July 28, 2006
My kids wore school uniforms at their private school. Last year, at their new school, they did not. And now this year, in yet another new school, they’re back to wearing uniforms.
The uniform policy at the first school was extremely restrictive. You had to purchase everything from the approved vendor for the school. Shirts with a logo (they couldn’t wear a plain logo shirt) were $25+. Skorts/shorts/pants/jumpers were all around the same price. I remember when I purchased a skort from Target once in the same style and my kids teacher actually got on her about it! The kids could only wear white polo shirts with the school logo, and navy bottoms. (And whoever thought that kids 12 and under should wear white shirts exclusively should be shot)
So last year, it was actually a huge relief to not have to deal with uniforms. If I’m going to be forced to spend $600 on clothes, I’d like for them to be things my kids can wear to places other than school, right? But I got sick of not being able to find long enough shorts and skirts for my girls, and figuring out if tanks tops were allowed, and why my son could wear one, but my daughter couldn’t.
This year, I think we’ve got the bets of both worlds. The new school just asks that we provide navy or khaki uniform style bottoms. The kids can wear polo shirts in white, navy, maroon, or teal. We were able to buy all of the bottoms locally for less than $10 each, and the shirts were all $5 to $10 depending on style - and best of all, we don’t need a logo on them!
Online, I’ve found these school uniforms too, which would be a great place to buy what you need - and they’ve got the Dickie’s brand stuff, which holds up extremely well. I’m pretty excited that we’re back to uniforms for school, now that we can mix it up a bit!
I really think more public schools should do uniforms. It really eliminates class lines, meaning, you can’t tell who comes from what kind of family when you’re all dressed the same. (Take it from someone who was ridiculed in 8th grade because I didn’t have Guess jeans!)
10:16 am
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Life changed rapidly after graduation. First, my parents seperated. My mom and I went to New Jersey for the summer to help my grandmother. My grandpop had Alzheimer’s and since my mom is a nurse, she provided some relief for my grandmother. My family in NJ threw me a surprise party for my 17th birthday.
At Christmas time, I met my husband-to -be through work. As you can see from the photo, I also got some new boxer shorts. (If my hair looks dark it’s because I had dyed it black. Yeah, that was a great idea!)
This photo is from a family birthday party in March 1993. It’s probably one of the first pictures ever taken of Jim and I. I’m not sure if my mom knew how old he was here, since I lied and told her he was only 21. (He was 24, but I was only 17, so I thought 21 sounded better!) What is up with my fat face and chipmunk cheeks??
So Jim and I dated for 2 years or so, and then had a baby. This was taken a week before we got married, in April of 1996. I’m 19 years old here.
“It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well…”
Celebrating my 20th birthday at home…but who is that skinny, young guy with me?
Our little family…(my god Jim looks so YOUNG! Rowr!)
I guess after that my mom stopped putting pictures in the albums. Somewhere, there are more, but who knows where in her house. My 21st birthday wasn’t very exciting since I was pregnant with our 2nd child. Last year we went out for dinner and to a club with friends. And who knows what this year holds?
I hope you all enjoyed the trip down memory lane 
Happy 30th Birthday to ME!
9:41 am
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Whenever we walk around our neighborhood in the evening, we ooh and aah over people who have done nifty outdoor lighting. A few neighbors have done some really nice things with solar lights in their landscaping. It looks pretty sharp, and I want to add some into our outdoor landscaping as well. We get a lot of direct sunlight in the front of the house (gotta love that southern exposure) so I think solar lights are the way to go for us - no sense in adding to my already high electric bill when I can harness the power of the sun to do my bidding!
12:31 am
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So happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear me, happy birthday to me!
(Technically, I’ve got til 8:50pm tonight to be 30. I’m going to be 29 til then…I don’t want to be 30! WAH!)
As the story goes, my mother was overdue, huge, and was not allowed to use the air condition per my father, because it “cost too much”. I’ve been pregnant in the summer WITH a/c and I can’t imagine how she made it without stabbing him in the eyeball.
She worked til she was about ready to pop, as an R.N. no less. And still no baby. Finally, she went into labor. There were no ultrasounds in those days, at least not for a normal pregnancy, so it was not until she went through several hours of labor that it was found out that I was breech. So, not only did she get to experience labor, but a C-section as well. Go mom!
As my sister tells it (she was 11 at the time) the phone rang at home, interrupting Sanford & Son on TV. My father announced it was a girl, and boy were my sisters and brother disappointed! They really, really wanted that 2nd boy in the family. I’m glad I was a girl, because my father wanted to name me Bradley if I were a boy. BRADLEY. Ick. My mother’s choices were Megan, or Colleen. She worried Megan was too popular, and I think she was right. I hardly meet anyone named Colleen. So there I was - all 9 1/2 lbs of me - Colleen Catherine. (My middle name came from my moms mother, who died when my mom was 7).
Based on my size, my mom was suddenly happy she had that C-section! (Years later, when I had gestational diabetes during my first pregnancy, my OB speculated that perhaps my mom did too, given my large size. It tends to run in the family, but they didn’t test for such a thing back in 1976.)
Given that it was 1976, a mere 200 years after the birth of our nation, my grandmother sent a special framed birth certificate proclaiming me a bicenntenial baby. It’s here right next to me in my den!
I went home to Tarpon Springs, to join my mother and father and 3 siblings in a tiny 3 bedroom 1000 square foot house. I spent the first 2 years of my life in a portable crib in my parents room because there was simply no space for me. Finally my brother moved out to join the navy, and I moved into the room formerly occupied by both of my sisters. I took over the bottom bunk, my oldest sister had the top bunk, and my next oldest sister got our brothers room. Then when I was 5, the oldest sister was gone, and I had my own room.
My mom just sold that house, and while I wasn’t teary about it then, I am tonight….thinking about how many years of my life I spent there. We celebrated many a birthday party there…first in our front yard and carport, and later after our pool was built, out on the pool deck. It was the home I brought my first child home too, and we lived there with our 2nd and 3rd child also. All of the pictures I’ve been sharing this week were almost all taken in that home, and tonight I’m really missing it.
12:10 am
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July 27, 2006
One of the things I said I wanted for my birthday was to be able to park in our 2 car garage. Jim cleaned it out enough so that I can do so - the other half has bikes, the lawn mower, etc. What a difference it makes - I no longer burn myself getting into the car in the heat of the afternoon!
Poor Jim has to park in the driveway though. Somedays it literally seems like the car is melting when you get inside it. You can’t sit down right away on the leather, because you’ll burn your bare legs. It’s all you can do to reach into the over on wheels and crank up to a/c, and it still takes a good 5 minutes for things to cool off enough to the point where you’re comfortable!
I’ve heard that your car’s interior can reach 140 degrees or higher in the sun! Using solar power, this auto cool solar car fan will reduce that up 30 degrees or more. Best of all, it doesn’t even need batteries, because it’s solar powered. How neat is that? I’m thinking Jim would probably really appreciate one of those for the days when his car has been baking in the parking lot at work!
10:21 pm
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We went out for birthday family dinner tonight. It was Gracie’s idea - she wanted to cook my “favorite meal” but I said my favorite meal was eating out. There are only chain restaurants in town, so we drove to Homosassa River and ate at the Riverside Crab House. We had a view of the river and Monkey Island. The island is literally a small island in the middle of the river ihabited by abandoned monkeys from a circus. They were pretty active tonight, playing on their tire swing and in the trees.
On the way home we stopped at the ruins of the Yulee Sugar Mill. Right up this history geeks alley! It was pretty neat to see it still standing after 150+ years.
I wasn’t born til 8:50pm on July 28th, so I guess I’m officially 29 for another 22 hours
10:14 pm
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We did our back to school shopping this week. While I love how easy uniforms are, I do miss that big ole shopping spree to buy new stuff for the kids. I may just have to buy them a few things anyway and put the clothes away for Christmas, because I can’t resist the cute stuff from Tea Collection. I absolutely love mix and match clothes for kids - it just makes sense to get more than one outfit out of a shirt or a pair of pants, ya know? And the clothes here are grown up without being trashy, and stylish without being trendy. Perfect!
5:43 pm
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Vacation has officially begun for me!
5:39 pm
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What do you sit on while you’re at the computer? At home, I’ve got a cushy faux leather chair on wheels - high back, armrests - the works. At work, I’ve got aless than desirable “typical office chair”. Low back, horrible positions, nubby cloth cover.
This new mesh office chair at BizChair.com is not your typical office chair. The mesh look gives it a sleek look that is way nicer than anything I’ve got. And the cool part is, it’s not metal - the mesh is an elastic fabric. I would imagine that’s pretty comfy - and it’s breathable. (Which is more than I can say for this faux leather I’m sitting on!) The frame is heavy duty though, nothing cheap or shoddy about that at all.
I wonder if I can convince my office to update to these, so when I actually do make it to the office, I can work in comfort & style!
5:38 pm
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My poor, poor, beloved Richard Davis of Trademark and Flip THis House. Since A&E decided to go on with “Flip This House”, but without Richard, Ginger and the rest of the Trademark crew, the show has really gone downhill. Now Richard is suing A&E Television.
A&E has been slapped with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit stemming from its reality series “Flip This House.”
Richard C. Davis, executive producer and star of “Flip,” filed suit in the Court of Common Pleas in Charleston, S.C., against the cable network and production company Departure Films, citing fraud, breach of contract and seven other counts.
The lawsuit hinges on A&E’s decision to move ahead with a second season of “Flip” without Davis and his real estate company, Trademark Properties. The series follows Trademark staffers as they buy, fix and resell undervalued residences.
“Plaintiffs have been defrauded and cheated by defendants, and defendants have used and exploited plaintiff’s valuable concept and format for ‘Flip This House’ without plaintiffs’ approval or authority,” according to the lawsuit.
A&E declined comment.
Davis has gone on to sign with Discovery Communications for a similarly themed series on cable network TLC.
Richard - I can’t wait to see you back on tv!
2:17 pm
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