Obviously I haven't posted...

Hey guys, sorry about not posting anything. My days have been full of computer work and worrying about mom. Heading up to Mayo clinic today to visit her again. All prayers are welcome.
Thanks!

Day 7: Outta gas

Okay, well today, I haven't walked the dog or myself nor have I taken any pictures. I've been on the computer all day working on website concepts. Here's my fave.
Since it's almost 9:30 and I'm heading to Rochester with the parents tomorrow and Thursday, I'll be back with posts on day 10.
Oh, I practiced the guitar too. :)

Day 6: Things that should be

Throughout the day as I was working on the computer, picking up the house, eating Oreos, and walking the dog, I had a long list of things that should be.

1: If you build a treehouse with a door on the second floor, there should be a railing or steps so your children don't fall into the garbage cans.
2: There should be more people who can make quilts in this world.
3: We should make an effort to go back to the Jersey shore and get more coffee mugs. And bump-its.
4: Dogs should be allowed on walking paths as long as they're not rabid or pooping everywhere. (Inka's questionable on the second one)
5:Dogs should laugh more often.
6: We should have more cute ducks around.
7: All sheets should have stripes so we know which stinkin' corner goes where. (Good thing ours have stripes.)

Day 5: This too shall pass

Well, Chad and I finally made it to church today. During the school year we teach kids' Sunday school, so we're usually preparing for that and skip church. And during the summer, we're taking a break from teaching Sunday school, so we slack and rarely make it to church. :)

Today's message was a message of radical hospitality. Basically helping everyone and offering your time and talents to do what you can to welcome people.

It was a good message, but what touched me more was Gina Pemberton's song. I'm not sure of the title, but it centered around the thought that God never gives you more than you can handle and that "this too shall pass." My grandma always told me that "God never gives you more than you can handle." Of which I reminded myself every time I ended up with poison ivy growing up. Never failed, at least once a summer I would get poison ivy. As I sat there soaking in epsom salts and oatmeal and trying my best not to scratch, I would think, "God says I can handle this."

As a grown-up, there are more serious issues to deal with than poison ivy, but the message still resonates with me. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who need them, especially those dealing with the gulf oil spill.

Happy rainy Sunday!

Day 4: The other man

The other man in my life is my mail-order boyfriend. He is a metrosexual named Dean. And he's used. Wow. This is all sounding so wrong. Let me introduce you to my new guitar.

If Dean were a guy he is a bit flashy, hence the metrosexual part. I bought him on e-bay and the previous owner kept him in perfect condition for the past 6 years. Quite an accomplishment, considering I took Dean to pre-school the other day for show-and-tell and managed to drop the case (the clip came unsnapped from the strap) with Dean inside it. He now has a couple of scratches after a whole week in my care. I'm such a klutz.

After taking lessons for a couple weeks, I know 7 chords and am on my way to learning Hotel California. It's a lonely place...
And my fingers are pretty numb most of the time. Everything I've read on the internet says that it's completely normal to not have feeling in your fingers. Neat. Also, it's a good thing I'm not a girly-girl because fingernails aren't allowed.

Dean is an acoustic/electric, which means that when I start my very own Guitar Hero tribute band, I will be able to plug him in and make all my squeaky mistakes even louder, for all to hear. I'm sure that everyone in the neighborhood will appreciate me rocking out to Taylor Swift.

In case you were wondering, Dean sleeps on the couch.

Day 3: Monster trucks, Wienermobile

Day three started out earlier than I would have liked since this is technically my vacation time. 6a.m.! Chad had a meeting in Moline and wanted to know if I wanted to keep him company on the drive. Did I mention I'm a zombie in the morning? Not sure if I was such great company...

When we arrived in Moline, I walked my way out of the parking garage and headed to the riverfront to get some picturesque water shots. Eh, not really much happening-grey skies tend to make pictures a little boring. I scared off a couple of cute ducks and was scared off by señor snake sunning himself on a rock. Really, guy? All I want to do is take your picture. Smile!

Sauntered (more like slogged-the humidity is terrible today) down the riverwalk, keeping an eye out for potential adult-nappers. Chad pointed out that since I'm not a kid, I can't be kidnapped, but adult-napped. Happened upon a huge gaggle of geese. They were fairly friendly as far as geese go and I was able to hug a couple. Joking. Seriously, when we had Roy and Susie ("pet geese") at home, they would chase us all over the yard. These geese were much nicer.

Made my way to John Deere commons and snapped the requisite tractor photos and abstract artsy shots. I was so obsessed with trying to capture a photo of a train that I followed the tracks to a not so nice part of town. Got out of there quickly sans train shot. Of course as we were leaving town, we crossed the tracks and a train was heading in our direction. "@#$% train!" Chad looked at me like I was crazy.

On the drive back, we sighted a huge-o monster truck and the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. In my opinion, a day is not complete without seeing the Weinermobile.

-CH

Day 2: tinman, dogpaddle, baths all-around

After working for a couple of hours this morning on emails for a client, I needed to get away from my computer screen and go for a run/walk (more walk than run).

Armed with my camera, cell phone (in case of twisted ankle or lurking strangers), and plastic poo bag for the dog, I set out for my mini-adventure. I also effectively stuffed my phone and plastic bag in my sports bra creating an attractive and scratchy uniboob.

Not two houses down, I spotted the tinman hanging in the tree. He looked lonely and photogenic, so I stopped to snap a picture. As I'm trespassing, the dog decides she needs to crap again (she just did before we left the yard.) I debated picking it up, but their dog always leaves monster poo in our yard and acts like it's going to attack us when we walk by, so I figured we were even.

The winding-no-shoulder road allowed for us to practice the "sit" command many times and afforded us views overlooking a cow pasture. Inka was sounding like a freight train at this point, so we scrambled under a fence (not electric, I checked) and climbed down some rocks to allow for swim-age. I'm definitely her favorite person right now.

We have both taken our baths and now it's time for me to grab a late lunch.

Until tomorrow!

Day 1

So I've officially joined the blogosphere 10 years behind everyone else. Delayed reaction, I know-story of my life.

Today was the end of the school year and my time as a paraprofessional at pre-school for now. Pretty good day. No pee puddles on the floor, minimal meltdowns, all that. (and the kids were good too. ha. ha.) Nah, really, I got choked up hugging them goodbye today.

I'm now faced with what to do with myself for 82-ish days this summer. I tend to spend money like it's going out of style if I sit around for too long. Itchy spending fingers. Considering that I won't be holding a steady job for awhile since I'm heading back to school in the fall, I needed to come up with something to do, possibly saving and making money in the process.

82 days of summer was born. I have challenged myself to keep to a budget of $200/month and remain a productive member of society. I'll take at least one photograph a day to encourage my creativity, ride my bike or run instead of drive a car (whenever possible), clean the house for at least half an hour (no clutter piles, missy), and shower and change into normal clothes to avoid the p.j. trap.

Wish me luck!