The World According to Leslie

"There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game."--Lionel Messi Lionel Messi is a pretty famous soccer player. He probably knows a little something about winning and losing. He's probably experienced both in his lifetime, quite often. Last night, I had the privilege of watching a local high school baseball game. One of my favorite teams, with one of my favorite players, was playing a cross-town rival. At the beginning of the game, the rivals took a 4 to 0 lead over the home team. It wasn't looking good until the pitcher walked a couple batters, one batter got a base hit, and then another (with bases loaded) hit an over the fence grand slam!  The game was tied. A couple of innings later, the home team pulled ahead by a couple of runs. The pitcher was doing a great job. He had walked a couple of batters, but who hasn't? Then, the batter from the rival team leaned into a pitch and the umpired said the pitcher hit the batter. The b...

Since the year The Princess was in third or fourth grade, every year, about this time, I start looking at options for school for her. I have friends and family who homeschool. I always peruse that as an option. I have gone online and figured out what subjects we would need, where we would get them from, and (unfortunately!) the costs. There are some places I can get things online (like secondhand) but I won't start looking in earnest until we make a decision. Homeschooling (probably) gives us the most flexibility with subjects and schedules. When she is listed as a Junior, she can start taking Dual Enrollment classes at the local Community College for high school and college credit (for FREE!!)!!!!  Her fifth grade year, she was at a local Charter school. It didn't work out so well. (We went through 3 teachers and 2 principals in one year.)  I guess we could always look at going back there (now that they have been open and running for a few years) as an option. It's n...

I need help! Those may three of the hardest words to say together in the English language. The other hard three word combos are "I am sorry" and "I was wrong". I've said all of these three word combinations so many times in my life, but for me, personally, the hardest three to say together are "I need help!" I'm a very, very, very (did I say VERY?), type A personality. According to Wikipedia (which is not always right, but can be used for fun information like this), a Type A person can be: "rude ambitious rigidly organized highly status-conscious sensitive impatient anxious proactive concerned with time management People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving "workaholics" They push themselves with deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence." Except for the "rigidly organized" and "highly status-conscious," that's pretty much me!!! I work best in stressful situa...

This weekend was pretty good. Actually, I was so exhausted from the weekend that I took a TWO HOUR nap on Sunday!  (I haven't done that in a long time!) Friday, I went to watch my nephew play in a high school baseball game. He is a sophomore, but he's pitching for the Varsity team this year!  YEP!  He's that good!  He even made the local paper for his work at the end of the game on Friday. You can check out the article here . On Saturday, I taught the Sign Language badge at the Girl Scout Badge Bonanza. It's an event where the girls choose what badges they want to earn, and they can earn up to 4 in the day! It was fun!  I haven't done that in a couple of years! Sunday, we had the VBS meeting at church. It went well. We had a good turn out for the first meeting. I'm still going to need more volunteers, but I think I will be able to get them. After church, we met up with an old friend. She gave us some scrapbooking supplies for The Princess's Silve...

Last Friday, Tony and I checked the Princess out of school early. We had the car loaded up, and we headed to Pigeon Forge. The Relentless Youth Group from Remedy Church left earlier that morning for Shabbach Youth Conference 2017. We didn't want her to miss an entire day of school, so we checked her out after 1/2 day. That means that Tony was off work on Friday. We drove up on Friday. We dropped the Princess off with the group just in time for church services on Friday night. We hung out with the group at the Alpine Coaster , where Tony's cart got stuck on the track in the pouring rain! (That's a completely different story!)   We also went to ride go karts and play at the arcade! Sunday, after the morning services, we collected the Princess from the group. We hung around and did some things together as a family. Then we headed home. Tony had some vacation days to use, so he also took Monday off of work. We went grocery shopping (which we normally do on Sun...

Philippians 4:13--"I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." (KJV) We all know that verse. We all quote that verse. What does it really mean to you? Today, it means that I can do the things I need to do because Christ is giving me the strength. It means that, although Facebook reminded me that 7 years ago today we held my Grandmother's funeral, I can remember the good things about her and know that I will see her again one day. It means that even when times are tough, I am tougher. Today, that verse tells me that no matter what, I have the strength of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I can do anything... even when my body, my mind tells me I can't. It could be the simple things like dealing with the pain in my left shoulder. It could be the more aggravating things like dealing with a teenager! (WOW! Enough said!) It could be big things like dealing with financial situations, jobs, family, and faith. For me today, that verse ...

As we all know, I'm a teacher. I was born to be a teacher. Being a teacher is my calling! As of lately, I have been teaching children's church, and I love that!  It's not half as stressful as a full-time classroom teaching job. (Best part....no grading!!) I have also been teaching at the daycare, when needed. I have been substitute teaching, as well. Some days, I come home in love with teaching. Some days, I come home wishing I had never stepped foot into a classroom. However, teaching is my dream job. Now, as the Princess gets closer and closer (about 9 1/2 weeks) to finishing middle school, I keep thinking how logistically, things are going to change next year. For the past three years, she has had a 9am-4pm (or later if she stayed after for clubs or softball) schedule. Next year, she's going to have a 7:15am-2:15pm schedule. I've lived that schedule. I wasn't a fan of going to work in the dark!!!  Now, I've been thinking that I'd...

As you can probably figure, my brain is cluttered with stuff.... lots and lots of STUFF! So, in order to clear my mind, I'm writing out some of the weird things from our house. Have you ever had ants in your bathroom? I can understand them in the kitchen if you leave out food overnight or something, but we have them in our MASTER BATH! Hello???  That's the farthest room from the kitchen.  And, as far as I know, no one is eating in the bathroom!  :)  Sometimes, it's one or two ants (the little bitty ones). Other times, it's like a whole army!  It's been that way since we moved in about 3 1/2 years ago, but it's just weird.... or so I think!! Do you know how I can tell who did the dishes last in our house? It's by the silverware in the dishwasher! If I do them, all the silverware is turned down (like the pointy part of the forks, the spoony part of the spoons, and the knifey part of the knives) toward the bottom of the silverware basket thingy! On...

Ever get a quote stuck in your head? Ever memorize a quote the first time you heard it? Ever keep the quote in your memory so much that you can still quote it 20 years later? I have. The funny thing is, I still remember the place where I first heard the quote that plays over in my head frequently. "If going through life and you find yourself lost, go back to the last place you knew who you were and what you were doing and start there." (Carol Stack) As a 19 year old, I sat in the lecture hall at Appalachian State University for a required lecture. (We had so many we had to attend per semester for different classes. We had to scan our name badges in so that they would know we attended.) Anyways, this was a required lecture for my Social Studies class. I was sitting the lecture hall about 1/2 way between the front row and the back. I was also sitting in the middle of the row.  So I was almost "dead center" of the lecture hall. The man who did the intro...

As I've said before, my church, Remedy Church , is planning to help 500 families this year at Christmas. YES! It's only MARCH! But, we have a big goal because we have a BIG GOD! We have broken down how we are collecting toys (new or gently used--aka like new) for the kids. You can help in a couple ways.  1. You can donate toys to the Better to Give Project . 2. You can donate money to the Better to Give Project . The information needed for doing either of those things is on the Remedy Church website . Here is the breakdown for the Better to Give Project ! March --Girls 0-3 years April --Girls 3-5years May --Girls 6-12years J une --Teen Girls July --Boys 0-3years August --Boys 3-5years S eptember --Boys 6-12years October --Teen Boys In November, we will be organizing everything and getting it ready for the delivery. We are also accepting donations of travel-sized hygiene items. While the kids/teens in the family will get toys, the adults are going t...

Yesterday went well.  I didn't cry when I dropped the Princess off at the high school for Transition Day. (I'm not promising I won't cry when I drop her off for the first day of school next year!) I didn't cry when I picked her up and she was wearing the new shirt they gave all the students that said the school name and "Class of 2021"!!!  (So unreal!) I made it through my speech last night. It was very laid back, and I'm not sure why I haven't been going to the support group over the past two years!  I may start going.... although I'm almost 2 years out from surgery. I may go just to have the group to help keep me motivated when I need it.  Plus, in April, they are discussing smoothie and protein shake recipes.  I need help in that area anyways!  There were two other people on the panel last night. When we finished talking, the group could ask us questions, but there were only like 3 questions. I really thought there would be more!  Eith...

Today, there are a lot of FIRSTS happening in our household. Just a few minutes ago, I dropped the Princess off for Transition Day at the high school. She is going to shadow a student around for a couple of classes. How is it possible that she's going to high school next year? (I guess I'm going to be asking THAT question all summer too, and in a couple years, I'll be asking how she's getting ready to graduate and go to college.)  This is ALL happening too fast. But, today, she gets to spend time, for the first time, in an actual high school class. They are supposed to have a Pep Rally too.  That means she's going to get her first experience of a high school pep rally today!  That's a big deal! If they do the pep rally the way we did them in high school (same school!), it will be AWESOME!! For me, my first today is that I'm going to be speaking at the Weight Loss Surgery Support Group tonight!  Yes!  That's tonight!  I can't believe it got here...

Some of us have been bullied. Some of us have bullied others. Some of us have been bullied and then "toughened up" and started bullying others. No matter which of those categories you fall into bullying is wrong!  Unfortunately, it happens on a daily basis. It happens in homes across the country. It happens in classrooms across the country. It happens in public and in private. It just happens. But.... it shouldn't!  No one should ever be bullied. When I was growing up, we called it "being picked on". Now, it's much more serious. With social media, it's often much more private, as well. I was bullied as a kid. I was taller than most of the kids in my class. I was bigger than most of the kids in my classes. I was bullied. Luckily, I had a family that told me how awesome I am, and I am stronger for the battles I have been through. The Princess has been bullied. She has beautiful long blond hair. She has been called Rapunzel many times, and...