Leaving a Mark

Traversing my way over to Aunt Jackie's blog this morning, I found this post for today. So funny!! And of course, as we already knew... she's NOT ALONE!! So I thought I share what is probably one of my biggest & funniest "DUH!" moments too.

It happened on a vacation to Cape Cod. I was invited to go along with my childhood bff, Dawn, and her family. I'd never been to Cape Cod before and it was great fun to be shown all of their favorite sights. They also treated me to clam chowder like I've never had before or since.

The beach, of course, was where a majority of our time was spent.

On this particular trip to the beach, the tide was out and we were enjoying walking along the quiet beach looking for treasures left behind by the retreating waters. That was when I saw them.... ARROWS!!

Yep! I was absolutely fascinated by these arrows. They were all uniform and lined up one after the other. And they seemed to go one way... until I noticed another line of arrows coming from another direction and crossing the line I was currently following. (Gosh! Sounds like I am a dog... doesn't it!!)

At this point, I piped up and said, "Gosh! Who made all of these arrows on the beach?"


Laughter followed!! MUCH LAUGHTER!!!

Bird tracks!!!

DUH!!!!

Aunt Jackie is right... it must be genetic.

I will likely never live that down! That and... "Bees eat the woodwork?" (but that's another story! ;) )

Summer!

Ears Elsa!

Vacation!

Isn't it funny how vacations can be MORE busy than everyday life? I haven't given up blogging... just too busy on vacation! LOL

Here's some sunset for you... courtesy of my Industrious One. :)

The Circus is in Town

Well.... not really... but I felt like I was the circus!

In my bright, efficient, save gas money thinking, I made a vet appointment for our horses due for vaccinations and for Elsa... also due for booster shots. Seemed like a great plan... and I still think it was the smartest way of accomplishing the vetting that was due... but I didn't consider that I would feel like I was at the controls of a moving tornado!

I was so proud of myself for planning the morning well enough that we were actually running a few minutes ahead of schedule. Even after Pholly & "MaGOOF-ball" decided to play a game of chase (in the 90 degree heat no less!) with each other before being caught. Seemed fool hardy to me ... running is the last thing *I* would have wanted to do in yesterday's heat! Nevertheless, we had time to groom everyone, load everyone and still run back across the yard for forgotten items. As we pulled out of the driveway, I was amazed to see that I was ahead of schedule.

Of course, that all went away when I ran into towing "troubles". It wasn't troubles really... just concerns. But it was enough concern to warrant "Dad to the Rescue!" Nothing was amiss structurally, nor mechanically so we chalked it up to the wind, a different towing vehicle, and weight distribution. BUT, all of that extra time was now gone and we were late.

So now I am the LATE circus coming to town. We pull into the vet clinic in a nice neat package and then pour out like the wind that knows no boundaries. Oh... I'm sure it wasn't really that bad... but it's how my mommy-mind feels. Three kids, three horses, one puppy! Now that I think about it... it is much like supervising SEVEN children. No wonder I feel like the circus.

I'm not sure whether to express my appreciation for the kind, friendly manner in which the clinic staff handles us... or my apologies to them for the chaos I feel I am injecting into their afternoon.
And after we drive away... I realize I forgot to purchase the vaccinations for the ONE horse I left at home! Yep.... I had to turn around and go back... because, after all.... the whole point in bringing the circus to town was to save gas money!

Sigh! Welcome to "McBroom's Wonderful One Acre Farm"! (If you don't know what I'm talking about... look it up! It's a great... fun book to read to the kids!)

Saturday SoapBox

Remember I said I was working on something?

Well... here it is! :)

Saturday Soapbox

Everyone should have a box, don't you think?

;)

Simple Things

On June 4th, 1994, Jason and I stood before the Lord, our family and friends and tied our lives together in marriage.

That day, 14 years ago, was a beautiful day in upstate NY. Yesterday was a beautiful day in Indiana. My Good-Man-Charlie-Brown took the day off for our anniversary. We decided to take the girls and the puppy and go hiking.



It really, truly is the simple things in life that make me happy. Just being together as a family doing nothing fancy. We had hoped for hiking in the woods but found the trail we picked was mainly on the prairie. On the plus side, there were less mosquitoes in the fields than in the woods.

I couldn't have asked for a better day. I told Jason that I really am happy with the simple things. He doesn't need to shower me with fancy gifts. He didn't need to take me to take me to a fancy restaurant (I'm odd, I know... but I just don't enjoy restaurant eating- period).

Spend the day with me. Be together. Grab a bite- nothing fancy. Relax. Enjoy each other's company. Listen to the kids. Watch them discover and learn together.
They're a great looking crew... my good man and our girls... don't you think?

It was a perfect way to celebrate us.

Simple things!



PS- I think I should be able to claim "low maintenance" status, don't you? ;) Well... ok... there is chocolate!

Making a Mess

Years ago I worked for Fanny Farmer... a candy store like Godiva. I took away a lot of things from those years with the company... including an addiction to chocolate (and not just any chocolate ;) ).

Today I'm brought back to those days. When it was time to reset the store for a new holiday or a new marketing plan, it was a chaotic day of change. My district manager, Vicki, used to always say, "You have to make a mess to move a mountain".

I'm making a mess today.

There may still be a mess tomorrow too.

Eventually, all will be ok.

You gotta make a mess to move a mountain.

Watch her grow!

She's growing so fast that....


...it seems that she's bigger after every nap!


Blink!


She's bigger again!