I feel so empowered!

I am feeling so empowered and so proud of myself! I went for a 14 mile bike ride yesterday! I was tired and probably walking a little funny yesterday when we got back and my bottom is definitely a bit on the tender side today...but I feel GREAT! I can't wait to go again and hopefully make this a regular thing...maybe then I will be running down the beach in a bikini again! LOL!

I also bought myself some roller blades finally. It has been probably 12 years since I last rollerbladed...Steve and I were living in Minnesota and had started roller blading and we were out at a park having fun...and then I rollerbladed down a hill...and couldn't stop...and fell right on my tail bone! Steve was behind me and says that I hit the ground so hard I actually bounced! Oh man was I hurting and I couldn't walk right or bend over for a month or more. It was awful. Since then the idea of getting back on roller blades has made me nauseous...until recently. I figured I would give it another try. I am thrilled to say that I haven't fallen and I am gradually building my confidence back. I am embarassed to admit that my 7 y.o. son is better at it than I am! LOL!

Bloody Mary! Bloody Mary! Bloody Mary!

When I was a kid I can remember being told that if you go into the bathroom and turn off all the lights then say "Bloody Mary" into the mirror 13 times then a blood covered woman would come out of the mirror and scratch your face off! (okay, insert a picture of me rolling my eyes here! LOL!) I can remember believing it too. I am sure you are wondering why on earth I would be writing about this but it seems my 7 y.o. learned of the "Bloody Mary" legend yesterday at school...although the version is slightly different...it seems he was told that if he says "Bloody Mary" into the mirror 10 times then he will die. The poor little guy was crying hysterically last night shortly after bed and he was absolutely terrified! Steve and I took him into the bathroom to show him that it wasn't true and he was better after that. It seems the little girl who told him about it has at least one older sibling so my guess is they were trying to scare her. I can only imagine what other legends he is going to come home with fearing they are true! And I can't believe it is already happening in 2nd grade!

So I'm curious...what legends can you remember being afraid of as a kid...I would love to hear one - or two! ;)

Lenox (Feb 1994 - March 16, 2007)

Our cat Lenox died on Friday morning. The kids were at school and Steve was on his way home from being out of town all week. We are all heartbroken. It has actually hit me much harder than I would have ever expected. My poor husband was so upset and I think it was harder for him because he had been out of town for so long. Stevie and Alyson were absolutely devastated...poor Alyson was inconsolable for a bit at first. Seeing Stevie's face when he heard the news and then to hear Aly crying so hard and just saying his name over and over...that is just something I am never going to forget. She kept saying "but, I didn't know it was his last day!" I feel angry at myself that he was all by himself. He was just laying there as if he were going to take a nap. My neighbor was kind enough to come over and wrap him in a towel for me because I just couldn't bear to do it - I couldn't even be in the same room while she did it. We all said goodbye to him later that night once Steve was home and while I thought seeing Lenox would be hard for the kids it actually seemed to help. They made cards for him to say goodbye and ask God to take care of him -- in Stevie's card he asked God to make sure he got 3 small meals a day :) We buried him Saturday morning on the side of the house just outside our master bathroom window and I ordered a Mickey Mouse birdbath to place there since our crazy cat was crazy about water.

It seems weird to say but the house seems quieter without him and just sad. I wish I had stopped and been a little nicer to him that morning instead of rushing past him to get the kids out the door to school. I can't help but feel guilty. I miss having him run in front of me on my way to the shower every morning...who would have thought I would actually miss THAT?!

I confess I would sometimes roll my eyes when I would see how attached some people were to their pets...and here I am...one of those people. We are so sad around here right now and just miss him. Neither Steve or I seem to want to clean up his food and water dish although I guess we will have to do that soon enough.

This has got to be one of the most clever e-mails I have received in awhile. Someone out there either has TOO much spare time or is deadly at Scrabble!(Wait till you see the last one!

DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters: DIRTY ROOM
PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters: BEST IN PRAYER
ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters: MOON STARER
DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters: A ROPE ENDS IT
THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters: THEY SEE
GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters: HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters: HERE COME DOTS
SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters: CASH LOST IN ME
ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters: IS NO AMITY
ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters: LIES - LET'S RECOUNT
SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters: ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S
A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters: IM A DOT IN PLACE
THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters: THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters: TWELVE PLUS ONE

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE~

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters: WOMAN HITLER

Yep! Someone with waaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands! (Probably a son-in-law).

We went to the Renaissance Festival today.

I haven't been to the Renaissance Festival since I was a kid so I was looking forward to taking Stevie and Alyson today. Steve is out of town for a while but we met up with my MIL and SIL and neices and nephews. It was a beautiful day and we all got a bit on the dirty side but it was really a fun time! Stevie was proposed to...TWICE...within 10 minutes of our arrival...aren't they loverly! ;)

We held court with the Queen herself and Stevie, along with his cousin, Alex, were sworn in by the Queen's Squire and then knighted by King Henry the VIII.

I am kind of hoping that maybe Steve will want to go one weekend before it is over and we will be able to see more of the jousting and watch the washing well wenches again! LOL!


My little Princess and My brave Knight...

My Scrap Space

I was supposed to take a picture of my scrap space to post online but before I could do that I *REALLY* needed to get it straightened up...believe me when I say it looked like a tornado had come through. It took me a couple of days to get things actually put away instead of in piles on my desk and the floor...but it is DONE! It is not as fancy as some spaces I have seen but given time, it will get there. I love it though. We have a great big family home office and we all have a corner in it...and this is mine. Plus, I got the closet too! Thank goodness I have such a supportive and encouraging husband who supports me in my scrapbooking. He does occasionally look around with complete wonderment in his face trying to figure out how on earth I have managed to accumulate so much stuff -- seemingly, without his knowledge! LOL!

I think that scrapbookers are some of the nicest people and I have been lucky enough to be able to call quite a few of them my friends. Every so often I get happy mail from one of them and I love to keep the things they send me in my space to cheer me up...like the "H" that was altered for me and the "Notes" clothespin - are they not the cutest!

I like to keep other "happy reminders" around too, like the scrapbooking bear Steve and the kids got me for Mother's Day last year, little gifts the kids make at school, the NYC Disney Bear Steve brought home from a business trip, plenty of Disney goodies and a few pictures as well -- like the one of a starbucks latte! LOL!

I just love my space and if I am not busy taking care of my family or the house...then you can bet I will be right there at my desk!

I'm a Design Team Member!

I am *SO* excited! I found out today that I made a design team for an online scrapbooking commuity called The Paper Place! It is rather ironic how I found the site - I was feeling so down about my scrapbooking one day and was talking to Steve about it. Just minutes after my conversation I checked my email and had an email from someone I didn't know just wanting to tell me how much she thought of a particular LO I had posted on 2Peas and that she was going to share it with some friends on another board. She gave me the link and so I went to check it out. The ladies there were so warm and welcoming and then they even let me join the contest for the new design team search. I am just SO thrilled and really looking forward to having fun with the other gals on the team. I actually jumped out of my chair and screamed so loud when I found out that my poor husband thought there was a snake under my desk! LOL! If you get a chance I hope you will come check us out... http://www.paperplacescrapbooking.net/

My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.