…ramble. Because that’s all my brain seems capable of these days. 🙂
Today with my boy, I’m Mama Llama. Mama Hippo, Mama Sheep and now, Mama Llama. I’ll take it. Have you ever noticed the eyelashes on those things?
Since I seem to be popping up on here to do random thoughts, I’ll throw some more out there…
I’m SO SORE. I wish I could say I’ve gotten my act together and started working out again (I haven’t), but no…it’s from squatting down to tape the corners of tablecloths on 17 or 18 tables/4 sides. Do the math. And then doing the stairs of the Science Museum in speedy motion~ 8th graders can be quick, yet sporadic, so you wanna keep moving~ a dozen times/double massive staircases for each floor. I want to groan like a creaky rocker with every step I take, every stair I go up or down, every time I sit OR stand, and in general, every time I breathe.
I need to work out.
Another mouse made an appearance. I am moving out of the country.
I shouldn’t be saying anything mouse-related because I have friends from California coming next week~ hello, Stephanie and Vanessa~ I promise to get this taken care of before you get here. Ahem. Correction. I’ll get Nate right on that…
My daughter’s play started last night and I missed opening night for the Jonathan Thulin CD release concert. It was such a fun night. It’s always amazing to me how a large group of people who don’t all know each other can come together with no practice and make some magical music happen. I think we rehearsed an hour all together~ not the whole list of songs~ and still managed to pull it off. Miraculous, I’d say.
So tonight and tomorrow I will be able to enjoy Greyley’s show…can’t wait. Usually half the show is spent laughing at Indigo’s laughing. He gets such a kick out of these school productions.
I love nice people and making friends with people in unexpected places~ if you’re reading this Korey~ it made my day yesterday to meet you.
Have a fabulous weekend! I promise soon I’ll have less ramblings and more things of substance to say. Maybe.
We live on several acres and are too far from the barn for them to all congregate there. So every year around this time, Nama sees a visitor~ either around her door or making its way into her lower level space. For all you newbie Girly Musers, Nama is my mother-in-law and she lives in our walk-out basement. (Hello and welcome, by the way.)
She’s seen a critter or two this year. And inside I feel terrible for her, although she doesn’t seem to mind too terribly much, but I also feel huge relief that I’m not having to deal with them in my living space. Well, last week, one made the venture into our area. It was a Sunday afternoon, Nate was napping on the couch, Greyley and I were watching something on TV, when Greyley suddenly yelped, “There’s a mouse over there!” Sure enough, a teensy mouse scampered across the floor.
I totally became a squealing woman. So did Greyley. We woke Nate up and he chased it around. We squealed with every dash the mouse made. I was impressed with Nate’s lack of squealiness. He did jump a time or two with the suddenness of the mouse’s movements, but remained rather stoic, I must say.
It brought back memories of other mouse experiences…
Back when our Yorkie, Alex, was alive, he could scare a mouse into playing dead. It was something to see. I can still see him corner them, his movements becoming all herky jerky~ sort of like Nate last weekend. heehee
Our old house was also on a little over an acre and we had a few episodes with mice there too. Once, a baby one ended up in our fireplace and did a little show for us~ she stood up on two feet, scampered to and fro, I think I even saw her wink at one point…adorable.
Then there was the time Nate had put something out to keep them away from our storage area in the basement. Greyley was just a little thing~ 2 or 3~ when her cousin came over and they went to play in the basement. Greyley had a few larger toys down there. We were upstairs in the kitchen and listening to the cute little singsong voices of the cousins playing together.
“Oh, little baby monsters,” their voices sang. “Baby monster…” this and that…
Isn’t that darling, I thought.
I’m not sure when it clicked with us, but all of a sudden, we had a moment of horror. Nate ran down with lightning speed and they each had a baby mouse up to their faces. The mice were barely hanging in there.
It gives me full body shivers to this day.
They survived.
We told Greyley that story last night and SHE had full body shivers. She said she’s never using her hands again.
I’m not sure how long she’ll be able to carry that out, but…
At the moment, I can’t help it, my eyes are prowling my surroundings for any tiny balls of downy hair. I might be a mite jumpy. Stay outside and I will love you, dear mice. Come in and I can’t say what I will do.
I know this will be controversial, but I am willing to debate this topic if I have to…that’s how strongly I feel about it.
The most interesting material to read~without a shadow of doubt~is the Sky Mall magazine that you find in the back pocket of the seat in front of you on an airplane. Whew, that was a hard sentence to spit out. How do those stewards and stewardesses say that so quickly multiple times a day?
If you want to see what I mean, you can go to skymall.com and see for yourself, but it’s more interesting in the magazine, trust me.
Where else could you find this head rest? Man, I have needed this so many times. I’m the ultimate bobber.
In fact, I’m almost as certain as I can be~ since I was in a deep slumberous state~ that the steward on my last flight took a picture of me sleeping. I’m not kidding. I was on the last row and beyond tired. I opened my eyes and he had his phone pointed at me. When he realized I saw him, he disappeared. He probably has a blog of funny people sleeping or an instagram account set up for all the crazy things he sees. I know my mouth was hanging open. Oh dear. I really needed that ginormous head rest.
Can you imagine how funny it would be to actually see this on the plane?
Or maybe you need some portable cheeks…for those hard bleacher seats or the pew at church. Or the wooden chairs at the dining room table. If I had these buns, I’d probably take them wherever I went.
I’ve always wanted a Hot Dog Roller. I never knew I did until I saw it in the Sky Mall Magazine. It even matches all my stainless steel stuff. Who needs a bonfire anymore when you can just set this on your kitchen counter?
And THIS is intense~ check out this Soma Wave Helmet. It is supposed to give you the ultimate relaxation. Yes, please. Sky Mall says it feels like thousands of tiny fingers stimulating your scalp! I’d like to know what they have against big, chubby fingers, but I probably won’t ever really find that out…
The next time you want to make friends at your new job, take this Soma Helmet. You can take turns with euphoria in the break room.
But that’s not all…who knew it was possible to own a King Tut media storage mummy?
If you don’t have records or movies galore, you could store tablecloths in there. Or sweaters. Or outgrown clothes of your kids that you can’t part with~ I have a feeling King Tut would approve of that.
I NEVER KNEW I’d be able to buy Dumbledore’s wand!!! But yes, I can buy one and so can you! And you. And you! And YOU.
And once I have the wand, I can buy this ultimate portable screen that I can tote anywhere, so I can watch movies in any outdoor setting possible.
As I watch Gone with the Wind (or whatever), I will zap mosquitoes with Dumbledore’s wand. Can you imagine anything more fun than that? To top it off, I might wear the Soma Helmet at the same time…for the ultimate experience.
It’s been hard to settle down after such an exciting weekend~ I went to an Indie book event last weekend and met a ton of new friends. A lot of these friends are ones I’ve been talking to through writing groups on facebook, so I felt I already knew so many of them. It was great to finally meet in Real Life.
Did you know Tosha is a book blogger now? She is! She’s part of the panel of The Indie Bookshelf. You should check it out. They get the skinny on all the new books coming out~ definitely a blog to bookmark. Plus, Tosha looks really pretty in the cover picture. 😉
So…Tosh and I set out on the road~ she was just as I excited as I was to meet some of the bloggers she’s been working with, not to mention all the great authors. And you know, anytime we get together, there will be fun and hilarity non-stop. Whether we mean for there to be or not…
I’m so happy we’re doing this together, my sisterfriend…
Bright and early…
The trees were in outstanding colorful display…
The weather was perfect. Downtown Chicago was stunning. I’ve been there several times, but have never seen this side of Chicago. Gorgeous. I wish I’d had more time to really explore (and see some dear friends who live there), but it was jam-packed every minute.
This is one of the prettiest skies I’ve ever seen in my life…took my breath away.
Tarryn, Trish, Moi and Tosha~ otherwise known as The Three T’s and Me
A most delicious burger~ with a buttered bun…I want one of these right about now.
Or this would also suffice…
Oh my goodness, it was delicious.
These two were a hoot together.
And of course, me and my girl. I do love her so.
Meeting some of my posse: Maggi Myers (her book will be out soon!), Andrea Randall, author of Ten Days of Perfect, and Melissa Brown, author of Bouquet Toss
Dear, sweet girls…
And more wonderful people~ Nina, Jamie and Andrea~ everybody scrunch and smile!
And I’ve long wanted to meet Fred, a former lawyer and now librarian and book blogger of Still Seeking Allies…
Fred was just as delightful and charming as I imagined. He has this way of making everyone feel like they’re his most favorite person in all the world. Long live Fred’s Baker’s Dozen!
I’m wishing I had pictures of Sarah and Colleen…sniff. This is right before the chaos.
Melissa is a dolly.
And so is Maggi.
I can’t wait for Dirty Red to be out~ Dec. 28th. Mark your calendars.
Tarryn received some sweet gifts from the people who love her book~ look at this cupcake with The Opportunist cover! I love it! I did want to eat it really, really bad, but managed to refrain.
And then there was this gift, which shall remain nameless, but gave us a very good laugh…
And Tracey Garvis-Graves~ I had the privilege of meeting her briefly in Minneapolis at E.L. James’ signing two weeks ago and then, for this event, I helped with Tarryn’s table and Tracey was next to us. She is the nicest person ever. Her book, On the Island, is SO good. MGM has optioned the book for a movie~ can’t wait for that!
Tarryn, showing off my jewelry…uh, I mean, Colleen Hoover’s autograph.
My flash gave out the night before, so an entire night of pictures has a halo of light taking over the entire picture. So sad. But that would have made for an even longer post. ha!
Saying good-bye is hard to do.
That’s Happy in the front, on the right…love that girl.
Awww. I don’t like good-byes.
An unforgettable time. Thanks, everyone, for making it so special. Can’t wait to see you all again.
*Extra love notes…
I didn’t get pictures of everyone, but every single person I met was so great. Some authors I LOVE who were also there:
S.C. Stephens, author of Thoughtless and Effortless and many more… (sweetest person and creator of Kellan Kyle, oh my word!)
C.J. Roberts, author of Captive in the Dark and Seduced in the Dark (I love this woman.)
Michelle Mankin, author of Love Evolution and the upcoming, Love Revolution (Dreamy kind and lovely person~so glad we were able to hang out, Michelle!)
Abbi Glines, author of The Vincent Brothers and many more… (Sweet lady! I have to read her books still! Very fun to talk to)
J. Sterling, author of Chance Encounters and more… (Oh this girl. She’s a hoot. Looking forward to the next time.)
Jillian Dodd, author of That Boy and many more…(She’s one of the few I didn’t meet~ we were on opposite sides of the building and the throngs of people divided us. Sigh.)
Next time, I shall meet all the rest that I didn’t even mention here. XOXO, lovely people!
It’s been ninja season at our house. All summer, kids come over to play and little ninjas end up taking their places. Indigo has a black ninja outfit that gets great circulation, especially with his buddy, Audrey. The playhouse is headquarters for the ninjas’ secret missions and also seems to be the changing station.
I’ve noticed the squirrels following this ninja trend. They are darting here and there and they’re EVERYWHERE I TURN doing unbelievable feats. This year, we have speedy quick baby squirrels that are so cute. But, we also have a few of the largest squirrels I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’m not sure yet if they’re cute or just scary. It’s actually gotten a bit alarming. Apparently, for squirrels, our yard is like eating at the Lamb’s Supper. There is plenty to dine on, you are never wanting for food or good company and the birds are the heavenly choir.
At least, I think that’s probably what the squirrel is thinking. I don’t really KNOW.
What I DO know, is that they’re getting more and more bold. Never a good thing to be overtaken by squirrels.
The other day I was out on the deck, getting some writing done and enjoying the sunshine, when suddenly something caught my eye. There was a long black scarf or blanket or something…running up a tree as fast as it could go. I didn’t dare blink, it went so fast. Then it hit me and I realized it was one of our ginormous squirrels running up the tree with…you guessed it, the ninja costume. I couldn’t believe it. And I was too scared to go any closer because I thought if it could trek up a tree with an outfit, it could also jump me and carry ME up the tree, what with being a Ninja Squirrel and all.
Makes you want to scroll up at the top and look at the picture again, doesn’t it. Now do you see the ninja pants? Mmhmm. That covert, rascally rodent left us a sign that he is not messing around. What to do? What to do…
Well, I just thought I’d seen the squirrel of all squirrels, but that was before we went on our little Greyley birthday getaway. In the parking lot of our hotel, I thought a woodchuck or beaver was coming my way, but it was really the Mother of All Squirrels. I’m not sure what you call them on squirrels, but let’s just say, she had a serious case of squirrel teats. I don’t know why I’ve never thought of it before, but I’ve never pictured a mama squirrel with baby squirrels nursing around her like the pig at the State Fair. Now I know. She was slowly running, with a mission, all ninja style, with her— I keep wanting to say udders— practically dragging the ground.
If I hadn’t been on my way to the Renaissance festival, I would have followed the squirrel. I might have seen baby squirrels being born and that would have been quite an experience, wouldn’t it…as it was, I just stood with my mouth hanging open as it passed me. I’m thinking about that mama, though. I hope she’s okay. And after the festival, I could certainly tell her a thing or two about cinching…
Why have I never heard much about the Renaissance Festival? What I thought would be a quaint, little seasonal fair was really a full-on walk back in time. It’s HUGE. There were elephant and camel rides, for crying out loud. Fun shops, delicious food. We loved it.
There were some bizarre aspects of the whole affair. I couldn’t quite pinpoint it, until the last hour of the day. All day, I was mesmerized by the sheer volume of characters~ not festival employees, mind you, but festival attendees. Nate and I were definitely in the minority, since we weren’t in Renaissance regalia. I could have sat on a bench and watched people all day long. I have never seen so many hippies all in one place. Very fun. Hippies are my kind of people. But there was also another level of costumes…one that involves leather and whips. I’ll just leave it at that.
We also saw the full meaning of Cinching. Goodness. Very convenient if you need an extra shelf on your person. (If that went over your head, I won’t bother trying to explain. It’s not worth it.)
I think next time, I’d like to go earlier in the day. Or carry a sword of my own.
It was a wonderful experience, though. We will definitely go back.
The birthday girl. And yes, I realize now that she’s standing by a garbage can, but at the time, I thought it was a cute little fabric hamper.
The swords were speaking my son’s name. He looked so cute wielding this wooden sword with his plaid shirt, knight vest, shorts and Crocs.
I would like one of these magical swings in my backyard, please.
Handsome couple~ sorry, I don’t know you, but I liked your costumes.
Sweet old-fashioned touches everywhere you look…
Missing pictures of: Jerk Chicken, Popover with Cinnamon Butter and Massive Turkey Leg. You’ll have to take my word, it was all beautiful and scrumptious.
Sir Brave A Lot
Next time we go, I might have to pull out my peasant skirt or fairy garb so I can float around the park.
My girl, Greyley, turned 14 yesterday. I think it might be the first birthday that I haven’t had to go have a minute of tears. Although, I guess I had that moment already a week or two ago. Greyley and Indigo hugged each other tight and I suddenly had a vision of them hugging at Greyley’s wedding. It was so real, it made my breath catch. They looked over at me and I made the mistake of telling them about it…and I started crying in the telling. I’m pretty sure they wanted to have me committed at that moment, but they lovingly smiled their, “Aw, isn’t Mama sweet and weird!” looks and fortunately, we all moved on.
Maybe that got it out of my system just a little…
But, oh…my baby girl. I can’t believe how she’s become a mini-adult right before my very eyes.
This is really a wonderful time. Every day, more of her beauty, love, creativity, gentle spirit…I could go on and on, but…more of her comes out. It’s actually quite a breathtaking thing to be behold. I love who she is.
We did exactly what she wanted~ a quiet dinner at home. But there are SURPRISES ahead for the weekend. Muah Hahaaa! We will cover that topic more next week, I’m sure…
Meet the newest member of our family:
I hope he will be very happy here.
We enjoyed beef stroganoff, spicy green beans, crescent rolls, tiramisu and cheesecake. Mmmm! I do like birthday celebrations.
Happy Birthday, dear Greyley. You make my life complete. XO
