I Should Spread These Out

I am such a doofus, I know. I go a whole week without a post and then have back to back posts. I just felt this post deserved some special attention. I am driving along yesterday afternoon, minding my own business. Out of no where I hear this loud hissing sound. Now, let me say the windows were up and the Octane station was blaring on the radio. I turn the radio down and think to myself... Self: What in the hell is that noise? Then I notice the hissing is rhythmic with the speed of the tire rotation. Self: Oh Crap, my tire is losing air and I am stuck at a red light. Focusing on the Exxon across the street, I use the force to finally get the light to change. (It really worked) I called Mike, a.k.a AAA, and tell him my 10-20. I have to add the fact that because I am so awesome, four people stopped to see if I needed help while I was waiting for Mike and I wasn't even on the side of the road. See, the whole country has not fallen apart afterall. Oh, the chunk of metal in my tire was big enough to assault someone with. Although this picture does not do it justice, I circled the spot where the metal support beam impaled my tire! ha ha

Friday Fill Ins

For those of you who are new to my blog, Friday Fill Ins is something I do every....guess which day? There is a young lady who actually has a blog site called Friday Fill Ins. If you want to add this to your blog every....guess which day....you simply copy, paste, and bold print the thought you have added to the phrase. It is very interesting to see what your friends say and how sometimes it is very close to yours and other times it could not be any further. Well, we are off this early afternoon for a little mini-vacation. Taking the kids to Chattanooga and doing all the touristy stuff. It is a cheap way to get away and the kids love it. I love the fact I won't have to cook another meal until Sunday night! Yea for ME!

1. It's time for Back to school, back to school. To prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight! (What movie?)

2. Hell; it's not a bad place for extremely evil and horrible people.

3. I must be too scared to do exactly what I want to do.

4. Giving birth is the best thing I have ever known.

5. My decision is simply spontaneous.

6. The last time I laughed really loudly was hard to say, I laugh a lot.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to not cooking, tomorrow my plans include The Children's Museum and not cooking, and Sunday, I want to go to the Aquarium and have a safe drive home....then cooking!

Monday, Monday....La La La La La

Hello ladies and gentlemen. Here we meet again to rejoice and celebrate yet another week opener! Wow, it is really hard to be positive about starting a new work week but I think I made a valiant effort. I don't have anything especially attention grabbing...like I ever do...but I would like to start off this week with a funny little picture of Marshall. I cannot quite decide if it is funny or an insight into my future! What a great tan, nice calves and great new peek a boo pumps. Yes, I bought two more pairs of shoes. Just wait until winter when I buy a few more coats I do not need! Happy Monday!

Friday Fill Ins

Another extremely long work week has finally come to a close. I do have to work a few hours today but at least I will have some me time. If I would stop doing so much side work for other companies, I would not be so dang busy but I just cannot turn them down. My fault I suppose. Also, getting up at 5 a.m. every morning to do the P90X is kicking my butt. We will get a day off from torturing ourselves on Sunday. Perfect, a day of rest on the day we are supposed to rest! Then, back to 5 a.m. for six more days in a row. I think I am trying to intentional hurt myself! IT'S FRIDAY!


1. Stuck behind someone barely going the speed limit is not the end of the world. (This is me talking to me)

2. Sitting here, listening to the sound of rain falling, I can truly relax and let my mind be at peace.

3. FAT tastes so good!

4. Sometimes, putting others first is hard but I actually do this sometimes. Hard to believe, I know.

5. The sunrise and sunset is breathtaking, really.

6. Well, maybe there is reason to hope for things that probably won't happen.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to painting the ceiling in my bedroom (I still have not done this), tomorrow my plans include seeing my mom and going to a club in town to listen to Stacy Mitchhart play the Blues and Sunday, I want to take the kids to Sunday School (I am actually helping teach Michael's class, scary) and signing the boys up for soccer. Not an extremely exciting weekend but that is the part I am looking forward to the most.

Slacking To The Nth Degree

I am so sorry if after you finish reading this blog you feel empty. Not the usual satisfaction, kicking back and unbuttoning the top button of your pants (oh, wait a minute, that is what I do after I eat) and belting out an exhausting sigh as if you had just towed a freighter up a hill using nothing but your teeth gripping a tether!!
The fact is I HAVE BEEN BUSY AS HELL! After working all day in home health followed by more after work home health to make side $$. A girl can get tired. I would love to give an update on the past weekend goings on but I am just too tired to do so. I know, I suck.
In my defense, Mike and I have started the P90X work out regimen. For the past two days (88 and counting....90 refers to the amount of days in the program) I (we) have gotten up at 4:45 in order to kick my own ass. Why, you ask? I have no earthly idea. I guess Mike and I have decided we need a challenge in our fitness routine. Guess what, we got it! The first day was nothing but a sequence of pull ups and push ups using different grips and arm positions. Don't perceive that statement as a laissez faire, no big deal kind of thing. As a matter of fact, during the last rotation, Mike stated "I am not doing another F_ C_I_G pull up." It is not easy to perform. Today was plyometric day. Seeing as I am a therapist by trade, I knew exactly what that meant. The very thought of it made me cringe, quite frankly. Lots of jumping up and down with multi-directional changes, we were both about to die! He and I are so sore, we are moving and hobbling around like a geriatric couple. OMG, tomorrow is shoulder/arm day. We are doomed!

Friday Fill Ins

I don't mean to complain because I know being thankful is how I should feel, BUT...I worked my but off this week! I successfully crammed 44 hours of work into 4 days AND I finished painting the bedroom. I am so looking forward to my three day weekend because I have earned it. Michael is coming home today after an 8 day hiatus from home. That little guy has been quite the traveler over the summer. I think it is good for him to start spending long stretches of time away from home. Not for selfish reasons (believe it or not) but for maturity reasons. Kids need those proverbial apron strings cut and get out some. Grown up kids (you know the ones, 28, 34, 42 year olds) still living at home are more numerous now than ever. I see it all the time in home health. Not because they have fallen upon hard times, they are too comfortable living off, ahem, mooching off Mom and Dad! OK, didn't mean to skew off in that direction. It just bugs the crap out of me when I see that sort of thing. And we are off...................

1. Any type of pasta and a complimentary type of meat make a quick and easy dinner.

2. Double Cross by James Patterson is the book I'm reading right now. (Yes, I actually have time to cram reading into my crazy schedule)

3. July brings back memories of playing all day at Hermitage Landing (AKA Nashville Shores.)

4. The outcome was obvious.

5. They say if you tell your dreams before you eat breakfast they will come true.

6. I should take more time to think it over. I am just so damn spontaneous sometimes.

7. And as for the weekend, today I'm looking forward to spending the day with my kids and mom at the zoo and tonight sitting outside and enjoying the 59 degree air (eat your hearts out Danielle and Crystal), tomorrow my plans include getting the bag and boat cooler packed and spending the day on the lake with the family and Sunday, I want to enjoy yet another beautiful day we are being blessed with in the middle of July and maybe have Marshall's girlfriend over.

Good Job Crystal

I am speaking of my cyber friend, Crystal......she answered my blog question. (Even though she admitted to looking it up on Google, that is very big of you!!) The quote was, "Bees, (Bats) your weapons are useless against them." This is from one of my favorite movies, Tommy Boy. In case you have not seen this movie, you are highly missing out. I have a boatload of quotes from it that I use at times. One, in particular, I used today " Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I've got spare time." HILARIOUS! If you think you cannot find humor in this movie.....I don't think we can be friends anymore. :)
FYI: Michael made a par on a par 4 today! He is a prodigy in the making....I am kidding...kind of.

BATS!! You're Weapons Are Useless Against Them

I have yet to share a certain nature induced..super cool thing which happens in my backyard every night. Let me back up, although we live in 'Cookeville Proper' ...I will venture to say we have one of the best back yards in the area. We are in a subdivision of, I think, sixteen houses. Fortunately, our house has woods (can a lot of trees clumped together be classified as woods?) in the back (South) and partially on the side.
Anywho, over that tree line we get the pleasure of watching a colony (camp) of bats fly every night. Actually, the word 'bats' does not begin to describe the phenomenon which occurs every evening in our back yard. Phenomenon, you say? Are we not talking about bats? Indeed we are. BUT, when you can virtually tell time by said mammals..........we are talking cool!
This evening is a prime example. (Sidenote: I finally figured out how to transfer all my music from my old iPod to my new touch....YIIIPPPEEE! To celebrate this occasion, I tortured Mike with sitting outside with my iPod player and finally enjoy the new one. He likes music but not at the same level as myself).
Ok, I am losing the point of this blog, as usual! We are all outside with a fire getting ready to roast hot dogs and here they come........over 1000 bats fly over the tree lined horizon in our back yard every night. Granted, this takes about 45 minutes BUT there is nothing cooler than sitting on the patio and having bats swoop down less than three feet over your head eating their supper. We have lived here for for a little over five years and the "Bat Show", as we have appropriately named it, has amazed us over and over and night after night. I know it is hard to imagine that many bats flying over your house, eating bugs every night.....but trust me....it is the neatest thing ever. I wonder if any of them are the endangered species of gray bats. That little booger is the reason why spelunking has come to a grinding halt over the past week on the entire eastern seaboard...FYI....put your lighted helmet and pick axe away!!
To totally copy Crystal....What movie is the title of this blog from (substitute bees for bats)?

Friday Fill Ins

A busy week has come to a close and I could not be happier. I did not get my 3 day weekend which I had grown quite accustomed to. Booooo. However, to further my wasp week.....we are all sitting on the patio admiring my tomato plants (oooooooo, aaaaaaah) and Michael decides to fix one of the bird feeders that was clogged. He sticks his finger in the slot, starts digging out seed clumps and hitting it to knock them loose. I will give you one guess as to what happens. You guessed it....about a half dozen wasps swarm out of that thing and wage an attach. Luckily Michael was only stung one time but it was about one centimeter from his eye. I have never heard such wailing come from a 9 year old. I thought he may be dying. The irony of all this is, I was just telling Mike that I have had a really long week and need some quiet. HAHAHAHAHA, what in the hell was I thinking when I thought something like that.
Michael is off to golf camp today in Nashville and won't be back until next Friday. I am going to miss that little guy but he will be having too much fun to miss me. That's OK, part of growing up.


1. The last thing I ate was filet mignon and shrimp skewers off the grill.

2. The perfect black dress is something I recently bought.

3. When it rains, it helps me relax....especially when accompanied by thunder and lightening.

4. Mike was the first person I talked to today.

5. Hugs are are in unlimited supply in this house...Much to Michael's dismay I am sure.

6. I only use bamboo sheets on my bed for extra comfort.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to not having the opportunity to hear my kids fight, tomorrow my plans include swimming and conquering another wall in the bedroom and Sunday, I want to go to a BBQ in my birthday honor at one of my friends houses. See how the celebration of my birthday has been unfolding? I don't have one big party, I have four smaller parties. It is like a birthday Hanukkah! (Sidenote: I mean no offense with this remark to any of my readers who may be Jewish)

This Was Supposed To Just Be A Swim Lesson

We go to the pool this afternoon because Michael wants to learn specific swimming strokes. Tryouts for the local swim team are in two weeks and he wants to see if he can make it. I told him I did not mind him trying out BUT he needed to learn a few fundamentals of at least two strokes (freestyle and backstroke, they are the easiest) before the actual day. I let him play for a little while and then we started the lesson, freestyle first. "Keep your head in the water except to take a breath, Kick mostly from the knee down..not the entire leg, Keep your fingers together, Stop fighting the water and "dance" with the water (I made that up!). Frustration mounted quickly in my big man and he was already complaining of too many things to remember.
Michael: "It is hard to remember all of this"
Me: "If this sort of thing was easy, everyone would do it"
Michael: "I know, I know"
I mustered all the patience I possibly could (which is running in low supply lately) and pressed forward. I was demonstrating, he was emulating and over and over and over we went...... Just as he was about to quit for the day, I demonstrated the way your change direction once you get to the wall. The front flip was all it took to draw his interest back into the lesson of the freestyle stroke. Next, the backstroke. His butt was dipping too much "Get your butt plane with the water". "Reach back and actually try to displace the water with your hand. Your hand has to hit the water with the palm not the side." It was then I realized he was unable to rotate his shoulder in order to make this happen. I guess this is something we will have to work on during the next two weeks. The 'lesson', which is a moniker I loosely attach, lasted about 30 minutes. When Michael and I were wanting to strangle each other....I felt we should stop!!! Good Thinking.
I gave everyone a "we are leaving in five minutes" warning and propped my feet up on a chair. BIG MISTAKE. The next thing I know, Marshall is standing in the pool, screaming his head off. He is obviously in significant pain. I ran over to him and ask what is wrong.....he screams some sort of incoherent babble and points to a wasp floating in the water. That little SOB had stung him. And people wonder why I run away like an idiot from stinging/biting insects. You cannot really tell how bad the swelling is in these picks but if you pay attention you can. (Hint: Ring finger) He cried all the way home, much to my pleasure ;) and of course we caught every traffic light known to man. How in the world does that always happen?

Almost An Independence Baby

Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday dear ME-ee, Happy Birthday to Me. Even though I had to work on my birthday, it was still a good day. Mike, the kids, and I went to The Foglight at Rock Island to eat supper on Saturday....and...we are having another Girls Night Out to celebrate my birthday this Wednesday at Maddux Station. Tonight is just a low key night with burgers on the grill and the family on the patio.

Friday Fill Ins

Well here I sit once again writing my Friday Fill In. I have started to look forward to this post every week because I don't have to put a lot of brain power into it. I am looking forward to another three day weekend that I greatly deserve. We don't have any big plans tonight but tomorrow, well...I guess I can talk about the weekend in number 7! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe 4th of July.

1. When I heard the snowbird jingle, I knew school was out for snow!

2. Love, Laughter, Friends, Fun and being able to laugh at YOURSELF is the best medicine.

3. It's late, but being late is my usual M.O. If I was early, people would think I had a fever!

4. Be true to yourself, always.

5. My eyes have seen...I took Gross Anatomy with medical students in college, you don't want to know what my eyes have seen. (Or my hands have touched for that matter)

6. I strongly wish my youngest would potty train!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking the family to the Foglight restaurant at Rock Island, tomorrow my plans include hanging out at Mom and Dad's pool at their country club while Dad and Mike play 18 then heading home and watch Cookeville's fireworks from our back yard (they are actually quite good considering the size of this town) and Sunday, I want to watch it rain while I tackle the bedroom painting! I need a change!