are very decorative and expensive in very fancy boxes. People give them as gifts during the festival.  I also asked my students afterwards what kind of mooncake they ate. Some have savory fillings and some have sweet fillings. Some are called snow skin mooncakes - they have a rice casing instead of pastry. They come in different colors and can be quite beautiful.

Teacher Michele Bitmoji holding a mooncake

Kids are back in school in China. This also meant that some of my regulars who were gone visiting or vacationing for the summer came back! My beloved Ivy returned, for new lessons and stories of her visit to her grandfather's house. King was back, and all the fun that comes with him. I really look forward to our classes. Also Sky, my very first student, is back from summer and enjoyed me with those wry, tolerant smirks he gives to my humor! I love my kids, can you tell?

All's Fair
It took a big of figuring and moving things around, but I made time Saturday mid-day to go to the State Fair with Ken in OKC. It meant getting a lot of work done on Friday (pushing) and as much Seminary prep as I could Saturday morning, but after we took Analiese to work at 11:30, we went to the fair!

We've always loved the fair, ever since we were in CA. We used to go for free as homeschoolers and it was my birthday present every year to go as a family. We would go and stay all day. Analiese & I went a few years ago to the OKC fair, but haven't been back since. With her and Jonathan working on Saturdays, it only meant me and Ken (harbinger of the future...).

Gosh, the fair's expensive! Free LA County (through the education/homeschool network) had me spoiled! The parking was $10, the entry was $12/per person. Food was outrageous...Ken saw a smoked turkey leg wrapped in bacon for $12.00! We purchased a couple bottles of DP when the day got hot and we got thirsty...they were $4.00 a piece! We had squirreled away enough, or so we thought, but ended up eating outside the fair afterwards. Argh!

It was plenty hot, so we tried to stay mainly inside (with everyone else...the crowds!). We enjoyed the vendor halls; we're great window shoppers. In particular, we like the cultural and hand-crafted booths. The commercial business ones are boring! LOL I can't handle the scented candle/soap ones anymore, they give me headaches. Though, I do like the smell of the leather booths!

Also, we went to the big barn to see the animals. 4H & FFA were showing sheep and cows today. (Aside: I showed Sky a picture I took of a cow from the fair and he though it was a dog!

LOL) Some sponsored groups were showing Percherons and other draft horses and carriages. They were so beautiful!

In a smaller area, they had educational animal stuff for kids. Goats, rabbits, chickens & chicks

...and pigs with piglets! Those baby pigs were so adorable, feeding off of Momma. Too bad I couldn't get close enough to get a good picture! We looked at a bunch of 4H displays too, and found some from our old friends in Jackson County (Altus)!

But the heat, the walking, and my feet gave up on me and eventually we left. We grabbed a bite to eat (OUT of the fairgrounds) and got home in time for me to relax a bit before evening classes. I don't think I like going on a Saturday. It was very crowded. Plus, they said there was a Renaissance village there somewhere, but we didn't find it. Still, we had a nice enough time and at least we were together!

On the Horizon...getting older...
Yep, next week it comes. The dreaded b-day. It's not too bad unless someone points out my elderly-ness. Thanks a lot!

I got a present, early. From my best friend ME. It's a wonderful biography on President Nelson, our prophet.

I'm already half-way through it (with all the stuff I'm busy with) and I only got it Friday. It's so inspiring, interesting, and even funny in parts. I've been reading bits and pieces to my family. We're all really enjoying it and it is a wonderful prelude to General Conference in two weeks!

So, I've got plans for my birthday (next Thursday, if you need to be reminded) but I won't reveal them until next week. This is because I am sharing my birthday with someone else, only they don't know about it yet. No spoilers!

Grandma-in-Training, Mom-in-Training
I was asked to watch someone's 8-month-old baby while she went to the dentist Thursday morning. Sure, except they were dropping him off at 7:45, and I had an 8:30 VK class. So, Analiese got another lesson in how to care for babies.

And he was NOT happy. She had him in the living room so it wouldn't interrupt my class, but I could hear him. She tried feeding him the cereal/applesauce mix the mom had given us, but ended up having it bathed all over her and him. It was probably the longest 30 minutes of her life.  She was very grateful to have me finish and take over.

She was also disgusted, because I had him calmed down in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, I couldn't deal with a cereal-smeared baby. I like my babies clean! So, he got a bath. It was a little cooler than I & he would have liked, and he got a little scared when it was slippery in my tub (no baby-proofing here!) that the bath was short lived. I don't think I got it all out of his hair, but for the most part, he as clean...er.

I didn't have replacement clothes or a baby blanket, so I wrapped him in a towel and rocked him to sleep. Gee, that rocking chair hadn't been used for that purpose in many years! But I finally switched us to the recliner to make us more comfortable as he napped on my chest for about half an hour.

Analiese caught us in in-action!

He did a little floor time...he's an alert and usually pretty happy baby.

He got frustrated and hungry (for real) after a bit and so I fed him the rest of the cereal on my lap and another small cup of applesauce I had in the house. He was hungry and ate it all! He was fairly mess-less, too, except his face where I cleaned it. I think I disgusted Analiese. It's all in the experience, baby. Time will teach all!

I was cuddling with him in the recliner again when his momma came to get him. He'd given me a couple of slobbery full-mouth baby kisses earlier, but boy! Did he smother his momma when he saw her! I think he'd had enough of us!

Study-o-saurus

Study in the morning, Study in the evening, Study at suppertime...
It feels like all I do is study.
Study for Seminary.
Study for VIPKid.
And now...study for tutoring.

Studying for VIPKid is usually not difficult, especially when I've taught that particular lesson before. The only ones I really have to do a lot of prep for now are level 4, because it's a new level. Most levels 1-3 I've already done most, if not all, of the units and lessons.

Studying for Seminary, well, that has taken up time, mainly because I am going deeper into the scriptures, reading footnotes, and reading up on "Jesus the Christ" by James E. Talmage. A lot of extra thinking is going into them, along with extra prayers. It probably takes up the majority of my study time.

But tutoring is brand-new. I don't have a set curriculum, and - depending on how the assessments go - I have to figure out how and what to do. I would like to work along with the student's assignments for school, but school has barely started. So I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants here. I spend a lot of time on the internet and Pinterest, looking and thinking. This one makes my brain hurt.

Tutoring
Oh, my! I've tutored English before, no problem. My first student through EPIC is another story. Why do I always get the hard ones? This kid is autistic (highly functioning, thank heavens), has ADHD and possibly ODD. His problem is writing and it's mostly because he doesn't care and doesn't want to. Ay ay ay!

It is going to take all of my tricks and powers of persuasion to get him going. I've had an initial consultation and an assessment. Now comes the hard work. The poor mom is at the end of her rope. She pulled him out of public school because he wasn't getting the help he needed and she's still working to get EPIC to get him help. I am not trained for all the special ed/disability stuff.

VIPKid
Classes have gone way down, mainly because Seminary has taken the place of most morning classes. I can try and fit in an 8 and 8:30 a.m. class, but that will be ending soon. The Ministry of Education in China doesn't want children having extra classes/lessons after 9 p.m., Beijing time, on weekdays. This restriction began with new students in September, and my old students will be affected come November. So I'll only have weekends and evenings, except on holidays (in China).

I've had a lot of fun with my little ones in level 1. Emma is a spunky kid: she loves to say "I'm a boy!" She also sings the alphabet all mixed up - on purpose! Her mom speaks English, so Emma is already pretty good. Oh, but she hates to say goodbye! "No goodbye, teacher!" I nearly want to cry. She just loves class!

Amy is another level one. She's just a sweetheart and will do whatever I tell her. She giggles at my funny faces. She is very smart!

I have a newer student, Ricky, who's only seven, but already in level 3. He's so cute! He can read very well and his pronunciation is great! When I first greet him he says, "I'm very well, teacher. How are you today?" Knowing I'm going to teach Ricky always makes me smile.

There are other students, some okay, some not-so-great. But the good ones make up for them all. I get excited when I know they are coming up. I love thinking what I can do to reward them. For instance, I know Abby likes Hello Kitty. Her stuffed Kitty always comes out at the beginning of class and talks for her! I like to use online Hello Kitty rewards. This week, I found a Build-a-Pizza with Dino reward. All my kids loved that! They know what pizza is!

Seminary
Of course, these kids are great. In our small branch, I know all of them, even the newer ones, pretty well. One is a good friend of Analiese's. She is wry and funny and is quite tease-able.

This week, we had a three-way birthday cake: for two students who's birthdays were in the summer and a third student who's birthday was today (Sunday). I made chocolate with chocolate frosting... can't go wrong there! Analiese was affronted that I used a cake mix and canned frosting. Surely, I could have put it some creativity (Ken's birthday cake - Earthquake cake - was amazing!) I promise you this...when HER birthday rolls around, she may not appreciate the "creativity" that goes into her cake!  LOL

This week we've talked about miracles and parables of Christ. Friday, I had them draw out the parable of the sower/the four soils. They love doing it, and I think it helps the imagery and symbolism hit home better. I did it the last time I taught New Testament and it went over great. No exception here!

Everything else in between
Let's see, a new young lady has entered our life. Her name is Allison and she's a fairly new convert to the church. She goes to USAO and is a math major (she offered to help Analiese with math if needed!) Jonathan thought she should be invited to go to the YSA ward in Norman, so we had her come to dinner with the missionaries on Thursday so he could meet her and they could talk about it. She's cute and he got shy, but the next day she asked me for his number so they could text and arrange Sunday.

After church on Sunday, he brought her back to the house, where she stayed until 9, playing games and enjoying our company. Monday, Ken had invited her, for Labor Day, to come and enjoy smoked beef (a new experiment). She did and stayed again until 9, playing Magic with Jonathan. He took her back to the dorms...and asked her out!

They went out Saturday, went to church together again today, and are going out next Saturday. He was such bundle of nervous energy Saturday and so excited. I guess she was excited, too, because the sister missionaries knew all about the date from her! I try not to say anything, but Jonathan says he can see the mischief in my eyes. Hey, I'm happy he's getting some experience. He took her to dinner and then they looked at stars in the park. Next week, it's a picnic dinner at the lake!

Pretty Pink Crepe Myrtle, just outside my front door!

SURELY YOU COULD DO A LITTLE BIT MORE?

Lemme "Esplain"
I'll clarify the issue by my experiences at the free county fair on Saturday.

Experience 1: I had my 4H rabbit club shirt (from Jackson County/Altus) on since we went to see the rabbits showing Saturday morning. Someone asked me that, since Grady County/Chickasha didn't have a rabbit club, why didn't I start one up?

Experience 2: This one was seriously out of the blue. We were looking at the awarded displays (you know, sewing, art, photography, etc.), when, around the homemade goodies, a man I don't know from Adam asked me if I'd put something in the fair. Nope. Why not? How about next year? I bet you'd win!

The animal shelter needs volunteers; the foster kids group needs parent; the women's shelter needs helpers. Etc., etc. Don't get me wrong; I sympathize with a lot of these causes (except the animal shelter. I can't feel guilty when my allergies preclude assisting).

But....I AM TOO BUSY! Seriously. Even attending the fair as I did took precious time I could barely spare. I've had people ask me if maybe I shouldn't get a full-time regular, daytime job. Between a dearth of vehicles and everything else I have to do (studying, caring for family, taxiing others around, etc.) there's just no way. I am exhausted and dizzy just trying to get done what I need to.

Typical Day Schedule
This takes into account schooling for some, jobs for others, and everything else in between:
Seminary in the early morning. I pick up a student, and afterwards I take her to school. Then I get home and get ready to teach one or two VK classes. Analiese started college this week, so she goes off to USAO MWF and then will be working for Braums TTHS.

I snuck this pic when she wasn't watching Tuesday. She looks so cute in her pink cap!

She's walking to USAO because I may be teaching classes when she needs to leave (first class for her is 9:05). Braums is across town, so I have to take her. Ken works Monday - Friday. So far it's early in the morning (like 3 a.m.), but may change later. Jonathan works Walgreens at various times between 9 am and 9 pm.

I have VK, Seminary, and tutoring study in between. That's right; it's now a trifecta. I am a reading/writing tutor (at the request of local EPIC teachers). I have to prep for that as much as the others. If you think about it, it means I now have 2 part time jobs. Mind you, they're contract work. I'm the boss. But I get what I get. I'm going to advertise in the library on their posting board this week. It's right next to the big room where the EPIC teachers meet with students and parents. Perfect spot!

Then, there is the housekeeping stuff in between. Meals, shopping, laundry, cleaning. And any other appointment or service that can be squeezed in between.

You tell me, when am I supposed to go work? And how do I get there while still getting others where they need to be?

New Things and Ending Things
Analiese had her first day, training, at Braum's on Tuesday. She worked Thursday and Saturday at Taco Bell, for the last time. She's getting paid more and from others who've worked there, Braum's is really good about working around school schedules.

Friday, she started at USAO. At first, we thought she'd have to walk (2 blocks east, 12 blocks south) by herself because I had classes. But, they cancelled, so I walked with her that first day. Thankfully, our heat wave broke Wednesday night, and the walk wasn't too bad, especially in the shade.

This Mississippi kite kept "talking" to me as I walked past it on my way home!

The street we went down, that runs behind the campus, has a median with a walking path. It was a nice walk.

We left in plenty of time and got there about 20 minutes before her writing class started.

My collegiate, ready for her first class! Gushy momma!

One of her fellow seminary students is in her writing class, and another is in her college math class. (I've been a little nervous about her math class, but she came out of it smiling and saying she actually understood what was going on. Blessing!) It's at 12:20, so she has a lot of time in between. It's too much of a walk to come home, but she takes a lunch and can study for classes or EPIC in the student center or the library or go work with a tutor if she needs it. She's very independent. She was going to walk home Friday, even with me having a 1 pm tutoring appointment at the USAO library. But my appointment cancelled, so she came home with me in the van.

Yep, I already have one tutoring student. They were coming for beginning meetup and evaluation, but forgot. I guess I ought to call my students the day before to remind them. When they sign the contract, it states I will charge them for no-shows less than 24 hours. Hopefully that will help. Part of my busy-ness this week has been prepping my tutoring bag and forms, etc.

The Fair
Not being in 4H anymore, we aren't that involved in our local fairs. But we still love to go! Our sister missionaries set up a booth offering free Bibles and Books of Mormon along with pamphlets and lots of conversation. I went Thursday (I brought them TB lunch instead of feeding them dinner later) and hung out for a couple of hours with them and a newer sister. We had some great conversations together and with people checking out the booth. I couldn't stay much longer (see my schedule), but I enjoyed the time I had!

Sister Bullock shows off their scripture display!

I saw that they had the set up for the rabbit show for Saturday. So I told Analiese later that day that - if she got the cages cleaned Friday afternoon/evening - I would take her to the fair Saturday morning before she had to work at TB to see the rabbits. She did, and Ken went with us. We had to move fast through the other exhibits so we could see the buns, but we did and enjoyed them very much. They had a lot of Dutches (very popular, almost too much) and some English and Mini lops. There was one Mini Rex, a youngster named Charlie. I showed his little girl owner how to hold him right for showmanship before the judge. Her mom appreciated that and I got a chance to show off and snuggle with a baby bun!

During our rush through the halls, I'd found a Tupperware vendor. Now, I have three lids from those cereal-type containers (long and tall) that have nearly completely disintegrated. I've been told for years that I have to contact the company directly and send it in. I didn't want the hassle, but I still hold on to the stuff. The gal at the fair said she'd take care of it for me! Score! My new friend!

So after Analiese got off of work, we went BACK to the fair. The rabbits were gone, but we had more time to spend enjoying things. We got to see some heifers,

Wendy, this was the sweetest little gal. You would have loved her!

talk to some of the bank vendors (we need to make a change) and just enjoy chatting up people! Analiese saw a couple of her friends from "Mary Poppins," which was her favorite part.

Ken caught the girls on the midway!

We also got there in time to help the sisters take down their booth and transport things back to the church. I asked them how the whole weekend went, and they said they'd had good responses. It was a very successful weekend for them and the other missionaries that came to help!

We ended up having a late dinner and I stayed up too late working on things that had to be done before Sunday & Monday, but we hadn't done much fair stuff in a long time. It was good!