I'm heeeeeeeeeeeeere

It was a thankfully uneventful trip to the airport and flight. I must say I was more than a little surprised to be met at the airport by my cousin and his fiance AND my aunt and uncle. Why was a surprised, because the aunt and uncle are divorced rather acrimoniously and were holding hands. OMG, make up your mind people. Not that I don't want them getting along, I really like him a lot, but I hate the "who likes whom today" game.

We weathered the rehearsal dinner, which was really in the middle of the afternoon but after 5AM McDonald's it was really good. The families were introduced to everyone, it was a bit of a stretch for my very informal family but no one said anything embarrassing. Apparently my aunt did manage to fall leaving the dining room--she was wearing some bad-ass huge high heels. No one noticed (or at least no one will admit it). My cousin got up and gave a short speech thanking everyone for coming and for everything else--most of the room was in tears. He is 8 years younger than I am and I've been on the East Coast while he went to school in Denver and then lived in Houston so it was a little sureal to see him "all grown up."

It's 8:30 and I am going to sleep--please let me sleep.

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I am thankful to be here to celebrate this special event with my family.

The End of NaBloPoMo

Unfortunately with my blogger problems I didn't make every day but I came darned close. I couldn't let the last day of the month go by without posting and who knows what the day of travel holds in store as far as internet access. Its WAY before dawn and I am heading out the door. Happy NaBloPoMo to all and have a great weekend!

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I am so thankful for my girls resting peacefully in their beds. So are so precious.

Leavin' on a jet plane

Fortunately I do know when I'll be back again...Sunday.

My cousin Ryan is getting married this weekend in Houston so I am flying down for the festivities sans familia. His fiance is Vietnamese, my family is semi-redneck. My family flew down from Ohio today including my 81 year old grandmother on her first flight. I join them tomorrow morning, no more nights in a hotel be than absolutely necessary. I am really excited for the cultural experience and from what I've heard and read about Vietnamese weddings it should be spectacular. I figure I will spend most of the weekend on alert to try and keep some of my more colorful relatives from embarrassing us all.

We start off with a rehearsal dinner late tomorrow afternoon. My mother has grand plans for shopping--go figure. PDQ put in her souvenir requests. Then Saturday morning we go to the brides house for the ancestor ceremony, then the wedding ceremony and that evening the reception. I am, of course, over packed because I really have no idea what is appropriate. I feel good about the dress I scored at Target (of all places) for the reception but outside of that its all guesses!

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I am thankful to be able to join my family for this special occasion. I can remember the day Ryan was born, I was 8 and my aunt spent the day sitting in a lawn chair beside our house in a red dress having contractions until it was time to go to the hospital.

Slogging Away

I have not been the most faithful disciple of my fitness routine between the holiday, trip home, and food poisoning I skipped a lot of work outs. Other than the turkey trot I've been more of a couch potato. Monday I went to the early morning cycling class, not so bad, good to feel the muscles work. I had the best of intentions to run yesterday but work got in the way. I made Gman a deal to meet at the gym this afternoon after work to deal with the treadmill devil.

I did it, I ran 24 minutes out of 30. It was hellish. I spent far too much time focused on how much longer I had to slog along before I could walk. I could still breathe and talk but I was so bored that I could barely stand it. My legs and feet complained every minute that I ran. But its done and other than the hip that hurts every time I stand up or walk down stairs, I feel good. It was a good reminder that I have to keep up the routine or it gets harder again.

They opened up the registration for the Iron Girl triathlon in Columbia next August. Now I am truly committed, I signed up, paid my money and now I need to get ready to swim, bike and run.

A triathlon sounds pretty daring doesn't it? Check out my review for Parent Bloggers Network over at Maven Says of a new book for girls (and boys) The Daring Book for Girls.

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I am thankful for the opportunity to take on this new fitness challenge and the people around me who support it.

Thankfulness Catch Up

I've been negligent in my being thankful the past two days so here goes...

Given the events of the last few weeks at work I am thankful to have a job with interesting people and work. I am thankful for the people who have helped me to grow so much in the past nine years.

I am thankful for the roof over my head, the clothes on my back and the ability to share some of what I have with others. I am chairing the United Way campaign at work and reading the literature and seeing what these organizations can do in a community is awe inspiring.

Jose' take me away

Cuervo that is. Its only Tuesday and I feel like I am on a runaway train--which thing (0r things) to do next! I went for acupuncture this morning to help me slow down. As soon as I sat down I realized that while I brushed hair, fixed waffles, put dinner in the crock pot, gathered running clothes, picked up girl scout cookies, grabbed my keys and ID and ran out the door this morning I forgot one little detail--to turn the crock pot ON. I swear I spent half of my relaxing hour debating whether it was worth going home to check. I did go home and it was turned on, however, it was not plugged in.

I am feeling a bit scattered, so much to do and the total inability to decide which to do first. Off for water and coffee and then a little deep breathing.

The Cyber Monday Dilemma

Which do I hate more--paying shipping charges or going shopping?

I've been ELFED!

Jenni over at Chaos Among Us asked me to help her kick off her project to get her ELF on so here we go.

WHAT TO DO....

• Pick 2-3 or more people to ELF. Simple as that - you can choose people at random or hold a contest on your blog to see who gets to be ELFED. You will need to contact them for thier address if you don't have it.


• Send your ELF BUDDIES a small gift - it doesn't have to be much...a small gift card, a cute handmade item, a small bag of Holiday cookies - just about anything goes - remember tis the season to GIVE...


• Ask them to Elf it Forward

If you would like to get your elf on, leave me a comment by Tuesday and I will have the girls randomly pick those to be elfed. Leave your e-mail address so I can get your mailing address

Jenni created some cute blog bling for the elfin' fun so check her out and get your blog badges for project elf.

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I am thankful to be home and sleeping in my own bed--even with my snoring, cover stealing, stinkin' up the bed husband.

Old Friends, New Babes

My best friend is pregnant. Its very exciting, I think she will make a great Mom. Her husband is a bit older than we are and already a grandfather so its taken some getting used to in her life. She shared with me this weekend that the neither of her closest friends in town are happy about the baby coming. I guess I'll have to be happy enough for all of them. To top it all off, she lost her Mom a little less than two years ago. Being pregnant was hard surrounded with people I could ask for advice and a mother that I talked to nearly every day. I'm trying to figure out how I can be there for her from a distance without being obnoxious.

Speaking of babies, my sister is 29 weeks pregnant. She has a c-section scheduled for 1/31. She's having a rough time adjusting to being very pregnant (at 30 weeks with her first she ended up in bed for the duration) and dealing with a crazy-busy 2.5 year old boy. Apparently she was nearly hysterical a couple of weeks ago trying to figure out how to do it all. My heart went out to her.

So, here's to new babies coming in the new year. I get to be or play Auntie to both. Here's to happy and healthy pregnancies and babies for both!


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I am thankful for my friendship with S, its lasted for over 30 years, distance and husbands for both of us. I will treasure it always.

Maven vs. the PC

My father's PC apparently has something against Mama Maven, blogger or both. I tried to post, I really did. It granted me a few precious moments on Thanksgiving Day but other than that it was a waiting game and finally total rejection!

It was an interesting trip home, we haven't been to Ohio on Thanksgiving in at least two years. There is so much traffic and we'll be going back in a month for Christmas so that past two years we've stayed in Maryland and had a more laid back version of the holiday with friends. This year it was 25-ish family members in my folks house (which is kind of like packing all those people in a VW bug to set a record--crowded, very crowded)! My mother, who is short on the positive feedback looked at me at some point and said, "I forgot how nice it is to have you home to help cook." From my mother that is high praise. She only does things by the recipe, I am more my father's cook and just throw things together, usually with good results. She gave me a recipe to make dressing and then got a bit huffy when I made fun of her--"come on, you've been doing it for 30 years, you need a recipe?" The meal went off without a hitch.

Last year my grandmother had Thanksgiving and then two days later (like a year ago today) she road in the Christmas parade and somewhere along the way had a stroke and passed out at the end. Those few moments changed her life. She drove herself to the parade to ride with the red-hat ladies, throw candy and wave. She lived alone, she was quite self sufficient and she and her sister took trips and hung out at the senior center. This year she is living in a nursing home, wheelchair bound, without the use of her left side, a bit confused and depressed. She looked much better than the last time I saw her when she arrived for dinner with just done hair and a lovely manicure. She carried on conversation and was a bit more herself. By the end of the day she looked tired and fragile--every time I see her it breaks my heart a little. I know I should be happy that for the most part she is with us mentally and able to get out and join us for the holiday. Its so hard to accept that those few minutes changed her life so dramatically though. My Dad and his brothers are facing the decision about selling her house, she has lived in that house for 57 years. Its tiny and holds a lifetime of family memories--packing those relatives into her house is more like putting us in a sardine can than a roomy bug, sitting around the big table in the living room, sharing a single bathroom, growing up from the kitchen to the big people table. There were moments where it was easier to say why her than to be thankful.

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I am thankful that Grandma is with us and that we still see glimmers of the "real" person.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I turkey trotted this morning and ran into two high school friends. It was nice to have someone to talk to even if we did walk most of it.

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I am thankful for my family today. Its great to have everyone here together.

Mall Talk

PDQ and I went to the mall this evening to pick out her special prize for being cooperative in the mornings. My special sticker method worked wonders and it was my turn to pay up. Of course she picked going to Libby Lu (or the School for Pole Dancers as Gman calls it). Its all I can do to stop from wincing in a store that is so sticky sweet and pink. PDQ picked out a fake pink headset to further her lip syncing career as a Hannah Montana wannabe. Then we proceeded through the mall with a stop at Sephora to Christmas shop for my sister. The ladies were enchanted with PDQ and her gushing over a fluffy white brush (that serves no purpose other than being pretty the sales woman confirmed). Then it was off to Macy's to see if I could find a dress to wear to my cousin's wedding in two weeks. As we approach Macy's this was the conversation:

PDQ: Macy's or is that Macy Penney's?
Me: Huh?
PDQ: Is this just Macy's or is it Macy Penney's?

As we walked through the store she stops in front of a dress, gives it the up and down, declares it too short and moves on. Then there is a series of "love it," "love it," "hate it." She hears me snickering and says, Mom I *am* a designer! Oh really, what do you design? Well, not really but sometimes I put stuff together and that is designing. After perusing the dresses and finding nothing appropriate she came shrieking that she wanted night goggles. I am sure the look on my face was priceless. She drug me over to the nightwear and showed me the coveted night goggles--actually silk sleep shades. Finally, after hearing her complain about her feet hurting I took her for shoes--wide shoes (for the record, those came from her father). She found the light up shoes of her dreams and I couldn't' resist buying her Keen's on clearance so hopefully we are set for shoes for the winter!

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I am thankful that PDQ is such a vibrant child who has an opinion of her own and generally lights up a room.

I'm nesting

...or something like that. While I spent Saturday in bed I sorted through mounds of papers--mail, school papers, bills, and probably 1,000 Boobah drawings carefully accordian folded and then crumpled in the way only a preschooler can. Saturday night I started on the closet in a desperate search for one blue clog. Last night I couldn't sleep so I got up, cleaned off the kitchen counter and table. Then I pulled all the sandals out of the hall closet and hung up all the winter coats.

Today the closet excavation continues, I finally have a clear path from front to back. I put away clothes for what seems like hours. I got distracted and threw out some seriously gross things in the refrigerator that I couldn't remember having either cooked or eaten nor could I tell the carbon date in the mold growing on top. Back to the closet until the sneezing and itching got bad enough that I knew I'd be miserable if I didn't stop. I don't know what it is but I just feel the need to get our house in order--my husband has been waiting to hear me say that for years!

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I am thankful for this short holiday week, the great report at the parent teacher conference this evening and did I mention a short week?

Sunday in Pictures

I managed to crawl out of bed this afternoon, walk a mile through the lights with the kids and actually eat something besides crackers. I am still waiting to see if that holds. I also learned an important lesson--3 days of nothing but blue Gatorade helps your body produce something akin to nuclear waste. Anyway, here was our day in pictures.

PDQs debut in the new children's choir at church.

The whole family in our matching "Dazzle Dash" shirts--of course in the cold with all those people there was very little dashing. I guess this is the official kick-off of the holiday season.

All of the kids ready to "dash"--Boobah, PDQ and D & A of Esmerelda's world.

My holiday sentiments for all of you!

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I am thankful that I feel better, there is nothing like being ill to remind you how happy you are to feel normal. I am also thankful for the holiday season and having kids to remind me of all the wonder.

Crawling out of bed

Wow, I don't remember anything making me feel so awful in a really long time. Even when I had surgery it was the pain, not the feeling bad. I spent all day in bed, keeping warm, sipping Gatorade and eating a few crackers. I ventured as far as half a bagel and a little bit of soup but my digestive system wasn't real keen on that so back to crackers. I've decided it was the "executive box lunch" that might have done me in. Someone else said they got sick on Wednesday night and I didn't feel well most of the day on Thursday--just took awhile for it all to hit me.

Thankfully the Buckeyes took care of the Wolverines this afternoon or I might be hiding under the covers for a whole different reason! That is 6 times out of the last seven, it almost makes me feel a little bit sad for the people from the state up North...almost.

I am venturing out to stamp camp tonight, I really feel like I need to get up for a little bit. Its not exactly strenuous activity (although I worked up a sweat trying to find shoes in our dump of a closet). It may be a very early night.

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I am thankful for my husband who once again took on the Mr. Mom role today--buying birthday gifts, running PDQ to a birthday party and making the cookie deposit. I love you hon.

Perfect End to a Lousy Week

Food poisoning--yep, that pretty much tops off a crappy week (pun intended). I was up all night last night running to the bathroom. It was miserable. I still feel a bit like I've been run over by a truck but my back isn't so keen on me laying in bed any longer.

Is this week over yet?

Work really sucks. There is a serious funk hanging over the place. Lots of whispering and closed doors. Wondering who will be the next to go. Then there are the circling vultures already lobbying for offices and trying to figure out how to get ahead. I hope that after the holiday next weeks things will feel more like normal, although I expect I am going to have to adjust my definition of normal.

I went back to the gynecologist today for my post-op check up. All of my insides look good, however the lining of my uterus is out of sync, there is new gunk and old gunk in there and that is why predicting my cycles is like spinning the damn roulette wheel. My choices--an IUD or the pill. I appreciated the fact that he said he wouldn't be surprised if I told him I wanted rid of it! Neither of them are high on my list, I picked the pill for now partially based on the IUD insertion horror stories I've heard. I've got my friend Wendy the Good Witch (and herbal guru) checking the alternative path to more hormones. Why is being a woman so damn difficult.

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I am thankful tomorrow is Friday, the weekend is coming and I have time to spend with my family.

Serious Brain Exhaustion

This week has been emotionally exhausting. The shake up at work has left everyone feeling uneasy. Add on top of that 9 hours of meetings today with no real check-in with the world and I am utterly exhausted. The meeting was actually fun and challenging but draining. Then tonight our normal fun women's club meeting was a little tense because we are re-doing the bylaws and there were some contentious issues. Add to that the United Way auction that I have going on in my "spare" time at work and I am on overload.

I did get in 24 minutes of running this morning. I have to say that I hate the treadmill and every minute of it was torturous but I did it. I love the fact that my lungs weren't burning and I never felt like I was going to throw up but I really, truly didn't enjoy it. I have decided running outside is definitely my preference, I have an easier time finding my zone and ignoring the time going by. I feel sorry for my group today, I swear I was still sweating a good half hour into our morning session--nothing that like metabolism carry over!

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I am thankful for my loving husband who has taken on a lot of the kid shuffling this week without complaint. He is pretty good at anticipating my breaking point and stopping before I go over the edge.

Proud Mommy Moments

PDQ brought home her first report card of first grade today. Her teacher says she is a joy to have in class and that she is working hard--really, what more could a Mom want? She got almost all 1s for effort which means outstanding. Really, doing her best and being pleasant is what I generally want to teach her in life. Two weeks ago we got a note from the school psychologist asking for permission to have her participate in a special playgroup as a mentor to other kids who were a bit socially challenged. It helps to put the whole education thing in perspective--its not just about learning stuff, its about learning how to live your life.

As you may have read, one of the major laments in my life has been what the heck we should do with Boobah next year. She misses the school cutoff by just two days. I have talked through the situation with the pediatrician, a friend who teaches Kindergarten, PDQs teacher from last year and just about everyone else who would listen! All of them said follow your gut and said to concentrate more on whether they are socially ready than to worry too much about academics. The other morning when we walked through the front doors we were greeted by PDQs teacher as Boobah went whizzing by to get to the door first so she could open it (the marker of a good start to the day). She laughed and said "oh she is SO ready for Kindergarten." I think she's right, I just hope the powers that be agree. I do worry about pushing her too hard so I'm trying to play it cool.

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I am thankful (from yesterday) to have a job and new opportunities.

Today I am thankful to live in a place that has such rich educational opportunities for my kids, I hope we can take advantage of what we have been given.

Yeah, well, so much for normal

First off, I have to say, if GMan stops posting, you'll know I smothered him in his sleep so he'd stop snoring! After two blissful nights of peaceful sleep GMan came home and snored his way through the night. I fought him off until 1:30 in the morning when I finally gave up and went to the couch. It was only me moving because he'd had such a long weekend of travelling and I'd had relaxation and the comfort of my own bed. If anyone has any remedies, send them our way!

So, on less than a stellar night of sleep I headed off to work this morning. There was some stuff in my chair my boss had left for me. I went to talk to her and she wasn't there. I went with my co-worker for coffee and we speculated about the boss since she always tells us if she'll be out and drag herself in off her death bed. We stopped in to see our other co-workers to find out whether or not they'd heard from her. Nope, nothing. Coffee co-worker said she checked Outlook to make sure she hadn't disappeared and we all had a good laugh--except we'd come to learn shortly, it wasn't funny.

First one of the guys got a message from Uber boss, then the next, then the next. Finally, I got my e-mail inviting me to come talk to her. You guessed it, that is when the serious speculation started. The hug from my stoic boss on Friday had all new meaning. We discussed the possible scenarios and waited our turn. Lucky me, I got to go first. I headed off to see the Uber boss to find out that in fact, boss lady was no longer with the company and our whole group was being reassigned. I landed pretty lightly, although my new boss is out of the office for the rest of the week. There are mixed results for the rest of the group but we'll see how it all comes out in the end. We've already planned cocktails for tomorrow night to hash out the new situation! Should be an interesting crawl to the end of the year with everything in flux.

I got in my third 21 minute run yesterday and today I did 8 miles on the bike. I signed up for an indoor triathlon in February and the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. I need short term goals or I'll never stick it out until next Summer! I feel really good other than an ache and pain or two.

Back to normal

I said goodbye to Buildermama this afternoon after a spectacular, relaxing weekend. I trust that she made it home with much less drama than it took her to get here.

After she left I made a quick and disappointing stop at the outlet mall near the train station. Really nothing I could imagine buying, waaaaaaaaaaaay too many people and the prices weren't what I'd consider outlet worthy.

I headed home to get my run on. I am trying to figure out the right clothing configuration for cooler weather. Definitely things that wick away the mositure so you I don't end up sweaty, wet and cold. Ick. Today I did okay, I might have been better without the sweatshirt over my running shirt but I HATE being cold! I got my 21 minutes of running in. My hip and knee are still giving me a little grief, not pain, just some swelling in the knee and discomfort in the hip. I am sure if I were doing better in the food department my joints would be happier. I am up to running 21 minutes out of 30. I've been doing slightly longer running intervals 10-12 minutes at the beginning of my run and it feels pretty good. I really wish I could find a flat place to run, the hills are kicking my ass.

The kiddos and Gman got home shortly after I did. I popped dinner in the oven (embarrassingly the first time I've cooked all weekend!) and heard all about the big trip. It was so good to have everyone home again. While I really enjoyed my grown up weekend and some rest, I missed them--a lot.

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I am thankful for the chance to regarge and relax. I am also thankful for the safe return of Gman and the girls.

Girly Day

Ah, I feel so refreshed! Its amazing how quickly I can fall asleep when there is no one in my bed snoring. Even when Gman's alarm clock went off at 6AM I went almost immediately back to sleep--not so much when he and the girls called at 8:21. Oddly, he was surprised that I was still in bed. Poor BuilderMama had a hellish time getting here yesterday but I'll let her tell that story. My only part in it was waiting for her at the train station with Boobah who of course had to go into the train station to pee. Then she proclaimed she had to go back to poop--of course then they were closed for cleaning and when I tried to take her in when they were done one might have thought I was going to beat her by the screaming and refusal to move. I don't know what was going on in her mind but she was not going anywhere near that bathroom. Thankfully BM showed up in fairly short order. Gman met her at the door with some Cabo Wabo and Esmerelda was here with pizza for us.

Today another one of our PIMs joined us and we headed to the mall for lunch at Nordstrom's, a trip to Sephora and then off for a pedicure. All of us got sucked into the Bare Essentuals that BM had been reading about in Beauty Confidential. We'll all be primed and ready to go with our new faces. In addition we all bought another beauty product or two. The whole time the conversation was something like my husband will never let me visit/have you come visit again! It was so much fun to have girl time at the mall without telling anyone to get out of the racks, slow down, hold hands, or stop whining.

We headed out of the mall and off to the spa. It was amazing, massaging chair, leg and foot massage. It was incredibly relaxing and so nice to share it with friends. I added a paraffin treatment. I swear my feet are the softest they've ever been. We all agreed it was incredibly relaxing. The whole afternoon was just amazing--the three of us met on a Working Moms internet group years ago but this was only the third or fourth time we've spent time together--you'd think we'd all known each other forever!

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Tonight I am thankful for a chance to relax--I SO needed to relax. Here's to friends to share it with as well.

Hit and Run

Its been a very long day. I accidentally ran a red light because I wasn't paying attention. I had to go home to get Boobah's lunch. Poor BuilderMama spent three times as long as intended on the train and PDQ, Gman and Boobah got a very, very late start to NY tonight. We had a fun pizza dinner with Esmerelda and her boys and watched a little TV but now its time for bed.

Tomorrow I'll PoMo...with pictures.

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I forgot to be thankful in public yesterday...

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who knew I needed a little down time and took the girls to visit his family this weekend. He's the bomb.

I'm thankful for my church family, those people who have always been there for us and have become our local family. It makes it so much easier with our real relatives so far away to know someone here has our back.

Work Whoa

I went to work today filled with dread. I'd been drafted to attend a meeting from 8:30 this morning until 5 this afternoon. I'd had to rearrange my day, cancel my acupuncture appointment and by 5:30 I had to be in the mode to work with the kids at church. Surprise, surprise the day was actually, dare I say, fun?

Work has been an exercise in frustration, no one believes in process, no one wants to hear what is wrong, just get it done and make it work. Don't worry about the future. Just do it. Worked for Nike, not so much for us. Today we got to spend the day with a team of 6 people dreaming up our solution for how we SHOULD do it. It was engaging, I got to hang out with people I respect, like and don't get to work with much. We shared a giggle over counting the questions from annoying finance guy in the corner. I haven't walked away from a day of working feeling so engaged and stimulated in a long, long time.

Tomorrow I have to go back and face the messes I didn't deal with today--the kick off of the auction for United Way that starts on Monday and I am not ready for, the meetings that kicked to the curb. Most importantly, I am only working half a day because one of my favorite bloggers is coming to visit and plans are on to meet up with another of our PIMs for a wild woman weekend. The rest of the family is headed to Upstate NY for the weekend. Woohoo!

It's not cancer

Hearing those three little words from the doctor's assistant today was like having the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders. I swear I was holding my breath while I was on the phone waiting for my doctor to pull the results from the hospital's computer. I had been trying really hard not to dwell on the possibilities but it was like the big pink elephant in the room that everyone was ignoring. Words like biopsy and pathology being thrown around but no one uttering the "c" word. My doctor assured me he was confident it was nothing but wanted to be sure. I wanted to believe him but wondered how many times doctor's had uttered those words to someone else and it really was something. The rest of the conversation was something about out of sync lining--whatever that means. I was glad when she said he'd explain it next week because I really wasn't listening any more.

I go to bed tonight breathing a little easier and with a little perspective. The last three weeks of waiting and wondering are laid to rest--for now. The realization that we really never do know when our time will come and how it will come has been brought to the forefront for me. I'm going to try to make my life a little more about the present and think less about tomorrow and the day after. I also think about the people fighting cancer like Especially Heather and WhyMommy and lots of others who got the news no one wants and are fighting it so valiantly.

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Tonight I am thankful for my health and that of my family. I'll be saying a special prayer for those who aren't so lucky.

Field Trip Fun

I chaperoned a field trip today to The Maryland Science Center in Baltimore. We had two buses with 80-ish 3 & 4 year olds and 60-ish adults. When we walked in the door there was a sign welcoming 9 groups with 1100-ish people. I was incredibly thankful that I had only Boobah to keep track of given the massiveness of the place and the incredible number of kids between 3 & 13 running amok.

I had a wonderful time hanging out with Boobah. I realized just how little one on one time she and I get. She loved the Kids Room and the chance to crawl around in a 4 foot high space and pretend to be under the sea. Her very favorite thing was these chairs that you pulled yourself up on with a rope. We had to re-visit it four different times. I thought it was pretty cool when she got to lay on the bed of nails.

Of course, despite the fact I begged Gman for a camera for my birthday and he got it for me I can never remember to take it with me since I took it out of my purse. Gman has spoiled me by carrying his camera everywhere. So, unfortunately no pictures from me--Ms. Ruth did a fine job of documenting the day for all of us though so perhaps later!

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Today I am thankful for time to spend with my youngest. I need to remember to take more individual time for each of my girls.

Playing Domestic Diva--Tales from the Kitchen

After church yesterday I remembered that the local farm where I've been picking my own produce was closing for the season. After watching a bit of Mehmet Oz on Oprah last week and on Discovery Health yesterday I was feeling the need to eat more food in its natural or near natural state so that I wouldn't shrivel up any time soon.

I picked 19.7 pounds of apples, at 20 pounds you get a $.50/pound discount so I jogged back into the trees for a couple of apples to put me over the edge. I picked Stayman, Pink Lady and Suncrisp apples, who knew that I'd become an apple snob?! The Stayman (men?) make the best pies, the Pink Ladies and Suncrisp are both supposed to stay for months in the fridge. After hunting and gathering apples I headed home. On the way the light bulb went on over my head that Trader Joe's opened down the road from our house on what my friend calls "the monstrosity on the corner." A HUGE retail center including Costco, Best Buy and Lowe's on what used to be open space and farm land.

I picked up the much heralded Chili Lime Chicken Burgers which lived up to the hype as a tasty, nutritious burger alternative. After licking it and deciding she didn't like it Boobah revised her opinion, ate what was on her plate and asked for more! A culinary victory and at $3.69 for a package of 4 a relatively cheap and easy dinner option.

I turned the remainder of the last batch of apples into a quick applesauce to serve with dinner. PDQ declared it the best applesauce ever. Boobah declared "it has cinnamon in it, I don't like it!" How she knew about the cinnamon, I have no idea but to each her own. With the new apples I put together two pies--one for home and one to take to a friend who just had a baby as the perfect end to a fall dinner. I LOVE this apple pie recipe with my own adaptations. I put walnuts in the topping, put a bit of caramel sauce on the top of the apples and finish it off with the topping skipping the lattice top. For a really pretty pie to impress I will cut out dough with an apple shaped cookie cutter and put it over the topping. Anyway, no time for the cream and extras but this pie all by itself rocks!

Finally I whipped up a batch of Pumpkin Cranberry muffins from the latest Cooking Light. They are moist and delicious. A perfect fall breakfast and even reasonably good for you.

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Today I am back at my desk and thankful to have a job that is interesting, relatively flexible and lets me work with really good people.

Obnoxious Soccer Parents

PDQ plays in a soccer league for girls under 7. The focus is supposed to be on fun and learning the fundamentals of the game. There isn't "official" score keeping although we all know the final score. For most of the season we've all been very well behaved and cheered for both teams as they scored goals and made shots. Somewhere along the way yesterday that changed. A team that we had played before--and beat--got up on our girls 4-0. It was a little demoralizing. Then something changed, somebody lit a a fire under the coach's daughter and she scored four goals! It was really rather amazing. I've never seen the kid so antimated in my life. Once she'd scored one we were all egging her on--another, another! Two other girls scored goals along the way as well and we came out on top 6-4. Maybe it was the cold and screaming kept us all warm?

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Today I am thankful for the beautiful fall weather. Summer is finally over and its time to get ready for cooler weather ahead. Along those lines I am thankful we can provide our family with appropriate clothing for the cooler weather and sort through the too small stuff so that people who can't might have some.

Catching Up on Thanks

As usual I am just a little behind. Following the lead of Greeblemonkey, Bananas and Toddlers and Buildermama I joined the NaBloPoMo 30 Days of Thanks group started by Boogiemum. Its too easy sometimes to lose sight of all the things we are thankful for so here's to 30 days of rembering them.

1. I am thankful for my great friends, online and in real life who keep me sane. I've gotten so many supportive comments, e-mails and phone calls checking up on me the last few days and I really appreciate it.
2. I am thankful for the health of my kids. What a blessing to not have to worry about food allergies like so many of my friends.
3. Today I head back to the gym and get some running and cycling in. I am thankful for both and the desire to get off the couch, do them and take care of myself both physically and mentally.

Ah, that gets my mind back in the groove of being thankful instead of being upset. Yesterday, before I left the house to do all of my errands I looked up the hours of the places I needed to go on the internet before I left. They were all wrong so I spent a lot of time out driving around town that I could have spent relaxing. I got the cookie money deposited, Ann's cookies in the mail, picked up my antibiotic and bought some yarn to attempt an afghan for my nephew to be. It took waaaaaaaaaaay longer than I ever expected. I guess me being stuck on slomo didn't help either.

Losing Time

I went for my procedure yesterday and after spending much time waiting around for my doctor to come and get the party started we were on the way. I have to say I am amazed at how quickly the "happy juice" works. She gave me 'just a little bit' as we headed out of the cubicle and down the hall. I remember the doors to the hall opening and for the next hour or so, that's it! I woke up in the recovery room like I'd had a good nap. For someone who hasn't slept really well in a really long time waking up and not remembering anything is a little strange. A really lovely nurse took care of me, brought Scott back and it wasn't long before we were on our way home--with a detour to Panera for some soup.

I slept all afternoon yesterday. The TV was on but in my head there was no one home. I don't usually sleep that well in the middle of the night, let alone in the middle of the day. Eventually I got out of bed around 4 when my friendly acupuncturist came by to check on me. Gman and the girls were off to our Thursday night program at church. I knew that any more time in bed and it was going to be one long night. I managed to get myself something to eat and roast the pumpkin seeds from our 75 pounds of pumpkins. In my alone time I caught up on all the Grey's Anatomy and Numb3rs the DVR could hold.

As I try to write I am finding I am still a little slow so call this SloMoNaBloPoMo.

Happy NaBloPoMo

Happy November 1st and the beginning of NaBloPoMo where lots of of bloggers all sign up to blog every day for the month. If November is as loaded with activity as October that should be no problem at all.

I am off this morning to the outpatient surgery center for a D&C. As my gynecologist explained it they are going to give me the equivalent of 12 margaritas in an IV, scrape out the contents of my uterus (and yeah, he drew pictures!), and send me home. I shouldn't feel anything worse than the usual menstrual cramps and might not have a period for ahwile. That I can hang with. Oh by the way, no baths or sex for the next two weeks. They should have the pathology reports back by Tuesday although he assures me that he is confident they won't find anything abnormal. I am trying to be as confident in that as he is. One should not play web MD if one does not want to know all the possibilities!