The Passing of an Era

With a few nice Spring days under our belts, we have begun the process of de-winterfying the yard, garage, and deck. So, out came the balls, bats, rockets and bikes. And, the all-time favorite, the cozy coupe. But, alas, after going back to the shed, I hear C yell "Mama, come quick!!" And I flew to the front yard only to observe her squashed into the cozy coupe, knees up around her nose, saying "Push me Mama, cause my feet can't move!" Much to her chagrin, I did not push (although I did guffaw a bit at the sight). She pried herself out of the car and announced that since she had grown sooo big, I could put the car in the garage sale.
Cozy Coupe, you've served us well for many years. May another family enjoy you just as much!

2010 Resolutions

I said I wouldn't but I couldn't help myself. I actually did accomplish quite a few of my resolutions from last year so what the heck, here are mine for 2010:
1) Start and finish a 5K (hopefully, that will be the same race)
2) Lose 30 lbs (I'm hopeful for more but we'll see)
3) Clean the outside windows of the house.
4) Repaint the trim on the shed.
5) Repaint the trim around the garage door and on the porch (along with the railings of the porch).
6) Plant a garden.
7) Shop the farmer's market as often as possible.
8) Clean the window screens. (I'm noticing that I have a lot of repair/cleaning issues)
9) Plan a fun trip to Chicago with friends (Friends, don't let me down!)
10) Have people over to my house more often.
OK, that's enough. I'll check back in at the end of year to see how things went. Here's to the rest of 2010!

She's a Little Runaway

In my quest for healthier living, I decided (maybe while I was high on doughnut fumes) to start running again. Well, really, not running so much as a shuffling along faster than I normally walk kind of movement. I am getting back into this following the Couch to 5K running program. Since it was soooo nice yesterday, I thought "why go to the gym? I should just run outside". Which was a great idea, in theory. Here's what I learned:
1) It is not smart to start out on a downhill (even though you really feel like you're cruisin') cause when you turn around at the halfway point, it really SUCKS to have a long uphill battle, literally. (And, for the record, I never noticed that the way I went had any 'hill' to it, until I was slogging, er, jogging over it yesterday).
2) It's much harder running into the wind and your ears get cold when you have your hair pulled back. Seriously, the weather was so nice yesterday but that wind in the morning?? Crap!
3) You get funny looks from people driving by when you're on your last leg of the run, uphill, into the wind,  red-faced, shuffling along cause it's hard to have a loose-relaxed stride when you're seriously thinking your legs are about ready to fall off, with bright red ears, your Anne of Green Gables sweatshirt proudly proclaiming "We are kindred spirits", and peach colored capri gym pants which now have a big sweat stain on them..in the back..right above the a***.which apparently gets really dark colored when you sweat. Oh, and did I mention that I kinda forgot that I shouldn't sing out loud when I am the only one who can actually hear the music? I think I scared the poor teenager I went by. Apparently, singing "What have I, What have I, What I done to deserve this" by the Pet Shop Boys did not meet his musical expectations. But he was really happy that I was going in the opposite direction.
That's all my life lessons for today. Now, unto Week 4 of the program next week. Oh joy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had much fun making our leprechaun trap and loading it. Here's an excerpt of our conversation:

C: We need anything green, yellow or gold. Cause that's the leprechaun's favorites. And we want them to come in the cage and SNAP! it shuts and we're one lucky kid!

S: Well, they really like money, but I'm not giving 'em mine. How about using some of yours C?

C: I don't want 'em taking my gold coin. Unless they leave me at least one more. Cause even if it's not real, it's special to me. Hey, did you just say I should give 'em my money??? Grrrrrrr.
S: (totally changes the subject to get C off course) I think you get 3 wishes if you catch a leprechaun. But they're probably like genies, you have to be careful what you wish for because they're tricky.

C: (who totally falls for the subject change) They ARE tricky. They made a mess last year and turned the milk green. Too bad they didn't leave us any money or candy.

Alas, no leprechauns were caught in our trap. They visited all right, ate the marshmellow hearts, took the gold wrapped toffee, and turned some of chairs upside down. Made a general mess downstairs. The kids were VASTLY disappointed that the milk had not been turned green. (woops, I guess that's what happens when you sleep in until 6:30). However, they walked through the entire house and declared everything the leprechauns did (even if it was the myriad of things that they forgot they themselves had just not put away!).
While they were eating breakfast, our milk 'mysteriously' turned green in the frig. Except it was more bluish than green and you could see where the darned food coloring had run down the side. Apparently, that wasn't noticed by anyone else.
A fun start to the day and now we have an entire gallon of blue-green milk to use up.
Oh joy!

Swimsuit Definitely Not Optional

Are you tired of my Y stories yet? Cause I've got another. And it's a doozie. Don't continue reading if you're eating or have a weak stomach. Ready? OK, you've been warned.
I met my friend Renee at the Y and we treaded water in the pool. For 45 minutes. It's tiring.
But, afterwards, we decided a dip in the hot tub was necessary to warm up. Cause it's frickin' freezin' when you get out of that lap pool.
Off we go, la te dah, to the whirlpool. Just two ladies, chatting and soaking in the lovely warmth.
Now, this is NOT a clothing optional hot tub. Swimsuits required. BIG sign on the door. Hard to miss  really.
We had been in there only a few minutes when this younger woman walked in. I looked up and, really, it's not that I was looking, but more like, how can you not look?. She had on a sports bra, okay, not so bad. But then, my eyes traveled lower. And holy moly. She had on a thong, g-string? I'm not sure but it had some teeny tiny ruffles on the back (and they were definitely not swimsuit material). And, then, then, eeeeuuuuuu, you see the 'rest' of it. Or shall I say, the lack of the rest? Except for the ruffles, it was see through. As in, there she was, in all her glory. As in, you saw that the carpet defnitely matched the drapes, if you get my drift. Seriously, I couldn't decide whether I should just close my eyes or burn that image out of my mind with extra chlorine!! I looked at my friend and I'm sure that her face and mine were pretty much matching at that point. I know our eyes were the same size!
The young lady proceeds to walk down into the hot tub and then up to a spot next to a hot tub jet. Renee quickly suggested that perhaps it was time to leave and we hightailed it out of there. But, but, that wasn't the end. Not only did the gal go next to jet, it was one that was at the see through level and she was carefully positioning herself next to it. I'm going with the theory that something down there just needed a might strong cleaning out, and if it's anything else, well, I just refuse to think about it.
I am shuddering just reliving this enough to write it down. EEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUU.
Now I must mention, that I have had no more unusual experiences since this. I've been there at least 4 times since and it's been rather pleasant.
And I post only for your reading pleasure.
And the fact, that I'm pretty sure you're happy that this didn't happen to you.

Blue & Gold 2010

S first Cub Scout Blue & Gold banquet was a success. He earned 13 belt loops and was quite proud of himself. He should be, he worked hard to get them. The entertainment was a juggler and he was fun. At the end, the kids got to balance peacock feathers on their hands and spin plates on wooden dowels. Even Mom & Dad got to try this.

A fun night even if the kids were up late. Getting up for school the next morning, not so fun.

It's the Shoes

There's nothing like watching little girls in their pink leotards and ballet shoes to warm the heart. C loves dance class and tells me "I like ballet but I REALLY like tap better. It's all in the shoes Mama." Oh man!