Thoughts From a Frazzled Mind

Olsen Family Party Kim and I were in charge of the annual Olsen Christmas Party this year.  I was knee-deep in finishing up my homework for the semester, so I let Shandra take my place in the planning phase of the party.  It was decided to keep things simple for everyone involved, but it still turned out great!  They asked everyone to come wearing their favorite headgear, and pretty much everyone complied.  Barb definitely was the winner with her huge curls made from pool noodles.  Even Grandma joined in the fun with a huge ribbon that had lights that blinked. We ordered a bunch of simple craft products from Oriental Trading for the kids to do - however, I believe there were more adults than kids at the crafting table!  We had a soup and salad bar with lots of yummy soups and chilis.  Strangely enough, my corn chowder disappeared first.  The dessert table was covered in some of my very favorite treats, Dennileigh made Carmel Rice Krispie trea...

Unitek Conference On the 1st of November Unitek (the company that owns my school) sponsored a one-day convention centered around the theme of "Infusing Caring into Teaching and Learning".  The Keynote speaker was Dr. Jean Watson who is quite famous in nursing education circles.  She is known for her Caring Theory which encourages nurses (and educators) to really care  for their patients (students) as well as themselves.  I really like her principles.  As I was listening I was thinking how her principles go with my goal for the year, to focus on being kind, and how it links so closely with Christ's admonition to "love one another".  If we all focused on these principles, the world would be such a better place!  I'll admit, I have been so busy lately that I haven't focused as much as I should on being kind - I'm glad that I had an opportunity to be reminded. My co-workers & Jean Watson Jamie, Randy, Amber, Jean, Audrey, & Andy Aunt Lona...

Sister's Retreat We started the month off in grand fashion, with a Sister's Retreat!  This time we went to Wolf Creek.  I am so glad that we started the tradition of our sister's retreats, it has been so good for us to stay connected and appreciate each other.  Our personalities are so much the same, but yet we have many, many differences, I feel that it is vitally important to foster our family relationships.  Julie was not able to join us this time as she had an assignment in Hawaii.  She was able to take her family, so we forgave her for missing our weekend. The weekend once again was filled with lots of goodies, games, and laughter.  For some reason when I am with these ladies I can't seem to stop laughing, often so hard that I start to cry!  Once again Rox was in charge of the craft.  I loved it!  It was a Halloween wall hanging that we colored and then hand-stitched the outlines.  It was really cute.  We took Rox out for ...