Good Job, Andrew!

Andrew came home yesterday with a nice surprise in his backpack:

He and his team won second place in the Rube Goldberg Competition at his school – way to go, Andrew!

And…he actually got out of bed on time today and even had enough time to have breakfast before school without jamming it down…what exactly is going on here?!?! 

If this is another change, I like it. 🙂

More Changes…

So you all know that I’m going to be going back to work soon (change number one).

And…I’m switching to a ‘hobby’ Stampin’ Up! demonstrator instead of a ‘business’ demonstrator (change number two).

And…that I won’t be teaching at Rowan University next semester (change number three – did I mention this on my blog yet? I was bumped from my spring class by a full-time professor who needed another class).

And…that my kids will be starting the before-and-after-school program at their elementary school (change number four).

And…that I really don’t like change.

But this weekend, I received news of another change. Our senior pastor is leaving our church.

I am the chairperson of the Staff/Parish Relations Committee in our church (basically the Methodist Church’s equivalent to a human resources department) and so I first received the news late last week. Our pastor announced it to the congregation yesterday during the church services.

I have been on this committee for two years and in that time, we have lost an associate pastor, gained another associate pastor, lost that associate pastor, moved into a brand new church building, hired a youth pastor, retired a secretary, hired a secretary, lost that secretary (after one week), brought a secretary out of retirement, hired a new secretary, re-retired a secretary and then hired three brand new custodians.

That’s a lot of change.

But I wasn’t ready for this. This is a BIG change.

Our pastor was one of the main reasons I went back to church after so many years. She is relatable, personable, a strong woman and above all is gifted spiritual leader. It is because of her that my own faith has strengthened so much over the last few years – well…because of her and because of God. But she certainly helped! 🙂

She’ll be here for another six months while we transition and find a new pastor.

I still have one more year on the committee – my second year as the committee chair.

And I have so much change in my life right now.

I know God will lead me to where he wants me to be…but it’s still difficult (what with me being such a control-freak and all).

Someone gave the analogy the other day of life being like a puzzle – try as we might, we just can’t see how all of the pieces will eventually fit together. That’s because we’re not the ones with the lid – God has that. Only God can see the full photograph of the entire puzzle that’s on that lid to the puzzle box. And there’s no use even trying to put a puzzle together without the lid, right?…

Happy New Year!

Well, 2008 is finally here and the hoopla of the holidays is over. I spent all day taking down my Christmas decorations and beginning to get my house back to normal.

My health finally feels like it’s getting back to normal as well – today is the first day that I haven’t been in pain since pretty much Thanksgiving (maybe my body was protesting the hectic holiday season up until now – not really sure).

I mentioned that I went to the E/R a few weeks ago…it appears that I am having some kidney issues. I have some stones and cysts on my kidneys that appeared on a CT scan I had while at the hospital. I also have had blood in my urine consistently during this whole medical issue (too much info, I know – but I thought that someone else reading this may be going through the same thing!). I also have some sort of growth on my adrenal gland – they are actually quite common and are usually not a problem.

So up until pretty much today, I have been in a great deal of pain, especially in my lower back. I haven’t been able to sleep or pretty much do anything other than just wait for the pain to go away. And for a type A personality like me, IT’S DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!

After my visit to the E/R, I saw a urologist. Now, for those who have never been to a urologist, you don’t know what you’re missing! Let me set the scene…in the waiting room it was just me…….and about 15 men between the ages of 65-95. I walked into the examining room (after two hours in the waiting room – apparently, this is a normal thing at the urologist. Oh – and I had to see the nurse practitioner because the doctors had no available appointments until FEBRUARY!) and all over the room were large diagrams of the prostate and the male anatomy. That must be how a man feels when he goes with his wife to the OB/GYN!

Anyway…the nurse practitioner (who looked to be about Andrew’s age) wanted me to have another CT scan with I/V contrast to get a better picture of exactly what’s going on. And that’s what I did yesterday – what a great way to spend New Year’s Eve.

But the good news is that today I feel a little better. Not sure why, but I’m just glad that I do. I’ll post when I get the results of all my tests.

So enough about that – I also wanted to try something new on my blog this year. I saw on Bridget Maloney’s blog (thanks for the idea, Bridget – hope you’re doing well!) the idea of taking one photo every day for a year. Just some random photo for the day – people I’ve met, things I’ve done, places I’ve gone…or just the mundane – what’s in my purse, what I had for lunch…just a little photo journal for the year. There may or may not be much journaling along with the photo – it will depend on what it is and how much time I have, I guess.

So here’s my photo for today:

And here’s the story – after taking down all the decorations (a tradition for me – I always take them down on New Year’s Day…there’s a story that goes along with that – maybe I’ll share that in another post), Emily insisted that we make a gingerbread house today. She received a gingerbread house kit for Christmas we just hadn’t had a chance to make it.

So…I dragged out the electric mixer and we whipped up the icing. This is not the first gingerbread house I’ve made from a kit – and every time I do, I run into the same problem (yet I’m not smart enough to think ahead to do something to actually FIX the problem) – the icing always turns out too thick and dries too fast. So while Mike was holding up the walls and roof with both hands and possibly a foot, I abandoned the pastry bag that came with the kit (I was squeezing it so hard, I thought it was going to explode and we’d have icing all over the kitchen) and scrambled to get the icing on the walls any way I could. I started with a knife, but the pressure caused the walls to collapse. Then I moved on to just spreading it with my fingers, but more of the icing stuck to my fingers than to the walls.

After about 30 minutes of this, we managed to get a house that could kind of stand up on its own. Then we just took the remaining icing and slopped it on the roof so poor Emily could at least stick some candies on. And that she did. You can see our poorly constructed house in the photo.

The other thing you can see in the photo is that as poor as our gingerbread house construction skills were, Emily was just as happy licking the icing (dried to a cement-like consistency at this point) from the bowl as she would have been with a house that looked like the one on the box. Thanks, Emily, for saying that our house looked (and tasted) good!

Merry Christmas!

Okay – I know it’s a day late, but as you can see, I haven’t really had time to post lately.  I’ve been so caught up in the holiday craziness, I just haven’t had a chance.

So let me see if I can catch you up just a bit…

Emily and Matt had their school Christmas concert – here we are getting ready (Andrew went kicking and screaming – I reminded him how many of HIS concerts Matt and Emily have attended over the years…):

Then Emily had her dance recital – she’s been taking a hip-hop dance class for the last few months.  The routine was ADORABLE, but for some reason, photos on the stage don’t come out so well.  But here she is with her flowers after the performance:

Andrew also had a Christmas play for his school.  He was mainly a background character, but was on stage during the entire play.

I managed to capture a photo of the entire school (yes – the whole school, not just the class) on stage for the finale at the Broadway Theater:

Andrew is in the middle right section – see him? 😉

We also went camping last weekend.  We were lucky enough to have several inches of snow on the ground – the kids (and dogs) had fun playing in it (good thing because the indoor pool was closed for maintenance!):

That last photo is Matt trying to chip the ice and snow off the tablecloth on our picnic table.  After we managed to pry the frozen tablecloth from the table, we had to throw it away (it had several large holes).

While we were there, Mike and his brother Mark built a temporary mud room for the camper.  We’ll use it to store our winter gear and cut down on the cold wind at our door.

Isn’t it lovely?  Now, before you criticize the aesthetics of OUR pretty room, let me show you a few others from around the campground:

As you can see, we’re right in style with our beautiful plywood lean-to!  We’re hoping to take it down at the end of the season and use it again next year.

Our last day at the campground, the weather started to turn, so we headed back home just in time for Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve was a hectic day – it involved FOUR trips to Target – don’t even get me started!  Let’s just say that next year, *I* will be in charge of all of the Christmas shopping!

But after a crazy day of last-minute errands and baking DOZENS of cookies, we took some time to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas during our Christmas Eve worship service.  It was a beautiful and moving service – the first one in our new church building. And to make it even more wonderful, Emily played ‘Away in a Manger’ with our children’s bell choir.

After the service, we visited another local Christmas tradition – the Haggerty’s light display.  Every year, a local family puts up thousands of lights and hundreds of animated characters to share with our community.  Here are Matt and Emily:

All of the kids absolutely love the Christmas display – thanks to the Haggerty family!

And a belated Merry Christmas to all of you from the Torrence family!

I’ve Been Gone for a While…

These last weeks have just been crazy around here – getting ready for the holidays, job interviews…and I’ve also had a few health issues (including a trip to the E/R last Thursday). I’ll report more on my condition after my next doctor’s appointment on Thursday.  But let’s just say that I’ve been in an extreme amount of pain the last few weeks – so much so, that I haven’t really been able to focus on anything else.

Except that life goes on and I’m trying to keep up with things as best I can.  So it’s back to reality – pain or no pain.

One of the other things that kept me from posting was the fact that our computer died an untimely death a few weeks ago.  Fortunately, I didn’t lose any files, but I had to wait for our new computer to arrive and for Mike to set everything up.  He did a great job, but it’s still not the same.  It’s taking some time to get used to all the new stuff – I’m such a creature of habit!  I’m going to make a few quick posts to catch you up on some of the things I’ve been up to…

Change Is Inevitable

“If we can recognize that change and uncertainty are basic principles, we can greet the future and the transformation we are undergoing with the understanding that we do not know enough to be pessimistic.” — Hazel Henderson

I’m not a big fan of change. And I’ve certainly gone through some big changes in my life. At the time, many of them seemed intimidating, if not impossible. But when I now look back with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that most of them led to something wonderful – different, but wonderful.

I am about to undertake some major changes in my life. And I’m sure that they too, will eventually lead to something wonderful. Unfortunately, as I stand on the edge of these changes without the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I’m just not sure what that ‘wonderful’ will be.

I just have to put my faith in God and know that He has a plan for me. Being the control-freak that I am, I wish I could know exactly what that plan is; but for now, I have to be content with the fact that I am not actually in charge (no matter how much I kid myself that I am) and that these changes will lead me to live out my purpose.

So here we go – I am hoping to return to work part-time after the beginning of the new year. Not as an artist, jewelry designer, design team member or professional stamper (if there is such a thing) – but as a software engineer. My education and professional experience are in software engineering, and I think it’s time to return to my field.

Emily is in kindergarten now and I must contribute not only to our family income, but also to my own personal and professional development. I don’t have a firm job offer yet, but I have been investigating several leads and I hope that one will soon develop into a software engineering position for me at the FAA Technical Center.

I will also continue to teach the Computers and Society course at Rowan University. I have re-discovered how much I enjoy teaching and have committed to teach this course again during the spring semester.

That’s correct – in one year, I may go from being a full-time stay-at-home mother to a working mother with two jobs. Now that’s change.

Perhaps the engineering position will not develop – maybe I will not receive a job offer. And that’s okay – it’s part of the “me not being in control” mantra I mentioned earlier. But have I mentioned that I’m also not a big fan of uncertainty?

But wait. I have another change. Regardless of the job outcome, I have decided not to continue as a business-oriented Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. I will remain as a ‘hobby’ demonstrator and will still be able to take orders, but I will no longer hold stamp clubs, classes, or workshops.

Obviously, if I do get a software engineering position, I will not have the extra time required to prepare for these events. But even if I do not get a position, I still feel it’s time to move on.

I put a great deal of time, energy and money into preparing for my classes. But the end result is no longer gratifying. I make very little monetary profit from these events, if any at all. In fact, I actually spend more money as an active demonstrator just to keep the newest products and other needed supplies on hand.

Many members of my stamping group have now reached the point where they don’t need me to demonstrate projects or techniques for them anymore. They are perfectly capable of finding them online, in magazines or books and figuring them out for themselves – which is great, don’t get me wrong – I love to see their own creativity blossom.

It is, however, somewhat disheartening to put a large amount of effort into preparing for classes and then receive criticism about my work. Maybe I’m just not cut out for the world of subjective art – it’s too personal for me.

I have to admit, it was very encouraging to interview for software engineering positions and feel as though I truly have something to offer to an employer and that they, in turn, can appreciate all I have to offer. I have years of experience working in software project management, development and maintenance and can apply this experience to a variety of engineering positions. As I spoke with the various groups, I felt confident for the first time in a very long time.

I felt the same confidence when I began teaching again – I realized that I could offer my experience and insight to students that were about to graduate and enter the field of software engineering. I remember when I mentioned to someone in town that “My students actually look up to me like I am someone.” The person replied, “Wait until they find out that you’re not.” Ouch.

As a stay-at-home mother, our actions are most often not appreciated. Our work is endless, non-stop and we are usually taken for granted. The end result of doing a good job is not seen for years and years and even then, we second-guess ourselves as to whether or not we have actually succeeded. We always feel that we could have done a better job.

But as an engineer, we have tangible, concrete results for our actions. We receive job reviews and pay raises to prove that we are doing well in our job. Not to mention the financial benefits from working as an engineer – a large part of why I am even considering returning to work.

Through the years, I have been either a full-time working parent, a part-time employee or a full-time stay-at-home mom. I have seen all sides of the dilemma and know that none of them are perfect. As a full-time working parent, you feel guilty that you should be at home with your children. As a stay-at-home mom, you feel guilty that you should be contributing to the family income. And even as a part-time employee, you feel guilty that you’re not doing either job as well as you could.

But the most difficult critic that we find as mothers is other women. Stay-at-home moms criticize working moms for not spending enough time with their children. Working moms criticize stay-at-home moms as ‘lazy’. Is it no wonder that we feel guilty all the time?

I wish that women could support and encourage other women to do whatever works best for them. Some moms don’t have a choice but to work – others don’t have a choice but to stay home.

Consider a mother who gives up her valued career because she feels that it is the ‘right thing’ to stay home with her children. What if she comes to resent her children and remains angry and bitter during the time she spends with them? Wouldn’t it be better for the children to live with a fulfilled, content mother who gains strength and confidence from her career?

On the other hand, consider a mother who forces herself to work so that she can continue to live a certain lifestyle. She may spend her time at work longing to be living a simpler life at home with her children. Wouldn’t it be better for her children to live a life without extravagant extras so that she could live a fulfilled life with them?

I always encourage my college students to consider that decisions in life are rarely a simple “black-and-white” evaluation – most situations remain in shades of gray. I’m going to try to embrace the grayness of my situation and let it work out the way it is meant to be..

“That’s the risk you take if you change: that people you’ve been involved with won’t like the new you. But other people who do will come along.” — Lisa Alther

Hiking at Bushkill Falls

We were able to get away last weekend to the Poconos with the kids for a little R & R.  Our first day was kind of cold and rainy, but we made the most of it swimming in the indoor pool and hot tub. 

The skies soon cleared and we managed to get to Bushkill Falls for a little hiking – we even brought the dogs!

The dogs made it VERY interesting – there are a lot of stairs to climb – some of them very narrow:

But it was a beautiful day and a beautiful hike – we all had a very nice day!

Setting Up For The Winter At Otter Lake

Mike and I headed up to Otter Lake in Marshall’s Creek in the Poconos this weekend to set up camp for the winter.  That’s right – the WINTER!!!!  Our camper will be parked at Otter Lake from November through March and we can camp as much as we’d like to during that time.  Kind of like winter storage…but better!

Now…I’m not much of a winter person, but I kind of like the idea of having a little getaway to escape to when the winter doldrums set in.  Otter Lake Campground is set in the beautiful Pocono mountains and is open all year with an indoor pool and hot tub.  They also have a large lake that freezes for ice skating as well as snowmobile trails and access to other winter fun at the local ski resorts.

The only downside is that the campground turns off water to the campsites as of November 1st. Which means that whenever we need to use the bathroom, take a shower or even wash our hands, we have to use the bathhouse.  Fortunately, Mike chose a site that is really close to both the bathhouse and the indoor pool – here’s our site:

And, from our site,here is the pool/bathhouse:

The field/playground/lake:

And a big old rock for the kids to climb!

Mike and I went without the kids for the weekend – a VERY rare thing!  We took advantage of the time alone and went out for some nice meals, spent an afternoon antiquing and visited the little town of East Stroudsburg for a little shopping, too. 

So look for more winter fun with the Torrences to come this season!

Remember When Halloween Was "Cute"?

When did Halloween go from this:

To this:

That’s Andrew (13), Emily (5) and Matthew (8) in the photo.  They grow up SO fast…and so scary, apparently!

We had a terrific Halloween filled with parties, trick-or-treating and of course, CANDY!!!  The weather was great and the kids had lots of fun.  Now if I can just swipe my favorite candy bars from their stash while no one is looking… 🙂

It Was a Better Weekend!

We went back to Lake-in-Wood campground for the last of our three ‘No-Tow’ weekends and it was a beautiful one! There was no dog vomit or people influenza involved this weekend, thank goodness!

We managed to take a hike around the lake:

And celebrated “Christmas in October”:

(Apparently, you can celebrate Christmas any time you’d like at campgrounds…)

I also managed to escape to Shupp’s Grove by myself for a few hours (FINALLY!) on Saturday morning and found this lovely vintage watch for just $5:

Fortunately, my friend Marie and her husband Steve own Skinner Watch Repair, so I’m hoping they can get it working again.

I also picked up this piece:

It’s a side to a vintage Star Naptha soap box – I thought this would be great hanging in my kitchen, bathroom or even laundry room. It was just $4.

So…after walking around the antique market for two hours and spending just $9 (I could have spent a LOT more, but I was on a strict budget!), I had a nice, relaxing morning.

I hope to get into my craft room soon – I still haven’t had a chance to put everything away from Stamp Club last Wednesday! It’s just been so busy around here with lots of things at church going on this week…