2 miles

I did it. I ran 2 miles this morning ;) I feel pretty good too. I ran 2 miles last Sunday with my support posse of 4 who were on bikes or a skateboard. This time I did it with me and my cell phone (in case I needed to call for a ride).

Well, kids and Tom are off to school for a basket ball free throw contest. I am at home, all alone. (yay!). I need to make the most of my time as I have to get Greg at noon to get him to his soccer game. So, no computer for me for awhile.

Have a super weekend :)

Reading

I remember seeing an Oprah episode about a very courageous woman that survived a plane crash with her husband. Then awhile ago I was directed to her blog. You can read it too. I posted a link on the side of this blog. It says I read Nie Nie. She is currently undergoing skin graft surgery in AZ. Courageous.

Days like today when I just feel like crawling back under the covers and this mom is in surgery. Gotta shake off the blah's or whatevers, ignore the aches and pains, and get moving. Prayers for you Nie Nie.

Prayers for Haiti

We were all shocked to hear of the earthquake in Haiti. We have a friend, Fr. Marc, who started an orphanage in Haiti, Les Cayes. Fortunately, they were all fine, but shaken. Now however, as roads are closed they are limited in their supply of food and fuel.



A link to the blog is here with updates. If you have it in your heart to make a donation, there is a link. But as always, prayers are free and welcome.

http://pwojeespwa.blogspot.com/

Photos

I have been up to my eyeballs downloading pictures. I can not possibly post them all here. So if you want to check out the photos on Flickr, check the link in the box to the side---------->
or check out the link here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24798955@N05/

Taking a short break

because I am sick. Yuck. Started feeling very yucky on Christmas Day. Went to bed early, stayed in bed very late Saturday. Lounged around the house all day and night. Sunday feeling a bit better but took it easy. Today, Monday, still not so good. Runny nose, sneezy, no cough but my chest feels quite full of gunk. If I don't feel better tomorrow, will call the doctor. Super tired too. Yuck.

My Space

Because I am on a roll updating my blog. Here I go again.

Last November, just about a week before Thanksgiving, we finished up the remodel: office addition, new kitchen, new flooring and a few other things.

Fast forward to a year later and everything is put in it's place. The expanded office is once again stuffed full. But it's a good thing. All 4 of us use it everyday.

I needed/wanted my own space that I could call my space. I got an old desk of ours from my neighbor who wasn't using the desk any more. Put it in the last open space in the office, Tom hung up a shelf, I did the rest. I filled the drawers with my scrap stuff and other creative stuff. And then Wha-Lah! I now have my own space. I hope to be able to use it a lot.



The shelf that Tom hung. I made the frame, I made the "N", Greg made the little scrap book.
I got this wall decal from Etsy. I hope to sell on there some day. Photo is from our track team last year. I was one of the coaches.

My space. Still a bit cluttered when I took the picture but you get the idea. That's a magnetic board from Ikea and hanging organizers from the Container Store. I already had them, and the shelf. The football guy is one that Greg tore out of a Kids Sports Illustrated. I hung it up for him to see. Greg says he likes it there.

Almost Christmas

And I have to say I am ready. My apologies if you did not get a card from us this year. I only sent a few. I will do my best to get it together better next year.

But I am done shopping and wrapping. Decorations are all done. I just have to get ready for Christmas Eve. That will not take me very long.

At this moment Greg is making scrambled eggs. Evelyn is doing Wii Fit. Love my kids

Tom is at work. I am work. I am bummed that I had to use my PTO days that were scheduled for now for my surgery. But I needed my surgery and my recovery time.


Here is a photo of this cute bird that hangs out in my front yard. On this very rainy day a few weeks ago he was sitting on the snowman. Hello cute bird in the rain.

Hot cocoa sounds good as it is super windy and chilly outside. But my hot tea is good. I did walk the dog early and boy was it cold. I am fighting off the cold that Greg had earlier this week. Cold Eze and hot tea sure help.

May you all have a blessed and wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

It's like Space Mountain

You may know that I had surgery in October. I had the left side of my thyroid removed. I had a cyst, it had to come out. I have to say I had a great experience while at the hospital. I was there for almost 24 hours. Everyone was so nice and helpful from the moment I arrived and the nice volunteer walked me and Tom the pre -0p from the moment the nice volunteer wheeled me out of the hospital and helped me into the car the next day.

I do think I may have left some of the staff wondering though, or maybe laughing and thinking what was that crazy lady saying?

You see, I was feeling quite nice and happy and relaxed and one step away from la-la land. I could feel the happy drugs chilling through my veins and began to see everything in a haze. I already had a general area of where the operating room was, because I asked. So, when I was wheeled out of my curtained area in pre-op, was turned to the right, I knew I was headed to the operating room.

So, what do I say as I am being wheeled away? Do you really want to know? Promise me you won't laugh, too hard...... Ok, I said

"Wow, it's like going to Space Mountain."

I have no idea why I said that or even what I was thinking about. I still think about it and have no idea. No idea at all.

When I woke up in recovery I felt very sick to my stomach, but the anti-barf drugs shot into my IV quickly took care of that. I was in a daze for several hours, so maybe I did go to Space Mountain. No idea.

And I will quickly share this with you. Feb 2008, I had carpal tunnel surgery. The last thing I remember saying was "That sure is a big light" as I was staring at the enormous light above the operating table.

In high school I had my wisdom teeth removed. I had to be put under. I woke up, tried to sit up and focus, but realized I was strapped down to a table. I saw a blurry sign that read "painless dentist". Yeah, no. I started screaming for my dad. Someone quickly came in and told me to be quiet so I didn't scare any patients. The last thing I remember before going out was asking what that noise was. It was the pulse monitor or something I was hooked up to.

So, my friends, do you care to share with me what were your last words before going into la-la land or when you were recovering? I would like to know, if you care to share. Thanks :)

These Boots........

Are they really made for walking? Well, I would say yes. I have been wearing them all day and I love them. I think I may wear them every day.

There is this great re-sale/thrift store called Portabello Rd. (no it's not a mushroom store) It's in Lake Forest on El Toro Rd, next to Bev Mo. The proceeds go to Laura's House. A friend of mine, who I have crowned the bargain queen, works there. She gives me the scoop on the hot items. But this time I found a hot item all by myself. I had delivered a few boxes of donations and decided to shop. I found a few cute sweaters and then wowza! Hanging on the boot rack was this pair of vibrant blue boots. I flipped them over, my size and only $5! Tried them on and the didn't squish my toes and I liked the way they looked on my feet. So, now they are mine.

I had to tell everyone about them and today I had to wear them. Here they are.....don't you love them?

And then I also have to share some more of my favorite shoes...........

Of course there are my red Vans and the blue Vans (which Evelyn wears all the time) and my Nike's and slippers......

and these....... which everyone laughs at when I wear them. But I like them, they are comfy and warm and no I do not look like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story"

What are your favorite shoes? I would love to know.

Has it been that long?

Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by again.

I wanted to wish everyone of you a very blessed Christmas and enjoy the time with family and friends.

And I promise, I will keep things updated during the craziness of your day to day lives.

And hey, if you happen to surf on over to Facebook, look me up there: Naomi Dickson Murphy.

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. What are you doing to conserve energy and save our Earth?

Here is what we are doing.

The kids are always leaving lights on. Always. I am constantly saying "turn off the light" . This morning as the kids were getting ready for school, I decided to remind them of Earth Day, oh, and by the way "turn off the lights behind you. No matter what room you are in. Unless of course someone else is in that room, using that room" Well, Greg, the boy of many responses and many questions says "Well, that light is in front of me so I can not turn it off" Oh vey! Ok, "If the light is in front of you, behind you, anywhere near you or far from you, when you leave a room turn off the light. Unless of course someone is in that room using that room. Understand?" Blank stare was the response I got. Evelyn gets it though. Let's see how long it lasts.

Now for some other Earth Day tips.

Seems like I am always saying "brush your teeth", "did you wash your hands?" "did you flush the toilet? Go flush the toilet" "You have been in that shower long enough, turn it off NOW"

So, the next time I say "did you flush the toilet" and I get a blank stare, I'll just respond by saying "well, no problem. You saved gallons of water. Great job!"

How about "Did you wash your hands?" Blank stare. "Great job. You just saved a ton of water. And not to mentions hand soap and laundry soap. That's one less towel I have to wash. Hey, why don't' you just wipe your hands real good on your shirt. Yes, the one you used to wipe off your face. And great job saving trees but using your shirt instead of a napkin."

Or, "Did you brush your teeth?" Blank stare. "You are doing such a good job here. You know you really saved a bunch of water by brushing your teeth 2 days ago or by quickly running the tooth brush across your teeth without using any water. You know, you also saved me a bunch of money as I really don't' need to by tooth paste and a lot of tooth brushes. Hey, while you're at it, go ahead and use that shirt and rub it over your teeth to get them nice and shiny white. You already used it to wipe your face and your hands."

Possibly, "Did you shower, today? I think you need a shower, you smell." Blank stare. "I am so proud of you. Way to go for NOT taking a shower today. Not only did you save water, but you also saved me having to by shampoo, conditioner, body wash and whatever other product you drag into the shower to use. And, hey, great idea here. Just wipe down your body with that shirt, you know the one. Keeps me from having to wash yet another towel and saves me money on laundry detergent and the water that has to run through the washing machine. Not to mention the electricity used to run the washer and the dryer and the gas used to dry the clothes. I'm so proud of you my Earth conscience kid"

And another good one, "You know what, when the sprinklers go on across the street. You know the ones that water the hill you are not supposed to play on. The ones that the association maintains and our association fees pay for. Well, go out and run through them. Yes, I know it is reclaimed water. But hey, you won't smell any worse that you already do (sometimes). We are already paying for the water anyways."

So I guess my kids really are Earth conscience and doing their share here. Well, I should say one of them is totally, the other not so much so, but sometimes. One likes to smell, the other doesn't. One, well no other comments, the other one, yes she does really care about keeping herself clean and listening to my pleads.

What are you doing for Earth Day?

13 days

Yikes, it's been 13 days since I last visited my poor lonely neglected piece of cyberland. And so much has been going on in those last 13 days. Just to name a few, Evely sick, me sick, Greg sick and still coughing, baseball, horseback riding, school homework, work, sanity checks, Easter and I'm sure I am forgetting many things.

What do we have going on this weekend? Really want to know? Ok. Horse show practice, soccer registration, bank, errands, track practice, baseball game, Horse show, baseball practice.....

Here is a highlight from Greg's game last Tuesday. Sit back, relax and enjoy. But don't' get any popcorn, it's not very long. Be sure the sound is on, it's not the same without it.

I'll be back later. Hopefully before May. I have tons of pictures.

TTFN and have a great weekend.

Hello

Well Hi there. How is everyone? Hope you are all well.

As for us here, well....... It's been one thing after another. Evelyn was home sick for 3 days last week. Cough/cold. She is such a giving and sharing person that she shared her cold/cough with me. Then Greg wants to tag along with us too and get sick. He seems to have the minor case. He did miss school for 2 days and is back today. Thankfully Tom has managed to not get sick.

Needless to say, it's been fun. Hard to sleep listening to the kids cough all night long. Then hard to sleep when I am coughing and have a raspy sore throat on top of that.

But life must go on and so it does. I've been trying to take it as easy as possible. I didn't run with the kids at track practice yesterday. In fact I have not run for a week. I would like to but my body just won't let me. We are gearing up for our first track meet at the end of April. The kids are practicing their events and seem to be having a good time too ;)

Baseball, going strong. Had another good win Tuesday and lost last Saturday. No break for Easter break. I hope Greg is feeling great on Saturday and can play a good game.

OK, that's about it for now. Work is so super busy. Things have backed up at home as I just don't have the energy to get things done. Kids have a short day today at school and will be home early. I'll get them to finish up the laundry and do a little cleaning. Hey, it's good for them.

Have a super weekend and hope everyone stays well.

52 Blessings

No picture to post here, but very proud parents and 2 very proud kids. Happy too.

Report cards came home yesterday for the 2nd trimester of school. I can happily say that the grades went up! Some dramatically. This is great! Both the kids have an average of 88% which is a high B!!! Evelyn is hoping to make honor roll next trimester and only need 1% to get there. She can do it!

So, picture 4 big happy smiles here......

88 is great!!!

a lot of catching up

I realized there is a lot of blah blah blah on here lately and not very many pix of the kids. So, get ready. I'm updating with pictures. And hopefully videos. I got a new video camera a few weeks ago. Just in time for Evelyn's horse show and to video some of Greg's games.

Here is Evelyn and the Hot Trotters performing to Picture to Burn by Taylor Swift (who else??!!) They had a great routine that the girls planned themselves. This show was an equestrian drill team and all about riding horses to music. It was a lot of fun. Evelyn is on Jesse, the dark horse, and Evelyn is wearing a white helmet. This was such a fun event and I hope Nicole plans more of these. Evelyn is signing up for the next series of shows.

Hot Trotters

Next up we have baseball. So far the Boltz are 4 - 2. We have had some great games. Greg is hitting, again, and hitting very good. He has had an inside the park home run! He is mostly playing 1st and lets nothing get past him and has caught many foul balls. You should see the huge abrasion on his elbow which was aggravated with a slide at 2nd. Greg has pitched several innings and also plays out field. But his main position is 1st.


Pitching under the lights. We have a lot of later games so get to play under the lights.

First base. It was dark and I was using my telephoto and the pictures came out blurry.

Greg at bat.

Catching a foul ball.

Now, let's see if the videos will upload to here. Nope waited all day and it never loaded al the way. I'll have to try again.

Ok, back to things.

Isle 14 is in plumbing.....updated

for those of you who asked, the color of the store is blue.
Yes, those who wear orange are a lot more helpful.

Hey, Robin.... aren't these your gator colors????

Isle 14 is in plumbing

This morning I met my friend Krystal for breakfast after dropping the kids at school. We had a nice breakfast and a good catch up chat. After breakfast I had some errands to take care of.

One was to a major home improvement center to get some sprinklers and some plants to spruce up the yards. I went straight to the garden section to look for sprinklers. But first I thought to ask where they were rather than wandering aimlessly through the store looking for sprinklers. I walked up to an employee and asked "Excuse me, where can I find lawn sprinklers?" Answer: "Isle 14" head goes back down to indicate his allotted time to assist me is over. Well, that was not the answer I was looking for. How come he did not walk me to the isle where I was supposed to be and help me look for the right sprinkler for my lawn??? So, I ask nicely "Which is where?" answer "Isle 14, plumbing" Me: "Which is where?" Answer: "Go to the front of the store and it is that way." (Pointing in the opposite direction where I am) Me:"Great. Thank you very much." As I am thinking why in the world do the sprinklers have to be in plumbing on the opposite side of the store. Why can they not be in the garden section where I am?

It was not a far walk. And it's not like I do not enjoy walking through these large home improvement centers. I actually like going. I like looking and thinking of and planning projects I would like to do some day and really need to do now. I knew that if I started wandering on my own I would end up spending way too much time looking at rain gutters, doors, window coverings, etc.... Things for projects we need to do now. And then maybe dream up some more projects which I would like to do, someday.

Back to isle 14. I found the sprinklers. Boxes of them. Thankfully there was a very helpful employee in that same isle. Together we found the sprinkler that I thought I would need. And I bought 2 of them, just in case one gets broken again. Headed back to the garden center and picked out some flowers to plant through out the front and back yards to add some color and spruce things up. All in all it was not a bad trip to the large home improvement center.

I also like spending time in my local hardware store. It maybe only has 14 isles and I can usually find everything I need there. I can also get superior service by the very friendly employees. I can go in asking for a thingy that needs to go in the sink, or a spout thingy for my tub but I don't know what type of plumbing I have , or for the perfect type of hook or attachment that looks like this and I always go home with exactly what I need. I also was lucky to have a nice college student employee sit in the paint isle with me to help me find the correct type of primer I needed to paint over the oil based paint on my kitchen ceiling so I could apply the new water based paint to the ceiling would look nice with the new cabinets.

We have another busy weekend, but I have a block of time on Sunday where I can spend some much needed quality time in the yards and plant the colorful plants. I love color in the yards.

So, what is my point here? Well, I really don't know. I haven't blogged in awhile. But just know, the next time you go to a large home improvement center to find something, it may not be where you expect it to be. Ask before you wander through out the store and emerge 2 hours later with a truck full of drywall mud and tape, lumber to build that new fort you always wanted to build, bricks to fill in the front lawn rather than grass, chicken wire to hang on your walls because it just might look good there and some sprinklers and pretty flowers. Oh, and maybe that do it yourself home improvement book. You just never know.

Have a great weekend :) Think of me when you plant some flowers....

52 Blessings

I have lost count of the weeks and know I am behind. Life has been busy and has left little time for blogging.

Last July I had to dig up the front yard and re plant plants in preparation for the office addition. I dug up a bunch of bulbs and held onto them for safe keeping. In late October, early November, I got some new plants to plant in front of the addition and re planted the bulbs. Well, they pushed through and although not growing very tall, have gown the cute yellow flowers I enjoy every year.

Next:

Several weeks ago, Greg was home sick from school. He asked if I wanted to play Monopoly. I hesitated, knowing how long this game can take, but said "Yes, I will play Monopoly with you". The game board was quickly set up, money set out, and the dice began to roll. That game continued for hours, with Greg eventually owing me more than he had. He conceded the game to me and I'm sure it was not an easy decision for him (if you know Greg).

The next round began which included Evelyn. At bed time the game was pushed under a table to sit until we could play again. The game began again on the next night and well, my poor old shoe just wore out and I was out of the game turning all of my property over to Greg as I owed him big time.

Kaydee, the dog, loves to be involved in whatever we are doing and to be the center of things. Who knew this would also include Monopoly. At one time, here head was on the Monopoly board and we had to drag her off the board as she refused to move. Silly dog. This game lasted for several days and I frankly don't remember who won or if it was just agreed that the game would end.

Sleeping in the Free Parking zone.
St. James, St. Charles and Virgina Ave. Lucky Dog!

Hmmm, how can I get a piece of the action here? Maybe if I lay here long enough, someone will sractch me. Maybe someone will grab a snack and if I look sad enough I'll get a bite or two. Maybe if,,,,,, oh, well, I'll just lay here. It's fun.

Oh, the weekend is here :)

What a long long week. I took Monday off and the kids and I hung out and had a great day. But the week just seemed even longer.

Friday afternoon Evelyn and Tom took off for another camping trip. Greg and I took off for baseball practice. Then I headed over to Circuit City to see what deals I could find. And, I had found a $10 gift card that I wanted to use before it was too late. I got 2 movies, a flash drive, memory card for my camera and a cool hot pink cover for my i pod. Not to bad and didn't spend very much either. :)

Greg's team had a pizza party after practice. It was nice to meet a few more parents and have some time to talk with the coaches. I really like the way things are turning out with this new team. All the guys are getting along and getting to know each other better. The coaches are impressed with our boys abilities too. I do believe it is going to be a great season. We are already talking of some more tournaments to play in.

I didn't get up till after 8 am this morning. It was soooo gooooood to sleep in. Dog has been walked and Greg and I are just hanging out. It's a nice lazy morning which we don't get too often around here.

This evening we are going to a huge birthday celebration. A party for Tom's mom, sister and our niece. All milestone birthdays, with Sam's being her sweet 16. Tom and Evelyn have to come home early from their camp out but will have had a great time for the time there are there.

Evelyn's show was postponed due to the rain and lack of practices and the fact that her trainer had to have surgery last week. It is now March 7. Mark it on your calendar.

This means we have Sunday free, except for Greg's practice Sunday afternoon.

For the rest of today, I have to finish making the birthday presents and think of something to get Sam. I have no idea what to get her. I think I may also spend some time in the yards. They have been neglected, especially out back. My daffodils are starting to push through and some are blooming. They are so pretty.

Oh, and one more thing before the train leaves the station, I AM going to be an assistant track coach for 5th/6th grade track at school. Evelyn is running. She has such long legs and I think will be an awesome runner. She went running with me the other day and pushed through for the entire 3 miles. That's my girl!!

Well, until the next stop on the crazy train, have a great weekend. :)

Leapin Lizards!

What you would you do if you opened your washing machine, took out a load of jeans and saw this sitting in the bottom of your washing machine.

A-Scream like a girl?

B- Close the lid and hope that someone else besides you would put laundry in the washing machine?

C- Triple bag your hand with newspaper bags (saved to pick up after the Dog) and while gritting your teeth and hopeing the darn thing is not alive enough to move, carefully scoop up the darn thing and toss it into an open grave, aka, the trash can.

Ok, I did C. I was cool calm and collected, kinda. I didn't scream like I did when the Dog brought a dead gopher into the house or when I found a dead possum in the back yard. This had nothing to do with the Dog. At least I hope not.

I have no idea where this poor lizard came from or how it got in the machine. This morning I collected all the jeans from various rooms of the house and had them in a pile in my room waiting their turn to get warshed.

And the entire time I was figuring out how to remove a dead lizard from the washing machine and not to get too grossed out about it, the Dog was standing at the by the gate, chewy, at her feet, looking at me like who knows what. I wonder what she thinks at times. She probably was hoping I was getting something for her. Silly Dog.

Oh, and these pix here,

they are pix of the rain on Tuesday. Yes, we so need rain gutters.