hornet's nest

it just feels like it is brewing out there. I can feel the tension building, and I wonder if it is just me. You see I read in the paper today that a certain developer has cried foul with the county planning and zoning, accusing them of being racist. oh dear.....here we go. Yes, North Idaho does have a past. And recently that past has involved a white supremacist group. But this is different. Yes, this developer is African-American, but that's not the issue that the county officials have with them. I had friends who were at this groups first p & z meeting and they did say that this developer stood out. What my friends mentioned the most was the attitude. The 'stand out of my way, I'm coming through' attitude. The 'we are right, you are wrong' attitude. That is what stood out the most. So after they got turned down, they end a land lease with the county sanitation that had community dump areas. But to file a lawsuit? For racism? I think they are trying to scare the planning board. I hope it doesn't work. I know that all the articles in the press never mentioned this developers race so in this case I think it is them who is making race an issue. Their vision for the property was not suited to north Idaho, so I am glad they got turned down. But for that reason only, not for race. I think it all boils down to attitude. The other big developers in the area that have been successful are that way because they are courteous and work with the board, not against it by filing lawsuits. I also worry because a former county prosecutor is taking the case. This former prosecutor has had an unstable past couple of years, with his law firms asking him to leave and with questionable personal situations.
anyway, it just feels like a hornet's nest brewing in this.....I hope it goes away.....

no way.................................

Ok, picked this one up from another blogger's site. I answered honestly. How ironic is that! A tai chi instructor is a ying/yang cookie!!! Well, the rest of the information is pretty true too. Hmmmm, I think it is time for some baking........

You Are a Black and White Cookie

You're often conflicted in life, and you feel pulled in two opposite directions. When you're good, you're sweet as sugar. And when you're bad, you're wicked!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

which way is up........

Didn't mean to disappear on everyone. It has been a long week. Getting the soccer club ready for the fall season has been a lot of fun, but has taken up a lot of free time. Being busy and having deadlines has reminded me how much I liked working. I know that sounds funny, but I miss it. I know that for me, being a stay home parent comes first. It is what I was meant to do. I just wish I could find something that I could do at home, or at an office during the school hours to satisfy that part of me. It seems so simple to find a job at the schools, but most other 'stay at homes' feel the same way and have already filled up those spots. My other dilemma is my younger one. He has a 'nervous' tummy and some seasonal (winter time) sadness/depression. We were able to make great strides last year, but there were a lot of days when I was practically home-schooling him. How can I commit to an employer, when I will drop everything for my boys?

So, during this busy week the family went on an adventure. Hubby borrowed a friends canoe, and off we went on the Pack River. Everybody had a paddle and we saw all kinds of wildlife, from a caterpillar to a moose. (Note: if I were my blog friends Family Phil and Hannelie, I would have a picture to go with that. Hubby was too worried about the camera getting wet, so it stayed home.) The day started off very nice, but with me making little comments like "doesn't the Pack River flow into Lake Pend'orille?" And "why are we parking here, don't we want to finish there". But hubby was sure he heard his friends instructions right, we were to put in by the Hidden Lakes golf course and get out by the elementary school. Ok, for those reading and know the area, you are already giggling, aren't you? First let me tell you that I am directionally challenged. So I didn't put up much of an argument about which way the river was running. (although this time I was right) The first 2 1/2 hours were wonderful. Easy paddling and lots of places to stop, snack and swim. Then came the faster water. And yes, we were paddling up stream. Ugh. Ok, that wouldn't have been so bad, a lot more work, but we had plenty of paddlers. The trouble came when the water was too low. We were scrapping bottom. And there were thunder clouds in the area. And it started to rain. Out we all got and started traipsing up stream towards the car. Every once in a while we would get in for a quick 10 or so strokes, but then out again. Let me tell you, the kids were troopers. But they soon tired of hearing hubby and I say "hey boys, this is an adventure". Finally, 6 hours after we put in by the golf course we saw our car. I can not begin to tell you how thrilled we were to see it. You see, we thought we were close when we started having to walk up river. Every bend brought us hope that we were there. Should we have turned around and floated by down stream towards the other car? Maybe, but we didn't know how close we were in either direction. Hey, it was an adventure..... We just didn't know which way was up!

50 states in Idaho......

Ok, now I know you are thinking that title doesn't make any sense. Ah, but it does. For the last 7 years the boys and I have been keeping track of license plates from the other 49 states. Each year between Memorial Day and Labor Day we keep track of the different state license plates that we see. The only rule is that is has to be within the Sandpoint/Spokane/Coeur d'Alene triangle. We have never seen all 50 states in one summer. We have come close. 2 years ago we were only missing Vermont and West Virginia. Actually, this year was the first time we saw a West Virginia license plate. I was beginning to wonder it anyone from West Virginia drove.

It has been a lot of fun to keep track of. We have a blank map on the refrigerator and the boys color it in when we see a state. It has also been interesting to think about how many people, from all over the US and Canada, drive through our little patch of Idaho. I mean when you think about it, the North Idaho panhandle isn't all that big. To think that someone from Iowa comes this way and sees our mountain vistas, or someone from New Jersey gets to see wide open sky (at least for the moment, but that is another post for another time). I wonder if people would drive differently, litter less, smile more if they realized how many people, from all over the country drove through our community each summer.

So we are only missing some New England states (Vermont, Delaware, Connecticut Rhode Island) this year. Here's hoping they come this way....................

It's heating up....

No, not the temperature outside, my temperature. No, not running a fever either. Just feel very warm and hot on the inside, almost like someone turned up the internal furnace on me. No extra perspiration either. I don't look red, I just feel warm. A tiny internal voice is whispering to me that it might be a hot flash. But how can that be, I am not yet 40 (ok, so I turn 40 in December, geesh), my mother was in her 50's when she experienced hot flashes. I tell the boys that if I were a fantasy cartoon, I would be shooting fire out of my hands and feet right now. I would be pretty powerful character. Of course, I look it up on the internet, and see that yes, I do have some of the same things going on with my body that it typical for early mene.....mene......oh gosh, I just can't say it. Well you know, the BIG M. There is so much information out there, and so many different opinions on what is best for the body during this "transistion". Take hormones, don't take hormones, take these hormones, don't take those hormones, take them together hormones, risk uterine cancer, risk, breast cancer, risk osteoporosis, risk going insane from all the conflicting information........... Naturally, I want to go holistic. I see how much tai chi benefits my students, I want to see what can be done for me. Since reiki deals with the body's energy, I wonder if I could get my energy adjusted to a lower temp.....

it is getting hot in here.......

looking back, looking forward........

Soccer season is starting for us and I am finding that I am spending less and less time on the computer. I am on the board of directors for our local soccer club. Unfortunately most of our board is currently on vacation, so the pre-season chores and forms to fill out, fall on my shoulders. I don't mind, because I know it is getting done and the kids will benefit from it. I love youth sports! I grew up doing recreation programs and camps with my dad, who was a physical education and recreation teacher at the local college (retired now). Although I didn't pursue a degree in that area back in college, I am finding that I have come full circle and am volunteering lots of time in the recreation field. Funny how life does that.

I found some very interesting quotes about youth and sports in a book called Soccerhead, by Jim Haner. Some I want to share

"It takes six, seven or eight years for children's nerve branches to grow long enough to reach their fingers and toes........which is why kids spill so much milk and walk like ducks when they're young. Once thier extrmities are all plugged into the main switchboard.....they begin to move in straight lines and gain control. And nothing a coach or parent says or does before then can make much difference, except possibly to cause the kids so much misery that they quit sports"

We are fortunate enough to have great coaches that understand that at our club. But over the weekend, we saw examples of those who drive the players at such an early age, before they are physically ready to comprend what is being asked of them.

"The problem faced by the kids always change, but for the coach the hardest part is always the same: keeping the grown-ups happy.......a youth soccer coach spends more time tending to the needs of the adults than to those of the children. If a team has twelve kids, the head coach has to manage up to twenty four adult egos, and that's before you start counting the grandparents"

That is soooo true. As a coach, and the wife of a coach, we see this from year to year. One of the reasons we switched to slect soccer this year, is because of the parent base. There are few egos amongst these parents, and for that we know we are lucky.

Stay patient with me as I figure out this posting/doing pictures/etc. I haven't found a rountine yet for posting, although I seem to think alot about what I want to say in my blog at night. Maybe I will be a night time blogger.......