50

Happy Birthday, My Love!

There is no one that I'd rather be on this journey of life with.

Chocolate

...is in short supply around here. Damn shame.

Me on Draft Day Suit

You know all those days that I wasn't here? (Well, maybe not all of them, but some of them!) Well, I was over at Draft Day Suit writing all of this....

Visiting Coors Field


Rockies Make Coors Field History


Capriati Recovering, I May Not

The NBA Series, By Someone Who Doesn't Care

DC Football Coach Makes National Headlines

Lakers/Suns Game Overshadowed by Politics

And my personal favorite: How The Magic Happens Here at DDS

Oh, and you should read these by Sarah, too. They're funny. And good. And stuff:


Hence the name, Draft Day Suit

Just Because I Have a Vagina Does Not Mean I Need A Woman's Guide to Sports

Happy Reading!

I Survived

...and no worse for the wear, I suppose.

We had tons of skunks in our campground. (Critters!) Thankfully, no one got sprayed.

The first night I didn't sleep AT ALL.

The kids seemed to have a ton of fun. #2 even told me that having me along was way better than leaving me at home. High praise from an 8 year old, right? (Well, they had fun right up until it was time for mama to crack the whip today to get unpacked. Don't mess with me, kid.)

I may post pictures later in the week. I'm so tired right now that attaching a cable and camera to the computer is waaay too much work.

I've actually done all of the laundry already. (Well, except for the towels. Is anyone ever done with the towels?) I unloaded the truck, did the dishes, showered, shaved my legs!, and went grocery shopping. I even straightened my hair and put on makeup for the first time in I-can't-remember-how-long. Welcome to the land of the living, eh?

So, all in all, it wasn't so bad. Ssshhhhh! Don't tell Headless Dad I said so, or he'll never let me forget it.

Camping

My idea of roughing it is a Motel 6 without cable and internet.

My family didn't typically go camping when I was a kid. Why would we when my father was a commercial airline pilot and we could be anywhere in just a few hours? With no bugs? Yes, I went to Girl Scout camp, a family road trip, and the odd school camping trip, but as a rule, No, we didn't camp.

The last time I went camping was the summer of 2001. I was pregnant with #2 and huge. Luckily, I got to sleep in the motor home with my in-laws. I'm not sure I would have ever gotten up off of the ground if I'd had to sleep there.

Before that I honestly can't remember the last time I went camping. A couple of times in college a friend and I went to "the cabin" with the guys. Since we were the only girls there they let us sleep inside in the only bed. Such nice guys! (They also let us use the bathroom. We were special!) Although, a cabin, with indoor plumbing, no matter how rudimentary, doesn't actually count does it?

The last couple of years HD has taken the boys camping while I'm away at BlogHer. They dig it. Guy time. Playing with sticks and fire, and sticks in the fire. You know. GUY STUFF.

But I'm not a guy. Hmph.

Tomorrow the four of us are going camping with the boys' scout pack. What have I gotten myself into? This is July, people, it's hot. I proved to Headless Dad that I was capable of camping when he asked me to put up the tent and check if we had all of the parts. Need I remind anyone that being capable doesn't necessarily mean that you like doing it?

*sigh* The things we do for our kids.

Luckily, we'll only be about 40 minutes away, and staying less than 48 hours total. Think I can make it? Taking wagers in the comments....

20 days

In the next 20 days I will:

• Go camping for 2 1/2 days
• Spend 8 of those days at football practice
• Clean my house- A LOT
• Get my hair done
• Have 3 out-of-town, over-night visitors for 6 days (OK, it's my parents and aunt, but still.)
• Throw a shebang of a party for Headless Dad's 50th birthday
• Appt. with the Oral Surgeon
• Appt. with my dentist
• Pack for my trip
• Fly to NYC
• Go to the conference (Yeah, that one.)
• Fly home.
• Send my kids to their first day of school.

I'm sure there's more, but my head hurts now. So, what are you doing for the next 20 days?

Critters. We have 'em.

There have been a few critters running around here over the past couple of years, most notably the rats.

So last week we discussed one of the newest critters around the headless household...gophers. Here is the evidence!

We believe the gopher met an untimely, yet predictable, demise, since he hasn't been seen again.  No body messes with Headless Dad's grass, y'all.

We're not limited to creatures with legs. No sirree! Look what we found last week on garbage day. (Yes, Keetha, that is a trash can of the non-melted variety!)



The kids got a kick out of this king snake. I'm actually amazed that I got this close to photograph him! HB#2 really wanted to keep it, and HD was going to let him, until I piped in with a resounding "No!!!! ZOMG!!!11!!!! there will be no 'nakes in my house!"



We let him go in a section of the yard that should be teeming with lizards and bugs. Let's just hope he doesn't make his way back to the house, because if I see him and HD isn't home? I believe that his fate will be something like the poor gopher. You don't mess with my house, y'all.

Today

I'm thinking today would be a lovely day for a mommy melt down.

6:30

I am not a morning person. Honestly, if the day routinely began around 9 I would be a happy camper. I prefer my days to last long into the evening, when it's quiet. There is something peaceful about the night that is just not found in the heat of the day. Or morning, for that matter.

Alas, my husband is not. He bounds out of bed around 5 a.m. He commences with head-bobs around 8 p.m. on the couch. Opposites attract, and all that. Hmph.

You might remember that a few days ago he woke me up because of the gopher? Yep. 6:30.

Yesterday, it was for insurance paperwork. Again. 6:30.

Today? It was body lotion, or more accurately, the lack of. You got it. 6:30.

Dear 6:30 a.m.,

You blow.

Sincerely,

Fly Over

July 4, 2010, Coors Field, Denver, Colorado.

Home Again, Home Again

We were supposed to get home on Thursday, but because of the wonders of airline employee travel passes and the internet we didn't even attempt it until Friday. Which was, you know, kind of a mess since one of my boy-children started acting like a 12 year old girl-child with raging hormones. I'll let you all guess which one that was. Hmph. His vacation capacity hits a brick wall around day 9 and if it goes to day 10, or HORRORS! day 11? Well, let's just say that anyone in his path is in for it.

It was a good thing that we were coming home when we did, however, because the implant tooth that I've mentioned? Yeah, it came out again and I had to walk around 2 airports missing a tooth in the front of my mouth attempting to speak without, you know, opening my mouth. Attractive. You should try it sometime.

So the weekend was spent trying to recover from said vacation, doing laundry, cleaning. Nothing says "Welcome Home!" like having to mop and vacuum, I say.

So yesterday I went out and found some curtains for the bathroom that I just painted, along with a couple of accessories that are going to look great. That is, when they finally get put up. In checking out the space I realized that I really need to do a second coat so that's where I'll be today as soon as I get this up. Painting. I sure hope I have enough paint because I really don't want to go back to the store.

(We're having an event here that I'd really like to have it all done for. That story is coming later. But first you need to hear this...)

So for the last few months, Headless Dad has been working on the yard for said event. He planted the garden, got some other stuff planted, fertilized the yard, raked the dirt (!), built a fire pit, cut some wood, and on and on. The dude is serious about his yard. And his hard work has payed off because it really looks terrific. (Photo essay coming soon!) So today, he got up early for work. Normal. Made coffee. Normal. Walked out on the patio to drink said coffee and see his masterpiece in the glow of the sunrise. Normal. Looked out on the grass, and without his glasses saw a mound of dirt. Decidedly NOT NORMAL.

Gophers.

Are you *$@#!=% kidding me?

So he had to wake me up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 to tell me that he was going to the Orange Big Box Home Improvement store. He bombed some gopher-butt.

On his way out, I asked him if he felt like Bill Murray.

Wow!

First, there are no words for how you all made me feel today. The first thing I saw this morning before I even got out of bed was 2 messages on Twitter...one from @PensieveRobin and one from @janlo3 wishing me a happy birthday. The second thing was a flood of comments on my last post wishing me a happy birthday, thanks to my sweet, sweet friend Deb from Just Breathe. I was totally blown away, y'all! The cool thing is that it doesn't end there.

I was able to sit  this morning and finish the second book of this vacation. I can't remember the last vacation that I read even one whole book, much less two. Note to you younger moms: the day will come that you begin to have some of that time back, I swear. I was not sure it was possible, but it is.

My sister-in-law, Alice, and the girls were on vacation for most of the time we've been here so today was the only day that we were going to get to see them. They got here late in the morning and the kids spent all day playing games and catching up; essentially the same thing that the grown ups were doing. In the afternoon we decided to go to WalMart to grab a game that the kids have been wanting to try. We drive over, grab the game, and as I was heading out of the aisle I stopped dead in my tracks.

(Aside: Every time I come home to Colorado I think that I'm going to see people that I know but it almost never happens. Not the ones that I plan to see, but other people that I know. Occasionally I will run into someone's parents but rarely is it people my age. I grew up in, what was, a very small town in the mountains. It's grown since then, but I still always think that I'm going to see people. It's the nature of the beast, I suppose.)

In the aisle, at WalMart, which wasn't even built when we were in high school, was J___. This is someone that I adored in school. We were close, close friends. There was even one summer that we did virtually everything together. During college we eventually drifted apart and I had heard that he had ended up in Costa Rica. It's been about 20 years since I've seen him and you could have knocked us both over with a feather. I honestly didn't think that I would ever see him again, seeing as he's living a continent away, and all.

I cried. We laughed and talked and caught up on each others' lives like not one year had passed, much less twenty. We stood in WalMart for an hour, much to the chagrin of the rest of the family that was there. (Thanks for not ditching me!) It was a happy reunion, for certain. I cried some more.

I also have to thank all of you who posted birthday greetings for me on Facebook. I had over 60 messages there.... I don't think I've ever felt so loved by so many people as I did today.

We had a great dinner (brisket, veggies, rolls,) and my mom remembered my favorite cake: angel food with berries. 

Thank you to my family and the internet, for an amazing forty second birthday. The only thing that would have made it better would have been having Headless Dad around, too. Who knew 42 would start out so great?

Ramblings of a mind on vacation Part 2

I had a lovely lunch today with Issa. We were able to talk blogging as well as the unbloggable stuff. I love her.

We're bad bloggers though. No pictures of our yummy CPK pizzas or wacky self pics. Use your imagination.

We did decide that 4 weeks is much too long to wait for BlogHer, though. Anyone else agree?

Ramblings of a mind on vacation

Thursday already? Where has the time gone? Oh yeah, to the pool, to the tennis court, and on my parent's fabulous deck. Seriously. If you can't relax on this deck, with this view, with virtually no noise except for the birds? You've got a problem.

We haven't planned much for this visit; seeing a few friends, swimming at the club, hopefully catch a Rockies game. I have a bloggy meet-up or two that I'm hoping to get in. Mostly I just want to breathe the clean mountain air, have some cocktails, and relax. And that's just what I'm doing.

If you've never been here, you should visit. This is where my soul lives.

See you soon!