Simply Me

Random Saturday Bits

• My son's first middle school progress report is *great*:  3 A's, 2' B's and a C in English. I am so proud of him. His entry into middle school has had me on edge for a year. It's not been perfect but it's not been quite the nightmare I feared. Of course, I probably just jinxed it!
  
• Sleeping until noon on a Saturday is both decadently delightful and utterly wasteful! I didn't even know I had it in me. I got up @ 7:30am to feed the horses. When I cam back in, I decided that I wasn't ready to eat breakfast or do anything else, so I went back to bed. 
  
• A clean little weanling is a pretty weanling. It also helps to get the iodine-based medicine I spilled down her side off and she no longer looks like she's been attacked by a tiger or something.
  
• Watching the same weanling dry in the sun while she grazed on our backyard (which is still green and lush, unlike their small pasture/paddock) for a couple of hours is time well spent. She actually ate until she was too full and couldn't eat anymore!
  
• I should probably check the weather for tomorrow. I'd really like to get the photos I need for registering all of them so I can get that paperwork sent in.
  
• Why is that the only place I can find the jeans I want is online @ Amazon and they're $35 a pair before shipping? Grrrr.
  
• Waiting for Diana Gabaldon's new book to be come available on Audible is slowly driving me crazy. It's been almost 2 weeks since the hardcover copy was released!
  
• 6 days until the NEW baby arrives. "MIssy" is the name that's still sticking with me. And it is my call on the name this time, so there. :P
  
• I feel guilty that I missed our daughter's opening night at the church-based play she is in right now. But not guilty enough to try and keep up with her co-star's parents who are going to each show. That's $25 for the show/dinner or just $15 for the show only, times 6 shows, times two people. She'll have to settle for one time of our viewing her in action. She says it's okay. Hopefully it doesn't put in her therapy in 10 years.
  
• Dinner that is made from frozen spaghetti sauce from last week's dinner is a *good* thing. I don't want any "carry-out" food tonight AND I don't feel like getting dressed to go out to dinner either. 
  
• I want to scrapbook, but I don't know where to start. So, then I don't do anything and the feeling of where to start gets worse. 
  
• I think I'm done rambling now....GO RAVENS!

Did you notice the new banner?

I finally changed it. Doesn't it look awesome?! In late August, I commented on how I should really spend some time updating the look of the blog, including a new banner. Imagine my delight when I found a comment from that post (weeks later) from a very talented artist and digi designer volunteering to make a new banner for me! 

Helena is someone I know from both Two Peas in a Bucket (a scrapbooking website) and from her blog (We Do it the Hard Way). She has two adorable children, an equally talented husband, and she does some AMAZING crochet work. For those of you into digi scrapping, please check out her digi scrapping items that she sells at Natural Designs in Scrapbooking.

I'll be back later to do some more updating! Time to groom the horses before it starts raining.

Random Bits

I thought I'd write today in bits. KInda like Twitter but with more than 140 characters. We'll see how it goes!

• Attention Mosquitoes! We had a deal...you came out in the evening and I was fair game if I was foolish enough to come outside at that time of the day. NO fair attacking @ 7:30 in the morning. You can't just change the rules like that. 
   
• Why does watching the horses eat send me into what I can only describe as a "Zen" like state? I could (and have!) stand there for 20 minutes just watching them eat. My mind goes blank and I am almost mesmerized. I have to literally shake myself into moving off and onto the 100 other things I should be doing. Even Hermione seemed to be caught up in it this morning. Weird

• ...more to come.

Sleepy time...and a movie review!

Every night this week, I've come home and laid on the couch. Within minutes, I'm sound asleep. I'm sleeping fine at night. I'm in bed between 10:00p and 11:00p, so I can't blame it on staying up too late. I'm not getting up extra early...between 6:30a and 7:00a. I hope this goes away.

On another note, I have to say I must be one of Netflix's favorite customers. I'm the type of customer who gets their two movies and then hangs on to them forever because I can never find the right time to sit down and watch the darn things!

I finally watched the latest two I've had on hand for a least a month:  The Bucket List and Lars and the Real Girl.

I remember when I saw the preview for Lars and the REal Girl for the first time, I thought it was going to be a comedy. Imagine my suprise when I discovered that it is a very meloncholy, thought provoking story. I'm still digesting the idea of whether I liked it or not. I think it's one of those movies you should probably watch more than once to come to a solid conclusion.

The Bucket List was much more what I imagined it to be. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play very familiar roles....neither's character is something you haven't seen from either actor before. That's not a bad thing though. The plot twist at the end took my by suprise...which I find annoying because I usually can see things like that coming from a mile away. Sean Hayes, from the show Will and Grace, plays a minor character role that is the exact opposite of his outlandish Jack character. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I really became fond of Jack's portrayal of his character. And of course, I cried at the end. If you didn't expect a tear jerk moment at the end of a movie with a title like "The Bucket List", then you're being silly.

Next up from Netflix: Grand Torino and Bedtime Stories.  I've set a goal of one week to get both of them watched!

Happy 4th?

Today's focus here at this house has been anything but the celebration of our country's independence.

I got up early as the dogs and the horses don't understand the concept of sleeping in. After taking care of some morning chores, I decided to do some work on my computer. I've been unable to access the external hard drive on the desktop over the wireless network I have setup. I thought a reboot of the desktop would do the trick.

The darn thing wouldn't boot back up. ::::banging head on wall:::::

At first I thought it was the monitor but ultimately realized it was the computer itself. I've been meaning to do a refresh of the whole system but hadn't done so yet. At this point I had no option but put in the emergency reboot disk which wipes away anything on the hard drive (C: drive not the EHD). I then spent all morning re-installing various things.  All seemed well.

Until about 30 minutes ago when the darn thing shut down by itself and won't reboot. I guess we'll need to have someone look at it.

I don't think I mentioned that I already lost another external hard drive less than a month ago. 

And to top the day off? My husband took our son fishing at a nearby state park. Because he was only going a few yards away from his truck, he left it open...windows down, doors unlocked. Well, someone took the opportunity to get into it and found his checkbook. Things have settled to a dull roar over this delightful turn of events but there's nothing to do until the bank opens on Monday. Wooo-flipping-hoo.

Now, in an effort to do something to take my mind of everything else, I'm working on some photos. I really would like to get my photo mojo back. I took the kids camping at the beach and simply didn't feel like taking photos. We took my daughter's little point-n-shoot but I just don't like it compared to my DSLR as far as resulting photos. 

Anyway, here's a few from last month when I visited the Valhalla farm outside of Westminster.

This little guy was just a couple of days old:

This little guy was a pushy attention hound! 

I reworked this previous posted photo:

Growing is hard work:

This is Lilly.  She was born prematurely and most babies who arrive as early as she did do not survive. The excellent care she received by Kathy and all her helpers means this little girl is going to grow up to be an amazingly beautiful creature. That blue eye? I didn't do a thing to enhance it at all...it is really that blue!  And she has two of them!

Lilly and her mom:

This little guy was *stunning*...his new owner is one darn lucky person!

Hopefully, the colors on this look alright to the rest of you.  I need to do some printing to see what is really happening with my edits.

Happy Easter

My last day of "vacation" and of course I have a headache :)  I'm very happy that this is the only one I've had in the last 9 days so I will endure and try not to complain too much!

The Easter Bunny came and went.  We tried to take Casey to Best Buy to "spend" his gift certificate but everything was closed.  As I have to run into town to get dog food tomorrow, I'll be running him to BB to make up for today's disappointment.

As I mentioned yesterday, I took time yesterday afternoon to go visit another miniature horse that we were interested in.  The seller, Lynne, was a delightful person! So full of information and so willing to share.  Her horses were are lovely and so sweet!  It was quite fun to be surrounded at one point by 5 or so curious minis.  Both kids went along and I think Casey was ready to stay forever.  She has some foals coming soon and I hope we get the chance to go back when they've arrived.  It would be nice to go when the weather wasn't so wet and cold too!

The horse we went to see was Lexie.  She is a sensational little girl. I wanted to bring her home right there and then! Unfortunately, she's a pretty well bred animal and her price is higher than Tom wants to commit to at this point.  I'm giving him some time to think about it before I let Lynne know. He may come around a bit and if nothing else, I will have an idea of what is "bottom line" is. Maybe Lynne liked us enough to meet us there. It would be quite a stretch though and I would not blame her at all for not accepting such a low offer.  As with everything else in this matter, I'm truly going to let things happen as they will. What is meant to be will be.

Here are some pictures from yesterday as well as some of Izzy that I took this afternoon.

Casey and Lexie:

Sarah and Lexie:

Lexie body profile and size compare (Sarah is 5' 2"; that is here holding the lead):

Izzy:

I love it when I figure stuff out

It may take me 30 years, but whatever.

Today's revelation?  It's about skin care.  Specificially, facial skin care.  My face is a mess. It's generally red and has at least one blemish...sometimes more.

I've seen a dermatologist. Let's just say it was an expensive visit where I was pushed more to spend more than to really resolve my problems. I used the prescribed facial wash but the improvement was minimal.

I've tried bunches of OTC products, including expensive home-sales brands. Again, not much was gained by any of these products.

Last week, I was talking w/a coworker who happens to sell Avon.  I was explaining how I often find that my face actually hurts...including that day we were having this conversation.

She then said the magic words that finally sunk into my brain:  "Well, maybe your skin is irritated by something."

Well good grief...how dumb can I be.  Of course that was it. My skin is RED and has BLEMISHES from being IRRITATED as in having a REACTION to a product I'm using on and off.  

:::::beating forehead against wall repeatedly:::::

With this new data safely tucked away into my wee brain, I headed to the local big-chain drug store where I happen to have an employee discount card.  As I looked at the huge wall of facial skin care products, I tried hard not to be completely overwhelmed.  I focused on trying to find products that specifically addressed "irritation", "redness" and "calming".

I found two products at this store:  Aveeno and Skin Effects.  I bought the Skin Effects.  

I've used it for the 3rd day today.  Guess what?  

MY SKIN ISN'T IRRITATED!!!!  It doesn't itch.  It doesn't burn.  It doesn't hurt.

It feels clean, soft and fresh.

And it only took me 20+ years to figure out how to wash my face.

Ouch. That was painful.

This whole Chris Brown/Rhianna story has opened up some old scars. I was never beaten or physically abused by a man, but I witnessed my own father doing it to my mother. I remember the screaming and the fighting. The awful things said. Things like "It's YOUR fault I don't have a son". This was exceptionally awful because my mother had 4 miscarriages in less than 4 years, one of them being a boy at 7 months. The other miscarriages went as far as 4 months. This is just one example of his cruelty. 

The mornings we'd get up and find holes punched into the wall. Later learning that my mother's head was against that same wall when he punched through it on each side of her head. 

The time when I was 11 and the fighting was going on in the basement, two floors below my bedroom. The fight was escalating and I simply couldn't stand it. I grabbed my twirling baton and raced down the steps, ran to the basement door and found my father pushing my mother up the stairs with her arm twisted behind her back (we later learned her arm had a spiral fracture because of it). I do not know what possessed me, but I threatened to start beating him on the head with the baton if he didn't let her go and leave her alone.

In trying to express to my daughter, a huge Chris Brown fan, why I don't want her validating this disgraceful human animal by listening to his music, I shared with her a couple of these stories. I don't share these things often because I'm not sure how healthy it is for her to know about them. In this case, I wanted her to know where my emotions are coming from. And to let her know that she needs to protect herself from this kind of harm. 

In her classic form, she just looked at me while I talked.  No comments. No responses. 

Please God, let her hear me.

Friday run down

The knee:  Saw the ortho on Wednesday. He wants to be sure I haven't torn the meniscus so he's sending me for an MRI. I'm waiting for a call from their main office with my referral so I can make the appointment. Once we get the "all clear" then he's going to set me up with a visit or two with a physical therapist who will then help me setup a non-impact workout at the gym. In other words...no more treadmill and no more running. I can go ahead and resume my trips to the gym next week. Now, to make myself actually do it. You see, I'm in a mood. And that mood does not make gym visits seem terribly appealing right now. I'm hoping to get over this mood by Monday.

Date Night:  I bought the hubby tickets to see Larry the Cable Guy for Christmas. The show is tomorrow night. We're keeping our fingers crossed the girl gets home in time to watch her brother. She has an all day school activity.  It's gonna be close.

Softball:  I'm hyper-ventilating over all that needs to be done. 

House work:  I miss my cleaning lady terribly.  Must get caught up tomorrow. The stress of the mess all around is driving me nuts.

NCIS: I don't think I've mentioned that as a family, we are currently obsessed with this show. It started with my daughter watching the re-runs on the USA channel. Then I sat through a couple of shows with her. Then my husband did the same.  Now, we are recording whatever episodes we can and basically avoiding most other television.  I love a show with great characters...several great characters is especially wonderful.  NCIS has several great characters. I've come to "love" these characters. That's why *I* love the show. Not sure what everyone else like so much about it.

Random thoughts...

Family:  Why am I the only one who lives in this house that notices that it's a mess and needs serious cleaning? Why is it I am the only one in this house WITHOUT any free time but am the only that feels the need to do anything about it? And finally, why do they take this charade so far that I have to turn into an ogre to get the help I need and then am made to feel bad about being an ogre?

The Knee: It seems that my self prescription of rest has done the trick. Or was it the fact that I did make an appointment with the ortho (still 10 days away)? I'm keeping the appointment. It's been 9 years since I last saw him about my knee and it won't hurt to get his advice on the best way to avoid doing this to myself again.

Work: Between the things I need to accomplish here at home and the work work I need to get accomplished today, I am going to have no time to myself today! Yeah!

Attitude: The boy is sick with a lovely headcold. Yesterday, I checked on hiim in the morning and found him awake but still lying in bed playing his Gameboy DS. I asked hin how he was feeling. His response?

"My nose is still stuffed like a turkey but my throat feels good enough to sing all day!"

Gotta love that attitude! I need to find a way to have that kind of attitude today!