Feline Ingenuity

Luna is quite the petite feline. She weighs in at just over 7 lbs. and as a result, she is always cold. You can always find her curled up in a cat bed or on a throw blanket, but lately, she's discovered a new source of warmth. The laptop computer.



If the laptop isn't on, her next choice is the cable box. She also likes to lay on the counter top above the dishwasher since the granite gets pretty warm when the dishes are drying. Yup, she's pretty clever. I think she gets that from me.

Public Service Announcement

Well, I knew that it was only a matter of time before Parker was influenced by his "friends" at his private school, but I thought that we had a couple more years before I had to worry about this particular problem....Gang Activity.

I present to you exhibit A.



Please notice the one pant leg pulled up (South Floridians, I need your help. Which gang is it that lifts the left pant leg?? Never mind, I'll ask my inmates.) Also, he seems to be flashing a double "C" sign with his hands. That can't be a good thing. Are his eyes squinted? Could there be possible drug activity out on the "yard?" He is with the 2-3 year olds now and you know how older kids are these days.

I think that the Irishman and I are going to have to have an intervention. I guess I'll go dig up my "Say No To Gang Activity and Drugs and Tobacco" book and prepare my talk ahead of time. Take this as a lesson folks, it's never to early to talk to your kids about joining yuppie, private school gangs.

Making Strides

Well folks, today I completed my longest run to date - 14 miles. The first 11 miles were pretty easy, but the last 3 really took some grit to get through. I just kept telling myself that it was just a little bit farther. While I'm marginally daunted by the thought that I still need to muster up an additional 12.2 miles over what I completed today, it wasn't too many months ago when 7 miles seemed like a great feat. With this in mind, I know I'll get there.

As always, the game plan is to take it one day at a time and to take each run one mile at a time. When you breakdown any seemingly insurmountable obstacle into small parts, it's easier to stick with it. Another trick is when you feel yourself starting to mentally give in, just try to get to the next light post or street light. Baby steps - they work! And when they don't, you just have to dig deep to find out what you're made of. If you can get past those moments of self double, I promise that you'll come out on the other side.

I'm sure I posted it here before, but one of my favorite quotes from Moliere is this:

"The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it."

As I sit here and take an assessment of how I feel, I don't think that I'm doing too bad, all things considered. I have my full lung capacity back and it's amazing what a difference that makes. I've taken breathing easily for granted my whole life, but I can tell you that it's no fun to feel like you're going to fall over or pass out with every stride. My muscles feel a little fatigued, but still functional. Almost all of the pain that I have is skeletal, primarily in my feet and ankles. I did go ahead and schedule a massage for tomorrow because I have a feeling that getting out of bed tomorrow morning is going to be a delicate and painful process. You want to know a secret? I love that feeling. I love knowing that I've pushed my body to the limit and it didn't let me down. I love knowing that it's capable and strong and dependable. When I finish my runs, I always say a heartfelt thanks to my legs for carrying me the distance, even though I'm pretty sure it's against their will.

Living History

I have to say that I'm not quite believing that America has finally elected an African-American President. For the first time in a long time, I'm completely speechless. With racism still rampant and profiling a very real thing, it is with hopefulness that I view our country's future. Regardless of whether you agreed with Obama's politics or not, yesterday was historic.

Watching the Today Show this morning and seeing the reaction of the world, I am relieved. Relieved that maybe we will once again be a beacon of progressiveness and prosperity for all of the countries less fortunate than we are. Relieved that we will no longer be viewed as tyrants who impose our will on others. With tears in my eyes, I watched Israel, Iraq, Afghanastan and Africa rejoice in this changing of the guard and for the first time in eight years, I exhaled and felt that everything might be ok after all.

Election Day!

I've always been into politics. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that my parents have watched World News Tonight every day since I was born. We would always talk about politics and my parents would set me straight when I made incorrect assumptions about the process. For example, when I was in first grade, I was under the impression that the loser of the Presidential Election became the Vice President. You know, kind of like a consolation prize. I'm still convinced that it's not a halfway bad idea, but what do I know.

Anyway, I always got excited around election time and this year is no exception. As I was driving back from my morning run around 6:30am, I noticed that the parking lot of our voting precinct was empty. The Irishman had just woken up and was stumbling towards the shower when I accosted him.

"There isn't a line yet! Put on a sweatshirt and a hat and head down there right now! If you wait until after your shower, you're going to be in line forever. Hurry, go, I'll watch Parker!"

And I shoved his keys into his hands and sent the poor unsuspecting soul on his way. I'm sure that he was feeling kind of foolish in sweats, flip flops and sleep in his eyes, but I wanted to make sure that he had a chance to vote. This is the part where I tell you that I have no idea who my husband voted for. He never tells and I never press him on it. I'm just glad that he participates in the process so that Parker will grow up with the same awareness that I did.

So, after the Irishman made it back from voting and got showered and I sent him and Parker off to work and school, I got a book and set off for the precinct fully expecting to stand in line for hours...and was in and out in under 30 seconds. Now, all that's left to do is to watch the results come pouring in tonight! I'm just praying that someone concedes tonight and that the election doesn't end up dragging out.

Mule Day

Every year, we drive up the road to Calvary, Georgia to attend Mule Day. Mule Day is no other than a celebration of mules. Yes, you read that correctly and no, it isn't a tiny country festival. Tens of thousands of people attend Mule Day every year. They have a mule parade, mule contests and even a mule beauty pageant. It's random, I know, but so much fun!

I didn't get to take that many pictures at Mule Day for two reasons: (1) I was too busy chasing Parker around. That child is in a stage where he just wants to run free as a bird. Unfortunately, in a crowd of thousands, all I see are numerous pedophiles and child abductors just waiting to snatch him up. I'm pretty sure that my level of paranoia is limited primarily to criminologists, but I'd rather be safe than sorry; (2) Mule Day is a cash only event and while I put all of my cash in my back pocket, I then proceeded to change jeans. Sigh. I never used to be this scatterbrained, but it seems to be a permanent affliction.

Anyway, here are the pictures that I did get this year at Mule Day.

I guess these are mules, but they look a lot like regular horses to me.



And this one looks a lot like a donkey.



This definitely is not a mule. I'm not sure exactly what to say about this picture. I do feel sorry for the pony...or is it a little horse? Does anyone know the politically correct term to use for this particular animal? I would hate to be offensive. Thank you.



Here's the Irishman and Parker checking out the mules, horses, donkeys and little horses/ponies.





There was another military helicopter there so, of course, Parker had to get in it. I let him try on the hat, but I stopped short of letting him handle the semi-automatic weapon they had on display. Call me crazy, but I think that two is a little young for firearms.



Finally, there was a man (or woman?) dressed in a lion suit. Parker went running over to him (her?) and would not leave. He was hugging the lion and petting the lion and, as evidenced in this picture, roaring at the lion. It was very cute.



The great thing about Mule Day is that there's always another one next year. If you happen to live in the North Florida/South Georgia area, I highly recommend going out there and experiencing all that Mule Day has to offer.

Halloween

Halloween is a conflicted time for me. I love the holiday itself (pumpkin carving, dressing up, chocolate!), but I don't particularly care for strangers coming up to my door. I don't like answering the door in the best of circumstances and when it's a bunch of teenagers dressed like mass murderers, well, I'm a little freaked out. So, I generally make myself scarce and let the Irishman do all of the door answering. Listen, I never claimed to be well-adjusted or normal. Having a child old enough to trick or treat, however, allows me to enjoy the best of Halloween without having to deal with my xenophobic tendencies. I was therefore thrilled to take Parker trick or treating this year.

We let him pick out his own costume and it was no surprise when Thomas the Tank Engine was the one he picked. Parker isn't usually a fan of hats, but he knew that the conductor's hat was an integral part of the costume so he was all about looking the part. Here we are outside prior to leaving for trick or treating. Please notice the matching bucket that he is carrying.



I decided to get into the Halloween spirit this year by dressing up as well. I was initially planning on being Cleopatra, but I waited too long to get my costume and they were out. So, I decided on a Greek Goddess costume instead. (No, I don't think this is what Greek Goddesses really wore and yes, I did change before we took him around the neighborhood.)





The first house was a comedy of errors on Parker's part. First, he tried to go inside. Then, he tried to take the entire bucket from our neighbor. We explained to him that you say, "Trick or treat!" and then "Thank you!" but he generally skipped the trick or treat part and lunged for the candy instead. He did get the "thank you" and added his own "bye-bye" along with it though. He was definitely a hit with our neighbors who don't get that many little trick or treaters. Oh and he wore that costume for a good hour after we got back. I'm just glad that he didn't decide that he wanted to sleep in it.

It was a lot of fun seeing him participate in Halloween and you better believe that I'm excited to see how much fun he has at Christmas!