Post Thanksgiving Bliss

I have never understood those people in our country that get up at 2 o'clock in the morning the day after Thanksgiving to stand in line and wait for stores to open up for their Black Friday Sales.  All the pushing and shoving, and stress that seems to exude from that whole deal has never appealed to me.  Frankly with all the cooking and eating and family fun that we always had growing up on Thanksgiving just wore us all out and the following day was naturally a day to laze around, eat left overs, and recuperate. 

The tradition in the ol Bennett household was to sleep in til whenever you felt like getting up.  There was no rush, no panic, no plans.  Family members would get up at their own speed.  Being that I was (and still am) a morning person I'd usually get up first and make coffee, cocoa, and hot apple cider for the rest of my family when they decided to get up.  My sister Brenda usually was up around the same time and we'd chat, drink coffee, and peruse the newspaper for possible movies we might want to go to or look at the Friday funnies.  And as the rest of the family got up the house got more active.  Some of us would shower and get dressed while others preferred to laze around in pjs.  But no matter what, once everyone was up we'd gather together again for breakfast.  And not just any breakfast.  This breakfast was comprised of leftover pumpkin and mince meat pie.  I can't remember a day after thanksgiving where we didn't have pie for breakfast.  Even since living on my own I always wake up the next day and have pie and coffee for breakfast.  Again this simple meal would last a long time just because we'd end up talking, laughing, and in general enjoying being together.

And the rest of the day would be just as nice.  We'd kind of split up and do our own things.  The guys usually found another football game to watch, The gals would chit chat, play games, go to a movie or just go for a walk.   And when we felt hungry we'd go to the kitchen and dig out left overs to make sandwiches and just graze.  There was no time table we had to follow and frankly it was perfect.  We all have such busy and hectic regular lives that this was one of the few days we could just completely unwind.  And that is something my family taught me that I'll forever be thankful and grateful for.

Griz- Cat Meet Again

Like my fellow UM Griz alumni and fans I've been waiting 365 days for this afternoon to come around again.  If you truly follow this blog or know me at all you know I'm talking about the 112th meeting of the University of Montana and Montana State University  GRIZ - CAT game.  These two football teams have been battling it out for 112 years for goodness sake which in and of itself is pretty amazing.  But really its the rivalry before the game and the camaraderie after the game that is so amazing to see. 

Pre game both Griz fans and Cat fans alike can be down right nasty to one another.  Tensions build in households where normally husbands and wives from opposing schools can coexist in perfect harmony.  Little jibes here, crude jokes there, and the nanny nanny we won last year and are going to do it again inevitable arise.  But when you get right down to it, its truly about a mutual respect for each others school.  Montana is not exactly a densely populated state so this one particular football game truly is a way for all of us to come together behind one team or another and say better luck next year to the fallen team afterward.

Being a second generation Griz grad myself I'm rooting hard for my boys in maroon and silver.  Even though they have quite possibly had the worst season I've seen in 25 years (yes I was indoctrinated in Griz football when I was very young).  I am not a fair weather fan and will root hard for them in the good years and the bad.  Montana State on the other hand is ranked #2 in the Big Sky Conference this year (normally that's the slot that UM has) and though I will deny this if asked by my Cat buddies its been pretty fun watching them do so well.  My dad would probably roll over in his grave at that last comment but I think he of all people would understand my appreciation for such a formidable rival.

Courtesy of Sebrina Brown at the 112 Griz Cat Game in Missoula 11/17/2012

 As I said at the beginning of this post I've been looking forward to this game all year long for several reasons.  First no matter what the teams records are before the game this game is always the biggest, the toughest and the most exciting game of the season.  Second its something that makes me think of my dad and how we'd find a sports bar somewhere just to watch the satellite feed of the game with other Griz and Bobcat fans (again a great way of coming together and talking about a wonderful place to live). And third it takes me back to great memories of college going to the game, sitting in the stands, and feeling the rumble in my chest when the crowd around me, and me included would cheer for the Montana Boys!  Just can't beat that.  So to my fellow Griz fans.... lets go get em. And hopefully we'll be saying better luck next year to MSU in about 50 minutes!

Christmas... oops I mean "Holiday" Bazaar Today!

Today I had totally planned on taking the whole day and going hunting. But a few days ago the After School Program coordinator that I work with asked if I would help her out today at the program's booth at the local Holiday Bazaar held in the school's gym.  So I revamped my plans and am still hoping to get out this afternoon to hunt but if I don't I always have tomorrow.  All of that is kind of beside the point though.

Why is it that we can't say Christmas anymore?  Is it so horrible to say a Christmas activity rather than "Holiday".  Granted I have Jewish and Muslim friends and they celebrate other important holidays during this season and I absolutely respect that... but not a single one (that I know personally) is offended when I say Christmas.  As a matter of fact most of them refer to this as the Christmas season.  So why can't I?  I am not ashamed of being a Christian or my desire to celebrate the birth of Our Lord.  And honestly I think most people feel the same way.  I understand with school functions there is supposed to be a separation of church and state but we still say the pledge every day with the line "One Nation under God" so isn't saying Christmas along those same lines? 

Maybe I'm way off here.  And I know it probably irks some folks when I go Christmas shopping or just out to the local store and when the cashier says "Happy Holidays" (because of course they are trained to be politically correct) I make a point of saying "Merry Christmas" in return.  Keep in mind I do this AFTER Thanksgiving.  Currently since it is still before Thanksgiving I'm saying "Have a Happy Thanksgiving".  I think its important to give each specific holiday their time in the spot light. 

But anyway... that's my rant and rave for the day.  Its probably unimportant and most people will just roll their eyes at this and that is certainly your right.  For me however I will wish you great joy in your Thanksgiving preparations and hope to see a few of you at the CHRISTMAS Bazaar today!

Tis the Season... The Busy Season

I can't believe that October is already over and done with.  The days and weeks are just going by so fast this year and we're only two months off from a whole new year that I'm definitely not ready for yet.  I've had a lot of ups and downs over the past one so I'm not sure if the next one is something to look forward to or something to dread.  I guess it really doesn't matter since its coming no matter how I feel about it.

I guess I am glad that October is done since its been such and odd one.  Generally its one of my favorite months in the year because it embodies everything that is FALL.  But while the leaves were turning and I was doing my best to finish my Halloween costume in time, things were not going well with my mom health wise.  Over the past 4 weeks she's be hospitalized 3 times for various "ailments" yet not a single doctor can figure out the underlying cause.  I'm not going to get into details about what is going on with her because frankly she's a very private person and I know she wouldn't want me to post anything about it on here, but at the same time she has me and my brother and sisters very worried and in a bad position if something very serious is going on.  As of Thursday she is back out of the hospital but still with no known reason why she's been having such trouble.  I know she has a litany of specialist referrals from her docs and I'm really hoping she follows through so we can get some concrete information finally.  Maybe with the start of the new month things will turn around. 

She asked me to come home for Christmas and I'm torn about what to do.  In some ways I of course want to go home and spend time with her, but at the same time traveling that time of year in this neck of the woods is a hardship.  The roads are horrible and flights are constantly cancelled and delayed.  Plus I've started making my own Christmas traditions with Mace.  I'm seriously thinking about telling her that I'm going to put off a visit until at least spring when the weather is better.  But then I'm worried about her health and I never ever ever want to miss an opportunity to be with my family when possible or when there is threat of any kind of problems.  So I'm sure you can see my dilemma.  But I'll figure it out one way or another.

I keep looking at my schedule from now until the end of the year and I don't honestly know how I'm going to squeeze everything in.  The school has the holiday bizzare, the fall concert, the scholastic book fair, ski trips, and who knows what all else packed in over the next 3 weeks before Thanksgiving and I've somehow managed to volunteer myself to help out with a bunch of these activities on top of normal work hours, and my involvement in the after school program.  I may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew.  Oh and I'm trying to get as many pictures as possible for the yearbook (which again I committed to).  Its no wonder that by 10 pm I'm crashed out.  After Thanksgiving we have even more projects, concerts, and activities to pack in before Christmas and for the first time ever I'm not ahead on my Christmas shopping for my family and I'm really not sure when I'm going to be able to do it.  I always like to get it done before the snow starts flying so that if I need to go to Missoula or Spokane to shop I get it done before the roads get bad.  I guess whatever I plan on doing I'll have to make it online shopping and pay those ridiculous shipping prices.  Oh well.  If you have any gift giving ideas I'm certainly open to suggestions.  I keep trying to think of some cool scrapbooking idea that I could make each of my family members and send them but I'm coming up pretty blank. 

So I guess that's whats going on with me right now.  I know this was a bit of a spastic post but that's just how my brain is working right now. Hopefully next time it will be a bit better.  Hope everyone's holiday preparations are going well.  Love to you all.

Missoula Bound This Week

These days I rarely get the opportunity to go into Missoula.  Usually when I do its a quick day trip to pick up groceries, run a bunch of errands, and never spend any down or fun time there.  Well this week I plan to change that.  While I am going in there on Wednesday for a specific purpose (MANDT training for work all day Thursday and Friday), I am going to take the evenings while I'm there to really enjoy the town I called home for 5 years while attending the University of Montana. 

Here is my plan.... try and get out of work on Wednesday afternoon as soon as I can so 3:45 at the latest.  That way I can come home real quick, change cloths because really who wants to drive 3 hours in dress pants and heels, throw my pre-packed bag in the car and hit the road so I can get into Missoula before its completely dark.  I must of course also make sure to have a cup of coffee in hand and my mp3 player so I have tunes rolling as I'm driving.

I'm going to check into the hotel first thing and then drive across town to hit Bed Bath and Beyond first so that they can replace my broken Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer.  It has been complete torture not having it up and running and they said they would take it back no questions asked.  From how its sounding though I think the gears are toast (which shouldn't happen within 2 years of owning the sucker).  Anywho... then its on to the mall to do some Christmas shopping for Mace and my family.  Now you might be thinking its awfully early to be Christmas shopping (mind you I've been plotting and planning what I want to get for at least a month now) but really when you live so far from "civilization" it pays to be ahead of the game.  And I never ever ever get a chance to do this alone.  Usually Mace and I run into either Missoula or Spokane the first week of November to do our shopping for one another but it never works out well because we are trying to be secretive and keep surprises for presents but then usually we end up seeing a few things we're giving one another. Not this year!!!

Next I'm going to the Dollar Store to get various things for Halloween.  I love that I can find all sorts of stuff to decorate the house and make things spooky and fun for so cheap.  Plus I have a few crafty art projects that I want to accomplish before the holidays roll around and that store always has things I can use to make them nice without breaking the bank.  I have noooooo problem being cheap or at least thrifty.  Why spend $5 on the same thing you can get for $1???  I've never understood why people do that.  Hopefully while I'm on that side of town I'll find a spot to eat.  I have so many restaurants that my friends and I went to while we were in college but its not the same when you are going there alone.  I need to call Will and Heather and see if they want to catch up while I'm in town.  I need to finally meet their little girl Emm while I'm at it!  Maybe I can convince them to come to the Rhino on Thursday for Pint Night ... need to get a few old school traditions in while I'm there.

Thursday and Friday I have my training from 8am to 3 pm but in the afternoons and evenings I'm going to go see some of my old haunts.  I have to of course take a walk around the UM campus and check out the Forestry Building, Tanner Hall, the UC, etc where I spent so many years.  Planning on hitting up Rockn Rudy's, Big Dipper, Pattee Canyon (to get a hike in), Sean Kelly's, The Rhino, Kim Williams trail (to get a run in before Training), etc.... and anything else I can think of or have time for while I'm in town.  So to those of you that still in the Missoula area, feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email so we can get together and relive some fun times!!!

Almost October

Oh its almost October, which means I am fast approaching my favorite month of the year as well as one of my favorite holidays.  Granted Halloween is not a day that you get off or a day that you get to go and spend precious time with family and friends like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but its such a fun day! I know I love this holiday because of my mother's tireless decorating and all the work she'd always put into my costumes as a little kid. 

About 2 weeks before the trick or treaters would come a knocking she and I would go down to the basement laundry room and find the box with our traditional decorations.  We'd spend at least one entire day from right after breakfast to right before dad would get home from work putting up the spookiness.  We had everything ranging from bats to spiders and ghosts that we'd cut out of construction paper and taped to the big front window which would of course highlight the jackolatern I'd carve the afternoon of Halloween.  We would tape up the giant happy Frankenstein on the closet door at the top of the stairs to greet dad when he'd put his coat and hat away. And of course we had several positionable skeletons that I know mom had had for years and would tape the little ones to the window as well and the full grown person sized one to one side of the front door while a Happy Halloween banner decorated the other side. 

After the paper decorations were up and that would generally take about half the day, we'd move on to best part... hanging spider webbing.  I literally perfected the art form of stretching that silky cottony mass over objects, across windows, around every chandelier and light fixture in the house, and of course up and down both sides of the banister.  By the time the sun started to set every square inch of available space would have some kind of Halloween decoration.

We would tweak a few things here and there over the up coming weeks of course each store we went to we'd look in the Halloween section for costume ideas, new face painting stuff, or a new spooky sounds tape that we could play when trick or treaters came to the door.  Usually on the night of Halloween we'd have everything perfect, spooky music going, jackolatern carved and lit, candy sitting ready and waiting right by the door, most of the lights off in the house but the porch light on so kids knew they could knock.  I swear even as a little kid I liked passing out candy as much as getting dressed up and going trick or treating myself.  I loved seeing all the costumes, trying to figure out who was who behind what masks, and hearing "trick or treat" over and over again after the doorbell rang.  Each year was a great experience. 

And now here I sit, before the month of October even officially starts and I'm already excited.  I've already figured out what costume I'm going to make to wear at the school (I'm going as Cassie the wonder Dalmatian, spots and all), already bought candy to pass out, and starting to make my own construction paper decorations to hang in my own front window. I have my spider webbing ready and waiting to be stretched and pulled into perfect webs.  I wish I had a giant pumpkin to carve this year but there wasn't any kind of growing season around here this summer to make that happen, so I'll have to settle for finding a nice "little" pumpkin to carve and of course design my own pattern to carve into it that glorious Halloween afternoon.  All I need to do is find a skeleton like mom had so I feel like all is right in the world and put it up two weeks before.

Each Day is Something New

Well I've done it again.  I've gone a whole month without posting on here.  Its not intentional its just... well by the time my day is done I'd rather sit down and relax than type.  But I'll try to do better. 

I've been having a fantastic first month of working at the school.  Each and every day is just a little bit different than the last and its definitely keeping me on my toes.  I think I'm learning just as much as the little kiddo's I'm teaching are.  We've had a few new kids coming into the school so it adjusts my schedule a bit.  First thing in the morning on Tuesday, Thursday and every other Friday I conduct a corrective reading and corrective math class for 3 student ranging in ages from 10 to 13.  After that I go work as a one on one aid for a little boy with autism in the kindergarten class (I actually do that every day after lunch).  On Monday and Wednesday morning I work over at the preschool with Meredith with 12 very active and lively 3-5 year olds.  We have great fun and those kiddos are learning the basics of what going to school is all about.  Meredith always plans great projects with a purpose and this week is all about our own class rules and what it takes to be a good friend.  Then every other Friday (when I'm not doing CR and CM) I bounce between the kinder class and the 5/6 and 7/8 grade class helping out all the kids with special needs.  Like I said it really keeps me on my toes.

The regular school day ends at 3:30 but my day doesn't.  The school started up a brand new after school program this year and I'm helping out with that too.  It goes until 5:30 and part of the time is me helping all the kids who come with their homework and giving them some tutoring before tests then the other part of the time are group activities that are set up to encourage the kids self confidence, boost mutual respect and group work, and learning basic skills that can help out in other aspects in life.  All in all its a great program and hopefully the kids are getting a lot out of it.

Now while all that might sound like plenty to do (and believe me it is), I am also taking a class myself.  The class focuses on teaching children with autism and autism spectrum disorders which my supervisor thought would be an excellent class for me to take since I'm the staff member who is working the most with this little autistic kindergartner and its looking like we are going to have two other autism spectrum kids in the preschool class (who will be going to school at TC next year).  The class is great and I'm doing everything I can during my lunch break and then on the weekends.  Its set up in various modules and a series of tests on each one so its really a practice based learning experience.  I'm getting a lot out of it and am doing my best to apply the new things I'm learning to my day to day work.  I have another 3 months of it so I plan on getting as much out of it as I possibly can and hopefully becoming a better aide for it.

So thats my life in a nutshell right now.  There is always more going on than even that but thats all I feel like writing about now.  Hope everyone is having a fantastic start of fall and I'll be sure to keep you all updated as frequently as I can.