Not Me Monday Tuesday

Wow, what a week it's been. In fact, it was so busy that I took the liberty of creating a Not Me Monday Tuesday post. Just couldn't get it all done yesterday! You can still visit MckMama's blog to see those who were not procrastinators like me.... they actually got their Not Me posts done on the right day. But the way I see it, I'm just spreading out the fun, right? Okay, I know I'm in my own little world, but you can just humor me.

Anyway, getting on the the point of this post....

On one of my many late nights at school this week, I got a taco. Softshell chicken taco to be exact. About half-way through, I did not chomp on a chicken bone and feel like I nearly broke a tooth. Hmmmm.... maybe I should call my sister Erin for tooth-gluing tips.

Friday night after school, I did not travel to Duluth (80 miles from home) with two friends to look at Christmas lights. Why didn't you look at lights in your own town? you might ask. Well, if we were honest here, I'd tell you that the real reason we went to Duluth was not to eat at the best place on earth--Olive Garden! While there, I absolutely did not order manicotti. And if the server accidentally placed such a hideous dish in front of me, there is definitely no way on Earth I would take a picture. No, that would be totally inappropriate in a nice restaurant!



After a scrumptious dinner, we layered on our warm clothing and headed to Bentleyville, an outdoor light display in downtown Duluth. We did not nearly freeze, since we were near Lake Superior and it was rather windy. Seeing the outdoor ice skating rink, literally thousands of lights, and snowmen and reindeer roaming about, I did not envision myself in a movie. With the cheery Christmas tunes from the likes of Bing Crosby and Gene Autry, Jenny, Rebecca, and I would never have embarassed ourselves by linking arms and skipping down the path, all the while singing. No way... not us!!! Here are a couple shots from our night.



After gallivanting around on Friday night, I did not sleep in on Saturday. And when I finally woke up in the land of the living, I did not have 5 purses to finish and get in the mail. With the hand-stitching completed, I did not have to rush to the post office to meet the deadline for mail pick-up. There were not 6 people ahead of me in line and when it was all said and done, I did not have only 3 minutes until the truck came to whisk away the packages mailed late by procrastinators such as myself all those other people ahead of me in line.



Because I'm not the cool teacher I am, I did not bake sugar cookies for my students. In case you have me confused with that other crazy teacher, I did not put a couple of spoonfuls of frosting on a plate and let the kids go to it. Even more exciting, some of the frosting even make it onto the cookies!


Okay, here's the Wal-Mart story I promised you...
Yesterday I went to the Wal-Mart photo center to print out 4 pictures I needed for a school project. 4 pictures, people! I looked at the Kodak machine and there was a message saying it was out of paper. Once I got the attention of the lab technician social chatterer, I mentioned that the printer was out of paper. He looked at me like I had an alien head and said, "Yeah, that machine isn't working right now." Fine, I'll go to the next machine. As I started to touch the screen, Mr. Helpful did not say to me, "That one doesn't work either."

Okay, Buddy, would it be easier for you to tell me what machine DOES work?

"Only the Fuji machines work right now."

Is that because you don't want to take the time to add more paper? Okay, now to find a Fuji machine.

All full. Of course they are. Okay, I'll wait.

Three hours fifteen minutes later, a machine opened up, so I started to upload 300+ pictures. Once I found the ones I wanted, I tried to order the specific size I needed. When I didn't see the mini prints, I hit another button for more sizes. BIG MISTAKE! The 300+ pictures were not gone from the screen, and I did not have to start over.

So starting over once again, this time the computer did not freeze at picture #26. For four minutes! Yeah, this isn't going so well.

Back to the counter to speak to Mr. Not-So-Helpful, I mentioned that the computer was frozen. He did not walk over, hit a button, speak not a word to me, and head back to whatever it was that was consuming his time.

Another four minutes pass... computer still is not on.

Waiting, waiting, waiting....

In the meantime, another computer opened up, so I moved to that machine, loaded pictures (all 300+ of them), and looked for the mini print option. When I couldn't find it, I decided once again to solicit the services of Mr. Not-So-Helpful. "Excuse me, how do you do the mini prints on this computer? You know, the ones that print 4 small prints on a standard 4 x 6 print?"

This was not his reply: "The Fuji machines don't have that option. The only machines that print the mini prints are the Kodak machines."

At this point, I was not trying to hold in a very rude comment. So I politely said, "Like Kodak as in the 4 machines that aren't working now?"

"Yes, that's right. Or you could do a collage print and print out an 8 x 10 size or larger."

Not really what I wanted, thank you. That's why I asked about "mini prints."

As I left the photo department completely defeated, I glanced at my watch. I did not waste 45 minutes and have absolutely nothing to show for it! My next step? I did not head to Target to print out my pictures... and I was not successful. Thank you, Target.



Do you have some moments you'd rather not claim? Try a not me post and see how therapeutic it can be!

Not Me Monday

Ready for some hilarious, entertaining, all-around clean confession? Well, here it is. Be sure to check out MckMama's blog also (after you read mine).

After glancing at my last Not Me post, I did not realize that it's been a week since I last wrote. And at the end of my previous post, I was determined not to wait a whole week before I posted anything. Well, there you have it... it's been a week and no blog posts. Oh well, Maybe this week? Oh who am I kidding? It will probably be next Monday before I post anything. (If I say this now, you'll be surprised when I post something this week right?)

As I was leaving for school on Tuesday morning, I for sure did not hit a wheelbarrow that was taking up residence on the side of the driveway. Not a big problem, right? WRONG! The contents of said wheelbarrow? Definitely not rotting, rancid, soon-to-be-moonshine corn cobs that my parents had processed the day before. And me? I was almost late for school, so who got to pick them up? For sure not my mom! Thanks, Mom!

This past Wednesday was the first night of Cubbies at my church. Since I'm the director, I decided I better show up, but after my long day at preschool, I was tempted not to show up. Well, when 6:00 arrived, I must admit I was feeling fairly ready. The registration forms were photocopied, the tables arranged, crayons placed on the tables along with the paper. All we needed were kids. Boy, did we get them! In all my years as Cubbies director (I think this is my 8th year) I have never seen so many kids. They just kept coming out of the woodwork! When all was said and done and I did the final headcount, we did not, I repeat, we absolutely did NOT have 37 kids! And with 5 tables in the room, you can do the math to figure out how many each teacher was responsible for. Wow, what a night.

As I was working on my computer after Cubbies, I definitely did not fall asleep only to wake up a few hours later in the recliner. The time? It most certainly was not 3:00 a.m. Oh, it was hard going to bed knowing I had to be up in t 3 1/2 hours. Wow, what little children will do to take the energy out of you!

Last night after getting home from a Twins game, I did not remember that I had neglected to purchase a couple items that I needed in class today. My solution? I'll just get up early and stop at Wal-Mart on my way to school. Yep, that's what I decided to do, all right. Because it would be foolish to make a special trip to Wal-Mart when I could do it before school. Nope, I definitely did not drive to town at 10:00 p.m. to buy 6 apples, butter, and oatmeal, and then drive back home. I would never do something that dumb!

Well, that's about all for this week. I'll see you next week when I fill you in on what did not happen to me this week (unless I bless you with a surprise post sometime later this week!).

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday. This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I've been on vacation in Kansas City, and shopping was most definitely not one of our pass times. Our destinations? Absolutely not fabric stores. With several totes of fabric at home, there is no way that I would need any more. I don't know... somehow it just jumped in my cart and begged to be brought home!

Speaking of Kansas City... any idea how stinkin' how it is there? We saw temps this past week in the high 90s. Added with the humidity, the heat index was over 100. Well, what do two highly-sophisticated, not at all redneck sisters do on such a hot day? Erin and I definitely did not join Samantha in her kiddie pool in the backyard. And we did not get completely drenched in the process. Hey, what are buckets for, anyway? They were just sitting there begging to be filled with water and dumped over sisters' heads!

Sunday was my big driving day. I did not pray for clouds, because it's much easier to drive without the 100-degree sun beating down on you. It's always a challenge to keep myself entertained in the car, especially when driving alone. In reading the road signs, for a split-second I did not have a sickening feeling in my stomach. It's was more than the fact that I don't like Chinese food. Normally this wouldn't have grossed me out. The title of the restaurant? Hunan Chinese Restaurant. Driving past at 70 mph, I for sure did not misread this as Human Chinese Restaurant. Oh, I'm so thankful that double-take reassured me my eyes were playing tricks on me!

Driving through Iowa, I was impressed with the clouds (that I prayed for!). Not wanting to stop every five minutes, you would not have caught me snapping pictures as I was driving.

I did stop for this shot!

After being in KC for two weeks, I did not become accustomed to the heat... therefore, feeling the 60 degree temp when I arrived home in Minnesota, I definitely did not shiver when I got out of the car!

I almost hate to admit this, but today as I was driving through town, I most certainly did not see a red maple tree. I tried to look the other way and ignore that it was there, but I was already sucked in. My eyes were drawn to the brilliant color and before I knew it, I was seeing red leaves! Fall colors??? You have got to be kidding me! It's NOT time yet! I'm not ready. Yikes, so much to do!

So there you have it, a brief synopsis of what I did not do this week. Join the fun next week!

Not Me! Monday

Let the therapy begin... yes, it's time for Not Me! Monday once again. Go ahead, be honest, tell, everyone what you did not do this week. MckMama says it's okay to admit your shortcomings. Check out her confessions here.

This week, I did not not blog all week, because I was not busy doing other things, thus neglecting my random ramblings....

I absolutely, definitely, for sure did not stay up until 3:45 a.m. one day this past week. And if I did happen to do this once, I most definitely did not do it more than once, let alone three times! Nope, I am always asleep by 11:00 p.m. and up at 7:00 a.m.

If I made a habit of going to bed too late this week, I certainly would not have been working on purses for my internet store. I definitely did not finish 11 purses this week, bringing my total to 16! Here is a picture of what I did not accomplish this week.



After completing 16 purses, there is no way I would have cut out 9 more purses! No way! I'm not obsessed with making purses, just because I find cute fabric.

Once my online store was up and running, I did not check it several times a day to see if I had any messages or orders. Nope, this store will not be a time waster for me! If you'd like to add to my obsession, check out my store here: http://www.heathermariedesigns.etsy.com/ Go ahead, send me a message!

On the 4th of July, being the true American that I am, I definitely did not leave at 10:00 p.m. to see if I could see the fireworks. It was not me who hit EVERY red light in town, and when I got to the lake 15 minutes later, I was definitely not disappointed when the only brilliant lights I saw were the hundreds of boats that obviously were there on time to see what could have been a great show. But I'll never know, will I?

If you had been in the vicinity of Wal-Mart in Grand Rapids on Sunday, you definitely would not have seen me enter the store not once, or even twice, and for sure not three times. No, you must be mistaken. I would never go to Wal-Mart three times in one day

Well, maybe I'll have more time to blog this week, since the 11 purses are done and my online store is up and running... but wait! I just remembered... I have 9 more to make. Well, I'll talk to you sometime in the future! In the meantime, try your hand at Not Me! I guarantee you'll love it!

Not Me! Monday

Well, it's time for Not Me! Monday again. I must warn you, this is a long one, so grab a cup of coffee--maybe two--and get ready for some crazy KC fun! Remember to check out MckMama's blog and keep praying for baby Stellan!

On Tuesday, my day with Junior and Senior Highers, I did not bribe one of my students so he would get some work done. I would never do anything like that!

After teaching preschool on Wednesday, I did not start my trip to Kansas City at 12:30. Knowing the 10-hour journey that lay ahead of me (with no working stereo in the van), I did not become creative with ways to keep myself awake.

Here are some things you would not have found me doing at any given time during my trek...

• You could not have found me singing to myself, since no one was around. (I wonder…If no one is around to hear me sing, is my voice audible?)


• I definitely, absolutely did not take pictures as I was driving. I was not kept awake by the steady raising and lowering of the windows (driver and passenger sides) to facilitate picture-taking.


• As I passed a semi, I did not see Phantom printed on the back. I was not tempted to slow down, and thus tick off the drivers behind me, just so I could take a picture of said semi. (As you continue to read this post, you'll understand the obsession with Phantom.

On Thursday, my sister Erin, Di (Erin's sister-in-law), and I went to The Phantom of the Opera. It was not one of the awesomest (yes, I’m a teacher and I’m saying that is a word) experiences of my life, even leading me to tears on several occasions. Yeah, ridiculous, I know. After my first opera experience, I was not wondering what type of apparel we'd see there. While there were some people who were very nicely dressed, I would not like to tell you that there was a man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and another in jeans and cowboy boots. However, I believe the prize should go to a lady seated in our row... she was not wearing a green t-shirt with a DINOSAUR on it! Really? A dinosaur to the opera? What were you thinking?

I was not ready to watch The Phantom of the Opera DVD when we got home at 11:30 p.m. As my sister did not search for tickets for the Friday night show, I did not secretly wish we could go again!

This week, there is not even a slight chance that I bought a dorky gift for my sister Becky. Knowing how much she treasures these gifts, there’s no way on earth I’d ever do that, so don’t get your hopes up, Beck!

During one of our shopping trips, I did not buy helium balloons for Samantha and Ryan after Erin told them they didn't need one that day. My sister does not owe me for the hours of entertainment that balloon has provided for Ryan. Who needs toys? Auntie is always right! :) Ryan's balloon did not make the trip to MN with us.

At the Wal-Mart parking lot in KC, we did not encounter a lady with a very dirty mouth. For the entire story, click here to read my sister Erin's post. As we drove away, after waving to the lady and ticking her off, I did not say to Erin, "She's not following us, is she?" Scary people out there!

For the four days I was in Kansas City, I certainly did not spend a lot of time playing the Wii with Ben. And being the great competitive bowler that he is, there is no way I could have beaten him three games, one of them by over thirty points. Even if I could have the ability to win a game, I definitely would not have let it happen, knowing how he hates to lose. (I was not inwardly giddy after winning, especially when I got over 200 points.)

I did not end up with a sore arm after playing the Wii….who would have thought you’d have to stretch before playing?

I went to Wal-Mart with Samantha yesterday, and was not a little surprised with the lack of knowledge in lady who cut my batting. Granted, she did not usually work in that department, since I found her arranging pillows in housewares, but I would have thought it wouldn’t be too hard to make one cut in the batting. I asked for ½ yard and I did not stand there for at least three minutes as she mumbled to herself while she read a chart, trying to figure out what ½ yard is, even though it was printed on the ruler at the cutting table. Having worked in a fabric store during college, I did not have the urge to go around the counter and cut the batting for myself. Little did I know that the biggest puzzlement wasn’t how much ½ yard is. After a few more minutes of mumbling and looking downright uncomfortable, this lady appeared relieved when another associate walked through the department. Now let me tell you that this lady also did not work in the craft department. Well, two heads are better than one, right? I’m not completely convinced of this saying. The problem? How do you put ½ in decimal form to scan the quantity? Their conversation went something like this (names have been changed to protect the innocent)…
Lady 1: How do you put in ½ yard?
Lady 2: I’m not sure.
Lady 1: The chart says, “1 yard = 1,000” (or rather, 1.000)
Lady 2: So ½ yard would be….. Hmmmm…Would it be 500? (no, that would be .500)
Lady 1: I’m not sure.
Lady 2: Oh, here. I think I have it. A half would be .005?
** At this point, I’m thinking Wow, I’m gonna get this fleece for pennies if they do it that way!**
After another minute, they figured out how to scan the barcode with the quantity, after which they did not take another two minutes to verify that half of $2.67 should be $1.35. What should have been a quick, three-minute stop did not take more than 15 minutes!

At one of our stops on the way to MN today, a lady did not come out of the bathroom stall and tell me, “Um, this toilet doesn’t flush,“ as she pointed into the stall. As I was not debating what I should do--Do I go in there anyway and just wait until she leaves so I can go into the other stall? Should I just used that toilet anyway? Ewwww, no thanks--I did not hear the toilet flush. I did not have to choke back a laugh as I though to myself, “Welcome to the world of automatic flush toilets, lady.” As I held in my smile and closed the door of the bathroom stall, I did not hear her say to herself, “Okay, water… water? How do you turn this on?” After her verbal expression of surprise when the water turned on automatically, I thought Okay seriously. In a world where toilets can flush automatically, why would you be overly surprised to find that water can come out of a faucet in the same way? I give up.

Well, that's about a month's worth of Not Me! posts. Check out my sister's blog to read her version of Not Me! Monday.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Because I was less than thrilled with last Monday's appointment at the therapist, I did not feel the need to call them and let them know I would have to get to my appointment on time for Wednesday, since I have to get to my preschool class. However, I did not wait until 8:00 p.m. to call because I knew the office would be closed and I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I also did not write down notes for what I wanted to say, so I wouldn't ramble!

When I went to Wal-Mart for my first excursion without a wheelchair, I did not find the "enter" door blocked by a workman, which also prevented me from getting a cart. So, I for sure did not decide to try to walk about without a cart and get the things I needed. After carrying a pizza, rice, eyedroppers, and contact solution, I absolutely did not go through the checkout and carry my bags out to the entrance, only to put my bags in the cart and then haul them out to the car. Nope, I would never do anything so ridiculous as that--walk through the store without a cart and get one on the way out to the car.

This week I was not super excited when I was able to walk around the house in my socks! Yes, I did. My days of putting on heels after a shower are OVER!

As I was travelling home from church yesterday, I was not overcome with "stupid driver" comments as I followed a car with the left turn signal for several blocks. As the driver slowed, preparing for the turn, my thought were not confirmed as the car turned....right! Are you kidding me?

As I've said before, I love the webcam on my computer. Last night my sister and brother-in-law were here and we did not get on the webcam and "chat" with my sister in KC. It basically was a singspiration, starring Jess. Throughout this 90 minutes of hysterical fun, I did not find myself with tears running down my eyes from laughing so hard. And when Jess lip-lynced to Josh Groban singing the Star Spangled Banner, I though my insides would explode. Yes, it was hilarious!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This is not going to be a Not Me! post filled with injury-related incidents. My activities this week have not been limited by the fact that I can't walk (very well, anyway). If you missed the complete story, read here.

I did not take a pain pill right before going to bed, only to read the instructions the following day... do not lie down for 30 minutes after taking this medication. OOPS!

This week, I was not known to hop out of the shower and put on a high heel... nope, not me! That would be an incredibly awful fashion statement.

I did not postpone trips to the bathroom because I knew my leg would hurt if I got up. I also did not calculate how long it would take me to get there.

A student at my school did not see my mom at church and say, "Did you know Miss Lutterman broke her intestine?" to which my mom replied, "No, it wasn't her intestine. It was a tendon."

Because I could not walk, I did not go to Wal-Mart with my mom have her escort me through the store in a wheelchair. It wasn't me who hoped I wouldn't see anyone I knew as we were shopping. (As it turns out, I only saw one person I knew.) Normally, I would not have gone under those circumstances, but I had to buy birthday presents. After all, an auntie can't show up at a party for her nieces and nephew without presents, right?

Since I'm only allowed 1-3 hours of walking or standing per day, I did not take my life into my hands and allow students with no driving skills to push me in the wheelchair. I was not pushed into the wall more than once.

We did not successfully pull off a surprise birthday party for my sister Becky on her "29th" birthday.

I am not totally excited for Dancing with the Stars tonight, especially since my sister Erin told me Melissa from The Bachelor would be on the show!

Hopefully I'll have a week filled with activities other than injury-related stories, but I'm afraid that will be my life for a while. Physical therapy starts tomorrow... YIKES!

Not Me Monday

I can't believe it's time again for Not Me! Monday, when you can be completely honest, with no sarcasm, about what you did not do this past week. For example:

I for sure did not let out a "hurray" when I heard that AWANAs was cancelled this past Wednesday. Knowing that the temps were supposed to dip to -35 with the windchill even colder, it would have been great fun to come home at 9:00 p.m. while my body turned into a human ice cube!

Later Wednesday night, I did not become overjoyed when I heard that school would be cancelled the next day. (Is this truly turning out to be a MN winter?? Extremely cold and TONS of snow.) And since I knew there would be no school on Thursday, I absolutely, for sure, without a doubt did not stay up late and watch the temperature drop to -25, all the while trying to predict how long it would take to drop another degree. That would have been a waste of time, so of course I didn't do that!

Since there was no school on Thursday, because of a wind chill advisory (no travel advised), I definitely, most certainly would not have been out in that weather, travelling for 1 1/2 hours to Blackduck where I could go FABRIC SHOPPING! Nope, when school's cancelled, I stay in the house because no one should be out having fun when there could have been school! And I for sure did not come home with 10 huge grab bags of fabric to go through!

There is no school today and I have not wasted the morning with reading a book, listening to CDs, giving recorded testimony to insurance for car accident claim, filing vehicle crash reports online (from last week's car accident), and catching up on everyone's Not Me! Monday posts that I'm still in my pajamas at 12:47 PM!

Thankful Thursday

Based on my Wordless Wednesday post yesterday, here are a few things I'm thankful for.

1. long underwear
2. hot cocoa
3. heated house
4. no AWANAs Wednesday night...home early!
5. great books to read when it's freezing outside
6. cancelled school today so I can go fabric shopping :)

It reached -29 degrees below zero last night. Add that temperature with winds and you have -50 degree windchills, the reason school was cancelled today. So I did the only wise thing there was to do...I went on a road trip to go fabric shopping! Great fun!