Home again, Home again

I guess I'm getting adjusted to being back into the routine and the cooler weather. I won't even mention work. I wish I could blog about exciting island adventures but I mostly hung out on the beautiful seven mile beach with our friends, drank very overpriced drinks, and ate great food. I need to give my husband credit. He qualified for this incentive trip at his work. We had several evening dinners and a banquet ceremony then extended the trip 2 days after the company event ended.
Here is Alpha the Parrot at Rum Point.

Grand Cayman

A few pictures from Grand Cayman.

Island Bound

Bathing suit - check
Sunglasses - check
Sunscreen - check
Dresses - check
Tickets & passports-check
Instructions all over the place for my parents & children-check
See ya in a week.
I'm out of here!

Leaps & Bounds

I normally don't post pictures of my children but here's one of my son #84 as he likes to be called. For the record, I'm pretty sure no one caught the pass.

What You Watching?

I don't have much patience for commercials and don't have DVR. Here's what I've been watching through Netflix.

Bring Them to Tears

The big news was President Bush was in town. My parents were held up in traffic for 30 minutes. The bridge over I-40 was closed until the motorcade went by. I've posted before about having guilt. Last night I caused my daughter to cry. I snapped at her when she called out my name. All she wanted to do was tell me "Good Night". Going on this business/vacation next week is suppose to be fun but it's turning me into a not-nice-person. I realize it is a great opportunity and I'm not asking for sympathy. However, it's impossible to pack 7 days worth of clothes plus attire for 3 nice dinners, get the house ready for someone else (perfection parents) to live in, then predict and print out instructions about what our children do for a week then be all smiles. So far work is going okay, thank goodness. Getting back to my daughter - I did apologize. I told her my actions were similar to her being grumpy in the morning. - There are those times she's not nice but it doesn't mean she doesn't love me. I think she understood. I will try to be more pleasant the remaining days or at least not cause tears.

Cost of Motivation

I have a new man in my life and no it's not Ric Flair. His name is Lowell. I am actually using an online running coach. I felt I needed to push myself. I was struggling and really want to do the Gobbler 5k with my son on Thanksgiving morning again. I lack motivation. Something about having to report back to Lowell even though it's through the Internet makes me complete my workout. I started thinking about my late grandparents. They lived frugally on a farm through 2 world wars and the depression. Physical labor was a part of their daily routine until they were old. I don't even want to think what their opinion would be of me paying someone to tell me to run. At times, I feel silly about it myself but it's got my butt moving.

Win, Wind Update

App won. The weather was cold but it was not as windy as previously forecasted - thank goodness. Afterwards we went to the convocation center and watch a little of the women's volleyball game. (They won, too). For the record, I don't follow professional wrestling. However wrestler, Ric" Nature Boy" Flair was there. His daughter Ashley is on the team. She's a good player.

Win in the Wind

Brrr, I went to school in the mountains but don't tolerate cold, windy, weather like I use to. We're heading up to Boone today for a football game and the forecast is for 20 to 30 mph winds! The Mountaineers better win.

Spinning Your Wheels While Looking at the Big Picture

This has been one of those weeks where I've felt like I've been spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. I should take that back. Things are in pretty good shape at work. Home is a different story. In the near future, my parents will be moving in for a week to watch the kids while my husband and I go on a business vacation. My parents are neat people. I could be neat if I didn't live with 3 slobs and have a job. Plus they have a cleaning lady! My parents keep their pantry stocked, oven clean, things fixed etc. My mother sympathizes with our busy life. She seems to realize we don't have the time on our hands like retired people. My dad is a different story. When we've been out of town before and they are watching the kids, he has been known to point out what needs to fix during a phone conversation. I keep plugging away on my To Do list. I shouldn't complain. We are going on a trip and my parents are doing us a huge favor. I have a problem about looking a the big picture some times.

50 State Capitals in 50 Consecutive Days or Less

Did anybody else hear about these guys today?

Unscheduling

The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out and said "Hurried lifestyle and heavy academic, extracurricular load taking toll; balance is needed". Amen! This is subject near and dear to my heart. We struggled several years ago with the decision to take our son out of soccer when it became a 10 month a year activity. I had an issue with my daughter this past week. I feel she has enough on her plate and did not sign her up for a part in the church's Christmas play. Yes, Christmas play already! She's upset. It can make a parent feel pretty guilty. Besides standing up to your kids, you have to hold your ground with other parents. They don't understand. They get defensive. And for you readers who have younger children and think you won't let this happen to your child- beware. Some of the over scheduling creeps up on you over time. For instance, when my son began soccer at age 4, practice was one day a week. Games were one day a week. Practice was nearby. When we made him stop after 5th grade, practice was 3 days a week for 1 1/2 hours, 30 minutes from our house. Games could be in a 6o mile radius not including regional tournaments. The season lasted for 10 months. He was 10 years old! He was very upset about our decision at the time but later said we were right. He had the chance to try other sports and do nothing for a change. Now he plays 3 sports for his school which is still overscheduled but he's older and does have weekends free. At the moment my daughter is laying on the couch reading a book. She looks like she's enjoying her free time.

FlashBack 2

FlashBack to the Twerp Dance (Sadie Hawkins) my junior year of high school. I asked a guy named Larry. Believe me if I remembered his last name I would post it. He worked with me but went to another school. I'm not sure why I asked him. I barely knew him (obviously). I guess my coworkers talked me into it. The night of the dance he offered to drive. He picked me up. We went to dinner. Then we drove by the high school gym where the dance was taking place. Larry didn't stop. He remarked something about it being too early. We drove around for a while then again went past the school and continued on. I was thinking this was a little weird. When he did the drive-by a third time, I came up with the brilliant idea of suggesting we actually stop, park, and go to the dance. Larry replied he didn't dance. He was Baptist and he didn't dance. I was at a loss for words otherwise I would have asked: Why did you say "yes"? Why did you let me pick up the whole tab for dinner? Did you notice my dad is 6'4" and might I add he owns guns? Thank goodness I had a great time at the 3 dances I went to my senior year. That was my FlashBack.

5k - Mission Accomplished

The weather wasn't great. Most of the rain held off until the very end. My daughter and I finished right at an hour. As I approached the gate, I saw the time 59:30 and made her jog. I don't think my daughter got as much out of it as I had wished. I'm blaming some of that on the weather. I admit I miss running in the event. I have started running again. I'm looking at doing The Gobbler with my son Thanksgiving morning if my aging body holds up. It doesn't come easy for me. Rarely am I glad I'm running until it's over. You would think after over a year of it, I would not be struggling to do 2 or 3 miles!
A cheer to Mikey of Mikey's Limbo. He and his son were at the race to support his wife and daughter. I think my husband was on the couch. My son, if he was awake, was surely playing video games.

Rain, Rain, Go Away?

80% chance of rain tomorrow. I'm bummed out. My daughter and I are participating in the Women's Only 5k Saturday morning. If it's raining too heavily I guess we won't do it. I'm not going to subject a 9 year old to walking 3 miles in the rain. At least we aren't in Apex, NC where a hazardous waste plant exploded. We have friends there. They went to the NCSU vs. FSU game (way to go Wolfpack!) then weren't allowed into their neighborhood. They found a hotel and are still there. It's being said the rain is helping reduce the toxic chemicals in the air so I probably should not complain.

2 (secret) Things About Me

Besides attempting to dance while in the car, there are times when I'm by myself I really like to sing in the car. Some songs of choice: Welcome to the Jungle, Sweet Child 'O Mine, and a variety of Aerosmith songs. In fact back in the day, I was extremely jealous of Alicia Silverstone being cast in several of the Aerosmith videos. That's what I wanted to do. My husband thinks of me when he hears the song 1985 and I admit it's loaded on my mp3 player. For the record, I'm not on Prozac as mentioned in the song.
Another fact, I love Keanu Reeves. It started in the early 90's after seeing Love You to Death. (I think that's it). I don't believe he's a great actor though I will defend him. I don't run out and see his movies. I do have copies of Point Break and Speed. Recently, I watched Thumbsucker and liked it. I found the Paula Abdul video starring Keanu on YouTube and saved it. It is a takeoff on "Rebel Without a Cause". Since I'm being honest, I'll say I was an integral part of a Keanu newsgroup in the mid 90's - before there were blogs. I have a framed picture of him and my friend in my office. She went to see his band Dogstar play. A few people think it's actually my brother rather than Keanu since we have similar coloring. I'm busier now and don't think about him as much as I use to. My husband has long accepted my obsession. My son thinks I'm weird even if I didn't like Keanu and want to be in videos when I was younger.

FlashBack 1

I was going to do FlashBack Fridays but the timing hasn't worked out. It will be random. Years ago The Grateful Dead came to Greensboro NC for 2 or 3 nights of shows. The coliseum allowed camping - a decision they regretted. The Dead Heads were all over that part of town. I didn't have a ticket but we drove around gawking. I said I wanted to go to their concert next chance I got. That opportunity came July 10, 1990 in Raleigh NC at Carter-Finley stadium. I remember the date so well because a few days afterwards while I was working at a bank, a guy came in covered in Dead tattoos. We struck up a conversation. He came back later with a tape of the concert I had just been to. The date of the show was on the case. (The band encouraged people to record tapes and trade them). I still have the cassette. Anyway, the concert was great. Actually it was a very wild experience which I will not put in writing. The band played all the songs I knew. I saw The Dead again right before Jerry died. It was indoors and I didn't recognize one song. I admit I have a space in my closet for my Grateful Dead t-shirts. I really don't wear them or even listen to the music very often. My friend Matt who now owns Tate Street Coffee House bought me my first shirt at that Greensboro show. Here is the front and back respectively:
It was a take off of the Maxell and Bose advertisements. I was offered a lot of money for this shirt while at a bar. I declined since I wasn't up to finishing my beer in just my bra. That was my FlashBack.

Smooth Operators

I love Barats & Bereta. Here is their latest So Smooth on YouTube.

Concerning schools

These 3 school shooting incidents recently are really scary. You want to assume your child is safe at school. I think of mornings when it's not going very well: my daughter is grumpy getting up early, being on the bus by 6:45 a.m. My son is in bad mood riding to school and there is silence in the car rather than conversation. That's why I try my best to remember (no matter what our moods are) to tell them I love them.

Homcoming 2006

I had a great time at our Homecoming game yesterday. We won! It was a bit warmer in the NC mountains than I had anticipated - a beautiful day. After a few beers, I even proudly wore a button stating it was my xxth reunion. My daughter especially loved the freebies from the Alumni tent and Walker College of Business tent. Unfortunately, I didn't see many people I went to school with. The crowd seemed younger or older. It is very difficult for parents of school aged children to clear their calendar for a Saturday football game. Kids are so involved even to the point of being over scheduled. Most of our friends who went to ASU rarely go back to games. They always have something else keeping them from attending. I can relate to their situation. Our son played soccer for 7 years and our Saturdays were spent at his games. My next post may be "How We Quit Soccer and Regained A Life." Getting back to the subject - it was fun.