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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.