Happy Birthday, Kitty!

Today is Hobbes' birthday!

Four year's ago our lil guy was born and put up for adoption at the Atlanta Humane Society where he stole our hearts forever. He was in a cage along with his two sisters and brother. Of course, Kitty was the rowdiest one of the mix so Ben naturally wanted him.

He's been a great companion to have around, even though I've developed an allergy to the little booger. Over the year's Hobbes has taken on several nicknames; Kitty, Hobbersmackle, Hobbernacle Choir, turd burglar, and of course Hobbers. We hope to someday get a dog and, of course, we will name him Calvin, but for now we get to enjoy the company of Hobbernacle.

First day, "Point me to the shoes"

"Monkey see, Monkey do"

"I'm sorry, did you want to sit in this chair?"

"I know what you're thinking, but that's NOT my belly hanging over the bed."

"Did you need this box?"

"I could take 'em!"

"The camera adds 10 pounds, or 17."

The County Fair

If you don't have plans this week, here are a few of the highlights of our county fair schedule.

Today:
8:00AM 4-H Sheep show
1:00PM 4-H Goat show
6:45PM Pig scramble
7:30PM Demolition Derby - mini cars
7:30PM Western Pleasure (??) Horse Show

Tuesday:
8:00AM 4-H Swine show
5:00PM 4-H Poultry show
7:30PM Bubble gum blowing contest
7:30PM Tire burnout contest & Lawn Mower Derby
8:30PM Sunflower Seed Spitting Contest

Wednesday:
8:00AM 4-H Rabbit Show
7:00PM Frog jumping contest
7:30PM Demolition Derby - full size sedans
8:30PM Hot Dog Eating Contest

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the schedule looks like more of the same exciting stuff, but with 4-H showing various animals.

I think Ben and I will check it out Tuesday evening, but we are torn between the Bubble Gum blowing contest and the tire burn out.

::::Tap,Tap,Tap::: Is this thing on?

Were you lost without me? Have I been removed from your favorites section on your browser yet? I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post!! I have to say, I've been busy, but not THAT busy. I know, I've neglected you, but in the past couple of weeks I came down with an itch. The DIY bug. It doesn't come often, but when it does, you must act quickly to get the most you can done with the maximum amount of results, before laziness sets back in.

Last year Ben and I installed hardwood floors on the main level of our house. Now that we are no longer novices at this art, Paul decided to enlist his brother to help him lay hardwood floors in his entire house. After laying the floors at Paul's, John & Sherry purchased wood to finish their flooring remodel upstairs. So we packed up last weekend and, now flooring professionals, laid their floors in a day and a half. Impressive I know. The unfortunate side effect of all of this is that it gave me the itch to get back working on our house. But what would be our next project?

Wednesday morning, while in the shower, I decided my entire house is painted with some sort of color, why is it that our bathroom and master bedroom is the lamest shade of tan in the entire house? I MUST resolve this, and resolve it quickly. No waiting. I decide that tackling the bedroom was out of my league, but the bathroom I could handle. I called Ben later that afternoon from Lowe's and ask his thoughts. He thought I was crazy since I had already painted it once. I told him too bad, they're already mixing a nice blueish/teal to match the bedspread. Actually, come to think of it, it's more of a sea foam, like the mini van. Huh. Anyway, Ben hates to paint, and isn't the best painter, so I tackled the project myself. Done in one night! I'm now able to shower and feel complete, like our bathroom has personality. Which every master bath should have, right?

Then, the next project became clear to both of us. Our neighbor had the retaining wall surrounding his in ground pool rebuilt and in the process tore up some of our yard. No biggie, they replaced everything with fresh sod and even fresh soil in our designated flower bed. So this is where the obvious project hits both of us. This flower bed used to have six bushes growing in it last year from when we planted them. Now it holds a bagazillion weeds, 1 1/2 bushes still alive, a couple of dead bush trunks, and a few holes from where dead bushes were removed. Just a sad sight.

After visiting several landscaping for dummies websites, we headed off to Lowe's Thursday night. $190 bucks later we had purchased, a couple burning bushes, ornamental grass, six purple hedgemajiggers, four purple perennial thingies, three blooming bushes, two black eyed susans, and a partridge in a pair tree. Yes, they really sell those. Friday I worked a half day and was able to start the weeding and hoeing prior to Ben getting home. When he did arrive, he made the mistake of asking what was for dinner, I told him cereal and he better be out in ten minutes. I crack a mean whip. By 8:00pm we were done, and very proud of our work. The only thing left to do (besides not killing them) is to transplant some of the ornamental grass this fall from the front yard to the back center to cover the hideous sandbox in our neighbors yard. Hopefully, we have luck with the new plants and can keep these alive, if not, I'm pouring concrete.

So what's next? Not much, we have aspirations of new kitchen counter tops, but the likelihood of that happening before we move is probably slim. But I did buy some spray paint to spruce up some bathroom lighting and to update our outdoor lamps. I must admit, I love spray paint, it will transform any unsightly object into a masterpiece for $3.97!

I'm beginning to think I should have my own DIY show or, better yet, book! "Jodes top 10 decorate for less ideas, with a bonus feature, in depth insights on how to win/threaten over your husband on any DIY project."

Kick,breath,stroke...

After watching Ben do all his triathlons I thought I would give swimming a shot. For those of you that don't know, I have a slight fear of water. I blame it all on the family vacations where my brother and dad would throw me around the pool for entertainment. I realized real quick that I don't like the feeling of water up my nose or down my throat. So relearning to swim was going to make me face one of my little fears.

I decided this weekend would be the weekend to give it a shot. After running we hit the indoor pool, where it was about 85 degrees in, and out of, the water. Ben and I were the only ones in the pool besides the life guard teaching two toddlers to swim. Perfect. The only difference in my capabilities and the two year old's was that Ben didn't have to hold me up and tell me to blow bubbles in the water.

I had a few obstacles to overcome. One, my bikini bottoms didn't want to stay on when I pushed off from the wall, but I guess a little crack never hurt anyone. Two, my new found bangs kept getting in my face and really pissed me off. Lastly, and probably one of the biggest obstacles, were the stupid goggles. They would either fill up or fog up. Very frustrating. Why did I think this was a good idea again?

Mind over matter. So I stuck it out and continued to take advice from Ben and plunged onward. Now, as someone who danced for the first half of her life, I feel like I should have been more coordinated. I felt frantic the entire ten meters that I swam. Kick, breath, stroke, kick, breath, stroke. Sounds smooth, as if I were gliding across the water. Wrong. I was sucking in air, kicking with my knees bent and stroking with jazz hands. After taking some advice from my very patient coach I was able to put more of it together and actually complete a full 25 meters without stopping. Once I did stop I could barely breath and my legs were jello. It was a good thing we were in the shallow end because I collapsed to my knees I was so exhausted. Needless to say, I have a new found respect for swimmers. And with that, I decided to call it a day. Actually, I think Ben was planning on staying longer to work on some of my quirks, but I feel you should always end on a positive note.

Today was day two of my lessons. We swam outside which I think helped matters. I was still sweating from my run, so the water was actually refreshing rather than making me sweat. I brought a bobby pin this time, so I really only had to deal with my swimsuit bottoms and goggles today.

My stroke got better, I think I had somewhat of a pace going. I still struggle with keeping my head in the water as I turn to breath and kicking from my hips instead of my knees. But the good news is that I swam 100 meters, with 50 of that being two sets of 25 non stop. Coach had his stop watch going and I swam each leg in 29 seconds. It really is hard to believe that I swam that fast. In my head it felt like eternity, and I SWEAR that the pool inside is shorter than the one outside, but Ben claims it isn't. I was still exhausted after my laps, but saw a glimmer of hope at the end of this lesson.

For those of you wondering, I have no plans to compete in any triathlons. While I have slightly overcome my fear of water, I have no interest in swimming laps in a pool with hundreds of others or being trampled in a lake by thousands of swimmers. I also don't have any interest in riding my bike 20 mph on busy roads with nothing protecting me but a helmet. Riding on dad's scooter is enough of a thrill ride for me. So yes, I am a sissy. I thought by picking up swimming it would give my joints a rest. We'll see how long I keep this up, but for now it's been a nice change. Now I need to go buy a cute Speedo, maybe a swim cap. Oh, and I probably need some matching goggles as well. I think Ben is already regretting his decision to introduce me to this sport.

Upgrade.

Warning: portions of this post may make some gag. Enjoy.

My birthday has come and gone, but months prior to my big day Ben kept asking me what I wanted for my birthday. I tried to come up with a few things, but thought maybe I would find something on vacation and he could call that my birthday present. Well, the vacation came and went and, besides having a great time and bringing home several bottles of wine, still nothing officially for my birthday. I know, I'm so needy. After opening all my birthday cards and counting the money that friends and family so generously gave me I knew exactly what I wanted.

When I turned 17 Ben was in North Carolina visiting his friend Brandon, consequently missing my birthday. While in NC he bought me a ring. Many of you have seen it because I've been wearing it everyday since. Gold, two hearts intertwined, with little diamonds in each and on the sides of the band. Pretty fancy, and at $99 dollars pretty pricey for a 17 year old. He brought it home along with a bucket of sand, placed the ring in a little handmade sandbox and made me do a scavenger hunt to find it. He left notes in the VCR, outside in a flower pot, in shoes, all over the house. It was fun and the one thing I remember, it was sized perfectly. (Actually, now that I think back, so was my engagement ring, weird.)

Anyway, so now that it's 10 years later I decided that, for my birthday, I want an upgrade. I think I deserve one, especially since I've worn that ring for 10 years, prorated out that's about 80 cents a month, or a little less than 3 cents a day. I would say Ben got his monies worth.

Since entering into the corporate world, especially the fashion industry, I've been introduced to many things, one of those being David Yurman. Sigh... David Yurman is a well known jewelry designer and he has about a dozen shops around the country. Other than those shops, his jewelry can only be found in high end jewelry boutiques or upscale department stores. This is one of those items that even in Vegas, with a little bit of winnings, was still out of my price range and only ever an aspiration.

Not this year. I decided to take the money for my birthday and the money Ben was going to spend on me and buy my first piece of DY. Notice I say first, because now I'm hooked. It's like a girl getting her first little blue box. You want every gift to come in a blue box with a pretty white bow. My new upgrade is from his Noblesse collection, sterling silver with a blue topaz gemstone. I love it. Simple, small, perfect for everyday wear.

I still plan on keeping my heart ring. I'll probably tuck it away and show my daughter some day what her dad got me when we were teenagers. I guess now I need a manicure if I'm going to show this bad boy off. In case you are wondering, Ben has already worked out the calculation on this puppy to see how long I have to keep it before I upgrade again. Glad I like it!

4th of July

Ben and I ventured home for the 4th of July. We had a jam packed weekend visiting family, eating more food than I have all month, and cheering Ben on for his second triathlon this year.

Friday we helped my mom & dad move my grandparents into their local assisted living home to allow grandma to recover faster from her broken hip. Grandpa was a little resistant (to put it mildly), but I guess when you're being uprooted from your home that you've lived in for 70 years, I would be too. I MUST say the temporary residence is quiet plush. While the rooms are small, they have a walk in closet that I would DIE to have. The rest of the place is like an all inclusive resort. They've got billiards, a floor to ceiling bird cage, baking classes, hillbilly golf, shuffle board, tons of board games, a computer with Internet access, a Wii with competing bowling league, hair salon, their own chapel, the list goes on... Every meal is served in the dining room and to find out the menu of the day you press a button in your room and a recording tells you the menu and activities of the day. Kinda like a cruise ship. The best part, besides not having to cook, is if you spill your pills, you push another button and have someone else pick them up for you! I think grandma and grandpa will do well there and the main focus is recovery. I think they will enjoy their short time spent there.

After we got them all settled we packed up and headed over to Brian & Heather's for dinner and some time with the kids. I had called ahead to make sure Heather had strong cocktails made, and she had! Cute pink things! Heather had also made enchiladas for dinner. We played some corn hole, (which I suck at) were irresponsible around the kids, gorged ourselves, and visited. We had planned on going to the fireworks that night, but I could barely keep my eyes open so we headed home.

Saturday the 4th. Ben's folks picked us up early for yet another day on the road to visit grandparents. This time is was lunch at Grandma Ruby's & Grandpa Phil's. Grandma Bert and Uncle Pat drove in to eat with us as well. We arrived at 10:00am and cracked open the first beer at 10:01am. Remember, I'm married to a Catholic whose mom is Lutheran. It's always 5 o'clock somewhere. The ladies had wine and got lunch together while the guys sat outside, grilled steaks, speculated as to why Sarah Palin really did resign and, of course, solved all the other worldly problems. Lunch was excellent and it was great to visit with everyone.

Saturday evening we had dinner at my parents house and had hoped to go to the park for fireworks. But it rained the entire day and canceled all the holiday festivities. So we sat around, talked and rubbed our full bellies. I think it was probably best that fireworks were canceled because Ben needed to get to bed early to rest up for his race on Sunday.

Sunday morning we all got dressed for rain and headed down to the park to cheer Ben on for the Rodney T. Miller Triathlon. This was his first year doing this race and this was the longest distance he had participated in. He did great! Finished in 2 hours and 3 minutes and in the top 35% of the race. While I would like to say it was a smooth race he did hit a speed bump along the way. Totally wiped out on a sharp turn heading back in from the bike leg. When I say wipeout I mean full blown, over the handle bars, quick shoulder roll to his feet, wipe the grass stain off your shirt, straighten out the front tire and a quick check to see if anyone caught it on tape, wipeout. I would venture a guess that next year when the race volunteers yell, " slow down sharp turn ahead," he will heed their advice.

After the race we headed back to John & Sherry's for lunch. John had mowed the back yard for a competitive game of Bocce ball but we ran out of time. The drive home jumped up on us quickly. Ben and I were both exhausted. I downed two cups of coffee before jumping in the car and took a coke zero for the road. We made it home safely and awake thanks to the caffeine and my Ultimate Dance Party 97 & 98 dance mixes on my iPod. Hobbes was happy to see us and we were happy to be home and in our own bed.

EstroFest 2009

This year our annual girls weekend was hosted by Kelly in Des Moines. You may think Des Moines is nothing but farmland. You would be correct. This was definitely a weekend for the memory books.

Des Moines EstroFest 09 Top Ten List

10. Not showering until the morning before you leave.

9. Debbie: "It's like dropping a pencil down the grand canyon." Best quote of the weekend.

8. Brit attempting to get a tattoo on night one. Dave, you're a jackass.

7. Losing 7 inches of hair and being pressured into bangs. I'm hot.

6. Kelly making several wrong turns. Don't believe her when she says she can talk and drive at the same time.

5. The beach. From it's gravel sand that exfoliated our skin to the nice refreshing fish smell wafting from the waters.

4. Brit's second attempt at a tattoo. Ace, you're awesome.

3. Marshing mellows and reading Brandon & Kelly's library of literature by campfire. I learned so much.

2. Breaking two crystal wine glasses in one night.

1. My crying log, with eight cries logged on Friday, three on Saturday, and none on Sunday.

Thanks ladies for a fabulous weekend. Can't wait to host next year!

"The most beautiful discovery that true friends can make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."
-Elizabeth Foley