Sunday Stills

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge theme is In Motion. My entries were all taken during my youngest's Baseball practice.

For this one, I had my oldest bounce a tennis ball into the youngest's gear bag. Not sure if I like it, but it was something I wanted to try.


This is the team going on a warm up run, led by their coach. Seven kids all in motion!


This is a shot of my oldest's feet as we were playing hopscotch. He did this move where he turned around and clicked his feet together mid air, like an Irish Dancer, I thought it was really cool and surprising, and asked him to do it again and again, until I got a good shot. It really only took 3 tries.

All of this week's photos - including the Photo Friday ones were DOOC - Directly Out Of Camera, no retouching or even cropping on these. I've found myself doing a TON of photo shopping of pics, and need to get back to original shots as I was getting a bit carried away with the color saturation.

Love Dare Day 1

So I've noticed, that this dare seems to be tied to religion - 40 days, each dare day starts with a religious quote, but I'm going to try it anyway.

Dare:The first part of this dare is fairly simple. Although love is communicated in a number of ways, our words often reflect the condition of our heart. For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative to your spouse at all. If the temptation arises, choose not to say anything. It's better to hold your tongue than to say something you'll regret.

I will try, and admit that I may not be spending a ton of time with The Dude today. He has work, and I have younger boy's baseball practice, laundry and grocery shopping.

Today went OK. I did hold my tongue on the few occasions I wanted to say something snarky or sarcastic. What I did notice is that I became resentful of the "go along to get along" attitude of this first day. Why should I raise my blood pressure just to keep it in and not say anything? seems victim like to me. Not that there is anything major going on at all, just didn't feel like sublimating my feelings. I have found it less of a tax on my blood pressure to just say when something is annoying me, and most of the time, I have to hit The Dude with the proverbial 2 by 4 to get it through his head. Subtlety does NOT work on him. Not. At. All.

We'll see how day 2 goes. He's working again, and we're going to the folks' for dinner.

cool family

Get your own Family Sticker Maker & MySpace Layouts.

That's IT! I'm on a rant

Today I need to rant - get it all out if you will. I started this blog as a way to journal all the crap in my head, which ultimately allows me to sleep well at night. I've been editing myself lately due to the addition of readers from RL. I'm tired of editing myself, and I'm losing sleep, so I'm going back to my original intent.

My two normally adorable children (note that I did not type adorably normal) have decided to wake at increasingly earlier times this week. Well, one by choice, the other by voice. Older boy woke up at 7ish Monday and Tuesday, 6:45 Wednesday, 6:30 Thursday, and 6:00 this morning. He then proceeded to wake younger boy, who was peacefully sleeping just fine. This would not be a problem in what I would like to think would be a normal family. For my boys it spells disaster. The younger boy is no morning person, and on a good day uses grunts to answer questions. He is the child who will be downing coffee every day before heading off to middle school, I'm sure of it! The older boy is a cheerful kid first thing in the morning, wanting to share the new day with everyone within earshot. Today it was decided that his volume and personality leads to any sane person's conclusion that he is the reincarnation of Ethel Merman.

Garland, Streisand & Merman - SHOW BUSINESS - 1963
Uploaded by TheBarbraWay

I adore my boys, but they really do take the cake sometimes. The younger one's grunts became full out growls by this morning, which I found out translated to the classroom. His Kindy teacher asked if he was getting sick, as he'd been loudly complaining that everything was either stupid or boring for the last 2 days. When I told her the reason was really sleep deprivation, she stopped older boy and told him to NEVER again wake his little brother up early in the morning. If he was up, that was fine, and he could just get out of bed and read a book or something. I don't think he took her seriously, but I had to thank her for trying!

The tyrants had a playdate with their best friend following their school day, and the three of them were like the stooges, it was all slapstick and pratfalls. Thankfully the little angels fell asleep before 8:00 crashed out on the sofa watching Dirty Jobs.

In my surfing around the net today I stumbled across some pretty funny and cool things:

Stuff White People Like is hysterically funny, and just a bit too true!

Fingerstache is just wrong on so many levels. Disturbing in it's weirdness but completely harmless.

I've decided to take the 40 day Love Dare. I found it here, and I'm nearly a week behind, but I figure it couldn't hurt, right?

Photo Friday #7

This week's photo's are courtesy of Nevada City, Mardi Gras, and my own tea pot getting ready for some REAL chamomile tea.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Dreams part 2

So my dream this morning was about Rachel Maddow (if you didn't recognize her from her picture in the last post). Here is another picture:

I like Rachel, as I have previously stated. I think she is fiercely intelligent and funny in a dorky kind of way. She isn't necessarily my type (if I have one at all at this point). OK fine, enough delay - on to the dream.

I was working at the MSNBC studios, in a largish conference room type office. There were a couple of desks, a round table, a sofa and a television, on one of those AV carts. The TV was on some sort of cartoon show, but I wasn't paying attention, as I was working at a desk and concentrating on my task, which as near as I can remember was something on the computer in front of me. Rachel was sitting on the sofa, Kind of behind me and to the right, and working as well. She commented on the cartoon that was on, and I said of the current shows, I only like Phineas and Ferb. She said she prefers The Dark Knight or comic books. I said that I had read Watchmen when it was first published and was looking forward to the movie (both actually true). And I didn't watch The Dark Knight, though I also enjoyed it as a comic book back in the 80's. That started our conversation, and we were flirting with each other the whole time. At some point I said that I mostly don't watch The Dark Knight, or any of the newer cartoons in that style because it frightens my kids, one of whom loves Batman, Superman and all the old school stuff. She seemed taken aback with the news that I had kids and seemed to shut down a bit. I told her I wasn't looking for her to be their Daddy (thanks to Bea and the crustybastard for putting that into my subconscious). They already have a Daddy. That led to discussion on me being married, and her having a partner. She asked exactly what I was hoping for from our discussion, which I thought was a bit presumptuous and direct. I replied that I was just having a conversation, and I thought it would be cool to hang out with her sometime.

Dreams

I had another interesting dream this morning, and I'm not entirely sure I should share it. I'm torn. As the readership grows, do I become more open, or more closed? This is one clue to my dream:

Bloggers Community Photo Challenge - Winter

I'm entering a new series of challenges. This week is Winter. Taken last winter, when there was snow where I was at the time!

Tuesday Afternoon Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend was a blur of happy activity. Got to see some old friends and visit and party with them in Nevada City, CA where there is an annual Mardi Gras Party. You can read the history of it here.

And a few select Photos of the festivities:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Friday and Saturday gave us beautiful weather, and it rained pretty much all of Sunday, including during the parade. That didn't dissuade many of the die hard bead whores from showing up! It did however hamper disrobing as an option.

Of course, as we were exiting the freeway only about a half mile from home the right rear wheel froze up. We skidded to a stop, and heard loud clunking. Upon investigation, it was determined that I could drive in reverse, but forward was not a viable option. Because Ron certainly didn't believe me, he had to get behind the wheel, put it in drive and punch it, only to puncture the wheel. So the car now has a spare on it, and a new rim on order. Come to find out, one of the brake caliper bolts came loose and caused the wheel to seize. It was certainly an exciting and expensive ending to the weekend! AND this exact thing has happened before - on that exact same wheel. Glad I didn't buy four new expensive rims when it happened last time!

And, Laissez Lez Bon Temps Roulez!!!

Sunday Stills

Here are this week's Sunday Stills Pics. All taken downtown. Still at Mardi Gras, and needed to get this up before the drinking and parade!

This was the top of one of the houses.
I thought the shingles on this dormer were cool.
This was a recently renovated home, that started as a 1930's bungalow and now looks like an Italian Villa.

Photo Friday #6

Today's photo's were all taken while walking in my neighborhood and downtown earlier this week.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Oh, and I am now at the Mardi Gras Central Party location. If tonight is any indication, this will be a debauchery filled weekend indeed! Right now, the other party attendees are testing to see if the hookah in the living room actually works, or is just decoration. Me? I'm 2 Absolut Mandarin Bay Breezes and one Bailey's coffee into the night. Feeling good, and not yet waxing philosophical. Had good lunch and dinner with good friends! See you all for Sunday Stills!

I believe in angels

Woke up with this song going through my head - has been all day, especially the lyric above.

ABBA - I Have A Dream
Uploaded by djoik

Got a call from another cohort at work. Evidently my name is on a list of folks that have been surplussed. He wanted to know if I was taking the money and running, or looking to stay. When I told him I was looking to stay, he asked for my resume, and said he will advocate for me and my team for positions in his organization - YAY! Now I know why the song was in my head all morning.

This popped on in the car on my way to a photo walk:



I listened to this ENDLESSLY in High School. This clip actually had me laughing - remember the Solid Gold Dancers? Marilyn McCoo?
Later in the afternoon, this came across. Normally I wouldn't link to that website, and I wouldn't have if I could have found this version elsewhere, but I didn't. Ru Paul looks AWESOME! I admit to having an obsession with drag queens, and have written about it before.

During my walk I was able to see a couple of streets downtown that I normally do not get to walk. It was eye opening, and nice to slow down the pace and listen to the sounds of the area. I'll have some of the photos in my Friday post, and for Sunday Stills.

I was blown away last night after stumbling across this blog. Nick is only 20, but some of his thoughts are right on the money and I will be using some here. Yesterday's thought that completely hit it on the head for me: "Never let someone become so much of yourself that you lose yourself if you lose them. Love is a chance, not a guarantee…embrace what comes but never fight for what leaves." Nick gets it, and I look forward to reading how his philosophy evolves as he goes along.

My thought of the day, that was brought back to light recently is a quote from the movie Unbreakable, "The villain is the hero of his own story." Too true, and when you are too close to a situation to see the bigger picture, it is even more difficult to see this fact. It's true for normal people too. Many people are just going through their lives with blinders on, thinking that they are doing the right thing, the just thing, and not accepting the reality that their actions and words affect those around them, sometimes very profoundly, and sometimes for the worse. There is a sad lack of self reflection and evaluation. If you knew how badly things were going to turn out, would you have made the same decisions? Why, or why not? I've found that even major cluster fucks of life can provide the opportunity to learn about life, about yourself, about the worth of family and friends. In the immediate aftermath, I think we'd all say that we would do things differently, but after sometimes years of reflection, we find the lesson we were supposed to learn all along. It is then that we change to knowing why things happen, and why we wouldn't change a single thing.

And now some light hearted fair for your enjoyment:

Could it be true?

I received an e-mail this morning that stated my Friday morning interview went so well, they want to bring me onto their team. There is just the issue of the paperwork, which realistically could take about a month. In the meantime, I still search because we all know people who have been burned by this before.

Keep positive thoughts for me and my team as we try to continue our employment. If this does pan out, that means I'm back on strike duty, as well as having to actually look at the whole social networking regulations the company is sending out now.

I have gone through periods in my employment when I have had very satisfying and very dissatisfying jobs. Ultimately it isn't about the job, it's about the people. If you enjoy the people you work with, the job becomes secondary to the relationships you build.

At least I may not have to clean my desk at least for a little longer. My office actually does rival Al Gore's, just on a MUCH smaller scale.

This photo accompanied an article about keeping the creative mind type people happy. I wonder if any company is worried about that today. I'm thinking not so much. I'm also thinking I should probably make a point of actually going to the office this week. Maybe even tomorrow.

Rainy Day Reflections

This is what got me out of the house for a walk in the rain:



I actually love walking in the rain. I really love it much more when it is a warm spring rain. This week has been bitter cold and grey. But still worthwhile for walking and shooting photos.

Frugality update: Roasted a Turkey breast yesterday and sliced it up for hot turkey sandwiches tonight. Added left over mashed potatoes from earlier in the week and instant turkey gravy - dinner ran about $6.50. Still have half the turkey left for later in the week. Oh, and walking is free :-)

Sunday Stills

This week's challenge is the moon. I do not take many pictures of the celestial body known as the moon, so I have to improvise. Especially considering the cloud cover I've had all week and the lack of actually being able to see said moon.

This is a picture of my oldest at 3 months of age. I took this photo after purchasing lots of fake fur fabric, and figuring out how to shoot him without him falling onto the floor - he's on a changing table. If I was smart, I would have placed it all on the floor, but I'll just attribute it to "Baby Brain" - that which affects one following the birth of a child. Seriously, you may have been a Rhodes Scholar leading up to giving birth, but after the event, you cannot so much as walk and have a single coherant thought at the same time. Luckily, your brain is only on vacation, and it mostly returns at an undetermined later date. Mine came back after my youngest went to Kindergarten (this last fall).

I went trolling through my photos for ANY other moon shots, and did come up with several from past Mardi Gras and Fantasy Fest events, but really, who wants to look at those? I did find this however:

Taken on the way from Yosemite to Mono Lake a couple of summers ago.

Photo Friday #5

I missed last Friday and this week was full of photos of kids at school, so it's just as well! I bring you the late edition of Photo Friday:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Tomorrow morning I'm going for a walk. This week has flown by at break neck speed. Went to Happy hour last night (Thursday) and got to hang with some dear friends who I only get to see about twice a year, and I miss not seeing them more often. Today was Valentine's party at the boys school, and that was a ZOO!!! If you can even imagine a class of 68 kids from Kindy to 3rd grade, all amped up with sugary treats (I don't care what Mrs. H's article says, those kids were FREAKING out). They all had fun and the moms got a bit of time to visit. Then the boy's best Friend was over after school which turned into a 2 family dinner, which was really cool. But all three boys were just running around like maniacs for HOURS! My boys crashed hard as soon as they laid still for more than five seconds, and I hope to god they sleep in because I had a margarita with my pizza, and I could really use the rest.

I had another interview today for an internal position, and it went pretty well. I liked the people who conducted the interview and it was fairly casual. We'll see how this one turns out. I can only take it as a good sign that someone is willing to interview me.

I'm looking forward to Mardi Gras next weekend, and some time away. I could use the break. Of course, I may end up drunk blogging, but you all seem much more entertained when I am far less coherent, so that's probably a good thing...

The Award winning Author

OK, that may be stretching it a bit, but Coachdad, who is a regular follower here, and whom I also follow gave me an award, and in his words:

"It is an award that means to me that the holder has a blog that is timely, fresh, pleasing to the literary palate, and combines humor with honesty. Basically, the blog is such a good read that you have to keep coming back for more."

Now that's pretty cool, and I really appreciate it, but I'm sure there are more days than not when "on the ball" is a mere wish. Take last night for example, I was actually talking to a dear friend Diane, letting my kids watch cartoons and play Star Wars, while completely forgetting that I'd agreed to meet another dear Friend for coffee. By the time Donna called, it was near dinner time, and I invited her to join me and the kids for corn chowder. So it looks like I was totally on the ball from the outside, but I really wasn't. Despite all of that, we had a nice dinner together, I had the opportunity to listen to Diane live, which with her rapid fire Michigan speak is always a treat. In fact, at one point my phone died (as it does almost always), and it took her a few minutes to realize I wasn't actually there. The whole time she was talking without taking a breath, and I was saying to my Cell phone, "Come on woman, figure out I'm not there so I can call you back", while dialing her number and getting dumped directly to voice mail.

I wish this damned cold would go away. Today, my head is stuffy, and while the cough has subsided, when I do cough it is REALLY bad! Doubled over, feeling like your eyeballs are going to shoot across the room, and you'll be surprised if you don't shit yourself bad. To top it off, now the boys are coughing too, and sleeping in past their normal 6:45am, which is actually a bit of a blessing.

The oldest, and his best friend have decided to enter the Science Fair this year. They want to do something on Stuffed Animals, which they all call "Stuffies". I'm not sure how this exactly relates to science, so more investigation is needed on my part. Had a good lunch with sis yesterday and a nice visit. Need to go out and try to capture the moon, but it's still cloudy and raining...

Cold Medicines make you loopy

As evidenced by my last post. I am no less loopy today, it is still beyond frigid here, and there are clouds with no moon in sight. At least if it rains, the weather should warm up. One can hope it won't snow. I've been sounding like I'm hacking up a lung for a few days now, and it's turned into this croupy sounding mess. Add to that the stress incontinence of having had a 13 pound baby - the natural way, and my period, and you'd know why I'm not right about the head at all this week.

Then there is the Sunday Stills Challenge - the moon. An ominous sign for sure. First off, full moons are crap to shoot because there is so much reflective surface. I might have to get REALLY creative with this week, especially if I can't capture the moon at all. We'll see what I can come up with before Sunday.

I'm tired of looking for a job. It gets more depressing each day that I am not phoned in abject wonder of why, oh WHY would any sane company let me walk out the door. I know, a bit much to hope for, but really why would they?

Frugality update - Eaten every meal at home this week, and have cooked a ton of meat because Ron is on a carnivore diet again. Cross Roast, Turkey, Italian Sausage. Blech. Tomorrow I'm making Corn Chowder again. I also went to the storage shed and dug up my old tea pot. See, I'd packed it away a few years ago in an effort to declutter the house. Now I've started drinking tea again, I wanted it back. Ron said to just go buy a new one, but I'm SO not going to do that when I have SEVERAL tea pots just sitting in storage. It was in the first box I opened - HA! I also found that if I make tea in the evening after the kids go to sleep, it helps me not eat my weight in popcorn or other snack crap, it warms me up, and helps me sleep better. Also, it makes my throat and chest feel better in this cough/cold thing. That reminds me, I need to order tea.

Ordering done, my Imunitea should be here shortly.

Valentine's day is right around the corner and the boys are nearly done with the valentine's for their class. Tomorrow is the 100th day of school for this year and their class is making trail mix. Each kid has to bring 100 of something that would go in trail mix. My oldest is bringing 100 pieces of Honey Combs cereal. The youngest is bringing 100 craisins. Last year had a weird combo of Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips and Reese's Pieces, but the kids all like it.

No more bees, but today I was surprised to see about 40 crows in the field behind my house. I usually don't see that many at once.

More Bees?

Seriously, I think I need to re-examine my relationship to bees. Yesterday, I ran across this post, and today my oldest read this book. Both have bees or bee related items. To top it off, I've been drinking tea with honey for the past 2 nights because I've developed a chest cold, and I think the bees are winning, or at least deserve additional attention. I feel like this is another synchronous event that I need to pay attention to, so I am.

By the way, my dear friends in facebook think it's hysterically funny that I have a chest cold, or maybe they are reading it backward as cold chest. I've even been asked if I've been running around outside naked again...

Which I haven't in a really long time. Not since the Key West Police Department started giving t-shirts to women who were less clothed at Fantasy Fest. Sure, I've flashed for beads a few times, and I like my boobs, I think they are rather nice, in a pale freckly kind of way. But I reserve the pleasure of seeing them for my family. Yes, my sons regularly see me in a state of undress. I don't want them having any weird thoughts about naked bodies. My husband disagrees. He doesn't like seeing naked people, unless it's women who get paid to get naked, and even then only occasionally, and he certainly doesn't want any naked butts on his furniture. I think it's a weird hang up of his. I do draw the line at leaving the window shades open (lest you who know where I live get any bright ideas), answering the door, and working from home in the buff. I think it would be inherently odd to be talking to a VP of any company while naked.

Of course those are my hang-ups, and I completely support those who have a more or less strict view of nudity. It takes all kinds of people to make this world, and I don't begrudge anyone who can make it work for them.

Wow, this rambling post brought to you by the fine makers of Tylenol Cold night time formula...
Maybe Naked Jen has a good tea to get me back to normal. I have to remember to contact her in the morning, when I'm not in a rambling stupor.

Sunday Stills

This week's challenge was Reflections. I don't generally take many photos that I would consider a part of this grouping, but I went through my archives and found 2, both taken during our trip to Yellowstone this past summer.

The first is of a geothermal Pool, and the tops of the trees reflected in it.

The second is the reflection of the mountains in a window in Nevada City - a Living Museum.

I also realize I missed Photo Friday this week - shame on me because I got some cool stuff this week. Those will go into next Friday's post because I want to add this video here. It is simple, and powerful, and I feel it needs to be shared. Thank-you Barry for getting the word out!

A Game of Tag!

Thanks to Iasa for getting me in on it, this is a game called 4x4 - you are supposed to post the fourth photo in the fourth folder. This is where it gets a bit hazy. Is it the 4th folder on my hard drive? On my other hard drive? In flickr? To be safe, I'm doing all of the above, so there!


OK, maybe not. The fourth folder on this machine only has 2 photos, neither of which I took. Hmmm. The fourth photo in my main folder on this hard drive is of a friend of my kids, and I wouldn't post without parental permission...


Let's check the other hard drive. OK I got one, and fuzzed out any identifying copyrighted material (think corporate logo):


Yet another hard drive and another 4th Folder. This one is my oldest, when he was much younger:


Finally, the Fourth Folder on Flickr (or really 4th set if you want to get technical). This was during a walk, and saw a bunch of squirrels. This one was actually running to my side of the street:

Now it's my turn to tag some folks, and I'll try to make it people who haven't already done this!

Barry at An Explorer's View of Life who is a most excellent writer.
NakedJen from NakedJen who is a warm and wonderful person.
Ed from Thoughts From The Road who manages Sunday Stills, and shoots some great photos.
Elaine from A Scattering who takes what I think are phenomenal photos.

Dreams

I had Two weird Bee dreams this morning.

In the first, I was in Dublin, at either Frankie, Johnny, and Luigi too, or at the Dublin Heritage Center, and walked over a weedy area (short clover like weeds), when both bees and wasps landed on me. As I was starting to brush them away, the wasps all stung at the same time, five on my left hand and forearm, and one on my right foot. The bees didn't sting at all. I woke up.

In the second dream, a wasp was flying around my bedroom, and flew toward my face, as I was laying in bed. I swatted it away, and it came at me in attack. I tried to throw the blankets over it unsuccessfully and jumped out of bed. That's when I woke up.

Perhaps this is needless to say, but I did not get much restful sleep. It could have been due to my oldest having had a bad dream and climbing into bed with us, which meant I got the middle, and elbows and knees for the rest of the night. And it was definitely coupled with the bee dreams.

So I looked up what this all means here. The dictionary lists them as follows:

Bees
To see bees in your dream, symbolizes wealth, good luck, harmony, and bliss. Bees are also symbolic of hard work and industry as represented by the common phrase "busy as a bee." Alternatively, the dream could indicate all that is happening in your life or something that is buzzing with activity. Is there a lot going on in your life? (seriously? I should have been dreaming about bees all along!)

Wasp
To see a wasp in your dream, signifies angry thoughts and feelings. (hmm, can't imagine why)
To dream that you are stung by a wasp, symbolizes growing envy and hatred towards you. (wow!)
To dream that you kill a wasp signifies your fearlessness to ward off your enemies and maintain your ethics and rights. (this would have put my mind at ease, unlike my inability to kill the wasps in my dreams...)

Sting
To dream that you are stung represents some action or remark that has hurt you. You are not letting it show how it has affected you. However, the pain is making its way into your dream scape. Alternatively, the dream may also be a metaphor for being in love.

Left
To dream of the direction left, symbolizes the unconscious and your repressed thoughts/emotions. It is an indication of passivity. (so, I'm being stung/hurt/hated/envied because of my passivity?)

Right
To dream of the right, represents conscious reality, deliberate action and rational thoughts. It may also be a pun on the rightness of an idea, decision, or plan. The dream is offering encouragement and telling you that you are doing the right thing or that you are on the right path. Alternatively, perhaps you need to stand up for your "rights". Or it may also represent your right leaning political views. (not sure on this one, as it was only one vs. five stings, so maybe a minor hurt because I am doing the right thing or leaning to the right?)

Just stuff

So the past two days have been difficult at work. Yesterday, I met with 4 of my team to tell them that they no longer have jobs. I also met with my boss so that he could tell me the same thing. We all knew it was coming, but it was still emotionally draining. I feel horrible for my people, and have no clue what I am going to do either.

I found the cartoon here. there are a couple I laughed at as well, worth checking out. Oh, and my company only recently came out with a social networking/blog code of conduct that all employees have to follow, and all of our stuff has to be compliant by 3/31. If I don't find an internal job, my last day will be 4/3. Somehow, not terribly motivated at this point in time.

On a better note, I had an interview this morning and it went pretty well. I'll know tomorrow if I got it or not.

Frugality update: Sis sent me some cool and cheap recipes, which I will try, and share here as I go along. We all had left overs for dinner tonight, and I packed my lunch today. Didn't spend any money at all except on paying bills (which was plenty).

I've been sucked into facebook, and understand why people call it crackbook, it can be addicting! I'm trying to join more photography groups and competitions, and see if I can get my name out there more, and maybe sell some stuff.

Monday Morning, Weekend Wrap Up 3

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity! Saturday morning the boys got to meet the kids who just moved in across the street. The two youngest are the same ages and grades in school as the boys and they all had a ton of fun riding scooters and bikes, and playing in the backyard. After lunch we went to Adventure playground and they had a blast! I love this place! It's everything you wished you could do as a kid! They painted, built things, played hide & seek, played pirate, and just were being kids. I got tons of photos, some of which ended up in the Sunday Stills challenge.

We didn't get home until around 6, and I got a call at 6:15 from a friend who was on her way to Wicked, and had an extra ticket. Did I want to go, and could I meet her in 90 minutes in front of the theater? Yes and Yes! And I have to say, it was AMAZING and WONDERFUL!

I am struck by how clever and smart the storyline is and it made me want to haul out all of the Oz books from storage and give them another go! Of course, I got home after midnight, and couldn't sleep until after 1, but well worth it!

Sunday was laundry day, and shopping, and Superbowl. I didn't really care about the game, so I saw some of the commercials, some of the game, and got to visit with friends, and meet some new people. The boys got to each whatever they wanted, so they were happy and hyper!

Frugality update: I did not purchase the original cast recording of Wicked for $28 at the theater. I went home and downloaded it from iTunes for $9.99, and my friend with the extra ticket would not let me pay for it. I have some truly generous friends. I know this, and it makes me cry in gratitude. I would never have been able to justify the expense of Wicked, and hadn't even thought about it, even though I love the theater. Adventure Playground is free, and the Superbowl party was potluck, so it was a pretty inexpensive weekend, given everything that we did!

Sunday Stills

Thankfully it's still before midnight here, so technically it is still Sunday!

This week's challenge was Go High, Go Low, so I have both. These were taken at Adventure Playground yesterday.

This is taken from up in one of the several forts:
This one was taken through a hole in the wood of the fort you see in the picture above:

This is the shoe of one of my kids, and he's standing on a fort: