Christmas Card

to all of you I neglected to send a card (yes, I still have a few on the kitchen counter). Here is our card. I send it off to the world with love.

whitney

I may have to get this furniture, but I promise NEVER to do this with our new Scrabble board. love it so much.
(viewing for adults only) www.blacksbeach.org/scrabble1.jpg


from the blacksbeach webpage

gazelle

hope you are feeling better. I could have wrapped this album up for you instead.....

have a listen http://odeo.com/audio/17279383/players

yup, thought so.

Kate's trail of light

well, the boys delivered their letter about the luminaries and the orders kept coming and coming and coming! We bought all the white bags from target, michael's and hobby lobby and added them to the luminaries we bought at a book store. Marc was continually running out for more cat litter, cups or tea lights. The boys made big signs that said "lit up for Kate."

Ben and Will raised $400 for the Leukemia Lymphoma society and we had the most wonderful Christmas Eve working together and visiting our neighbors. We set out the bags just before dusk and lit them as the sun set. Our neighbors were in their yards smiling and taking photos. Cars drove down slowly admiring all night. The best part was when Kate and family drove into our driveway after viewing the street. Kate had the biggest smile and my children felt it...truly felt IT.

"You don't keep Christmas. You give it away." --Charles Dickens

Lit up for Kate!

cause you just have to see their cuteness!

words that make me giggle

snorkel
shag
falafel

all lit up

wow! Having a tough week running because of an injury (remember to stretch!) but my spirit for running is HUGE! My account recently received a donation from the Getzel Kenner memorial in honor of my uncle's father who lost a battle to prostate cancer but also suffered from a blood disorder. His foundation, inspired by Kate's story, decided to honor his life while honoring Kate. I will run strong in his honor.

Then...Chik-fil-A (Druid Hills/Briarcliff) donated $490 from the proceeds of Kate H. Day. Carolyn, Whitney and I each received this amount. wow, $1470! Carolyn also received a bundle of cash. Thank you Greg Mapoles and Angela McDaniel for organizing such a meaningful day that brought together the community and will support Leukemia/Lymphoma research for a cure. I am continually amazed by the thoughtful generocity of my community and friends.

There's more...My children love to be backseat drivers at this time of the year. "turn left. look at those lights.... go that way where those trees are lit up in the woods." They mentioned how we set out luminaries on Christmas eve each year and asked if we could sell them for Kate, to cure her Leukemia. I wish there was a word I could come up with that could express my emotions of love, pride and hope at that moment. "could we?" they asked. So, we bought all the bags and candles and what not and will be out in the neighborhood with their luminary service ($2 for the bag, weight and candle and $5 for the luminaries being set up for you on Christmas eve) with all proceeds going to the Leukemia/Lymphoma society. Drive by. Our lights will be the brightest, as they are lit with hope and love.

nostalgia

Prominently displayed on our Christmas tree----not a holiday tree----is one of the wise men my dad and I painted when I was a little girl. It was the greatest wooden paint by number ornament kit EVER! Paint by number Jesus even. I believe I whipped out the ol wood burner to add a bit of flair to them.

Same wonderful event every year...Christmas music, lots of appetizers, sparkling grape juice in wine glasses, cheese and sausage, tree trimming with dripping icicles (you know you have to place them one by one), attaching the delicate bird that was a fav of my grandfather, angel on top AND the crackling fire tape in the VCR. And now the wooden wise man is on my tree. makes me very happy.

Poly want a cracker?

I just had to comment on the email I just received. I didn't open it but the subject line read:

"turn your trouser mouse into a one-eyed giant." hmmm.

holy cow!

I ran 12 miles today....in a row. seriously. me.

If your brain works like mine and you understand the photo reference, sorry.

yikes

so. My little Will has had an irritation near his eye for a couple of days. I thought it was hives because he helped me trim the rosemary bush and the oils were all over him. Well after a visit to the doctor this morning we found our that it is poison ivy that is spreading across his face and his torso. Don't hand me the mother of the year pin yet, there's more. He also has been complaining that his legs hurt. "growing pains, sweetie. I remember them. They really hurt." I said. Then we saw the big red mark behind his knee. Hmm. What could that be? A bug bite? Let's put some antibacterial cream on it and keep it clean. Guess what the doctor said--It's a staph infection that is pretty bad. They took blood and will see if the antibiotics work.

So, we have antibiotics 3 times a day and steroids twice a day. We took the steroids with just a bit of whining. Then came the yummy pink stuff. We took it in itty bitty bits and then I said "just one more bit." That's when he vomited it on me. So we are supposed to take this 3 times a day for 10 days and he can't get it down once? Great. He is sleeping now after the trauma of the medicine but i will have to wake him to pick up his brother from school. The nurse who needs to call in a replacement prescription (takes what a minute?) has not called me back.

AAAAHHHHH! Did I mention my sweetie is out of town for a couple of days?

later in the day....got the substitute medicine. works great (meaning he takes it without throwing it up in my hands). Walgreen's people = so sweet and good.

followup on Friday---"drained" the knee. Here's me: "Will, honey don't squeeze it too hard. I am afraid it will hit me in the face."

Will: "what?"

knee: splat

me: "can you hand me that towel, Will?"

**12/12 Have been called by the school nurse and my child's teacher regarding the paper cut on his ear (that he got while in school mind you). They just want to make sure it is not the spreading of staph. I am nervous to send my healthy, well fed, well rested, clean, loved, well-behaved child to school now. What if he coughs?

**12/15/07 Had to take Will into the Drs office for rash covering his entire body. His face its spotty and bright red. Yup--he is allergic (they think) to the antibiotics. They tested him for strep--nope. His knee has returned to normal. Oh and the ear is a normal cut, healing well.

Happy Birthday Christa!

Today is my very best friend's day! Love you. Miss you. Only a few times in my life have I found a card that truly says what I want to say, not Hallmark's version. So I found this card for her that said...ooh I wish I had written it down for it was perfect.... Well, the jist of it was that we can always pick up where we left off, no matter the miles or the days that have passed. Whenever I need her, she is there. Whatever i say, she speaks my language. Unconditional love. Today I salute you Christa with coffee (not watery tea), with clove candy, wearing red (not mixed with pink) and a hunk of cheese (colby). Love you.

(that's Christa in Chinese)

wee me

Look at the wee me.

tee hee.

good stuff

Here's the little girl I adore. Sweet photographer, Parker Smith took this photo on Kate's first day back to school after a while of yuckiness. She is doing great. She is so brave and strong. Thank you to everyone who has donated money to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society on behalf of Kate for my half marathon in January. Thank you to everyone who simply gave a "go girl." I truly feel that the money will make research and positive outcomes happen but above and beyond this, this organization has created a web of goodness that has spread throughout the nation. That much positive energy has to be good for the world. My soul feels it intensely. On saturday mornings when there are just 20 of us running for this cause I feel it. Imagine when I get to Disney and there are thousands of us in purple shirts supported by hundreds of thousands there and at home. What will that feel like? How can that not be so good for the world?

for my Whitney

you could have made little beavers out of the instant mashed potatoes. Next year.

always a silver lining

more turkey day

sooo I have not been with my family in Ohio for 16 years for Thanksgiving because we go to Charlotte. I looooove Thanksgiving in either place but I always reminisce about the good ol days. I never once made it to the big table but I apired to. There are bonuses to being at the far end, however. See, we have this silly tradition with the dinner rolls. We don't necessarily pass them, but toss them...well, wing them is a better term. Being at the far end makes catching and winging more entertaining.

*side note--at our wedding my cousin Eddie called out my name during dinner. (He was seated very far away from me) Bam! Dinner roll to the face. Best damn wedding ever!

Where was I? Oh Thanksgiving. I called my dad (tradition again) and he passed the phone around the table so i could talk to everyone. My uncle Ed really wanted to sneak the nasty parts of the turkey to me (another not so fun tradition of find the giblets on my plate). Great part this year was that they included me in the blessing. My dad set the phone down next to my aunt Mary while she gave a moving prayer. Sigh. what a great day.

Turkey Trot

Tradition is HUGE in our little family. Seems if we do something one year we HAVE to do it the next because of my super sweet sentimental Ben. This year we added a new family tradition that I think we should hold on to. We all ran the Charlotte Turkey Trot on thanksgiving morning. It made happy hour Wednesday night a little less exciting...no late night Cranium game but it made for a super thanksgiving day.

The boys wanted to run for Kate---their version of the Disney marathon. And run they did! They ran like the wind with so much passion and strength. When I saw them coming toward the finish line, I was in tears and swelling with pride. Marc, Louie and I had a great time running the 8k. It was a bit warm and muggy for my taste but all in all a good time.

I ran wearing my Team in training shirt and an invisible Kate on my shoulder cheering me on. I can't begin to tell you how motivating that was. But it doesn't stop there. Complete strangers yelled from the sidewalks "GO Team." Runners that either passed me or i passed yelled "Go Team." A man hugged me as I was cooling down afterwards and told me how proud he was of me and what a great thing Team in training is. wow. thankful, thankful truly grateful I am.

Afterwards we were hugged by my aunt and uncle and my mother in law who cheered us on from start to finish. Family arrived, food was made, good times were shared. Thanksgiving.

he gets me

for my birthday, my sweet Marc brought me this. Who read my mind and created this little slice of heaven? As he handed it to me, he said "I know it's not dark chocolate but this looked like you." Let me explain it---first the soft chocolate melts gently on your tongue, then this earthy, crunchy salt taste envelopes your mouth and bam! bacon. Tasty, smoky, goes so well with chocolate bacon. Can I make this? wait, can I make a goat cheese truffle? oooh, earl grey tea truffle with candied violets.....asiago cheese with balsamic vinegar? yum. I am going to make some truffles.

thankful

oh the things I am thankful for.....my sweet boys, my great Marc, my dad, my family, trees, books, love, dark chocolate, music, girlfriends, mashed potatoes, the smell of new grass, the smell of sage in Utah, bacon (yeah, that's right), falling leaves, ohio, humor, cloves, wine, the canyons of utah, photographs, memories....

My boys and I love to talk about Thankfulness during november. It's out big tradition. We try to do nice things for people beginning with halloween (yeah, I know it's in October) when we boo! a few friends. This year we took things to a new level and we created a thankful calendar for our school to do good things all month. I am so excited about it and the boys are all in as well. The first thing we did was collect books for the AFLAC Cancer Center. My friend Kate, who I am running the Disney half marathon for, gets to take them to all the kids. wow. Next is letters to soldiers and veterans, food bags for CHOA families, then canned food, then thank you's to teachers and staff, then video games for the Dialysis center, then clothing and household items for Burmese refugees..... The boys are so into it. They have been making jewelry for teachers and every so often I find something hand made for me.

This weekend when we were hiking they saw lots of yucky trash in the river and proceeded to fish it out. We went straight from there to cleaning up the road their cub scout pack had adopted. THEN at soccer practice, Ben took bags to clean up the park and fields. "Someone's got to take care of this environment!" he said. sweet boy I am thankful for you.

found art

found this on the windowsil of the mill ruins at Lullwater. Somethin's always shining, huh?

it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goose?

yup, a goose on top o' the president's house at Emory. click on it and the picture will enlarge for you. What's he doing up there?

useless knowledge of me---when I was little I liked to call everyone and every crazy thing "goofy." Only I really said "goosy." Now you know. carry on.

underwear apologies

to all my supportive friends who have listened to my stories about running and underwear and chafing....sorry I really don't think I am alone in this thing. Does everyone but me run without underwear? I am not ready to eshew my undies. What if I get hit by a car? no undies?
I have purchased some special, high-tech (read expensive), breathable, no cotton skimpy things. baby steps. I will try to not talk about it but runners of the world, beware. I am on to you no underwear-wearers. (pic from flash's running site )http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=23563196&blogID=112548660

scariest movie EVER

Thanks to Jaws, I am terrified of sharks attacking me. Thanks to this movie, I do not like masks. I remember watching this and how terrified I was. It's always raining, there are creepy twin girls and that church "aaaah ahhh aaah" music in the backround. When I attended my sister's first communion, I was watching my back. My children are mad at me for not letting them roam the neighborhood in masks. Well, I won't let them swim nude in the ocean at night either.
I love horror movies but this one scares the willies out of me.

Feet of flames

MY Team in Training Training...is that redundant?
Training has been...well, difficult. Kate is a great motivator because I hate to run. But let me tell you, this little girl has a lot of fight and hope in her. She is kicking this Leukemia thing's behind with a bog ol smile on her dimpled little face. Yesterday she began the maintenance phase of her journey. Can I get an AMEN?

I have a great mentor with TNT. Thank you Joanna for all your spirit, advise and pep talks. I have a great running buddy, Whitney, who I adore (with or without underwear). She keeps an eye out when I need to pee in the woods. Super friend.

Here is my own motivational quote to myself when I doubt how I will ever do this:

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."
-Lewis Carroll, from Alice in Wonderland

for Crystal with love

Say it with me Frankfurter Spectacular!
I just don't have words but I feel the need to share the love. I so want to have a dinner party. now. Something is inspiring me.

Ode to LOTL

Halloweenie

I looooooove halloween.

I waited too long to start the costume planning and I am bummed. This is truly what I would like us to be but I can't whip this up in a few days and I can't order from this company in China for 2 reasons:

1) would take too long to get here

2) this is on the order form--"open eye/mouth/ hood seperated/ add crotch zipper/ bra zipper/add penis pocket /is free . VERY IMPORTANT After pay please give me your Height and Weight and Request"

methinks this is not intended for costume but for some kind of fetish and I don't want them to have my address. But I reallllly want to activate my wondertwin powers.

while I am on the subject of Halloween...... why oh why is the women's section in the costume store the "slut section?" Marc and I were perusing and trying to come up with a cute couples thing (not one of those gross plug & outlet duos). We found speedracer for him (so cool), raced (like that?) over to the girls side to find slutty pit girl. He found a monk robe and I found slutty nun. SLUTTY NUN! cmon. I ordered online and we are going to be pirates. Mine comes with fishnet stockings!

for beth

Art for bibliophiles and those like me obsessed with paper.Check out this artist's website http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/ Beth could probably do this just as she created the amazing paper star from last year's gift swap. memories...... Inspired by a book (now a doodled-on masterpiece handed down though friends) we each brought silly gifts to exchange. I left with world's tiniest diamond earrings. Cameron took home my freudian slip (negligee with Sigmund's face) and Heidi got the added bonus can of spotted dick (who knew it was dessert?). My best guess has that can in someone's possesion only temporarily before it is gag-gifted again. What will we come up with this year?

I'm a daffodil

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

fencer

Nine years ago today I gave birth to this beautiful boy. There is not a kid out there like him. Love him so!

Fall Festival

What fun! What a team! Angela and Carolyn need a standing ovation for all their effort and creative ideas for a super fun day for the entire community. I enjoyed the zip line the best. Was that supposed to be for the kids? :)
Carolyn is so full of goodness. She is standing there smiling and making the day fun for all our families while her sweet Kate is at home in pain. She is the embodiment of grace.
Whitney is my other husband currently as we spend as much time together or on than phone as we do with our spouses. Love her! Love working with her. As much heartache as we get, we are working for the greater good and making things happen at our little school.

Full moon

As a mom and a science teacher, I always talk about the full moon. My children and I always walk outside the night of the full moon to bask in its gloriousness (pretty sure this is not a word). We discuss the Native American name given to each one and why it was called that. In my science class, we did the same and I usually lead off the lesson with something that corresponds. amazing how the moon names from so long ago, in such a primitive time provide the substance for a timely lesson plan.

Then this happens to me....Here I am on the full moon, the harvest moon, overlooking the Parthenon in Athens. To my left, all lit up is the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. Earlier in the day I stood next to a carved rock from 450 BC. BC!!!!! Are there words for this feeling? I feel so small...so new...such a speck in this big, old world.

The moon looks the same halfway across the world, however. I don't think I will ever forget this moment and the wonderful friends Marc and I spent it with . (bad ending a sentence with a preposition) Happy Birthday Fred!

Scene stealer

So we were at the Parliament building in Athens. There are these great soldiers who are very tall that do a changing of the guard thing that is very poetic and historical and important. I did not get a shot of them because I was so distracted by this pigeon. Do you think she knows what she's doing? What are the chances?

tp tirade

So we are on top of the acropolis viewing the temples built for Gods and Goddesses, Amazons and One-eyed monsters. This seemed strangely out of place. Perhaps that is why it is in a pile of rubble.
On another note, Athens is the birthplace of democracy... the cradle of western civilization...fertile in the arts, sciences and philosphy, right? Then why, oh why can you not flush your toilet paper? This had to come up in discussion somwhere.

stop laughing

bad weather

We arrived in Santorini! This is the view from our little cozy cave. See those little fluffy clouds? That is the bad, bad weather everyone apologized about. This place is beautiful. Everything looks like magazines and postcards. Our suite looks better than the website/brochure. Does that ever happen? In a few minutes we will be sitting down to cheese, bread and olives with Fred and Sarah. sighhhhhh

If I am king dilly, dilly....

Looky what we found in our lavender bush today! I know, kind of blurry. THAT"S BECAUSE SHE IS VIGOROUSLY SHAKING A BUMBLEBEE WHILST CRUSHING ITS HEAD. Seriously. It was the noise I heard before I saw her. She was crunching it's live skull and thrashing about. I watched her for about 30 minutes in awe.

Do you think she prayed after? Do you think she espoused something amazing to the other bees? ("praying mantis"--mantid=Greek for prophet or seer) sorry I am a dork and I have Greece on the brain.

how you doin, lobster?

next time....

Next time I am bringing him

for my lobster

you Looooove him

Hope for the flowers

So, a few days ago I stopped my car to pick up a caterpillar in our driveway so as not to run over it. He crawled right over to the line where the garage door closes. Had to save him again. Here's the funny part.....
This tree had leaves on it a few days ago. Big, bushy, lovely leaves. In three days--bam! no leaves. They ate my tree. I saved them and they ate my tree.

Sweetwater creek

September, finally! Still hot, but not freaking hot like last week. Ten days above 100 degrees. What's that all about? So we drove the fam to this amazing place, Sweetwater Creek State Park and hiked for miles. Saw snakes and lizards and turtles, oh my! We skipped rocks and sang songs. For a while little Will was clapping together two rocks a la Monty Python. We met the stranger....I mean ranger and he mentioned his guided hike. We visited the ruins of an old mill and after the hike walked through the visitor's center to learn more. Folks were romanticizing the ol' mill and saying bad, bad things about Sherman for burning the thing down. Funny how there was a huge display of the slaves picking cotton (for the mill) and making bricks (for the mill)that they breezed by. Guess we only need to remember what we want to.

Off my yankee soapbox. Gorgeous day. love my family immensely. Didn;'t want to leave it was so perfect!

Happy Feet

how cute are my monkey feet! They almost look like real girl's feet. Thank you to the wonderful McDonnell family for a great end of year teacher gift. Whitney and I had so much fun getting pampered. Phal was amazing. I think I told him "Ilove you" when he massaged my calves. Can you believe I was a pedicure virgin? I am hooked now.

A Good Mother....
A dear friend of mine is in the midst of a very personal struggle that most people out there could not even try to understand. How we found each other is up to interpretation....God? destiny? fate? No matter what your beliefs are in a higher power, we met because we need each other. There are so many times when we say to each other "you're the only one I can say this to who will understand." I am so grateful for you.

It is a pleasure to tell you that you are a great mother--the kind your children will reminisce about. They will hang photos of you and your life with them around their home. They will understand and warmly smile at the word "family." They will look through photo albums and scrapbooks and tenderly hold their leaving-the-hospital outfits that you undoubtedly saved for them. They will be able to make video montages of pictures of you at their graduations, classroom parties, sporting events and baby showers. They KNOW how deeply you care for them and how much you want them to succeed and be happy. They know that you will be there every step of the way. Mothering you, I am mothering myself and validating that I am also a good mother; that I thrive nonetheless.

I found this somewhere: "Daughters naturally want to emulate their mothers. They look up to them; they want to be like them. But more than that, they look to them for a reflection of themselves, to structure their own self-esteem, to understand their own self-importance. If Mom works to build them up and make them feel great, if she shows them that they are worth her time and focus and energy, they will thrive."

I don't even know what to say about it.

why blog

Why not? All the kids are doing it these days, right? Perhaps I should blog (is it a verb?)to say thank you to a sweet friend who always knows what to say. I am grateful for my friends. They keep me grounded. Beth and I are off to frolic and shamelessly quote B movies, campy TV shows and horrible 80's tunes. "c'mon now sugar...Bring it on. Bring it on. yeah"

Well, we frolicked and had a fabulous time. So much stress is relieved by the Swedish efficiency that is IKEA. We have a standing rule that you are not allowed to pick up or buy anything without first saying it's name out loud. (I purchased a flarken mitten?--which will be my new curse word of choice from now on). Great day. Great fun. As we entered the moving sidewalk area she asked "do you know how to get down?" Instantly she regretted asking. :)

I had an incredible sense of power with my newfound blog. To the woman with way more than 10 items in the 10 or less lane---yep, I blogged ya. Creepy looking serial killer guy watching us eat our salads--saw ya. Horribly bad driver-while-reading---gotcha. Kept my soul full of peace knowing I could just fill my blog instead.