Another reason to love fall

The decorations! I love hay bales, pumpkins, scarecrows, the whole nine yards! I have a raised flower bed in front of my house that refuses to be pretty. I've tried so many different flower combinations only to have it turn hideous again just to spite me. This time, I decided to go a different route and use it as a stage rather than as a garden. I like it! I have to bring the cute kid inside when the weather gets bad, though. :)

Things, Part 3

Things I love: Bicycle rides on pretty days with my family

Things I do not love: INSOMNIA!!!!!!!

Good day

Today was a full day. I had class this morning, I volunteered at the Book Fair at my daughter's school, and we had parent-teacher conferences after that. I would like to take a moment to brag on my child (this is my blog, so I can do that!). She is above and beyond everywhere she is supposed to be academically. The BEST part, however, is that she is really doing well in the behavior department. I am thrilled. There is really no better feeling than having someone spend 30 minutes saying positive things about your kid, and it was a moment of validation as a parent that I will treasure.

Tonight, I am putting together treat bags for her soccer game tomorrow. It is my turn to bring the snacks, and I will admit that I was so excited when I got the Saturday before Halloween! I absolutely LOVE little projects like making little treat bags for holidays. The girls will have a nutritious snack of grapes and goldfish at half-time, but they get super-special goblin goodies after the game! Haleigh helped me pick them out, and I can't wait to hand them out tomorrow and share the fun!

When I don't like to write

RESEARCH PAPERS!!!!! Agghhhhhhh, the agony! I really enjoy writing. Possibly because I really enjoy talking, but writing gives you the convenience of taking your words back and correcting yourself. :-) When it comes to research papers, though, I physically hurt. My English class this quarter is all about research and documentation. Fortunately we have a pretty good professor who gives us very interesting topics and direction, but all the TEDIOUS takes out all the FUN! Oh, well. A few more weeks to go, and at least I can blog for my creative outlet!

I have no idea why . . .

but the more I look at my tree picture down there, the more it reminds me of the trash heap on Fraggle Rock. Was my spiritual tree moment really just a repressed familiarity with a favorite childhood memory? Hmmmmm . . . . . .

Natures's Treasures

I was so busy trying to stay upright, carefully watching the ground for slippery roots hidden by the leaves, that I almost missed this treasure. My husband pointed out this tree stump to me, and asked me if I knew what the holes were for. It turns out, this tree was harvested waaaay back in the day when two men using a double-handled saw would work together to fell these giants. They made the holes in the trunk and stuck two-by-four's in them to stand on while they worked.

I told him those holes looked like eyes to me, and this tree was a woman. Look closely at her, and you cannot deny she has a soul. The method of her harvesting indicates that she's been here quite a while, gathering her wisdom. If I had been alone, I probably would have chatted with her.

SUN, glorious SUN!

After the insanity in the weather for the past few days, today was a welcome treat. It was GORGEOUS! The sun shone brightly, there was a lovely breeze, and it had to be almost seventy degrees out. I felt the force of nature, calling me to commune with her. As luck would have it, we had already planned to go for a bike ride today. The picture here is the beginning of the trail we took. My husband had been out once before, but this was my first experience on the trail. It was so lovely, such a satisfying day. It is hard to imagine this peaceful, serene place tossed into turmoil by our recent windstorm, but the evidence was there! We had to climb over one collection of tumbled trees, one of them a gigantic pine whose entire root ball was up in the air! It was worth it, though. On the way out, we even saw little bear tracks in the mud!

It is so cleansing to get out into the woods, and spend some time listening and looking. When we finished our ride, we stopped by the beach that I love so much to watch the waves. It was a perfect day, all around.

What the HAIL?????

It is hailing again . . . tiny little ice balls that sound like someone pouring old-fashioned popcorn kernels into a hot pan.

As it turns out . . .

This was more than just a "little" windstorm! I was worried about all the leaves being blown away, when I should have been worried about the trees themselves! If it had kept up much longer, I would have had an unobstructed water view. As it was, two very large trees fell down across the street from my house. Fortunately, they fell into the park rather than across the street, and noone was walking their dog under them!. There were others falling a little further away. I was trying to finish my homework and every few minutes we would hear "ka-boom" and feel the floor tremble. It was nerve-wracking, to say the least.

Today, we thought we were finished with the bad part . . . right up until a house and tree got struck by lightning in the middle of a hail storm this morning! My goodness, fall is here in all its fury!

It's a good thing

that I took pictures of the trees already since after today, they won't have any leaves left! We are having a little windstorm. The grass at the park is almost completely carpeted in gold leaves. Small branches have been falling all day as well. I went to pick Haleigh up from school, and we came back to see an entire tree (or at least a majority of it) rolling across one end of the park! One of the trees closest to my house has snapped to pieces as well. It is a little frightening, but there are positive points - it is BEAUTIFUL to watch all the whirlwinds of leaves, and Ozzy really liked all the extra sticks he found to chew!

Hey, Dad . . .

Could I come up there, please? See how cute I'm being?

I just want one little smooch, then I'll get down, I promise.

Well, maybe just one more.

Observations (about me)

1) A good book is like crack for me. I cannot put it down. I develop insomnia and find myself staying up waaaaay past my regular bedtime to read it. I start avoiding what I should be doing - studying, writing a research paper, cleaning up, taking the dogs out, taking a bath. Okay, maybe not the bath part, but that's just because I can take the book in there with me. I begin to feel guilt about neglecting everything around me, but I must . . . finish . . . this . . . book! "Just one more page" becomes my mantra, until, 287 pages later I'm delirious and force myself to get some sleep. I need a twelve step program. I'm going to blame my mother-in-law for my latest relapse. She sent me a BOX FULL OF GREAT BOOKS! I need rehab.
2) My daughter is growing into a young lady before my eyes, and sometimes it catches me off guard . . . and scares me a little.

Observations (about other folks)

Gum should probably be banned. Breathmints would seem to be a better alternative, since they aren't to be chewed. Chewing is a big problem for some folks - that whole "keep your mouth closed, don't smack" idea just seems to escape them as soon as they pop a minty fresh piece into their mouths.

Needle phobia

I got to my biology lab two or three minutes late on Thursday, and the teacher had already begun speaking. I made my way to my usual seat which happens to be right next to where she typically places all of her things. I put my purse down and began taking notes on osmosis. I could see that we would be using the microscopes again, and we would be studying osmosis in plant cells, starch solutions in dialysis bags, and blood. Then I noticed what was sitting next to me - a BOX of alcohol wipes, a BOX of little round band-aids, and a BOX of lancets. You know, the things used to jab your finger and squeeze out blood for some barbaric reason. I know, I know, it's necessary sometimes. This time, I was afraid we were all going to be required to look at our own blood. WAIT! Hold the press! Bring on the fetal pig for dissection! Anything to save me from a puncture wound.

Turns out, she just needed one volunteer, and we all looked at her blood cells. Whew! Crisis averted.

Exciting moment!!!!

Soooo, in an earlier post I mentioned that I was helping promote one of my favorite singers by putting posters up advertising his upcoming show. There is a contest going on, and we are to take pictures of ourselves putting them up, then send them in to his website. WELL, one of mine just got posted! It's at http://www.patmonahan.net/. At the bottom left of the page there's a blurb about joining the "street team". Click on that, then fan photos, and mine is currently the last photo on the 5th page of pics. We were trying to figure out the best place to hang them at my eye doctor's office! You can't actually see my face, but I'm ok with that. Check it out!

Why is it that when someone shares a big dream with us, something that seems impossible or at least unreasonable, we tend to shut them down? I remember when I was in highschool, all I wanted to do was sing. I had big plans to move to New York and make it on Broadway. I knew I had the talent, I just had to work really hard for the opportunities. It seemed that whenever someone asked me "what I wanted to do", they never wanted to hear the real answer. With the exception of a very few people, most folks just thought it was a "pipe dream". They smiled politely and said things like "that would be nice" while they thought (and some even asked!) - but what are your REAL plans. WHAT? I just bared my soul to you! I just shared with you my greatest desires! Who are you to act as if it can't be done? Shouldn't I be the one to determine that? Haven't I managed to accomplish everything else I wanted up to this point? Why question me now?

See, I have another little dream for myself right now. It involves what I would really like to "do", but it scares me to death. It would be risky, but oh, so rewarding, and I'm pretty sure I would never ever get tired of it. It also involves me taking complete control - and therefore complete responsibility - over my success or failure. I haven't talked much about it, ever, because I'm afraid of those types of reactions I've experienced before. If people realize I'm serious about it, for some reason the conversation turns to how difficult everything will be: "well, funding can be a problem; rent prices are crazy these days; are you sure there's a market for that?; you would need help; and the kicker THAT's A LOT OF WORK!" Well, I KNOW that!

So, for now, I'll keep it to myself for a little bit longer and chew on it a while. Then, when I get ready, I'll just DO it without running it by anybody!

Food for the brain

Mmmmm . . . whole wheat English muffin drizzled with honey and an Asian pear this morning. Good fuel for my poor brain before it has to go to class and try to comprehend proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids.

My day

Today has been such a pleasant day. It's just one of those where everything flows together and nothing is any harder than it has to be. I took Haleigh to school and came back to have a cup of coffee with my husband before we parted ways. He went for a bike ride with co-workers and I had posters to hang. I found some great locations, and they were all easy to get to. I even found a nice guy to take my picture hanging one of them. Then my camera ate it, but that's another story. After finishing my rounds, I decided to go to Goodwill to look for red dishes for a party my mother-in-law is planning. I had no luck with dishes, but I DID get a brand new pair of Old Navy pants and an almost brand-new pair of Gap jeans for a grand total of $7.28. Bonus!

And now, the best part - I got to walk up and down the street and admire the pretty colors. Lucky for you, I happened to have my camera. :-) This red bush was so striking I just grabbed a close-up. It sits in front of an empty house in an ugly yard, but its beauty alone brightens the place up.

This one is a nice colorful shot of some of the prettiest trees . . .

and this little guy caught my interest because he is just beginning to show his colors. I'll have to keep an eye on him and get a "full bloom" shot later!

More love for fall

This is the back corner of the park across the street as of yesterday.

. . . and this is how it looked just about a week ago. It's amazing that you don't even notice the trees by the water line that are now such a vibrant pretty orange.

I've been taking pictures of the trees lining my street for the past few weeks as well. When they erupt into their full golden glory, I'll post a series. I love fall!

Adventures in Ice Skating

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a picture of your kid once she figures out how to do it?

Speaking of puppies

It's hard to believe MY "little" bulldog has gone from this

to this

to THIS!

I LOVE PUPPIES!

My bulldog, Ozzy, had brothers and sisters yesterday. The family we adopted him from had another litter, with seven puppies in all! They are all so sweet and beautiful, and there is one solid white one that my husband is coveting, but we are going to resist! Here's a picture of the bundle of them. Nothing like a heap of puppies to make you smile!

Wishes

If I was granted a wish right now, it would be immediate recovery for my mom. I spoke to my aunt this morning, and she is not doing well. Some folks just don't come out of anesthesia easily, and my poor mom appears to be one of them. She is very, very sick today, and I just feel helpless. My husband reassures me that it will go away, and he has tried to point out the good - this discomfort is not dangerous, and it will keep my mother still so her body can heal. Keeping my mom still is no easy feat, so I guess that is good!

A haiku diversion . . .

Festive orange globe,

Will you smile or spook your way

through all hallows eve?

The all clear!

My mom is out of surgery. Things went well, but I don't have many details yet. I realize my blog is becoming a little monotonous, but I'm quite preoccupied with this train of thought right now!

The Waiting Game

I just spoke to my aunt. She was told it's going to be at least an hour and a half before my mom's surgery even gets started. She is in pre-op right now, but they wouldn't let my aunt go back with her. My mother doesn't do well with being confined places and having to lie still, so I hope by "pre-op" they mean "beginning anesthesia". My mom is a fairly silly and entertaining person on a regular day and she will probably be splitting sides if the pre-anesthesia they give her is as good as the stuff my husband got with his last knee surgery. You never know what that stuff will bring out in a person - my brother thought he was spider man when he experienced it as a child, and lay in the hospital bed shooting spider webs from his hands.

Nature Walks

There is something I love to do, and I call it a Nature Walk. It is most especially fun if you can involve a kid, but I even enjoy them alone. My earliest memory of these is from daycare! I must have been about four years old, and we used to leave the classroom and take looooong walks out around the edge of the woods, down by the little retaining pond. Our daycare was at a highschool, and the Future Farmers club even had little buildings where they raised pigs. I recall every detail of my first encounter with a tiny wiggling pink piglet.

On these walks we would go slowly and observe our world. I think it may be when I first fell in love with fall leaves. When the leaves changed colors and began blanketing the green grass, it looked like a magic fairy land to me. I still have an inner urging to follow wooded paths when I come across them, just to see what I might discover.

Yesterday, I took my daughter and a friend on a nature walk. I gave them each a bag and let them collect things that caught their fancy along the way. When we got back they each had a pile of new treasures . . . tiny pinecones on a stick, golden maple leaves, a shiny rock with a green bottom from sitting in the water too long, and handfuls of purple weeds we found growing that look amazingly like tiny orchids. If the weather holds, I think we'll try another one soon and see what else we find!

Fretting tonight

My mom is having major surgery tomorrow. To herald the occasion, she held an all ladies "Bon Voyage to her Uterus" party last night. I really am grateful that she is surrounded by a support system of great ladies, especially since I am on the other side of the country! My brother is also nearby, and a few other family members, and lots of friends. Heck, if worse came to worse I could probably call my mother in law and convince her to go see about her!

All things considered, I still find myself worrying just a little tonight, and I suppose that is only natural. I will be happy to receive (and probably anxiously awaiting) the phone call from my aunt tomorrow letting me know everything has gone well.

Did I mention?

I'M GOING TO SEE BILLY JOEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo-hoo!