Tree Huggers

#31 of #100gratefuldays and Throwback Thursday all in one:

Thankful for lots of happy memories and good friends and for parents who taught me sign language from an early age so I could be fortunate enough to connect with this beautiful friend. Was fun to reconnect this summer. I love you sign. And if you can't tell... we're tree huggers. 

True Rest

#30 of #100gratefuldays:

Thankful for an Alter Eco dark quinoa organic chocolate pick me up in the middle of the afternoon. Thank goodness for secret stashes in office drawers. It must be August. My hair has a serious case of the "zoomies". Looking forward to four days of "true rest" coming up soon. It'll be a little quiet around here, so you'll enjoy a little quiet time, too. :0) Happy Hump Day! See you next week.

Crisis Averted

#29 of #100gratefuldays: Thankful for homemade ice cream. But if I didn't get any (apparently they don't take Farm Progress Show food vouchers and I didn't have cash! gasp!), then why am I smiling and thankful? Because this brought back a very happy "pay it forward" memory for me from my very first Farm Progress Show a few years ago. It was muddy. I had no cash. I sought out Beekman's homemade ice cream, hopeful they would take a credit card or check. Waited in line pretty certain they wouldn't but was determined to ask anyway. The gentleman in front of me knew nothing of my predicament. He bought his and then turned to me and asked me what kind of ice cream I wanted. Crisis averted. He bought my ice cream. I took off my rain boots (which I now call my Farm Progress boots because that's the only time I wear them) and walked barefoot in the mud back to my car while eating homemade ice cream after a long hot day. And I saw a rainbow. So I guess really, I'm just thankful for good memories of happy times and generous people. Plus, although it wasn't homemade, I already had ice cream for breakfast this morning.  That helped, too.

A happy unexpected today. I got to go muddin'. I grinned the entire time.  Happy Farm Progress Show to me! If you decide to go, I recommend boots.

Trying Not To

#28 of #100gratefuldays: 

I think this is one of my favorite "pool" pictures of the summer.  Always entertaining to watch my husband fly out of the end of the drop slide.  Always.  Twenty laps and a spin around the lazy river tonight. I think that might be a wrap for the year. Trying not to feel sad about that.

We Biked a Marathon

#27 of #100gratefuldays:

Thankful for friends with awesome trackers so we know how many times to circle the parking lot on our bikes to get in a marathon bike ride. 26.2 miles in fourish hours. Do the math. I feel like we really pushed ourselves to our limits yesterday.

Who Says You Can't Buy Happiness

#27 of #100gratefuldays: Look what I got in the mail! Big shout out thank you to my good friend, Sarah! Love you! *mwah* I headed to the gym this fine rainy morning instead of baking cookies to give these beautiful G-Loves a trial run. I heart Wonder Woman gloves.  They made me work harder.

In other news, you should NEVER, ever send me to a party supply store alone. Bought myself an early birthday present today. Look at his cute little booty. Whomever said you couldn't buy happiness is a liar.

And.  30 swimming laps today at the pool.  Three days in a row.  Uncle Darryl (a classmate of Craig's) is visiting.  I have some happy boys.

I Just Didn't SEE It

Yesterday I witnessed blind people problems. I went to Wal-Mart after my dentist appointment to pick up a mouth guard because (no, I'm not gearing up to play football) he said my jaw pain is likely from me grinding my teeth at night... lucky Craig, huh? And yes, I know how to make a short story long... hang with me here. As I was coming out of the store, I saw this young blind man talking to this cement cinder block and kind of feeling around the area of it with his white stick. I stopped, observed and then approached him and asked him if he needed me to help him find the door. He said no, but asked me what was in front of him there on the ground. I told him it was a cinder block. He then asked if he was bleeding. That's when I realized he'd tripped over it. I looked at his leg and said no... then looked closer and saw... actually, yes, he was bleeding... he'd scraped his shin up pretty good on that cinder block... enough, he could probably use a band-aid or two. I asked him if he wanted me to get him someone to get him a band-aid and he said no and walked off towards the parking lot. I guess he just wanted to make sure he wasn't gushing blood all over the place. As he left, I heard him say, "I just didn't SEE it!" I looked back at that block and realized this was a problem because someone apparently didn't complete their job when taking down a display... it seemed harmless enough because, after all, it's a cinder block and "hello"... who can't see a cinder block in the middle of the walkway? A blind person, that's who. It seemed like it didn't matter. But it DID matter to someone. Good for me to "see" how little things that seem like they don't matter, do matter.  Perspective.

Against Me and Myself

Had myself a pity party that there was no one to compete in a Yellow Tail tri with last night with my Fareway brand salt & vinegar chips... no harm done, though... headed out to the pool to swim some laps while my boys went off the diving boards...

Fifteen laps complete... not bad for not having swum laps for almost two years!  The longest I did in a row were three... and I was feeling like a pretty big slug at the end. Headed out for a run after carb loading a little on salt and vinegar chips.   As you can see, I was on island time.

It was a tough battle against me and myself, but proud to announce that I just won the fourth Yellow Tail tri. It took 3 1/2 hours... my transition times were terrible, but it was the hardest I've worked at a tri win to date. Two times around Ada Hayden lake (which is gorgeous at dusk, I might add!) and a quick stop at Walgreens for some Swedish fish. So proud of my win and thankful for taking top prize... best medal yet (a the bag of Swedish fish!). I'd like to thank you all for your support. Simply awesome. Good night.

That Purple Satin Jacket

Throw Back Thursday: Back to school, throw back style. That purple satin jacket was da bomb. I think it was right around the same time that jelly shoes were all the rage. And I was a pretty big fan of Garfield, too. We made back to school look GOOD! Sixth grade, maybe?

Thankful for Duct Tape

#25 of #100gratefuldays:  Sounds crazy, I know. But I'm thankful this happened at least once in my lifetime. Thankful my house has little boys in it. He was pretty repentant, and I tried really, really hard to be mad, but I just couldn't. Oh. And I'm thankful for duct tape. I wonder how long it will take us to get this fixed.  As silly as it is, I'm in no hurry.  And I'll probably be sad when it's done.  Sentimental much?

Cloud Shapes Are My Favorite

#24 of #100gratefuldays: Thankful for baby elephants dancing in the sky as the storms roll in at sunrise this morning. Cloud shapes are my favorite.  See that cute little happy elephant?  I suppose it really boils down to me being thankful for little boys who gave me new eyes.

Ready. Set. GO!

Look at Craig's face here... he almost looks gleeful.

Ok ... joining the masses. My friend, Sarah, challenged me... ALS Ice Bucket Challenge complete. I challenged my friend, Michelle (I think her little gal, Ashley, will be good at helping you with this!), and married friends, Jeff & Connie, to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. They have 24 hours to do this or donate $100 or both. I thought about being awnry and nominating my friend, John, who was being a little naysayer and stirring the pot, but I wasn't sure he'd play along.  Ready. Set. GO!

 

This was a perfectly timed little bit of post-work and first day of school fun, as I had a rotten, no good, very bad end to my day.  Someone get really snotty with me over the phone... kinda crazy how it makes you feel so rotten... I told the boys to go easy on me because I kind of had a bad day at work. When I explained them why (they asked), Kekoa said, "Oh well... other people have non-good days and days, too." So true. In the meantime, let me purpose to never be the one to make someone's day a rotten one. Both personally or professionally.  I know.  Never's a tall order.  I've got my work cut out for me.

My Turn

#23 of #100grateful days:  My turn.  First day of school.  3rd & 4th grade. Unbelievable.  A  little happy.  A little sad.  Kekoa... he's moving on... took a shower on his own last night and has developed a penchant for Under Armour underwear.  *gulp*  $20 a pair??!!  Gavyn... he's pleased to be wearing his new Minion underwear.  3 for $6.99.   I want some Minion underwear!

T'was the Night Before School Starts

T'was the night before school starts and all through the house...

#22 of 100gratefuldays: Thankful for imagination. For creative, fun Daddy's who lay with little boys and tell them stories. Stories where they have characters they play and get to act out and be part of the story. Gavyn's character at one point had a pet crystal dragon named Stutters. I wonder if they know how lucky they are?

"You're a Fun Mom"

#21 of #100gratefuldays:  Pretty sure I'm thankful that 10 year old little boys still tell their Moms they are a fun Mom.

Something for Everyone

One of the highlights of my state fair day today was meeting Iowa Girl Eats blogger, Kristin.  Happy. Camper. Right. Here.

A Family That Laughs Together...

#20 of #100gratefuldays: A little behind, but... thankful for a family who enjoys getting together and laughing and telling stories. And The Cafe... definitely thankful for The Cafe... and for a good meeting place with fabulous food to get together and laugh and tell stories.

 My theory?  A family that laughs together, stays together. 

Summer Nights

#19 of #100gratefuldays: Thankful for summer nights.

It's State Fair time. The baby animals were sleepy last night. See this little cutie yawning... just before licking all the salt off my knee with that cute little sandpaper tongue and laying down and getting ready for a good nights sleep? Sweetness. 

Happy.

It Feels Pretty Close

Day #18 of #100gratefuldays and Throwback Thursday all in one:

It helps to have a good support team.  Today I heard a butterfly analogy regarding relationships I found to be particularly uplifting.  It talked about the butterfly coming to land on your hand and instead of trying to capture it, you would just put your hand up to shelter it from harm... the butterfly would then stay rather than trying to escape.  In relationships we should look for the person who values us enough to not keep us by confining/capturing/imprisoning us, but rather by sheltering and protecting us.  I feel like it's kind of along the lines of "loving something more than ourselves".  Feeling extra thankful to have that someone in my life today.  It's not always perfect, but today it feels pretty close.  This man has never been unsupportive.  I hope he can say the same about me.

I Heart Summertime Silliness

Our friend, John, wins the Yellow Tail tri on his first try last night... a pretty amazing feat considering he didn't even run. Me? I'm apparently pointing at the amazing almost full moon rising in the eastern sky. What? You can't see it?

Here... Eric stopped and took a picture of it reflecting on the lake during the bike portion of the Yellow Tail tri. Not bad for a smartphone camera at night. This might have ruined his chances for the win. He'll just have to tri harder next time.

I heart summertime silliness with friends.  I saw a total of seven falling stars during the duration of the event.  Not even joking.  *happy sigh*

He Has No Idea

#17 of#100gratefuldays: Thankful for impromptu Mommy/Son pool dates and tube slides. I heart summer!  Please don't go.  Kekoa said to me last night on our way to the pool, "Mom, I bet you're gonna miss seeing me as much when I go back to school, aren't you?"  He has no idea.

Star light, Star Bright

oh! oh! OH! If you want to believe in magic... or even if you don't, you MUST go out and gaze up. I have just seen three falling stars streak magnificently across the night sky... and that with light pollution. The kind of thing that makes you audibly gasp at the wonder of it. Anyone up for going and finding a darker spot to star gaze yet tonight? My Daddy used to stargaze a lot. And cloud gaze. I wish I was up at the farm tonight stargazing with him.

What's your favorite constellation? Mine is Cassiopeia. As you can see... the Big Dipper was pretty brilliant tonight, too.

"Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have this wish I wish tonight."

I Cried

Lots of tributes, remembrances and quotes floating around since hearing about Mr. Robin Williams taking his life yesterday, but I think this one resonates with me the most, so far.  It's interesting to me how deeply affected I was by the news of Robin Williams.  How all of us were. So much so that I cried. So many of us feeling the loss of this man and what he brought to our worlds as if we knew him... so many who care that he is gone.  That he suffered. And yet how alone he still felt.  In lieu of all this, I find this paraphased quote from the movie, Good Will Hunting, profound...honing in on that first phrase "real loss" as opposed to other kinds of loss... realizing that loving something more than ourselves is scary, but one of the most rewarding things we can do in life.

 "Real loss is only possible when you love something more than yourself." - Robin Williams as Sean in "Good Will Hunting"

Too Wonderful For Words

#16 of #100grateful days: Thankful for things that thrill the soul. Some things are too wonderful for words. Good morning!