Update miniture style :)

I know that I am the world's worst blogger. It's official...not that I presently care :) I will force myself to blog again soon, in the mood or not! LOL..

For now, let's just say that I'm still alive, still teaching, still just being me. And I'm very excited that tomorrow I get to go to a Booth Brother's Concert in Greenwood!!!!! My cup runneth over :)

There...it is done.

Moody, not bloggy...

I am not really in the mood to blog right now, so don't get excited. Just wanted you to know that I am still alive, and I do intend to post again. We took some of our HS kids to Regional Competition, and they did awesome, and I want to post pics and tell you all about it. But not tonight. It's been a weird day, and I guess I'm moody now, not bloggy.

Kleptomaniac

No, I'm not having the problem with stealing. But Snickers is. On Monday, a home care nurse was here to admit my grandmother for services. We brought Nana home from the nursing home on Saturday, but that's a story all by itself. So anyway, just before the nurse was ready to leave, she heard her cell beeping but couldn't find it. Mom looked and looked, and finally found it in Snickers little bed, buried underneath his bedding like he was saving it for later! She had sat down at the kitchen table to finish her paper work, and he simply took it out of her nursing bag! Fortunately, he had not harmed the phone, and the nurse was very good natured about it. Now I know this face doesn't look guilty, but remember that looks can be deceiving! Haha..

Catching up on Christmas, Part 2 :)

Hello, hello, fellow bloggers! I am going to attempt a catch-up today, since I'm home from school with yet another snow day. So why not?

On December 14th, my dear friends Fred and Elizabeth had a little baby girl! Thankfully, I was scheduled to head to Pa the next day, so got to meet her on December 15th! Chloe Elizabeth is beautiful, and her "auntie" loves her! What a thrill to get to see her so quickly. I was afraid it could be several months before I met her. Instead, it was only 1 day!




After meeting Miss Chloe, we headed over to Gettysburg for a winter reprive :) We spent time on Tuesday roaming around the battlefield, and enjoyed more snow. Not as much snow as last year, however!



The next day, my friend Mark drove over and we spent a nice day in Gettysburg. We toured the Eisenhower Farm, and it was decorated with their Christmas decorations!To add to the atmosphere, they were playing the Eisenhower's Christmas Records! That was so cool! The dining room table was set with their Christmas plates, silver cups, etc. After visiting there, we spent a good deal of time touring the new Visitor's Center in Gettysburg. If you like history, you must visit this place. They have really made a lot of improvements, and it was very enjoyable. The only fly in the ointment was that the Cyclorama and Lincoln Film were down for maintainence. After we toured the Visitor's Center, we drove around a bit at sunset. Beautiful!





The next day, we headed over to Lancaster, Pa, and met Mark's mom and dad at the Shady Maple! We had a great time, and enjoyed a delicious meal together. It is always so fun to get together!



That evening, I started my Christmas shopping at one of the outlet malls in Lancaster! The next day, Mom and Dad and I went to the Choo-Choo barn, near Lancaster. I had been on my birthday, but they wanted to see it! They were as impressed as I was! It's just an awesome place to visit, if you ever get the chance! We then went to the Outhouse, where we got a few more gifts. The Outhouse has all kinds of funny stuff, but I did get Janae a Hello Kitty stuffed toy for Christmas there. That afternoon, Mark met up with us, and took me shopping at the other outlet mall, and then he dropped me off at the big Lancaster Mall while he went to pick up his new car. I love the car, by the way! It is an '06 silvery blue Impala. Absolutely gorgeous! After picking me up, we then headed to Kitchen Kettle Village, where I pretty much finished my Christmas shopping! Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of our time in Lancaster. Too busy hauling shopping bags around, I guess! But it was such a relief to get it done, and enjoyable to shop with Mark. He enjoys shopping, so was very tolerant and patient with me :) We had a great time, and I hated to say goodbye. But Indiana was calling us home for Christmas! We spent Saturday on the road, and then I had to conduct the adult choir at church the next evening. That went really well, and the Lord really helped us! We had a drama with it, that the teenagers performed. They did a great job, and it really added to the cantata! I again forgot my camera :( I hope Alzheimer's isn't setting in! Lol..

The next day, I started wrapping presents! I was able to get everything done before Christmas, even though I was in a time crunch! Our family celebrated Christmas together on Christmas eve. It is always a joy to share a special meal, listen to Dad read the Christmas story, and watch the kids open their gifts! Jared was sick with a stomach flu, so he didn't feel like opening presents. You know a kid is sick when he can't open gifts! I felt so sorry for him, but we still had a good time! Here are a few pics from Christmas eve.








On Christmas day, David's family came over, as well as my Uncle Joe, Aunt Charlotte, Cousin Steve, Mam-ma and Kenny, my great-aunt Marjorie(who arrived the night before,) and we even got my Nana from the nursing home! Diane's family came for a while in the afternoon. We had a wonderful meal, and then Steve, David and Jilayne and I played several games of Clue. Let me just say, my brother is a cheater :) Kidding, but no one should win 3 out of 4 games! And once, he figured out the answer from something Steve had done! Man! After eating again, we played some serious Rook(same 4 plus my brother-in-law, Daniel.) We had a really good time, but I stayed up way too late since I had to be at work at 7am the next day! But I survived, and we had a wonderful holiday. Here are a couple pics from Christmas day.





We were thankful that Jared felt much better and was able to open and enjoy his gifts! On the picture of the three older ladies, the one on the left is Nana, Aunt Marjorie is in the middle,and my Mam-ma is on the right. I am so fortunate to still have both of my grandmothers!

On December 30th, I headed to Indianapolis for an appointment, and to run some errands. I also was very fortunate to spend the day with Joy, my childhood friend! She and her children were here from Colorado, visiting her parents. We had a wonderful day! It is always nice to be with people that have known you since babyhood! I honestly can't remember ever not knowing Joy. We attended one another's first birthday parties :) Her children, Kadyn and Jace, are sweet and adorable! I just wish I could see them more often.





On New Years Day, I went to Bloomington with my parents, and we enjoyed shopping at Barnes and Noble, and dinner at Chili's! Here is a pic of me and Snickers!



On January 2nd, after getting off work, I met my cousin Steve and our friend Mark B. for some Mexican food. Mark had driven over from Ohio to spend the weekend. It was great to see him again, even if he does give me a hard time about blogging :) After eating, we went to Steve's house, and played games. My cousins Michael and Susanne were also there, along with their families. And my aunt and uncle of course! We had such a fun time! It is always great to be with friends/family! The next day, Steve and Mark met me at my house, and we started the long journey to see our friend Kristin! She was home(near Chicago) from Guatemala, and we desperately wanted to see her, and have a revival of the singles club! It was so great to see her and her family. We went out for some Chicago pizza, and then spent the afternoon playing Rook at her house. Of course, Mark and Kristin think they're way ahead of Steve and I, but they only won 1 more game than we did! We had lots of friendly rivalry, sarcastic comments(in fun!) and too much candy :) The only bad thing was the long drive there and back! Wow! Don't know if I can do it all in one day again of not! But it was a blast, and we probably won't get to see her maybe until next Christmas.


Well, believe it or not, I am drawing to a close on this forever blog~! School is back in session, and going well. We are trying to get ready for competition in March, so that is making things a bit busier. And it's difficult to stay on track when the weather just doesn't cooperate! I'm home today on a snow day, but last week we were home most of the week due to the wretched weather/roads. The only day we went to school last week was Monday. Southern Indiana was pretty much shut down last week. Driving into town was like going cross-country! Bump, bump...trying to choose the ruts wisely! We had about 5 inches of snow, followed by 2 inches of ice, then followed by another 7 or so inches of snow! It took forever to get the cars out of the driveway! I had time to blog last week, but wasn't in the mood. So you get it today. Here are a few pics of the snow.









So there you have it. We had snow, it was beautiful, and I'm ready for spring! Lol!
One funny thing before I put this one to bed. I sang in a trio a week ago with my sister, Diane, and sister-in-law, Jilayne. We decided to sing "How Big Is God," and Dad had a recording of it by the Blackwood Brothers. So we listened to their arrangement, and Diane said "So instead of the Blackwood Brothers, we're going to have the Sycamore Sisters." We all cracked up, and it was hard to practice for a bit! But the song went well on Sunday anyway :) So that's about caught you up on my life. Of course, I've had to leave out some stuff, due to time constraints. But I hope I've given you enough to make you happy :)

Until next time..... :)

Jared's opinion of his auntie

Just wanted to share something my nephew said this evening. I had dinner with my mom, Jilayne, Jared and Janae. Dad and David were at a meeting, so we decided to have a meal out. While we were eating, Jared made the astute observation that "Aunt Cindy isn't married." I informed him that he was indeed correct. I also told him that if/when I got married, I might not live real close to him. He replied "But I was hoping that when you got married you would be my next-door neighbor. That way I could see you a lot." My mom asked him, "What if Aunt Cindy moved to a different state?" He thought a moment and said "Well, it sounds like it would be time to take a trip." It was so cute! I told him that he probably didn't need to spend a lot of time worrying about it right now :) He is seven, and has always been my little buddy. I remember that he was at my house once when I got in from a date. He was maybe 3 or so. He followed me to the door to say goodnight, saying "Can I hold you?" He always got that a little mixed up. Instead of saying, "Will you hold me" he would change it around. So cute. I remember him being very clingy that night. I'm sure it would be hard on my little people if I ever did move away, but I told him that wherever I am, I would only be an airplane ride away at the most. And of course, he would always be welcome to come see Auntie.

Just thought it was too cute not to share. You may have noticed that this is not part 2 of my catch-up blog, but at least I'm hitting the month of January! Gotta love me, huh? Lol...

Trying to catch up..November and Early December....

If I have learned something about delaying blogging for a long time, it's that I'm overwhelmed with knowing where to start, what to include, etc. But in honor of those of you who are STARVED for some news of your little friend, Cindy, I will toss you a few tidbits(please note the heavy emphasis on sarcasm!)

If I remember correctly, I believe I left off at the end of October. It's not that November and December have been boring. Oh no, my friend. Anything but. So I have used that as a good excuse to make very quick blog checks, but not attempt any blogging of my own. In early November, my cousin Steve and I accompanied our friend LaDonna to Clifty Falls State Park, near Madison, Indiana. At that time of year, the falls were only a trickle, but we had a great time anyway. We made a day of it, and Steve and I were completely exhausted. Not so with LaDonna, but I am trying not to be bitter! She decided that we should get off the beaten path, and take a "short-cut" down about a 90 foot hill. I had some reservations before we started down, but once you're going, well, there's no turning back! The path was covered with rock and thick layers of leaves, so you couldn't always tell where you were placing your foot. After falling hard about 3 times, I decided to scoot down the rest of the way on my back-side. The only reason I wasn't injured in the falls was that I was wearing several layers of clothing, and God was protecting us! Steve was ahead of me, and told me "I'm trying to stay far enough away to give you your privacy, yet close enough to help you if you get hurt." Thank God for such a sweet cousin! There was several times that the back of my skirt was behind my head and neck :) I was so concerned for my life, that I was past caring by the time we reached the bottom of the hill. I believe we hiked about 5 miles that day, through very rugged terrain! LaDonna slowed down some as a favor to us old folks! But we got some good pictures, and had a great time. Steve and I were very sore and stiff for a few days :) But we were still alive, and thankful to be alive! We ended up the day at Chili's in Seymour, and Steve bought our supper. Again..what a sweetheart!



So there you have a very brief overview of Clifty Falls! Most of the rest of November was spent feverishly getting ready for the school Christmas program. I thought I would lose my mind, and I'm sure my students thought the same before it was over. But of course, before the program, Thanksgiving made it's appearance in my life. The entire Matlock side of the clan gathered at my Aunt Charlotte's and Uncle Joe's house for a day of feasting, fun, and games. My Grandma(Nana) Matlock was the only one not in attendance that day, as she was in the hospital, after suffering a bad fall. But we still had a great day. The food was incredible, as always! I didn't eat as much as usual, but still felt ill that night. Overeating is just sometimes so not worth it. But it was great fun while eating! And then out came the coffee pots(yes, you read that right, pots as in plural,) and the games began. We walked across the drive to Susanne's house, and spend the rest of the afternoon/evening there. We played Rook and Outburst, the Bible version of that. We had a blast as usual.


Oh, and btw, that is NOT a cigar hanging out of Steve's mouth! It's a piece of venison jerky :) He was really getting into the spirit of things, as you can probably tell!

Also in November, my baby Snickers had his first birthday! Here are a couple pics of him close to his birthday, just in case you wanted to see how cute he is!





Well, I THINK that pretty well takes care of most of November. Some of you know that my grandmother was placed in a nursing home the day after Thanksgiving. She is about 4 miles from our home, and is there for rehab. She has adjusted remarkably well, and actually seems to like it there! She was bedfast after her last fall, so has been undergoing intensive rehab. She is now able to walk with a walker with some assistance. I'm not sure when she will be home. She had several really bad days, when we thought she might not live out the week in early December. She was hallucinating and talking to her dead siblings like they were in the room. She also did not recognize us part of the time. She wouldn't eat unless we spoon-fed her, and then she would say she couldn't swallow. Her weight dropped dramatically, and so they decided to place her on something to stimulate her appetite. And believe me, it's working! She is eating very well, and seems to actually enjoy her food again for the first time in several years! She has regained the weight she lost and then some. Fortunately, she has no recollection of the days she was so confused. I was sitting on the end of her bed one evening, and asked her what my name was. She studied me intently for awhile, and then said "I can never remember if they call you John, or Willard. Or William." It's funny now, but that made me so sad. So I've been getting called "Willard" a good bit :) I don't know if I'm really so ugly that she thought I was a guy, or if I was having a really bad hair day. It didn't do much for my self-esteem, let me tell ya! How would some of you guys like to be called "Esther" or "Sue?" It's very disconcerting.

On December 8th, we had our school Christmas program. The day started off with a 2 hour delay due to freezing rain. So my stress level, already being pretty high, became higher yet. And the kids were WOUND UP! To say the least. We had intended to spend the entire morning practicing, and then just hit the highlights in the afternoon. But due to that change in schedule, we only practiced band in the morning, and then the entire production in the afternoon. We started band practice with a bang. The younger kids did fine in beginning band. They were pretty attentive, and ready to listen for instructions. Not so with the intermediate band. They started right out hyper, giggling, and not wanting to listen to anything I had to say. I told them "Guys, I'm not in the mood for this today." And I was extremely close to tears, maybe even an emotional melt-down. Yikes! Well, Mr. Crosley overheard me. He marched to the front of the sanctuary, where it was now VERY quiet. In fact, you could've heard a pin drop. He then very sternly lectured them, and told them if there was ANY trouble out of them, that they could forget the scheduled 2-hour delay the next day. Instead, they would be coming in at 8am, and HE would be there with them. They would do more work than normal, and he would not be a happy man to be there that early. Needless to say, they were as good as gold the rest of the day :) Thank God for a principle that cares enough to back me up! And then came the program that evening. After countless hours of practice, rehearsal, steaming costumes, making props...it was over in an hour and a half. Unbelieveable! It went relatively well. The only major hitch was that 2 of my intermediate band kids came to the platform without their music, because they COULDN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE! About 15 minutes before the program started, I talked to the entire group and told them to make sure they had their music and their instrument on their person. Ha! I sent them off the platform, while the audience waited, but they never did find their music. So it ended up with 3 violins and 1 flute sharing one music stand and one piece of music! I hope they have learned a valuable lesson, but I rather doubt it. I am now well-acquainted with 10th grade boys. Lol. But all the kids did great. I couldn't have been any prouder if they belonged to me! The bands played well, the kids drama was amazing, and the junior high/high school choir was incredible! So I will post a few pics. If you think I'm wearing an angel costume, you might be right. I was directing the angel choir in Heaven as they prepared to announce the birth of Christ!











I probably should mention that the kindergarten class made incredible sheep! Again, all the kids worked their hearts out, and this old-maid teacher was very proud of them. Unfortunately, with all the conducting I've been doing lately, I've had to see the chiropractor twice about my right shoulder. It's been almost frozen at times, and so painful. He worked it over hard enough to almost make me cry. But I'm surviving. That's kinda the story of my life sometimes. When I get really down, sometimes I pray "God, just help me survive." And somehow He always does. I'm not sure how many Christmas programs I have left in me, to be honest. Maybe it's because I've done 2 the last 2 Decembers. The school and the church adult choir. By the time it's all over, I feel so exhausted that it's hard to be in the Christmas spirit. I hate that feeling of approaching December with great dread, and wishing for it to be over quickly. I never felt that way in the past, back when my main responsibilities were shopping, baking cookies, working, etc. But this year, I didn't even start shopping until the week before Christmas, which is also when I half-heartedly signed cards. I didn't wrap anything until a couple days before Christmas. So it was really Christmas week before I got much into the spirit of things. But the story of the rest of December, and my Christmas is best left for another day. It's after 11pm here in Indiana, and 2009 is rapidly approaching. I hope you're not as tired reading this as I have been writing it! I really should post more often, and save myself a little grief. I will try to do the rest of my catching up soon, maybe even tomorrow.

Right now, I'm going to prepare to see in the new year. As is my usual around the holidays, I have been a bit blue, discouraged, melancholy, whatever you want to call it here lately. Don't be too alarmed, it was this way last year too. At least I'm predictable :) I was just going to say that I value my friends and family very highly, and I don't want to imagine my life without you. Let's please hold each other up in prayer as the new year begins, that God will help us to be what He wants us to be in the coming months. I know He has promised to be my strength when all I have to offer is weakness. He has promised to be my friend and companion when I have noone else. He has promised to never leave me or forsake me. Abandonment and rejection are ugly things, but they are not part of who God is. And I'm thankful that He loves me. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Now before you get real excited that I'm posting a blog, this is merely to wish all my friends a very Merry Christmas! My Christmas programs are over, I have been on vacation, and my stress level is pretty much nil :) So now I'm able to get into the Christmas spirit, which is a good thing as we still have some cleaning and baking to do! And no, Mark B., my name is not Martha! Last week I was able to get my shopping done in Lancaster, Pa, and now the gifts are wrapped and under the tree. Hallelujah! I really will try to post a blog soon, and let you know about the Christmas programs, vacation, etc. But Christmas Eve is hardly the time :) So, before I get to work, just want to tell you how much you all mean to me. Thanks for being a special part of my life! During this extremely busy season, it's so easy to lose sight of what Christmas really means. May the Lord help us to keep our focus on Him..not the gifts, not the food, not anything else. For without Him, there would be no Christmas. Of course, without Christmas, there would have been no Cross, and no Easter. And without the Cross, no redemption for mankind; without the resurrection, no hope. So that makes me extra grateful for the meaning of Christmas!

"Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." Galations 4:3-7

Love to all, and Merry Christmas!