Pig

I'm driving back from P-town where I got my hair done and I'm famished. So what do my wondering eyes see? Yup! Trader Joes! I love Trader Joes. It's lunch time, think I.

I race in the front doors and b-line right for the produce area where I scoop up my fave of late: Tofu spring roll. I'm telling you . . . this little goodie was sent right from heaven to . . . ME!!!!! I love, love, love it. Vegies wrapped in rice paper with some "to die for" peanut sauce for dipping. Problem is . . . . it's super, duper messy!

I'm eating and slurping and dipping and licking the fingers and slopping and, well, you know. Just enjoying every last morsel of my treat!!! I am oblivious to anything around me - just being present with my food.

I look up as the light turns green and glance over at a truck with a man watching me make an absolute pig of myself.

Awkward.

Back in the Saddle Again

After dropping my darling little twins off at school this morning I headed to the ranch to ride my fearless black steed. Oh how I've missed my boy. He even (sort of) acted like he was happy to see me.

I took a lesson with Lysette and it was a total blast. Black Horse was a little peppier than usual (I guess he hasn't been out much in the month that I've been away) and it made for a pretty righteous ride, I tell you!!

While I was jumping, he felt especially frisky and, when we came off of a triple set of jumps, he ducked his head down and I totally knew which part of his body was about to come up. If I hadn't picked up on his cue I probably would have landed my happy butt somewhere in the next county. I did, however, catch on quickly and pulled his head up, got him halted and just loved on him.

It's so good to see him feeling so good. Man, I love that horse!

Robz Ryd

So here's Rob with his new car. It's pretty funny because he has been in the garage every spare minute bonding with this new machine of his. He has already figured out how to play his ipod through the radio and has studied the owner's manual cover to cover (like, who does that??).

Close Call

This is Old Blue. I've talked about him before. Old Blue is a 1985 Ford F150 and has been our (my) beloved ranch truck for about 15 years. I love rattling in this old thing.

Okay, yesterday . . . Robbie had the thought of using Old Blue for the government's "cash for clunkers" program and getting a new Subaru for him to drive. He's a super responsible kid and really doesn't get into a LOT of trouble. We thought about it and decided that it was probably a great move. Old Blue headed for town. I asked what happens to the "clunkers". Like, do they get sold out for parts or do other people have the opportunity to get a cheap vehicle? Shows how naive I can be. I was informed that they get flattened down like a pancake and sent out to the landfill. I burst into tears. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Not my beloved Old Blue. NOOOOOOO!!!!

Well, 5:00 saved my dear friend. We got there at 4:30 and were doing the whole paperwork thing. The deal had to be complete - lock, stock and barrel - by 5:00. After looking over our stuff, we were informed that we needed documentation from DMV showing that the vehicle was registered to us for the last 12 months. The only way to provide that would be to go to DMV and get a printout - today is Saturday - DMV closed. No deal!

Old Blue is home tucked safely in his parking spot. Robbie got his Subaru anyway. Life is good.

I'm home. Yes, I'm happy to be home. I mean, I missed my man, my babies and all my animals that seemed to have missed me too. But there is still a part of my life I just didn't miss at all.

As soon as my cell phone clicked into service today, I felt like I had just been slapped in the face. I have just spent an entire week up in the mountains - the gorgeous picturesque mountains - enjoying God's creations. No cell phone. No computer. No hustle bustle. No traffic. No stress.

As I was cruising along and that cell phone went off I knew the magic was over. It started going crazy with text messages stacked up, voice mail that needs attention and then the ringing as soon as there was any hint of life in Jodyland. Grrrr.

I feel like I've just been violently awaken from a beautiful, fantasy dream. I just want to go back to sleep and recapture that dream NOW!!!!

Girls Camp

All the planning. All the plotting. All the gathering and assembling handouts. All the lessons prepared. All the meetings. All the backpack assembly drama. All of it comes down to this moment. What isn't done isn't getting done. Period.

I'm ready and if I'm not, oh well!!

The Bike's Crash

I loaded up my two bikes (my mountain bike and my road bike) on the bike ride and headed to town for our activity with my Activity Day Girls. My partner, Joy, doesn't own a bike so I loaned her my mountain bike. We had a fabulous ride, just for the record. We rode around for a bit then went to 7-eleven with the girls (and Holden Tanner and Jacob) and got the kids slurpees.

I loaded the bikes back up on my car and headed home. The twins and I got out at the shop to unload all the bikes (we had THEIR bikes in the bed of my truck) and, alas, my bikes AND the rack were gone. Like, someone must have pulled up behind me at a stop light, unhooked my bike rack WITH my bikes on it and taken the whole lot. I was sure of it!

Okay, the logical side of my brain figured out what happened right off. I was a wee bit negligent when I mounted my rack on the truck and didn't stick the pin through the rack. So that would mean . . . HOLY CRAP! My bikes fell off somewhere. We hit the road at record speed and started zipping down the hill. Yeah, we found my bikes, all right. In a ditch still attached to the rack. Sad day for me :(

Got home and discovered that both bikes were in bad shape and would need a visit to the bike hospital. Turns out the mountain bike (which I was sure was in worst shape) fared quite a bit better. He was released as an outpatient and Robbie took off on him and headed to Royster's at record speed before anyone knew what was happening. My road bike . . .well . . .he's checked in for a bit. Looks like surgery hasn't been ruled out. This is gonna hurt. Ouch!

Lesson learned? Haste makes waste. Cliche, I know.