Salt of the Earth

Tonight we had the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. It was a good time. For the last 2 or 3 weeks I’ve been working on an iMovie for tonight. I had so much fun learning how to do it- and then putting all the pictures together and adding music. It was awesome. For most of it I had various pictures of the cub scouts through out the last few years. Towards the middle I added a section for our Webelos that will be crossing over to boy scouts next month. I took several pictures of each of them and had the caption “Congratulations…….. , we are so proud of you.” It was so touching to see these boys change throughout the last 4-5 years. After that part I had a section with most of the parents- focusing on the adult leaders. The grand finale was the last part which was a dedication to our cub master, Mark. Several weeks ago I had his wife secretly give me a bunch of pictures of him as a baby and throughout his life. I started his section out with a beach scene and the title “Heroes come in all shapes and sizes…” . The I had a picture of him as a baby and it said “Thank you Mark…”. Several pictures later I had a recent picture of him that said “…for being our hero.” And the last picture was him on the beach and with the song Good Riddance playing I titled the picture “Hope you had the time of your life”. Not a dry eye in the house. His wife and I were bawling from the start. When it was over Mark had to leave the room cause he was crying and he needed to get a grip to end the meeting. When he thanked me- he just kept saying “this, this, this” as he pointed to the copy of the DVD. He teared up again and hugged me and said “thank you”. More tears a flowing! Several of the Webelos moms came up to me and were crying and thanked me as well. BUT the movie ended on a happy note- Mark, Mark’s son Noah and Thomas all doing the chicken dance from camp last summer. Mark had NO idea I had recorded that on my camera. It was awesome! It was a good time. And I feel good doing something so special for someone like Mark. He and his wife have become very dear friends to me. If there is some way to upload the movie somewhere I will try to do that. I don’t know if it will mean as much to anyone who doesn’t know these boys- but it sure was fun to make. Something I’d like to do more of in the future.

Anyway- I wore a mini skirt today that I haven’t been able to wear in so long. Several people told me that my butt looked good in it. SWEET!!!! It feels so good to be wearing cute, little clothes again.

I’m just so happy right now- it’s awesome.

T

I reached my 58 pound goal today. YIPEE!!!! I’m just thrilled. My next goal is 75 then the big one is 85. when I get to 85 I will be thrilled! I’ve been kicking some serious arse at the gym this week. I so need that in my life. It’s like my double dose of Prozac times 100. Some people think I’m crazy because I enjoy working out. I guess unless you work out you can’t understand the way it makes you feel. I love it. I need it and I will continue to do it!

The boys and I went to family reading night last night at the boys school. It was so much fun. We played Jeopardy. Graham and I were on a team with two of his friends. Thomas and 3 other 5th graders were on a team plus about 4 other groups. Graham’s team won and I only answered 1 question-Graham and friends answered the rest. (my question was ‘who grew blue bells in her garden”) I was actually very impressed with Grahams knowledge and memory. He remembers EVERYTHING. He even knew the name of the goose who laid golden eggs. Wow….. I admire that little stinker! Thomas was a good sport about being beat by his younger brother. We won one of the door prizes which was a gift certificate for Borders book store. It was a really fun night.

I am off for a lunch date with my friend Diane. I’m excited. Some good girl time is just what I need to end my week.

T

Today I took the boys down town to a hockey game with the cub scouts. Since there was no school the Winterhawks hosted a 2pm game and offered cheap tickets to cub scouts. It was cool. On the way there i was reminded of a scene from Total Recall where Sharon Stone is beating the hell out of Arnold because he made her go to Mars- and she HATES Mars. So as Arnold is down on the ground she kicks him and says “AND THIS IS FOR MAKING ME COME TO MARS!” The reason this came to mind is because we took public transportation down town- aka the MAX. I do not, do not, do NOT like the Max. I seem to always forget this until I step onto the Max and catch my first whiff of pee. Today, was no exception. We met friends at Gateway and got our tickets and waited for the Max. As soon as I got on I saw a drunk, farting woman sleeping on two of the benches. I knew she was drunk because I could smell alcohol on her. I knew she was farting because she kept doing it out loud. So I shuffled the boys and my friend and her kids to the next section of the Max. Just my luck some guy was there who immediately noticed the boys uniforms- which triggered him to start repeating various boy scout laws, phrases, etc…. Then he informs us that he was an eagle scout and was STILL active in a troupe even though he has no children and he was 35. CREEPY, CREEPY, CREEPY!!!! I was like ‘that’s nice- move along boys” and we scooted to the next section. So we finally arrived and met up with the other dads and enjoyed the 2.5 hour hockey game. The boys loved it. While we were there some of the dads took pity on me and offered to drive the boys and me home so I could avoid the max. My friend didn’t have that kind of luck and no one offered to drive her or her kids home. SO she guilted me into riding the awful Max home. (WHICH by the way is how she got me to ride the max in the first place…) So it started raining little tiny freezing cold pellets as we were walking to the Max. Yes, i know this is Oregon and it always rains but it just made it that much worse. We missed two Max trains because she couldn’t get her money to go into the machine-. When we got on it was super crowded since all the working people were on their way home. Needless to say it was packed and I was starting to feel ill from motion sickness. My friend started laughing cause apparently my discomfort was funny to her. I then said ‘ have you seen Total Recall?” and she said no. So I explained the scene to her and then I said “right about now I want to kick you for making me take the Max” …… HA HA HA now whose laughing!

anyway, it was a fun day. No big fights in hockey. The refs don’t let the players fight it out anymore. The refs are more aggressive than the players. It was kind of disappointing.

Graham kicked some serious 7-8 year old ass in basketball on Saturday. He got major ball time and totally knew what to do. I was shocked, and extremely impressed. No pushing, no aggressive blocking, no attitude. I am so hoping practice will be better than last week. The games are never a problem, the practices kill me. I talked to one of the dads today – whose had to take anger management classes for his job. He said he’d talk to Graham and try to come up with a few solutions for him for when he gets frustrated and angry. Graham is excited as he respects Mark and thinks the world of him. I can only hope it will help. we’ll see, tomorrow is practice!

And that’s all of my story for today.
T

I keep forgetting to update the MRi situation. Good news, i do NOT have to have surgery. Bad news-well it’s not that bad, but i have a defect in my L5 which is only affected when the muscles surrounding it are inflamed. Which is what happened after i fell and hurt my tail bone. There is nothing that can be done about this- i was born with it and it’s gone undetected until now. So basically, if I stay off my arse I’ll be fine. I’ve been faithful about stretching and working out and using my little red core ball- so things are much better now.

Just picked Graham up from a birthday party. He played tackle football while he was there. when I heard this I panicked and immediately asked if anyone got hurt- because of Graham’s basketball issues. The boys told me no- and that they were begging Graham to tackle them because he was the best tackler. Oy my heart.

I am catching up on season 3 of Grey’s Anatomy. It’s pretty good. I’ve cancelled my season pass to ER. it just got so lame, repetitive, predictable and boring. Mick gave up on it over a year ago. I stuck with it cause I have a hard time giving things up and I hoped that it would improve. No such luck. i also finished the 3rd season of The OC and have elected to NOT watch the fourth and final season.

Last weekend I dropped the kids, Mick and the Wii off at my friends house where her husband and kids were eagerly awaiting to play. My friend and I spent the afternoon shopping. it was so much fun and I enjoyed her company so much. We did the whole girly thing- make over at the MAC counter, undies from Victoria Secrets and lotions at Bath and Body Works. I didn’t go over board but i really like everything I got. My friend and I had exchanged gift certificates for our birthdays (which are a day apart) and we finally got the chance to use them. Then we went to her house and had dinner and wine and watched the kids/hubbies play the Wii. Good times.

ANYWAY that’s it.
T

Thomas is home sick today. As well as yesterday and the day before. Poor little guy. I took him to the doctors and he has the cold that everyone seems to have- and the only thing we can do is ride it out. He spends a lot of time on the couch in a fog so I know he doesn’t feel very well at all.

Graham hasn’t gotten it yet- but I’m sure it is to come. We are going through a bumpy time in basketball now. sigh…. I know Graham is a little firecracker and mostly contains it- mostly. During practices he gets frustrated and starts pushing boys and giving me attitude. Last practice I was DONE with it and threatened to pull him out of basketball all together. After spending most of the night worrying about Graham and this behavior I decided to talk to his teachers at school to see if this was common behavior. His teacher, PE teacher and music teacher all looked at me like I was crazy. They said they have NEVER seen an aggressive side to Graham like the one he shows in basketball. When I went back to talk to his teacher for a second time he reminded me that up until this point everything has come easy for Graham (reading, writing, math, making friends, etc….) and that this was his first real challenge. Thus, the frustration. I talked to his coach about it and he is awesome about the whole situation and has given me a new perspective on it. I am hoping that things improve otherwise, this will be the last team sport Graham plays for a few years.

class is going well- trying to get a lot of painting done.

I am back at the gym- which is SWEET! I’ve lost a total of 56 pounds now. YIPEE!!! I’m still going strong- and VERY determined to get rid of this excess weight. It’s coming- slowly but very surely.

Well, time to make lunch for my sickie.

T

So what’s the latest- hmmmm. A lot is going on but it’s just everyday busy stuff. I feel like I’m never at home anymore and when I am I’m trying to play catch up.

Swimming is going well for Thomas. He finishes his first session today but starts his next one next Tuesday. He started Bass lessons a couple weeks ago. He LOVES it. He’ll still play cello for this year but the teacher hopes to move him straight to 7th grade orchestra next year (skipping 6th grade orchestra). His bass is HUGE. It towers over him but it’s so awesome to watch him play. His teacher some how arranged for him to have a bass at home and school. That works for me!

Graham is doing very well in school and loves to read. his teachers say he’s is the sweetest child and a complete joy to have in class. HIs PE teacher especially likes him and have given him a special PE award 2 times this year. He loves to help me with dinner and just basically hang out with me. He’s my little buddy. Basketball is going ok for him. He doesn’t understand the game completely and gets frustrated. I’ve been trying to practice with him as much as possible but his attention span is not that great for sports. He’s also a good kid.

I’m enjoying painting. My teacher is still awesome and my class mates are cool. I don’t know what I’ll do next term- well just have to see what comes up.

I am BACK at the gym and LOVING it. Had a good work out this morning. Ahhhhh feels good to sweat again.

i guess that’s about it
T

It is very early in the morning for me- almost 2am. And I am wide awake. I went to bed early tonight- well early for me. Sometimes Mick’s sleep mask makes a lot of noise and I can hear it through my ear plugs and it wakes me up. So i guess that’s why i am sitting here typing at 2am.

I’ve been painting a lot lately. I’m really enjoying it. I’m working on several pieces now- all at the same time. One of these days I’ll take pictures and post my art work. – yeah, I know… promises, promises…

I got out my basket of smaller clothes yesterday to see if I can wear any more of them now. I was SO happy to find that another pair of jeans and 3 skirts fit me. YIPEE!!! I am going to wear one of the jean skirts today to school. I’m still plugging away at South Beach and in the last few days I’ve received so many compliments on how ‘good’ i look and comments on how much weight I’ve lost. SWEET!!!

I’ve been in deep thought lately- i don’t know if it’s cause I’m connecting with my art or if it’s just a new awakening for me. It’s hard to say at this point, but it feels right in some strange sort of ‘artistic’ way i guess.

I thought I’d have so much more to say at 2am- but I don’t really.

I finished the 4th book in the Traveling Pants series. It was good. I’m now on to Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray. So far it’s good.

Graham had his second basketball game on Saturday. He was very tired from the night before and it showed on the court. He played his heart out though but was glad when it was time to go home.

Thomas had a great time at his birthday party. It was small this year- but he said the best one yet.

Well that’s it for me.
T

Had my MRI early this morning. Woke up, showered, took my meds then woke up the kids. I knew I had about 1/2 hour before the meds kicked in so I made breakfast and got lunches together and we headed out the door for school- Mick drove. Got to the place and just as I was signing in the meds kicked in and I entered that wonderful land of unicorns and rainbows. By the time called me back I was just kind of sitting there staring at my paper work. I think the tech took pity on me and so she filled out the back side for me. I changed into my little scrubs and got on the little MRI bed. The tech gave me ear plugs and asked me what radio station i wanted to listen to. I said I didn’t care- big mistake because it ended up being the news channel. Blah! Total buzz kill! Anyway, next thing I know she was pulling me out and said we were done. 30 minutes had passes without my coherent knowledge. So I got dressed, called Mick and he picked me up. We were planning on going to go to breakfast but the only thing I kept thinking was ‘ orange stars, green clovers, blue diamonds….” So we just went home. Mick went to work and I slept off the meds.

Currently I am eating a late lunch and watching American Idol before I pick up the boys and start the various after school activities. My ears hurt. My eyes hurt. I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch this season- it’s just too painful.

Thomas has some how convinced me to let 2 friends spend the night tomorrow night for his birthday party. Graham has a game the next morning- so hopefully we’ll get ‘some’ sleep.

off to get the boys now.
T