Friday Fragments - back from the missing

Sorry I just dropped off the face of the earth like that. For some reason, life just got the better of me the past few weeks. It is the perfect time for a Friday Fragments post because my mind is totally on overload. Thank goodness for Mrs. 4444 - she gives us the approval we need for all this confusion!

Two very sad events have really affected me these past few days. I was at a conference last week and got a message that a friend and former co-worker had been killed in a car accident. I had just sent her a message suggesting that we get together for dinner some evening and now we can't. What a wake up call to live every moment to the fullest and to make time for those things that are important. Time with friends and family is precious and should be at the top of the "To do" list.

I got a call on Wednesday evening from Mary Ellen that Hallie's son, CJ, had passed away. I simply cannot fathom the pain the family must be experiencing. Parents are not supposed to bury their kids. I have not met Hallie in person (yet) but I enjoy her blog and know that she has to be a special person because of her friendship with Mary Ellen.

My heart goes out to both families.

My son was supposed to leave on a trip to Germany/Austria/Switzerland/France today. They have been planning it for over a year. He was excited about it - especially since two of his friends were going. They are seniors and Evan realizes that this is the last chance for them all to go. Who would have thought that a volcano in Iceland would cause all this chaos? They actually told the students they were going, put them on a bus and took them to the airport. On the way, they got contacted that their flight to Paris was cancelled and they, of course, had to return home. The trip is cancelled for this week and may or may not be rescheduled. If they don't reschedule, it is possible that the seniors will get their money back and the underclassmen will get a credit towards another trip. How frustrating!

That's all for today. Don't forget to go over to Mrs. 4444 and see what everyone else is up to.

Don't fret - it's fraggin' Friday!

TGIFF! That's right. Thank Goodness It's Friday Fragments! You know how your purse gets cluttered up with old shopping lists, receipts, half completed to-do lists and broken pens? Well, your brain does too! Friday Fragments is the day that we clean it all up and do something with those half thoughts and random ideas. We do it because Mrs. 4444 tells us we should. She probably wants us to clean out our purses too but we will leave that for another day. Make sure you go over to visit Mrs. 4444 and see what clutter everyone else has dumped out today.

The earthquake in Haiti is such a sad story. I just can't fathom what it must be like to be there. It definitely makes me appreciate where I live and makes me hold my family a little closer and a little longer. They are in my thoughts.

I noticed that my number of followers decreased this week. Does anyone else panic when they notice that? I immediately wondered what I had done to make them leave. All my insecurities came rushing to the forefront. How sad is that?

My son has submitted his Eagle project for district approval but it got bounced back. We had to drive 45 minutes to pick it up because the new district rep doesn't believe in mail or email. The changes they need made before the final approval are not significant. In fact, they handed him a sheet that they use to review it. We were informed that he should have used this sheet when he was doing the original submission and that the scoutmaster has it. Our scout master never passes it out. How frustrating. My son is going to take his project workbook to school and review everything with one of his teachers. His social study teacher is an active scouter and has offered several times to help. I don't know why my son (or husband or me) didn't think to have his teacher review it before he sent it in. Oh well, hopefully they can finish it up today and the workbook can be resubmitted Saturday or Monday.

Back in the day (many. many years ago), teenage girls wanted blonde hair. They used the sun-in products, they streaked their hair or - if their parents let them - they dyed their hair blonde. I have noticed that several of my son's classmates have dyed their hair much darker. I have seen a couple of these girls and had to look twice. Funny how the times have changed in some ways (the color) but not at all in others (the desire to change the look).

I have been doing really well on my New Year's resolutions. I have done especially well on the "Use my crock pot once a week." Today, I put in my third dinner - this week! On Monday, it was roast chicken, Tuesday was Chicken Noodle Soup and tonight we are having lasagna. Yummy.

That's it for my frags this week. What are fraggin' about?

Here's to Mrs. 4444!

Friday Fragments

I am now in double digits for posts and one great idea that I am following along with is Mrs. 4444's Friday Fragments. You can see the original Friday Fragment poster over at http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/. Her post always makes me smile.


What is Friday Fragments? A place to clean out all those random thoughts that bounce around your brain like the ball in an old fashioned pinball machine.



I have been reading (on my Kindle, of course!) a book this week that I have had a hard time putting down. I usually can figure out what is going to happen in a book but "The Neighbor" by Lisa Gardner kept me guessing from the first chapter to the last. I highly recommend it.



How does my dog know what day of the week it is? She leaves us alone on weekdays but on Saturday and Sunday mornings, she wakes up and does her best to convince us to get up and take her for a walk. Also, she knows if school is in session. I drive my son to school so she gets a ride every school day. She looks forward to this and paces back and forth in excitement. The first day of my son's summer vacation, when I got up, she opened one eye, looked at me as if to say "no way I am getting up", and went back to sleep.



Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson all passed away this week. They were all pop icons to those of us born in the 60s. Boy, do I feel old! I was at my son's last baseball game of the season last night when we all heard the news about Michael Jackson. Even the boys were stunned. Hopefully he will rest in peace and be remembered for his amazing talent and not the freakshow he had become.

Is it just me or do you ever wonder why they refer to deceased people as being "late" or "lost"?
Seriously, they aren't late. You don't need to keep dinner warming on the stove for them. When they say someone lost a relative, all I can imagine is an urn of ashes sitting in a "lost and found" at the local mall. In most cases, the people know where their deceased relatives are. They may not be with you as you want, but they aren't lost. Just sayin'.

My co-worker asked me for some personal advice yesterday. I know what I told her was NOT what she wanted to hear. However, she took it well and said the reason she asked me was because she knew I would tell her what I really thought. That made me feel good for some reason.

My two men are going to Vermont for the weekend. I am looking forward to a couple of nights by myself. Don't get me wrong. I adore my family but it is nice to have some time to myself. I have a couple of things planned already. One is a surprise. Don't you just love surprises?

Bravo to my son for a great report card. High honors for the quarter and all As and one B for the year. He ended up with a 90 average in Pre-Calc for the year and got the B. Not shabby for a freshman.

The Red Sox lost last night but they are still ahead of the Yankees in the standings. All is right in my world.

Here's to randomness.