Now I lay me down to sleep

Abigael, as she fell asleep on the couch tonight....This blog should probably be called "All the things you're NOT supposed to do with your kids to get them to sleep." In a long list of things that will probably come back and bite us in the butt, we've been letting Abigael fall asleep on the couch at night instead of in her own bed. After she's sound asleep, we move her and she blissfully sleeps until at least 4:30am. When we made the decision to move her to the "big girl bed" after the night of the great escape, we struggled for many, many nights to get her to stay in bed long enough to go to sleep. We asked, we were stern, we gave in, we threatened, it was just way too stressful and not working. One night after an hour of fighting to get her to stay in her room (let alone her bed), we gave in and let her lay down on the couch. Within fifteen minutes she was out like a light. Thus began our ritual over the last couple of weeks. A snack (usually a couple of cookies), some milk, and then, curled up in a blanket, she watches TV with us until she drifts off. Some nights it takes an hour or so, but others, like tonight, she's passed out within two minutes. I started to become a little concerned that we might be starting another bad habit. My fears were laid to rest last weekend when she came up to me around naptime and said "I tired. Abigael need to go to bed." She headed to her room, crawled into bed, asked me to "make it dark" and went to sleep. WHAT?! I couldn't believe this was my child and I couldn't have been happier. So, I'm not worried. From the sleepless days as an infant to the co-sleeping so mommy could get some sleep to moving to the crib to finally going to sleep on her own, we've run the course on all the bad habits. And each one we've overcome when she was ready. She'll get there eventually. In the meantime, it's nice to have a little peace in an otherwise crazy house.

NaBloPoMo

WooHoo! I've made it over a week now! I'm sure my family and other two readers are wondering if I'm sick or under some weird hex for posting nine days in a row now. Nope, I'm participating in NaBloPoMo, otherwise known as National Blog Posting month. Led by Fussy, hundreds of bloggers have embarked on a quest to make a post every day this month. It's a spinoff from National Novel Writing Month, except for people with not so lofty goals. Anyway, it sounded like fun and would give me a chance to be a more active participant of the great blogosphere. So, here I am, nine days in and I'm realizing that it's going to start getting tough now. I hope I didn't underestimate my creativity and attention span. No matter, I just wanted give you a little advance notice if things start getting a little weird around here. Maybe the real me will finally come out. Scared yet...?

Random Music Post #2

It's been a while since I've purchased any new music. As we all know, pop music exists in cycles. Everything on the radio will suck for a while and then for a couple of months we get hit with a handful of good albums. Needless to say, I survive only by the grace of my iPod. I get by in my little comfort zone of "oldies" from the last century and the few standby groups that continue to put out good stuff. Every once in a while though, something will come out that catches my attention. Last year it was The Killers' Hot Fuss album. Full of energy, fresh sounds and catchy lyrics, it was put it in heavy rotation on my shuffle mix. But because the world is full of one-hit-wonders, I was hesitant to buy their new album recently. Fortunately, I decided to heed the advice of Cynical Dad's praise and take the plunge. OH MY! All I can say is AWESOME! I'm sitting here at my desk at work plugged in and can hardly sit still in my seat. The energy is incredible! I just flew through a data entry task that I've been dreading. Definitely two huge thumbs up! If you love the orginality of the 80's New Wave scene mashed together with a modern alt rock energy, you have to get this album.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yeah! Happy Birthday to me....you know the rest. (Holy crap! 34!) Yep, another year set to start again. I view birthdays the same way some people do New Year's Day. What's done is done and it's the perfect opportunity to point your life toward another goal and hit the gas pedal. It's a good time to pick up the pieces of all those little hobbies and aspirations you've been meaning to follow-thru on, forgive yourself for dropping them in the first place and put them back together.
But before we move on, I just want to take one more moment to appreciate how great my life is right now. I've been married to a wonderful, caring, passionate man for almost 10 years. (Holy crap again! Just kidding Brandon. I love you!) We've beat the odds and toughed it out through good and bad. We've proved that we can get through anything together. This relationship has given me the best gift I ever could have hoped for, my daughter Abigael. She's the light of my life and has already taught me more about life than I think I've taught her. I have a great job that provides me with lots of challenges. It supports us with enough so that we can be a one income family for a while and my daughter can be raised by my husband instead of daycare. Mostly importantly, I still see myself as young with my whole life in front of me.

I saw this meme floating around a few months ago and have been wanting to fill it out. I thought this would be the perfect day to finally get around to it. Courtesy of Cynical Dad.

You're supposed to take the following 150-item list and bold the items you've accomplished.

LIFE EXPERIENCES MEME
Bold the ones you've done (my comments are in italics).

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink. Of course not. Hello, I'm a girl.
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain. Does Grandfather Mountain count?
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive. No, but I have driven a Porshe and a Corvette, as well as a delivery truck and a right side Jeep Cherokee.
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid.
06. Held a tarantula. You've got to be kidding.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone.
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it.
09. Hugged a tree.
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise.
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game.
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne.
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment.
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can.
32. Held a lamb. Petted one. Can I change this one to black bear cub? Did that!
33. Seen a total eclipse.
34. Ridden a roller coaster.
35. Hit a home run. As much softball as I played growing up, I don't think I ever did. I'm claiming this one just for all the years I put into it.
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was watching. No choice, when you're a horrible dancer but you love to do it.
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day.
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment.
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states. 30 down though!
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced. And had the same done for me.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds Is there any other way?
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke Unfortunately for those there to witness it.
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party. Maybe crashed is too harsh, I've been to a few parties I wasn't invited to.
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days. Why would you do that?
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert" I did get interviewed for a Crime Stoppers report when the movie theater I worked at was robbed.
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas Of course I was only ten years old at the time.
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Gone to a movie by yourself.
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children Working on it!
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over That's how we ended up in Seattle
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds. I'd be happy with 30 right now.
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart. I hope not.
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone. My thumb the first time I tried skiing and my ankle walking down some stairs.
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced I tried my belly button but took it out after a few days.
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol All of the above
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours Piece of cake.
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach Ewwwww! That's as bad as a spider.
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. Just fish.
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

I've done 68 of the 150 things, not too bad for someone who thinks she hasn't done anything. I think I'll go work on the rest now.

HaHaHa!!!

I dare you not to laugh at this.

Book Meme

WooHoo! My first meme. I'm in the club now! Rob over at Popcorn tagged me with this book meme last week. I spent a couple of days thinking about it and then got distracted with work, so I'm a little tardy in posting it. It was a lot harder than I thought to go back through time and my memories and recall the possibly thousands of books I've read over the last thirty years. I'm sure later I'll remember something I should have included, but for right now, here goes nothing!

1) One book that changed your life:
I thought a long time about this one in particular and came up with nothing. I'm pretty stubborn and independent by nature, I couldn't think of a single book that "changed" my life, but I could think of several that have stayed with me and influenced my interests over the years.
Going back to my youth (sort of, this book has followed me to every place I've lived), One Monster after Another by Mercer Mayer. I still refer to storms as Typhonigators. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. You have to read the trilogy to fully appreciate the storyline, but this was my first introduction to Asian culture and drove me towards reading a lot about the history and beauty of that part of our world. I can't recall where my love of science fiction specifically started, but I'm thinking it was just a natural progression from Nancy Drew to Madeleine L'Engle(A Wrinkle in Time) to Stephen King to Piers Anthony and beyond.

2) One book that you read more than once:
Just one? These are some of my standbys: 1984, almost all of the Anne Rice novels several times each, most of Stephen King's early books, Stranger in a Strange Land, the Bio of a Space Tyrant series...the list of old friends could go on and on.

3) One book you’d want on a deserted island:
Could go one of two ways on this one. In the spirit of the question, I'm torn between a sentimental favorite and a logical choice. The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder for guaranteed enjoyment and escapism or the Bible for the enough variety and mental challenge to last a long time. OR I could go the easy way out and chose something like Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills: Naked into the Wilderness.

4) One book that made you laugh:
There must have been a few, but I honestly can't think of very many. I tend to like my TV funny and my books more serious. One series of books does come to mind though it is a little obscure but totally hilarious in its satire: Bill, the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison (and the sequels.) Funny stuff for sci fi.

5) One book that made you cry: I tend to actively avoid anything that might make me cry, but every once in a while something will sneak up on me.
Bridge to Terabithia. I think I read this book in the third or fourth grade and it haunts me to this day. The story of two unlikely friends who forged a beautiful bond that ended in tragedy. It still makes that sad place in my soul very heavy and it's been 25 years.

I picked up The Time Traveler's Wife on a whim because I was itching for a new book and it sounded interesting. I try not be be a sucker "popular"books, but I thought "what the hell?" I am so glad I did. It was not what I expected at all. The fascinating plot and great presentation, totally made up for making my eyes tear up.

6) One book you wish you’d written:
Any book. Great aspirations, but no follow-thru.

7) One book you wish had never been written:
I'm probably going to burn for this one, but I'm choosing Catcher in the Rye. I just don't get it! I've read it at least three times. Each time with a few more years of life experience to draw on and I still don't understand the big deal . Besides, if it hadn't been written, there might be a few more people with us, instead of being victims of senseless acts of violence.

8 ) One book you’re currently reading:
How many books am I not reading right now? I'm going through a phase where I have a lot of interest but not enough energy. I'm really bad for picking up a book at the airport for a flight, reading it for the duration of the trip, and then forgetting about it once I get home. It's like an addiction, I wonder if there's a name for it. Half-read books currently on my nightstand: Christ the Lord (autographed at a book signing last year), Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, The Andromeda Strain, and Intensity.

9) One book you’ve been meaning to read:
See above list. Oh, the list is much longer.

10) Tag five people: ummmm....I'm a totally loser and don't have any blog friends to tag. So if any of my four readers feel like chiming in, go for it!

---OK, it looks like I put a lot more effort into this than was intended. "ONE book...." Oh, well. It was a fun trip down memory lane and I even ran across a few more books I'd like to read.

Apparantly I've still got it...

Silly fun or lazy post, you decide....

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The South That's a Southern accent you've got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don't have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it.
The Midland
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Northeast
The West
North Central
Boston
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

(Link to quiz courtesy of seanbonner.)

Gimme a break

I love this expression.
Reminds me of Jim from The Office. (If you watch the show, you know what I'm talking about.)

Snack Time

I wouldn't be the one to say that Abigael is needy, but she does tend to really like lots of attention. Anyone who's been around her knows that she loves interaction and demands it from everyone she meets. Needless to say we start to get a little worried when she disappears from the room we're in for more than five minutes. The quiet that settles over the house when she decides to play alone is almost eerie.
Last night was one of those times. I was going from room to room, making dinner, picking up toys and watching a little tv. Abigael wandered off, giving me a brief respite from the hand pulling to play and pleading for Halloween candy. Without the chatterbox running, I became lost in my own thoughts. Absentmindedly, I walked down the hallway and turned the corner into the kitchen. I stopped in my tracks as I saw Abigael sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor. Her legs were stretched out in front of her, a small plastic bottle between them on the floor. She looked up at me and froze. Her eyes twinkled and a smirk stretched across her face. "I eat!" she garbled through a mouth full of food. I walked across the kitchen and knelt down. She watched me and giggled. "I eat Zak's food!" I looked in the bottle she had filled herself and laughed. I guess she needed a snack.

Aarrrgh!

Halloween was yesterday and unlike last year, Abigael was totally into it. She loved her costume and took great delight in pointing out every other pirate she saw. We practiced a few times at home and she did a great job of saying "Trick or Treat" right on cue.
Abigael's "school" participated in the holiday and took the kids trick or treating around the campus. She was able to hang out with her best friend, Maxine, and made out with a pretty good stash.


Last night Brandon and I took Abigael up to Magnolia village for the community Halloween celebration. About two blocks of the main street was closed to traffic and all of the local business opened their doors and candy jars to the young and young-at-heart. Abigael had a blast admiring all the costumes, dutifully pointing out and naming each one she recognized. "A duck!...Another pirate!...A witch!...Elmo!...Another pirate!" She had a great time and even woke up this morning asking to go trick or treating for more candy!



A much need sugar break!

Morning rituals

Now that Abigael is sleeping in her "big girl" bed, she likes to wake up at ungodly early hours. This morning she beat my alarm clock and was up just before 5:00 am. Thankfully we've just about trained her to stay in her room and play quietly until we can at least clear the fog enough to get up with her. This morning she did well and stayed in her room, but kept herself occupied by singing and talking very loudly. After a few minutes she began to call out for mama, daddy and milk. I got up, poured a sippy cup for her and took it in. She sweetly looked up at me from her bed, grinned and said "Tank you, Mama." I tucked her back in and asked her to please rest a while longer so her Daddy could sleep. "OK, Mama." I shut her door behind me and went to take my morning shower. Ten minutes later I headed down the hallway toward the kitchen for the all-important first cup of coffee. Just as I passed Abigael's bedroom door, I heard her doorknob click behind me. I slowly turned around and saw a hand, holding her sippy cup, emerging from the door frame. The hand paused for just a second and then dropped the cup to the floor. The tiny hand pulled back into her room and the door closed behind it. I stood there for a few seconds just dumbfounded. Between the giggles I fought to hold back, all I could think was " What is this? Room service?" I don't think I've ever felt more like a maid in my own home.
Well, at least she stayed in her room and I had some peace and quiet for a little while longer...

Is it Art or History?

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) is currently expanded its facilities to include the Olympic Sculpture Park. It's located down on the waterfront bordered by Western Avenue, Broad Street, and Elliott Bay. I used to go this way to work so I could take Hwy 99 instead of I-5, but have avoided the area both since I started working in Kent and construction started on the Park. Well, this morning on a whim (i.e. I was running late and wanted to avoid the Denny disaster getting to I-5), I decided to take this route. There is now a huge pedestrian bridge over the Western and large banks of earth on either side of the road. The park is scheduled to open in January, so I wasn't expecting to see any installations yet. However, while waiting for the light to turn green this morning I looked up and saw this:

(Sorry for the crappy quality. I snapped this from the car with my cameraphone.)

I had to look at this for a few seconds and reach way back to realize what this was. A giant Typewriter Eraser! When I got to work, I did a couple of searches and found that it must be this piece by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. It was probably donated by Paul Allen. When I saw this piece silhouetted by the morning light, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. I absolutely love it, but will anyone under 30 even know what this is?

This is definitely one of the things I love about living in Seattle. You never know what you're going to see around the next corner.

Random music post

Driving into work this morning, I was grooving to a particularly good set of tunes on the local "Classic Rock" radio station (i.e. oldies with guitar riffs. How sad that Queen is now relegated to that category). The next song to come up was “Centerfold” by The J. Giles Band and I was instantly time warped back to 1981. When I was eight or nine, the local roller skate rink had a special time on Saturday mornings for the younger kids to skate. For a couple of hours, you could fine tune your skills without having to worry about being run over by the know-it-alls. My mom would take me and for a little while I was cool, making the circle several hundred times and singing along with the music blaring from the speakers. Anyway, today as a 33 year old mother, I turned up my car stereo a little more and sang aloud again...“my blood runs cold...my memory has just been sold...” It crosses my mind, was a song about a guy fantasizing about what was under fuzzy sweaters and buying adult magazines really appropriate music for eight-year-olds? I guess the music kids listen to today really may not be so bad after all.


(Note: As I searched for the links to put in the post, I came across the album listing for the band. I had forgotten they had done such classics as "Freeze Frame" and "Love Stinks." Awesome.)

Appalachian State News....sort of

I was checking my lastest feeds in Bloglines and came across this post on the Appalachian Alumni office blog maintained by Rob.

Mountaineer Madness at midnight
The 2006-07 Appalachian basketball season gets underway Friday night with the fourth-annual Mountaineer Madness. A special guest host will be on-hand that night - 16-time world champion Ric Flair:

Flair will help host the event as he joins the ASU faithful in ushering in the 2006-07 men’s and women’s hoops seasons.

The evening begins with volleyball taking on SoCon rival Davidson at 8 p.m. on the Holmes Center floor.

The madness continues at 10:30 p.m. as Mountaineer Madness begins. The ASU men’s and women’s basketball teams will be signing autographs and posing for pictures as fans enter the Holmes Center.

Admission is free. The men’s basketball schedule begins November 13. The women’s basketball team begins play November 11.

With regard to the volleyball team, it is currently in second-place in the SoCon and boasts the league’s player of the week, Dianna Thomas.

RIC FLAIR!! How cool is that!!! And I bet Rob is probably going to get to meet him...Well, at least take pictures to share, OK?
WOOOOOOO!

(I'm jealous...)

MIA

Sorry I've been away for so long. It's been a crazy, rough summer and I've been trying to keep my mind focused on work and family. Not as easy as it sounds when your hormones and brain chemistry decide to go on strike.
Things are starting to even out all around, so I'm going to try to get back in the habit of posting. Until then, if you haven't already, check out Track Daddy for some more recent news.

Love to everyone!

Velveteen Rabbits...

It looks like we're not the only ones giving a second chance to cherished toys from childhood. Rob, a long-time friend from Hope Mills and Boone, wrote this beautiful post about passing along a piece of himself to his daughter: Horsey rides again!

Here are just a few of our treasures that have found a new life after more than twenty-five years of dust, dirt, and dreams.

"Mom, I can't believe you still have trouble with this thing....I'm only 2 and I've already got it figured out."

"Talk about endless fun! First it was fun to look at the pictures and throw around!....

Now there's words too! How cool! A Story!"

"Yes, I'm totally cute in this little red rocking chair. Now how about turning it the other way so I can watch some Dora on t.v.?"

"Did someone ask for a Superhero?

Never fear! My reversible cape allows me act as Superman OR Batman!"

For Simpson's geeks only

The daily sydicated airing of The Simpson's came on the other night. The theme music perked Abigael's ears and she pulled herself away from chasing the cat long enough to watch for a minute.
It was a more recent episode. The opening featured all the couches in town coming to life and going after the residents of Springfield. Abigael stopped dead in her tracks absorbing the racing colors and changing scenes. At the very end of the opening credits, Homer had ducked into a store for safety only to find out his hiding place was "Couch World." He was surrounded and disappeared under a pile of sofas.
Abigael turned and looked at us with the most serious face, shook her head sadly and said "Poor D'oh."

Viva la Floyd!

Well, it looks like Saturday is the "do or die" day for Floyd...

I readily admit that I knew nothing about cycling (professional or otherwise) before I met Brandon. Sure, there were the occasional hightlights on "Wide World of Sports." But words like peloton, domestique and maillot jaune, were as foreign to me as...ummmm..well...a foreign langauge. That changed shortly after Brandon and I were married many years ago (I love you honey!). With our first apartment in Boone, we got cable TV and began our decade long ritual of watching sports together. I explained the finer details of baseball and basketball, we cheered every Super Bowl together, and he exposed me to every obscure sport he was in love with that month. No matter how his tastes changed though, the one constant has always been bicycles. It doesn't really matter what kind or how they're ridden, they are his passion and I support it (as long as I don't have to trip over bike parts in my house.) As a result, I have lived vicariously through his adventures, even having a few of my own.
Back to the pros...Unfortunately, the only place you can watch any cycling on TV in the States is on OLN. I only say unfortunate because you have to navigate bullriding, fishing and Survivor reruns just to catch a few minutes of coverage. Needless to say, we live for July each year. Three solid weeks of as much Tour de France coverage as you can stand. Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwin and Bob Roll become our best friends for a time and 4:30am (Pacific time) doesn't seem like an weird time to get up to watch the long mountain stages. For a year we've been looking forward to the 2006 edition. A Tour without Lance would be fun and exciting to watch because anything would be possible. We couldn't wait to see George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer and Floyd Landis carry on the American charge. Of course, less than 24 hours before the start everything changed with Operación Puerto. I won't bore you with the details, you can read the links if you don't know the story.
We watched every day. The sprinters never failed to amaze with their explosive speed. Once unknowns shot out of the peloton to take charge of their dwindling teams. This was the way it was supposed to be, everyone had to work for every kilometer and nothing was guaranteed. On Stage 17, Floyd defied all odds and rode for his life, creating a beautiful moment in time that was destined to live on in legend even if the yellow jersey eluded him. But he did grab it and wore it proudly to the podium in Paris. It was a proud day for athletes and fans alike to see hard work and determination win out. The small guy can come out on top sometimes.
Now all of that is in jeopardy. Before all the evidence has been processed, the media, the officials and even fellow cyclists have tried and convicted Floyd of cheating. Is it so hard to believe that a test could be inaccurate or not tell the whole story? Is is impossible to believe in this age of "win at all costs" that not everyone is cheating? Well, I refuse to. I cannot live my life thinking the worst... always suspecting that someone is lying, denying the dream that miracles can still happen. I know the odds are against him, but I'm hoping with all my heart that Floyd is vindicated. I want my daughter to grow up in a world where dreams and heros of all kinds still exist. Please don't let me down....

Abigael-ism

So we sat down to our nightly ritual of "what is Abigael not going to eat tonight?" It was a lazy evening and we splurged on take-out from Red Mill Burgers. For a change of pace, I was able to mostly enjoy my meal while Abigael picked the sesame seeds off of her burger. Occasionally I pleaded with her to take a bite of burger or french fry (jeesh, what kid won't eat fries?!) Finally, her attention span disappeared with my patience. I took her plate away and we talked while I finished eating. As a last resort (I know, she'll eat when she's hungry, but it still bugs me), I asked if she would like something different to eat.

Abigael: "Yes. Sand-mich."

Me: Eyeroll. Hello...a hamburger IS a sandwich. "OK, honey. What kind of sandwich would you like?"

Abigael: "Hmmmm.....a birthday sand-mich."

Me: "Honey, it's not your birthday. Are you sure you don't want your hamburger sandwich?"

Abigael: Determined furrow in her brow. "Birthday sand-mich!"

Me: "Alright, I give up. What is on a birthday sandwich?"


Abigael: Big grin. "Birthday Cake!!"

Busy, busy

Sorry I haven't posted recently. Between Brandon's surgery, a busy work schedule and a tornado named Abigael, I've just been too distracted and tired. Not to mention my laptop was kidnapped and is being held hostage by Brandon (along with the couch). If you haven't already, head over to Brandon's blog for the latest on his leg saga. Prayfully this surgery will be the last and we all can start to work back towards a normal life.

In the meantime, look at this big girl!