Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I am most enjoying this Scavenger Hunt Sunday over at Ashley's site. It just gives me yet another reason to always have my camera with me. :)

This week's words were:

1. CAPTURE THE SKY

2. EVERYDAY

3. FURRY

4. LIFE

5. BLURRY

I got the crap beat out of me...

I was beaten up on Tuesday by a cold. A viral cold. A viral cold that knew no mercy.

I was down for the count until last night around dinner time. Evan came home and could instantly tell that I was feeling better. I think part of the break through was that I ate oranges yesterday like it was my job. I have the canker sore on my tongue to prove it.

While I was in my foggy head cold state, I came to a realization:

Julia is a horrific, terrible, not kind nurse.

She would badger me to not lay down; she would pry open my eyes when I was trying to nap on the couch; she refused to play by herself and would scream loudly when she wasn't getting her way (which is a normal reaction for her, but with a headache, it's such a nails-on-the-chalkboard noise). She took my blankets and wouldn't give them back. I would plead and remind her that I was sick and needed to just lay down and relax. "You not sick. Get up."

There were many texts to Evan that his child was not being kind. There may have been a couple of messages informing him that he would find his youngest child out on the curb when he got home. No promises that she would be in one piece.

And that's when I realized that being a mean, bully nurse was Julia's way of trying to make me better. She was trying to scare the crap out of the virus reeking havoc in my body. It reminded me of when people try to scare hiccups out of each other.

When I was sick when Elisabeth was that age, I took her to the day care. (Oh my word, I would have given a cabajillion dollars to take Julia to any day care this week just to get a nap in.) Daycare was paid for, she wouldn't have to be around while I sneezed and hacked my lungs out and I got to nap. But, even when Elisabeth didn't have day care, she had a much different attitude about my being sick. She'd cover me with blankets and kiss my head and ask me if I wanted more water. She'd sit quietly at my feet and watch movies while I dozed on the couch. She'd pat my hair and hug me. It was very sweet and something she still does when we're sick and she's home.

Just another dramatic difference between my girls. One's a Florence Nightingale and the other one's a drill sergeant. But, what's humorous is that Elisabeth is a FABULOUS patient when she's sick--apologizes for puking, offers to help clean up her messes, sits quietly and doesn't complain. Julia is a big fat whiner when she's sick. She needs cuddled and reassured and constant attention. She cries more easily and needs to be held the entire time she's awake. She's miserable and everyone around her needs to know it.

When I went to get Julia out of bed this morning, she greeted me with, "Mommy, you feel better?"

"Yes, I feel better."

"Hooray!" She then hugged me as tight as those little 2.5 year old arms could squeeze me.

She knew that bullying the virus out would totally work.

Virtual Coffee

Hello, dear friends. My head feels very foggy today because I have a bit of a cold. I hate having a cold; I find myself being super irritated more than anything else when I'm sick. Irritated with the sneezing and having to be within 2 feet of kleenexes at all times. Irritated with the headaches and the grogginess. Irritated that any sort of germ dared to test my fantastic immune system and put up a fight.

Julia was very sick this weekend. She was just kind of sniffley Friday afternoon, and then right around dinner time she had a fever and her breathing was fast and shallow. When she was around 9 months old, she had pneumonia and it was very scary, so when she started breathing like she couldn't catch her breath, I immediately took her in. Unfortunately, that meant the emergency room, but whatever. Thank heavens she did not have pneumonia (they took x-rays) and her breathing was because her temperature was so high. She's doing much better now, with a smoker's cough that could rival any 2-pack-a-dayer.

I picked up some pictures at Walgreens this weekend and have already added the new pictures to our refrigerator. The top half of our refrigerator has always been a photo gallery of our loved ones. When we first moved to DeKalb, I wanted pictures of our parents and siblings to be up where Elisabeth could see them daily since we would no longer be seeing them daily physically. The girls love discovering that I've added new ones and talk about what they're doing in the pictures. Putting pictures up on the refrigerator was one of the first things I did when we moved out here to Colorado and will be one of the first things I do when we move to Texas. It's definitely something that makes us feel more at home.

I have yoga today and I am excited. I haven't gone to yoga two weeks in a row since I first started yoga in January. Wait...I don't even know if that's true. I think I may have never been 2 weeks in a row. Well, no matter, because that's being remedied today! Elisabeth has shown interest in yoga and i believe they have a child/parent class at the Y, so I'm looking into it for us to go to together. Before we attend though, I'll need to have her sign a contract that no matter how often Mommy falls down during class, Elisabeth will promise not to point and laugh. I can not help it that I was born without balance.

Sometimes, I dream about having new furniture. Then, I have to scrape stickers off of our existing furniture (like I just did a second ago when Julia put stickers on the coffee table) and I remember why we can't have nice things until we're at least 87 years old. Sigh.

On that random note, I will say my good-byes and start getting ready for yoga. Thanks so much for stopping by for some coffee. Please make sure and stop by Amy's place for another cup and some fun conversations! See you next week!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I was ready this week to be on the look out for my scavenger hunt items.

Here's this week's finds:

1. CHOCOLATE

2. NUMBERS

3. CANNED FOOD

4. MUSIC

5. STACK

Please stop by over at Ramblings and Photos with Ashley to see everyone else's scavenger hunt finds. That's my favorite part is to see how others interpreted the words for the week!

10 things you might not know about me.

1. I hate going to the post office. I have no idea why. It might be the long lines (although, that doesn't bother me at the grocery store). Or the endless in choices in stamps (it's hard to pick between flowers or Disney characters!). Whatever the reasons, I super hate going. I avoid it until it's not a choice and I have a pile of things that need to be mailed. I have similar issues with the bank. And the gas station.

2. 23 is my favorite number. I remember being in 4th grade and a few kids in the class had Chicago Bulls fever. They asked me who my favorite player was. I said number 23. They asked if I meant Michael Jordan. I said, yeah, if that's his name. They all stared at me like I had 14 eyes. I just continued reading my book.

3. I like to read. Oh, I already told you that? Well, it's true.

4. I am scared of stairs. Well, I'm scared of falling down stairs. Well, I'm mainly scared of falling in general, but falling down stairs would be the worst kind of falling. And don't even get me started on bleachers!

5. I hate the phone. Hate. Hate hate. I always have. In 4th grade, I had a friend who called me ALL THE TIME. Like 10-12 times a day. She'd call and then have nothing to say. She was constantly interrupting my Nintendo playing (dude, I needed to beat that Super Mario Bros. game!!) and she never had anything useful to say but was impossible to get off the phone. So, sometimes when she was talking, I'd just hang up on her. She'd sometimes call right back and say, "I think you accidentally hung up." Yeah...I accidentally hung up my rotary phone.

6. I apparently had issues in 4th grade. I will have to ponder this some more.

7. I don't like dogs. I never really have. There are a few exceptions of dogs I have met and liked, but they are very few. I don't mind you talking about your dog (unless you are comparing that dog to my human children) or looking at pictures of your dog. I appreciate people who like dogs. I am just not one of them.

8. I don't like to be licked. *shudder* This is one of the reasons for my dislike of dogs, but I don't like it when people lick me either. Who licks me, you ask? My children. Children I used to teach (mainly the preschoolers). Evan, but he's just a brat and knows I hate it. My children.

9. I love Frank Sinatra. Love. Love love. I was introduced to his album "Ring-a-ding-ding" in high school and have been smitten with him ever since. I own about a dozen of his albums (including actual record albums). The girls also enjoy Sinatra. Elisabeth super loves the "Sinatra and Basie Swing!" CD. Oh, to be a bobbysoxer in the 40s...or at the Sands in the 60s...I'd totally be a groupie!

10. My favorite color is yellow. Amen.

And now you know more about me than you ever really wanted to. You are welcome.

Yoga

I went to yoga class again yesterday after a 3 week hiatus due to sickness and freezing weather.

Holy cow, I am sooooo sore today.

Even though it had been 3 weeks since my last class, I was very excited about yoga yesterday. I am enjoying it way more than I thought I would. True, I am by no means flexible. Yes, I find myself wondering how some of the other people in the class can get their legs to twist and bend in those strange ways and I try not to stare too much.

Part of the reason I love the class is the instructor. She is this lovely, kind woman who could be Barbie's grandma. Seriously, she has this beautiful silver hair and she's always dressed in a style I can only envy. She is super tall and graceful. She is in her 60s and can bend her body in ways I didn't know humanly possible. And, she is so sweet and encouraging. I heart her.

So, yesterday, when she demonstrated some weird set of poses that we were to do with each breathe and I secretly wanted to just lay on my mat and pretend that it wasn't a yoga class but was a napping class, I attempted to do the poses. Thank the heavens that no one takes pictures of me doing yoga class, because none of you would ever come visit my blog again. But, I did it. Did I do it correctly? Hahahahahahaha. No. Did I at least attempt to do them correctly? Yes.

And when Barbie's grandma complemented me during the class, I was so super proud. I know that my face was beaming while I started the whole stupid rotation of poses again in upward dog.

The best thing about yoga is that, at the end of the class, I feel taller and leaner. And the next day, even though I am very sore, it's a good sore. It's an I-accomplished-something-sore.

I'll definitely be back next week. And the week after. And maybe, just maybe, I'll even work up to taking off my socks during class.

Maybe.

Probably not though. I have major issues with putting used socks back on my feet. Ew.

Virtual Coffee

Good morning!!!

Thanks for coming by today! I know that I normally provide you with the coffee at my own home and we chit chat at my small kitchen table, but today, I think we should go out. Probably to my neighborhood Starbucks. The people there are good people. Julia will get her chocolate milk and I will probably pretend like I'm going to try something new, but just decide not to fix what is oh-so not broken and get a tall frappaccino. Probably Java Chip.

I figured we could go out for coffee today because I have a lot of things to do and this day is BEAUTIFUL with all the sun shine and the lovely temperature, so we should probably enjoy it!

Can I please tell you how much Julia loves Roosevelt?

It is true love. And he's so sweet to her. He just lets her carry him around and doesn't get angry when she shuts him in a closet because they're playing house or something of the sort and the closet is his house. My favorite is watching them play outside. Julia will still carry him around, but if he can escape under our deck or up on top of the fence, he will as fast as possible. Then she just yells for him to "Be safe!" and "You otay?" for about 30 minutes.
I am reading a fabulous book called Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin and am only half way through it, but can not put it down. It's about the real Alice that Alice in Wonderland was written for and about. It's fascinating and the author tells the story from the perspective of Alice. Definitely one I'm recommending to our book club tonight. Ah...book club. I am most excited to go tonight.

So, tell me what's going on with you. Any plans for this weekend? Reading anything good?

Thanks for stopping by for some coffee with me! If you need another cup, just swing over to Amy at Lucky Number 13 and you'll find plenty of friends to chat with.

See you next week!!

The day I met Pioneer Woman.

Saturday, I went to my first book signing.

The author happened to be Ree Drummond aka Pioneer Woman.

I was excited. Super excited. Major super duper excited.

Our friends Jordan and Chelsey were visiting the same weekend. I warned them when they called to plan the trip that it was ok for them to visit as long as they understood that I was seeing Pioneer Woman in Denver that Saturday. Chelsey said she'd love to go with me. I've always liked Chelsey.

We left for the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver. I wanted to be there early because I knew there'd be a line and I wanted to be in the beginning of that line. (oh, and that book store was freaking awesome!!!)

Kim and Rachel were meeting us there. They really liked Chelsey from the get-go.
See that lady sitting in the chair to the left? She was #1. That's how fabulous of a spot in line we had!!!
Pioneer Woman was going to talk and field questions for about 20 minutes before starting the signing of the books. We were in the third row!
We were numbers 22-25 in line! I was super duper-dy excited.
We brought snacks.
And then, Pioneer Woman finally came into the room!
She was funny and sincere. She made us giggle and I loved actually seeing the person whose blog I read daily, whose recipe book I love so much it's falling apart, and who's new book I read in a day and loved. Ooh, and she said that she's working on a second cook book!!!!! It's due out in 2012!!!!!!

When it came to our turn to get our books signed, I will not lie, I was nervous. What do you say to the person who you know everything about because you've been reading her blog for almost years and read her book about how she met her rancher husband but she doesn't know you from Tom, Dick or Harry?

Easy. You mumble hello and then clam up like the shyest person to walk the planet.

Yep. That's what I did. I turned shy. And quiet. It was awesome.

But, I did find my voice in time to say, "Um...I do have a request."

PW: "Sure, what is it?"

VA: "Can you please sign my crack?"
I then proceeded to show her that my cook book was falling apart from frequent usage and that the spine was showing. Thank heavens she laughed and said yes, she'd sign it.
After mumbling my "Thanks" and my "It was nice to meet you"s, I stood and took pictures of the other girls getting their books signed.


Group photo!!!
I had so much fun. Not only was meeting Pioneer Woman the most exciting thing on the planet, but I had such a blast with Rachel, Kim and Chelsey. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. In fact, we laughed so much that when it was our turn to meet Pioneer Woman, she told us that our laughter was infectious.

Best. Day. Ever.

Jordan and Chelsey

This is Jordan.

Evan and I went to high school with Jordan. He was in a million extra curricular activities with us. He played the piano at our wedding. He is a lawyer just like Evan. He's been a friend for years and years now.

Jordan met and married a FABULOUS lady named Chelsey. When we first met her I remember thinking that I liked her. I liked her a lot. She made me giggle. I love to giggle.
Jordan and Chelsey came to visit us for the weekend. We'd talked about them visiting for months and we finally found a weekend that worked well.
The weather was perfect! We showed them fun things like Evan's office, Peterson AFB's airplane museum, restaurants we love and, of course, Garden of the Gods. I even took Chelsey with me to Pioneer Woman's book signing in Denver, but that is a post all its own. (I MET PIONEER WOMAN!!!!!!!!)


Jordan and Chelsey came with a game plan on how to win Julia over. They only had 2.5 days to woo her and get her to love them. She was a chatterbox almost immediately. She could tell they were her kind of people.




I can not even tell you how many pictures I have of Jordan doing this dance (minus the mountains as a background, though).


Elisabeth loved them instantly. She was about 3 the last time she'd seen them. She asked to sneak into their suitcases so she could stay at their house for a while. She's very excited that we might be seeing them again when we travel to Illinois in the fall.

We had so much fun! We laughed so much that my cheek muscles were sore for the whole weekend.

Thanks for visiting Jordan and Chelsey! And thank you for the lovely gift you left for us!! Elisabeth was super excited to be in charge of giving it to us.

Elisabeth declared on the ride home that you two would make GREAT parents. I think she's thinking of asking you to adopt her the next time she sees you.