Curious-er and Curious-er

Below is what I was going to post yesterday evening...interesting that I didn't. ************************************* Do you ever have one of those days? You know…those…days? Today is one of those days. I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today and have been, as I would say to Kiddo, a "Grumpy Puss". I went to bed around 8:30 last night and slept until 6:00 this morning, but it wasn't restful sleep. Kiddo got up twice, which in itself is unusual, and I just couldn't get comfortable. First I was freezing then I was roasting. Then I needed to pee…twice. I'm exhausted today, and have been for the last couple of weeks. What's up with me? I'm lethargic at work, my allergy medicine seems to have quit working completely even though I'm taking it the same way I always do, and I have no interest in anything except sleep. And yes, I'm already on medication to assist me with depression. What do you think, should I sit down with a big jug of cheap wine, a pack of cigarettes, and a trashy novel and spend a couple of days doing absolutely nothing but getting drunk and smoking cigarettes? Actually – I don't think that would help. Isn't that a shame? Ugh. ************************************* Yeah. So. Anyway...Kiddo's going to be a big brother sometime early next year! How's that for news! TTFN JMS

Ponderings

I work for a company that is actively hiring new personnel. Something I've noticed that rubs me the wrong way every time I see it: people showing up for interviews (you know, those scary things that help employers determine if they want to hire you?) wearing jeans, t-shirts, and flip flops. Or, tight, belly-baring (popularly called "crop top") shirts, spandex-like pants and stilettos. (Can you say "Street Walker"?) Or, wrinkled khakis, sneakers, and wrinkled, sloppy shirts (Ahem…guys have you ever heard of something called an iron? It's not a new invention, you know…) (I watched a guy get out of his car today looking all spiffy and proceed to shut the door to his car, bend down, and check his pearly-whites in his car's side-view mirror – right in front of the Director's office. At least he was dressed appropriately.) Greasy, unwashed hair – ick. Baseball caps & sunglasses (inside). One guy even showed up with a black t-shirt that had a white logo of a hand "flipping the bird" to the world at large. Does it have anything to do with where I live or is this a general trend through the U.S.? TTFN JMS P.S.: You all (those to whom I send my e-mail notifications) should have gotten an e-mail from Kodak Gallery inviting you to view my recently posted pictures. I just want to make sure you know it really is from me, not some automatically generated thing trying to get you to sign up for something. I've done all that work for you; all you have to do is log-in!

The Big Screen

We took Kiddo to see his first in-theater movie today! I think it was fun and entertaining for him, but Hubby and I were the ones that came away with a new favorite movie. It's a definite "must-see-in-theater-then-run-right-out-and-purchase-as-soon-as-it-comes-out-on-DVD" kinda movie. They're not just for kids anymore! (I'm not really sure what that means, exactly, but I thought it sounded good!) TTFN JMS

Family Photos etc...

I've had a couple people e-mail me recently wondering why I haven't posted any pictures of myself or my family on my blog. The reason for this is because I do not want anything that personal plastered up all over the web where anyone (including random, though decidedly friendly New Zealanders) can see who and where we are. It bothers me. Yes, I realize I've put up personal information, but it's all in written, "story-ish" form and has been slightly augmented - meaning, as I'm sure you know by now - that all names have been changed to protect the innocent (and even the not-so-innocent). I'm considering a small web site to accommodate those types of pictures and personal info. Or, maybe I'll just get you all hooked up to Snapfish or Kodak Gallery or some-such system so I can start sharing password-protected pictures like mad. Either way - that's something that I am working on. If you'd like to receive notifications of recently posted pictures, please e-mail me or leave a comment, so I can make sure you're on my "interested" list when I get something figured out. TTFN JMS

Birthday Blessings

Please join me in wishing my wonderful friend whom I love very much a happy, happy birthday!

TTFN

JMS

Feelings...

Feel like crap, look like crap...don't care. Realized I wore a nice white (work-appropriate) t-shirt to the office today that had some big stain on it from who knows when or where that I didn't notice until supper-time tonight. Hubby & I went to meet our lawyer to take pictures of the intersection where Hubby and our friend, the matriarch of the Clinton Clan, were rear-ended back in 2002. Irritated me. Went through a 3 day trial back in February that was declared a mistrial; wouldn't you think he'd have done that already? He'd never seen the intersection before today. Yeah - gives me lots of confidence going forward. Went to Fazoli's for supper and managed to get two more red spots on my white t-shirt. All-in-all, not a great day. Still living, though, so I guess that's a good thing, huh? TTFN JMS

Forgiveness & Explanation

I am writing today to ask your forgiveness for the lack of content posted here over the last week. May I just say that I’ve been exhausted, mentally and physically, and couldn’t bear the thought of attempting to write anything except one very short grocery list. To begin with – and as you’ll probably remember – I’ve been planning two very large events at my office; and, as I haven’t been very forthcoming with details on these events, I’ll give them to you now. The company I work for, Brink’s Home Security, has grown to over 1,000,000 customers! That being said, the main call center that handles all incoming and outgoing Customer Care calls as well as the Monitoring of home alarms and dispatch of emergency services just plain got too small to handle the volume of calls and alarms. Enter Knoxville, TN and the new National Customer Contact Center that works seamlessly with the original National Service Center in Irving, TX. The NCCC is a brand new building whose construction was completed in late March/ early April of this year. I’ve been planning the Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting event for all the local big-wigs, including the Knox County Mayor, some local officials, the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership, local business owners and members of the Knoxville Chamber, AND the Chairman and CEO of The Brink’s Company, Michael T. Dan and the President of Brink’s Home Security, Bob Allen. There were also a host of other Brink’s executives here for the big day. Needless to say there was much more involved than stretching a ribbon across the front door, snapping a few pictures with people grinning for all they’re worth, cutting the ribbon and shouting, “Yay!” I’ll not go into details of what all was involved, but we sent out 100 invitations, organized give-aways (mini-flash lights and the like), put together a gift for the Mayor, received RSVPs, called people we had not received RSVPs from so we could get a head-count to the caterer, organized vendors, floral arrangements, photographer, videographer, etc… (I’m gasping for breath just reliving it all.) That’s not to mention the four times we switched the head-count on the poor caterer; they were WONDERFUL, though, and deserve the highest recommendation I can give. Oh, and organized guided tours of the building, instructed parking attendants, pressure washed the parking lot (we hired out for this…can you imagine me running around in my heels pressure washing the parking lot?), made sure the landscapers had watered the plants, cut and trimmed the grass etc... Anyway – it was a big deal indeed and went off without a hitch! Oh – and when I say we, I mean I. There were other people involved, and I certainly don’t want to give the impression that I did it ALL myself, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll definitely take the credit!!! That event was on Wednesday, June 28th. Then, on July 1st, we had our Family Day Carnival Event. I planned this one, too. We had four inflatable games including a Wacky Shack, a 29 foot slide with a vicious T-Rex and a Kong-like gorilla in fierce battle, a ball-crawl for the little ones, and something called a Tiger Belly Bouncer which was essentially an enclosed trampoline shaped like a tiger cub on its back; pretty cute. There were also hot dogs, sno-cones, cotton candy, give-aways, a raffle, a couple police cruisers, (the fire engine didn’t show up), face-painting clowns, cookie decorating, a golf challenge and more! It was great and I think everyone had a wonderful time. So I had two very large events within 3 days then had Sunday, Monday (generously offered by my boss and gladly taken by me) & Tuesday off. Kiddo’s “Gammy”, as he calls her, came for the Family Day event from Greenville, SC by bus on Friday. That was an almost 10-hour ordeal for her and I felt obligated to offer to drive her back; though I actually really wanted to go spend some more time with her so obligation was not really the issue. We drove down on Sunday right after church and got there about 6:00 PM. (Boy – did we luck out in the traffic department; there wasn’t much of it at all!) While in SC, we saw my sister, her husband, their adorable daughter, and a few other family members, met Gammy’s neighbor and her menagerie (5 cats, two of which are kittens, 3 dogs, two of which are tiny Pomeranians. She came over one morning just after bathing them and they both had on little pink satin bathrobes with pink fur trim - strange that I would think that kind of doggie abuse was cute, but I did.), did some running around in the back yard, spent some quality time with Gammy and generally had a nice visit. Then it was time to drive home. We left Tuesday morning around 10:00 and got home around 2:00. (Again, hardly any traffic!) Kiddo slept most of the way home (an almost 4 hour trip), woke up raring to go, spent some time in his kiddie-pool, got prune fingers and couldn’t figure out if they hurt or just looked weird (yeah, not a fan of wrinkly fingers), went to bed at 7:30 and got up around 8:00 this morning. I’m back at work and attempting to readjust to life post-events and sitting here scratching my head wondering which pile of neglected paperwork to attack first. I guess filing wins because it’s the bigger stack and has been calling to me longer! Anyway – hope everyone had a wonderful 4th! Happiness & fireworks to all! TTFN JMS

Wardrobe Malfunctions

I spent some of last night getting my outfit ready for today. (The significance of today is that it’s the day before the BIG event I’ve been planning at the office and the day that all the Grand High Muckety-Mucks start arriving.) After deciding I needed a dressy belt, I went to the “I’d-hate-to-be-here-on-a-Saturday-afternoon” hell that is commonly referred to as “Wally-World”. While I was there, Hubby called me and suggested I might want to pick up something else to wear instead of the beige blazer he was desperately trying to iron for me. (Yes, Hubby does iron…and cook…and do laundry…I’m a very lucky girl.) So I picked myself up a sweater set that’s sort of a dusty plum color (love it), and found my dressy belt (exactly like I had in mind), and er…added one pair of shoes to my collection (which Hubby will probably groan about). Anyway – after performing some at-home dry cleaning to my new sweater set, organizing my stuff for the morning, and doing a few other things, it was time for bed. This morning I got up, showered (if I’m going to tell the story you need ALL the details, sorry), got dressed and left for work. On my way out of town, I stopped at Walgreens to pick up my allergy meds and a small box of safety pins. I wanted to pin up the tank top part of my sweater set because I felt it was a little low, if you know what I mean. (I’m looking for Administrative Professional here, not Slutty Secretary.) So I’m in and out of Walgreens in less than 5 minutes, drive the 13 miles to my office, get out of the car, say hello to the Security Guard who is trying to raise the flag (in the rain) get to the door and realize, “Oh Damn! I don’t have my badge!” This is an issue because not only can I not get in the door, but I can’t clock in! The Security Officer says, “Well, I can’t let you in without a badge before the doors are unlocked. I have no way of knowing that you are or are not supposed to be here!” This means that I need to get back in my car, call Hubby to let him know what I’ve done, call my boss to let him know I’m an idiot, drive the 13 miles back home, to retrieve the badge that Hubby has kindly placed on the front door knob as he headed off back to bed. Here’s the fun part. I get out of my car in my driveway and begin to make my way to the front door and realize I’m feeling a draft; a draft in a place where a properly dressed professional should not feel a draft. I reach behind me to investigate, and to my horror discover that the zipper to my black, knee-length, linen skirt is wide open! How long I’ve been wandering around the world with my A-double-S hanging out is anyone’s guess; but all I can say is that I KNOW I closed it before I left the house. It must have eased its way down during my morning errands. I quickly rectified the atrocity that had become my outfit while standing on the front porch of my little house, made certain the offending zipper was “locked” in the upright position, grabbed my badge off the door knob, drove 13 miles back to the office, and still managed to clock in at exactly 8:00 AM. Am I good, or am I good? I know this post probably falls under the category of TMI (too much information), but I had to share my em-bare-ass-ment. (“Laugh it up, Fuzz Ball!”) For those unfortunate witnesses, I’ll simply say that I’m glad to have been able to provide you with a good laugh; mortifying as it was for me. I can take it. (Insert heart-wrenching sob here.) TTFN JMS

Peeves

No - I don’t mean the poltergeist of Harry Potter fame, I mean peeves, as in Pet Peeves - things that are irritating even in their existence. Here are a list of mine, in case you wanted to know: * Toilets seats that move when you sit on them. Who really wants to think about the ickiness on the back of your leg should the seat slide and allow you to accidentally touch the porcelain? Certainly not I. * People who don’t wash their hands after using the restroom. I’m referring here, to the inevitable happening of you’re being in a stall in a public restroom and someone comes in, uses the facilities, touching everything in sight, and proceeds to leave the restroom without (hear me, folks), WITHOUT washing their hands!!! And people wonder why they get sick? * People who have pets (specifically dogs) and leave them in the yard. Here’s a hint, if you can’t take care of it, don’t take it home! And while I’m on the subject of animals, how about those folks who insist on letting their animal, dog, cat, or otherwise, have "just one litter" before getting them fixed? I don’t understand that logic; a thought process totally beyond my comprehension. * The fact that there are people in this world who should never, in a million millennia, ever be allowed to have, much less raise, children. Conversely, that there are people in this world who should be allowed to have, and to raise, multiple children, and yet they cannot - for various reasons. That’s just sad to me; there should be a law...I just have to remember that God always has a plan, even if I don’t like or understand it. * Ice trays filled too full so when they freeze it’s all one big frigging cube! * Having to turn socks right-side-out before washing them; yuck! * The fact that I must (yes, must) straighten the sheets prior to getting into bed (mostly because the bed never gets made when we get out of it). Actually, I think that’s probably one of Hubby’s pet peeves. I guess it’s just my slight OCD rearing it’s ugly head. * Toilet paper UNDER rather than OVER. * Nasty toothpaste caps. Ah...the list could go on but it’s probably a good idea for me to stop now. I wonder, can you tell the kind of day I’ve had? Oh - and I have to be at work at 6:00 AM on Wednesday. Just one more thing to gripe about. TTFN JMS

Wow!

Ok - now I know what you're all up to on Saturday nights! While I officially have 1 comment on what I wrote about the British Comedies last night, I have received several e-mails about which Brit-Coms are your personal favorites. Now please keep in mind that I'll have to go to great lengths to see some of the ones you've recommended; should I start with the ETPTV station or BBC and ask them to add these to their regular programming? Thanks for all your notes; I really love getting them. OH! And I heard from an Uncle (UB) I haven't heard from in quite a while and it was SO GREAT to know a little of what he and my Aunt (AC) have been up to! I hope that maybe we'll be able to keep in touch a bit more! UB/AC, you know my e-mail address, and I believe AC even has my phone number...? TTFN JMS P.S.: I've found a new favorite source of information! Google will always be my favorite search-engine, but you've just GOT to check out Wikipedia! It's like having your own personal set of encyclopedias, searchable at the touch of a button (or two) and in multiple languages, if you so desire! You must check it out, if you haven't already!

The British Comedies

Does the name Hyacinth Bucket ring a bell to anyone? Or, as the show is officially called, "Keeping Up Appearances"? Love the show, absolutely cannot stand the woman, which usually means I have a tough time watching it. She is absolutely the most obnoxious person I have ever seen! Are there really people like her in the world; or are they just in Britain? Speaking of British comedies, we’re currently watching "Waiting for God"; an hysterical comedy about a retirement home. More specifically, Diana (who is the most awful woman you could want to meet, yet somehow manages to be ridiculously funny at the same time) and her pseudo-roommate/gentleman friend/punching-bag, Tom, who is slightly on the loony side. This one is most definitely worth watching. Oh - and there’s my personal favorite, "As Time Goes By" with Dame Judy Dench and Geoffrey Palmer as Jean & Lionel, respectively. Hey - this one needs no explanation except that its JUDY DENCH for goodness sake! It’s got to be good, right? And there’s this strange one called "Last of the Summer Wine", which I don’t exactly get, but it certainly is funny - most of the time. There was one called "'Allo, 'Allo", but I don’t know what happened to it and I wasn’t fond of it to begin with and therefore I don’t miss it all that much. Anyway - thought I’d share. If you don’t watch the British comedies - you’re definitely missing out on some wonderful viewing! TTFN JMS PS: Kiddo has not had a temp at all today and has been generally good! Thanks for all the prayers you sent up - I think they helped!

Kiddo's Update

Hubby took Kiddo to see the doctor today because he is still sporting a fever and because he said to me this morning, "My neck hurts!" Our friend mentioned the word (scary to all parents) ~S~T~R~E~P~...so Kiddo went to the pediatrician's office this afternoon. Yep - definitely has a fever. Throat is fine, no strep. Ears nice and clean. Hubby said the doctor even commented on Kiddo's level of speech for his age. That's all good news. Give him acetaminiphin (what we've already been doing, and not sure if I can spell that word) and call them back if the fever persists. This sort of thing is apparently going around and someone somewhere said that it typically runs its course in about 4 days. Here's hoping! Keep prayin' folks! It's helping! TTFN JMS PS: Phoebe is with us for a week and she's being good as gold. Very quiet night last night which means that one or both of the puppies are comfortable.

Prayers and Poems

Kiddo is still not feeling well. He spent most of the day feeling better, but then his fever spiked around 4:00 PM; and since he'd only slept today for about 30 minutes in the car, we put him to bed early. He and I have a special prayer we say every night that goes something like this: "Thank you God for this wonderful day, and all the people I got to meet, all the food I got to eat, and everybody that I love. Amen!" He's gotten to a point where he's got it memorized and can recite it on his own without my help; though I usually follow along anyway because I like to say prayers with my son. Tonight, however, I started him off as usual, and he took it and ran away, with something to the effect of: "Thank you God (that's both of us, and I stopped helping here) for this wonderful day, and apple juice, and blue juice (blue Gatorade or Powerade), and food, and everybody that I love. Amen! Amen!" It took every ounce of restraint I posessed not to burst out laughing (with pride, of course), but I was grinning like mad. The boy knows what's important! The other thing I wanted to share today is a poem that makes me think of my Grandma, Tennie. She read to me all the time when I was growing up and some of the books I've purchased for Kiddo, I've gotten because she used to read them to me. This one is from "A Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson.

MY SHADOW

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,

And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.

He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head,

And I see him jump before me when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow -

Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;

For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,

And sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,

And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.

He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see;

I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning very early, before the sun was up,

I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;

But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,

Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

TTFN JMS

Bug's got a bug...

Kiddo is not feeling very well today. I had to work, which makes me feel terrible that I couldn't be there myself; at least my wonderful Hubby was there. Kiddo's been vomiting and sporting a fever. While I'm not worried, I still hate it that he's feeling crummy. If you'd like to offer up a little prayer for a speedy recovery - we'd truly appreciate it. TTFN JMS

The Poetry of Alliteration

"Hubby Was Weed Wacking While We Walked!" Gee...aren’t I clever? Oh, Good Grief! Kiddo got him a weed eater thingamajig for Father’s Day and he finally got an opportunity to try it out tonight. Anyway - tonight while we were walking (really) Kiddo said, "Go see Grandma & Grandpa!" It made me pause. He’s got a Gammy (in SC), a Nani (VA), a Grandpa (in CT), and a Papaw & Mamaw (in TN) - but no one close enough that he would request a visit to them in that way. I thought about it for a while longer, then stopped the stroller, put it in "park", got in front of him and asked, "Bug, (that's my name for him) do you mean Theresa & Mario?" "Ok..." Says he, excitedly. So we went next door to visit, and as I explained the story to Theresa, she said, "Oh, I guess we’ve been adopted! I think I can take it." I wonder if it’s possible for Kiddo to love them as much as I do! We have truly lucked out in the New Neighbor department; if only everyone could have neighbors like them - no one would build fences! TTFN JMS

Aaarrrrgggghhhh!

• House still messy
• Mothers coming for visits (yes, Mothers, plural – mine and his)
• Frantically putting the finishing touches on plans for the two big events at work (the Ribbon Cutting for June 28th and the Family Day for July 1st)
• Birthday season is upon me & Christmas will be here before I can blink
• Gotta run to the grocery store & it's pouring down rain...

I think a good, stiff drink (or 2) is in order…care to join me? TTFN JMS

Father’s Day Weekend 2006

SATURDAY: Hubby had to work in the morning, so sweet New Neighbor Lady (I’ve really got to give her a name so she’s not some anonymous person so for the purposes of this blog, I’ll refer to her as Theresa. I thought I’d also let you know that I absolutely adore her...) and I went to the Lavender Festival together with Kiddo. I purposefully did not bring any money with me because I knew I’d spend it if given the opportunity. Theresa purchased a bromeliad planted in a galvanized watering can - which, I must admit, I was highly covetous of. Lovely thing, the bromeliad. The one thing I would have purchased, had I any money, was a little person made of small, terra cotta pots, Spanish moss, and held together by wire and glue sitting on a little wire bench...an adorable thing...but it was $26.00 and I was not that desperate for it to go all the way home to get my checkbook. Kiddo was as good as gold, made several friends, and did not once complain about the heat - and let me tell you, it was HOT! ("How hot was it...") Theresa and I went home, spent a little time in her air conditioned house recovering from what could be considered a heat-induced exhaustion, and then I brought Kiddo home for a much-needed nap. I should have taken one too...my head had begun to hurt. Later, Hubby, Kiddo & I met up with Kiddo’s baby-sitter, her husband, & their two boys at the Secret City Festival for the WWII reenactment - an awesome display of tanks, guns, men in period uniforms, and many, many loud booms of tank fire and machine guns. All blanks, of course, but quite impressive and effective. We managed, somehow, so procure a spot in the direct sun of the 3:30 PM show. My head was still hurting and the booming was so loud that I finally had to leave half-way through the reenactment to search out a spot of shade and relative quiet. After the Secret City Festival, we all went for food, then spent some time at the local K-Mart and eventually parted ways at a surprising 8:30 PM (I couldn’t believe the time, except the pending darkness gave it away). Kiddo went to sleep almost immediately and we watched Mulan (with thanks to my friend, The Perpetual Student, who sent all her old VHS Disney movies to Kiddo because she no longer has a VCR), and then went to sleep. SUNDAY: Went to church. It was our pastor’s last Sunday so the mood was very somber and I honestly don’t remember much about the sermon because I was thinking about what our new pastor will be like and about how our current pastor is the reason we decided to join that church in the first place. I know change is inevitable, but it doesn’t make me happy right about now. We will most definitely miss him...but wish him, and his lovely family, much luck in their new endeavors. Then we met up with Theresa and her wonderful husband, Mario (sorry, it’s the only name that came to my head just now) at IHOP for a Father’s Day breakfast. Food was great, company was better, but Kiddo lost his cool right at the end and I had to remove him bodily from the restaurant and let him scream it out in the parking lot. It was definitely nap time, but even though he had the whole ride home to fall asleep, and then even after I put him to bed at home, he didn’t get to sleep until Hubby rocked him there about an hour later. We all took a nap, and then got up about (yes, I will admit it) 6:00 PM and headed out with a picnic dinner to Bissell Park for the outdoor concert of the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra. It was wonderful and included old favorites like the William Tell Overture and new pieces like the Harry Potter theme. Kiddo kept clapping and saying, "Do it again!" I think we've got a music-lover on our hands! This was most definitely a wonderful weekend. And now, work on Monday and the week starts over again. Happy Father’s Day! TTFN JMS

Ups & Downs

I didn’t post yesterday, obviously; wasn’t interested in much and didn’t have much to say about anything. June 15th is a strange date in the history of my life (the date my mother passed away) and I frequently encounter an unconscious wall that shuts me down when it rolls around. Some years I manage to navigate smoothly around the date without incident or major emotion, other years, it hits me like a ton-of-bricks and I’m useless. Yesterday happened to fall under the “useless” category. Thank goodness I’ve got a boss who is an extremely understanding person. He recognized my difficulty, suggested I needed some time off, and sent me home early. I’m very lucky. So – I decided to pamper myself a little bit and went to get my nails done. When I went in, the very pregnant little lady with the mask on said, “It be few minutes, you want pedicure fust?” I thought, “Sure, why not?” So I sat in a comfy chair that had heat, vibration & rolling back massagers, while I enjoyed a thoroughly wonderful pedicure. Then I had my nails done. I didn’t ask ahead of time how much all this would cost, and honestly I didn’t care at that point. Ahem…manicure, pedicure and $73.00 later, I’m on my way home feeling quite pampered. Only a hot stone therapy massage could have made it any better! It was then that it occurred to me that I had reason to be happy! June 14th (day before yesterday) was the anniversary of the day I was adopted. It had been 12 years, so I guess you could call it my 12th birthday! Later, Hubby, Kiddo, Puppy Dog & I went for a 2 mile walk down at the marina, saw a great blue heron, lots of Canadian Geese, some ducks (and no, not the funky-looking one from a few posts ago), some local wildlife (er…Secret City residents), and many, many piles of stinky goose poop! But…a good time was had by all. When we got home we spent about an hour at New Neighbors house, had a brief visit from the Patriarch of the Clinton Clan who was out riding around on his Harley Davidson. And after 9:00, and realizing that Kiddo was still awake and getting crazier by the second, we said our goodbyes and went home to put Kiddo in bed. I’ve had a good life so far; lots of struggles and sadness, yes, but still a good life. And I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today if I hadn’t endured those life-changing events. So, needless to say, yesterday was a bit of an emotional roller-coaster for me (thank God for Zoloft), but I got through it and I’m on to other things today. TTFN JMS

Not So "Secret" Anymore

Check out the following cool information! The Secret City Festival and the History of Oak Ridge. Maybe something fun to do this weekend? TTFN JMS

Puppies, Parties & Pooped-out Babies

Spent a lovely weekend in another part of the state visiting relatives. We stayed with Hubby’s sister, her daughter and their two dogs...one of which is a pit-bull / black & tan coonhound mix who is only five months old and already about 65 pounds! Her paws are huge - she’s going to be an enormous dog! She’s got all this extra skin around her face that makes her look like a droopy hound-dog, her ears are soft like my beloved satin (those who know me well will completely understand that and, "Yes, I still do."), and her eyes are the same caramel color as her fur. She is adorable and so sweet! At one point she and our Puppy Dog were laying under the coffee table in the living room on their bellies (like they were crawling toward one another) and they got nose to nose in greeting. It was a perfect Kodak moment and I didn’t have the camera ready! It was Hubby’s oldest sister’s birthday (the reason we traveled) and so Hubby’s middle sister planned a lovely party. There were hamburgers (cooked on a charcoal grill that ran out of charcoal before the burgers were cooked and therefore they had to be finished on the stove), a fruit salad (zig-zag cut watermelon half with balls of fresh roadside-stand-purchased watermelon & cantaloupe along with store-bought strawberries, grapes & blueberries), chips & dip, green beans, corn on the cob and a wonderful Mystery Machine-esque birthday cake (you know, flower power?). I believe a good time was had by all - including the trip to the neighborhood pool that is almost literally in the back yard. (Side note: I am very proud of myself for spending two days in the sun and not, repeat not, getting a sunburn! God bless the person who invented the continuous spray sun block!) We drove back late on Sunday night and Kiddo (though we hoped he would) didn’t fall asleep until we were five minutes away from home (it was, at that point, 10:30 PM). I scooped him out of his car seat, changed him, put his jammies on him, and laid him in bed - all with out any sort of protest. I love my sweet little goof-ball baby! TTFN JMS