Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum. . .

(Picture students marching into a school ceremony to get the headline tune)

Last night, we went to OB's graduation.
Yep you read that right. . .Graduation.

My school had one graduation: After you got through all 13 years.
Apparently, times have changed and students graduate multiple times. . .
OB is now a proud fifth grade graduate.

Not sure what they are going to do for the last week of school (grades have already been announced, certificates have already been distributed), but I'm sure the teachers have some tricks up their sleeves.

OB got quite a few certificates - Citizenship, Academic Excellence, Honor Roll.
The boy who bought home MULTIPLE Cs through out the year squeaked out the A-B Honor Roll.
He still won't fess up to who he bribed. :)

What did I learn most from the night?
I NEED TO GET MY NEW CAMERA!!!

What was OB's favorite thing of the night?
I'm sure it wasn't getting red punch spilled on his white shirt (yep, that's going to be fun).
I'm thinking it was the little something that MBB and I put in his graduation card.

Namaste.

Game #3

First Bat: Single to Center --> 1 RBI
Second Bat: Double to Center --> 1 RBI
Third Bat: Walked, Stole Second
Fourth Bat: Single to Third, Stole Second --> 1 RBI

Final Score: 9-10 L (It was so close!)

Namaste.

Why Is It. . .

. . .That weekends are never long enough, no matter how long they are?

MBB and I both had a four day weekend - hence no posting for me as we are still "negotiating" with the "I'm a kinda-sorta high-speed Internet" company. Crossing my fingers on that one!

We had a day full of OB's sports (I'll get Game #3 stats posted as soon as I find them!).
We had a fight with the sun and lost (I lost big time, MBB only slightly).
We got the last of our stuff moved.
We did some fun stuff with the kids and on our own.
We got lots of seeds planted in our huge garden.
We (me) had a 2nd fight with the sun and lost (my nose looks like a puzzle with some pieces missing).
We scheduled and completed some "family cleaning time" around the house.

Both MBB and I feel like we didn't have a weekend.
Imagine that!

Namaste.

Game #2

Scheduled Start Time: 7:00pm
Actual Start Time: 6:50pm

First Bat: Ground Out
Second Bat: Strike Out
Third Bat: Strike Out

Game Time: 2.5 hours
Final Score: 7-20 L

Namaste.

Say What?

Awhile back, MBB and I were sitting in the living room watching TV.
OB walked through on his way to the basement to get his laundry out of the dryer.

*Thump*
*Thump*
"I'M OKAY!!!!" <-- Sing-songey type yell...
*Thump*
*Thump*
*Thump*

Only OB would fall down the stairs and yell that he was okay in mid fall.
I laughed so hard that I was almost crying.

Namaste.

Pretty

We live in the country.
We have a constant fight with small animals getting into our house - yep, mice.
We have won a few battles with mouse traps, but we haven't won the war - YET.

We are considering getting a cat.
Not a kitten.
A cat.
One that hates mice as much as we do.

MaBelle pointed out some cats that she would like us to consider.
I'm not too up on paying a lot of money for a cat or having one that is the size of a dog.
In otherwords, we'll probably get one from the pound or find a "give away".
BUT, I admit they are gorgeous! And the Bengal cat would fit right in with all of my Bengal decor!


Meet, the Bengal Cat (photo from here - no, I don't take credit for it)

Meet, the Egyptian Cat (photo from here - no, I don't take credit for it)
Namaste.

Guess Where I Am?

My hairdresser moved to a new salon. . .
The stylists look comfy (not forced into uniforms) and the overall atmosphere is pretty laid-back.

I am sitting here typing. . .No, I am not typing about memories of my trip to the salon. . .I am really typing while at the salon!

MaBelle is getting her first highlights. She has brought home some pretty good midterms and report cards, so MBB and I decided that she could get her hair done.
Can I just say that I think I like this salon better than the one at the mall?
I'll let you know for sure once I get the bill! :)

Namaste.

Transformation Time

I have noticed that some of my clothes are getting a bit on the snug side recently.
Buying clothes in a larger size is not an option, so I decided to be proactive before it is too late!

Yep, I have entered another weight loss competition.

I did great with them in the past and have some extra baggage that I put on over the last 10 months or so that I need to get back off. Hopefully, I'll get some extra moo-lah to fill in some holes that I have in the closet.

For the next six weeks, I'll be dieting, moaning, exercising and groaning through this process.
Even if I meet the competition goal, I still have just a wee bit more to do to hit my goal.

Wish me luck and check back for progress.

Namaste.

Want a Visitor Story?

Most days, I am on the road to work before anyone else in the house is up and moving. MBB always wakes up to give me a kiss goodbye, but he usually gets a few more zzzzs after I leave.

Tuesday morning, I got my kiss and headed downstairs to pack my lunch.

As I rounded the corner going from the living room to the dining room / kitchen, I saw an animal shadow looking at me from the hallway connecting all of the rooms (the only light being shown on the subject was dawn coming through the window). I think I scared it as much as it scared me and it shot down the stairs to the basement.

I was about 90% sure it was a cat and 20% sure that it was Sylvester (MaBelle's cat who resides with her grandparents). In the past, the cats (before they moved) would continually peek around the corner to watch me pack lunch in the morning. I kinda got confused when I didn't see that happen - hence the 90%.

Since we don't have a litter pan in the house, I decided to wake MBB up and let him know so that they could find the cat and get it back outside before leaving for work / school.

Remember I said 90% sure.
Well, the sureness meter was malfunctioning on this particular day.

All it took was a growl coming from the pile of boxes in my craft room to create a scream and a race up the stairs. MaBelle has declared that we have a raccoon visitor. She has come into contact with raccoons before, so she definitely knows what a raccoon growl sounds like.

If I had been 90% sure it was a raccoon - I'd have been screaming my head off until MBB got out of bed. I'm no dummy - those things are mean!

Namaste.

Mom's Day Event

There is a great article on bengals.com about Rudi's Foundation and an amazing lady.

I can't take credit for the article, but I can take credit for the following pic.
I took it at the 2007 Rudi Johnson's Mother Day event.

Yep, I was there.
Yep, I heard the speech that she "thought" was recorded.
Yep, I thought she was a pretty amazing lady that day.

Namaste.

Surprised!

I didn't expect anything for Mom's Day yesterday.
After all, I'm not a mom.

Then MBB and the kids surprised me.

We now have a gorgeous planter of red, purple and red flowers in our living room (pics posted later).
Did you notice that I didn't say 'yellow'? Yep, they made sure to avoid my least favorite color! :)
Once we get our patio poured, its permanent home will be out there.
And then my belly got very full from dinner at Outback.

I am extremely blessed. . .
Even though I don't have any babies of my body, I do have two kids of my heart.

Namaste.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mom's Day Weekend to everyone who has ever been a mom, stepped into the role of a mom or "mothered" anyone in any way, shape or form!

I don't think that this day is restricted to my fellow females who have given birth to a child. There are many "mothers" out there who deserve hugs on May 11th.

Specifically: Happy Mommy's Day to MommyMarie! I love you!!!

Namaste.

I Did It!

I was in bed at 8:30 last night.
I think the lights were out at 8:45.

I must have slept really well for I only vaguely remember hearing the kids in the hallway.
I do remember asking MBB what time it was when he came to bed, but I don't think I was awake when I did it.

I got just under 9 hours of sleep last night and though I feel better today, I am still feeling like I need more sleep.

I've heard that you can't "catch-up" on sleep, but dang if I'm not going to try! :P

Namaste.

For Those Fans Out There. . .

"Take Me Out To The Ball Game. . ."

Scheduled Start Time: 7:15pm
Actual Start Time: 8:00pm

First Bat: Strike out
Second Bat: Walk --> Run Scored
Third Bat: Single turned into a Double (short stop's error) --> Run Scored

Game Time: 2.5 hours when the game was called
Final Score: 11-15 L

It was a very long night and we didn't get home from OB's first game until 11:00pm.
I realized that I really need to get my new camera!
I'm dragging a bit today. . .

Namaste.

Enjoying Life. . .

I have been living life lately as many of you have figured out by some of my blogging. . .
You know what. . . I love my life.

I love the ups.
I kinda don't love the downs.
I love the growth that I get from the downs.

I love our new house.
I kinda don't love the work we have to do.
I love the work that we have gotten done on it.

I love my family.
I kinda don't love the teenage moods (yes, I was guilty of them too!).
I love the hugs and smiles and being a part of my crew.

I love my job.
I kinda don't love the alarm clock going off at 5:15 to get here.
I love being able to bring home a paycheck to help support our life.

Sometimes, I just need to experience the downs, learn from them and remind myself of all of the good. This is me. This is my journey. This is a part of my memories.

Namaste.

Ouch. . .

On Friday, I hit the elliptical hard. . .
Yep, I did four miles in an hour.

Hmmm. . . Wonder why my legs are so sore???
Gonna see if I can do it again!

Maybe not today, though!

Namaste.

Words To Live By. . .

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Namaste.

Not A Good Day. . .

It's been a rough few days:
- I'm working toward a major deadline at work.
- I'm still trying to acclimate to not living alone.
- My clothes are starting to get a little snug.

Then, I get an email asking about the bus crash.

My emotions went on a massive, and I mean massive, roller coaster ride.
- "Were our kids on that bus?" TERROR
- Called MBB (who didn't know about it either) - No, our bus doesn't go near that road. RELIEF
- "Were the five kids closest to MaBell and OB on that bus?" STRESS
- Found an article that said the bus was going to a different elementary school. RELIEF
- "Were any of OB's teammates killed?" ANXIETY
- Found an article that said a high school student was killed. RELIEF
- Ten kids were taken to the hospital, a family has lost their son and many are effected! ANXIETY

My nerves are not faring well from the roller coaster ride.
Not to mention the high level of guilt that I feel for feeling any relief at all - even though they weren't our kids, there were still kids involved.

Our county has now lost two this school year.

Namaste.