The Escape Artist

It's day 4 of my photo-a-day project, clearly I was delusional when I committed to this.  I missed my photo yesterday, so here I am 10:00 pm grasping for a photo opportunity, keeping my goals in mind (things that are important and I want to remember...... blah blah blah).  

 I am just 21 short days from go live of one of the largest projects I have worked on in my 23 year career at my employer. I teach 4- Jazzercise classes per week, I have a family, a commute, and somewhere in all of that I really should sleep. None the less, I committed to this, so here I am.  

My photo tonight is my son's pet hamster, Alex.  Alex was first named, Derek, and then Matthew (my 8 year old) got sentimental and renamed him after our late yellow lab, Alex.  Alex-the-hamster is becoming quite the master at escaping from his hamster house.  He has escaped 6 times now.  The fifth escape, which was just last weekend, my husband, masterfully devised a strategy to catch him in a bucket (lured with peanut butter) Alex couldn't resist and was caught almost instantly.  We decided we should purchase an addition to his house and give him a bit more room to roam, so Mike and Matt built him an extension.  Just one short day after he moved into his new house, he escaped again!  This was his longest adventure loose in my house (roughly 12-15 hours).    To be honest, I never expected a hamster to be smart enough to do much of anything (I mean he does spin around in a circle on a wheel most of the night!) but darn if this little guy doesn't have some sense, he keeps finding his way out.  As for the new house, I think it just gives him more escape hatches.   I think Mike is starting to lose it too, tonight he was walking around the house calling himself 'Mouse Hunter" or something like that!  Never a dull moment that's for sure!   

365 Photo Project - Day 2

Today is Day #2 of my commitment to the 365 photo-a-day project, I'm already starting to enhance my goals (surprising, I know).    I"m taking a picture everyday so that I can:

1. Focus on what's important everyday
2. Have a year long record of every single memory
3. Improve my photography skills
4. And....(insert drum roll here) .... improve my photo editing skills

Today's photo, my best friend.  We were cleaning up the basement after the wreckage of Matt's hamster escaping.  Sam was sitting at the bottom of the stairs breaking down cardboard boxes and he called me down. When I looked at him,  at the bottom of the stairs, for a single second there was a glimpse of the young boy I met over 20 years ago.  I don't know if it was the silly grin he was wearing or just that he was tired, but  I saw that young boy and it warmed my heart.  I said 'WAIT!!' hold that expression on your face (so I could run and get my camera) in that second I knew that he was my picture for the day. 

As a bonus, my picture was awful. The lighting was bad, cropping, etc.  Thus goal #4  I think I did a decent job at editing the photo.  I love him, in sepia, in black and white or in color! 

365 Photo-a-day Project

I know it's 7 days into the New Year, but I heard this idea about making a  365 day goal.  The goal I heard was 'you can't buy any new clothes for a year'  It peaked my interest, but I don't think I'm ready for that!  I did a little research and found lots of people have taken a photo every day for a whole year.  I love photography and I love the idea of documenting the wonderful little things that happen everyday.  I created a new blog site as I've struggled with this one, but I think I"ll take another shot at seeing if this will work here.  Wish me luck on my 365-day journey!       Happy New Year!

One kid at a time

Most who know me, know that I raised one child and sent him off to college before the second one was born.  While this wasn't entirely deliberate, or deliberate at all for that matter, it does say a little something about how many kids I am experienced  handling at any given time.  Fast forward, kid number two and  the celebration of birthday number 8.

• Matt- "Mom, can I have a sleep over for my birthday?"
• Me -" I guess so, who are we inviting?"
• Matt- "We need two packs of 8 invitations"
• Me - "Um, I don't think so, 16 kids, no way!!
• Matt- "ok, how about 8?"

And so it was agreed upon, however, somewhere along the way, we ended up with 10.  (who is in charge? are you wondering?).  

The plans were made:

• 10 flashlights for flashlight tag , identical and complete with their names on them -check
• 10 star wars cups and straws - labeled with their names - check
• 10 matching bags - labeled with their names ( a theme is emerging, I don't want any fighting!)
• Pinata
• Bounce house
• 10 mini legos to give away -check check check.

So as if this sleepover wasn't enough for us to do in one day, we decided  to have a family party on the same day (two birds--one stone) so to speak!  The family party started at 2 and everyone was gone by 5 (in an effort to give me an hour to relax and prepare for the night ahead). Even my oldest son said "Mom, I never subjected you to that"  (kids are all different, aren't they?)

Fast forward 6PM.
They started to arrive, one by one, immediately heading for the bounce house.  As it started to fill up, I was thinking I probably should have had a bigger one ( and maybe one that locked from the outside ;)) just kidding.  Every mom who dropped off their kid either had a horror story to tell me or offered a prayer for my survival. I have to admit, I was kinda scared.

First there was pizza, next a scavenger hunt, Mike thought a spoon relay race complete with real eggs (not hard-boiled) would be fun, indoors.  The boys thought this was fun but insisted the eggs should have been hard-boiled ;), not a single one broke on the floor.  (they must have been thinking of their own moms :)

The main event was 'flash-light tag.  They knew we would be playing because I put it in the invitation and so it began, pre-teen boys and one large boy (Mike) outside, in the dark for flash-light tag.  The bounce house served useful because I broke them up into two teams.  When one team captured their victims they had to go in the bounce house, it was like 'jail'  complete with niece Maggie as the jailer.  (Thank goodness for her!)

• Head counting occurred almost every five minutes, it didn't occur to me in the planning stages that I might lose a kid (even though I was at home) --luckily, I counted 10 every time :)

The finale, a pinata , presents for Matt, and he had a small gift for each of them.  He gave them each a lego spaceship, I was AMAZED each of them sat down for what seemed like a long time building their spaceship. (It was the first quiet moment we had all evening, and almost the last).  Did I mention, I decided at the last minute not to do cake and ice cream?  (Are you kidding me, sugar them all up after they had just quieted down? NO WAY).  

At 10 they settled in for a movie, at midnight we shut off the lights and told them go to sleep.  

Fast Forward 7am Sunday- like wild birds on a summer morning they all woke up loudly together.  Only it wasn't 7am as my clock would have told me.  "Fall Back"-UGH!  6am! 10 boys ready and raring to go.  (Seriously? I have 4 hours to entertain them?) OMG.

• Breakfast-pancakes, eggs, bacon, doughnuts, juice and chocolate milk
• Sure you can go in the bounce house at 7:30 am, a little 'frost' outside isn't gonna hurt you!
• I had a trick in my back-pocket that I didn't use the night before -- two Wii's, two TV's, we set up Mario Cart for those who were not quite ready to take on the outdoors.

The last 4 hours felt like forever! We were finally down to 1 kid (our own), we told him he could have whatever he wanted for dinner, and he could make it himself, an indication of being alot older as a parent this time around.   We were all in bed, fast asleep by 8:30 pm Sunday night, exhausted!

Would I do it all over?  Yes these boys, although loud, are; creative, opinionated, passionate, spirited and already showing leadership qualities.   Would I do it again?  ah, that is a different question, NO WAY! not with that many boys!  Hooray for no crying, no injuries, no trips to the ER.   I enjoyed getting to know some of Matt's closest friends a little better  and I can't wait to watch these boys grow up into young men, who will most certainly eat me out of house and home. I hope they will be friends for life!

One of Matt's best pals,  said on Sunday ' I was disappointed we didn't do cake and ice cream?" LOL, Mike said, oh darn we must have forgot! (HAH!)  

In the end and already recovered, a memory we will not soon forget!  Life, Love & All that jazz-- celebrated the 'destination' because I was too darn busy to enjoy the journey!

Answered Prayers

In March of this year, I asked the cyber world via this blog to pray for my friend and her very serious illness.  Six months later, I revisit my blog post, I re-read my prayer request, and  I report to you that prayers have been answered.  By no means is this beautiful, brave young lady out of the woods, in fact, she has quite a road ahead of her ,but she has come to this critical point and now the recovery begins. 

I am thankful. I thank God for helping her get to this point. I thank you for your prayers.

I can't help but reflect on the last six months and her initial words to me.  "Don't feel sorry for me"  "Don't treat me differently"  "Pray for me".

• In the last six months, never did I hear her complain. 
•  She came to work every day, she did her best.  
• She exercised with a personal trainer.  
•  She focused on her nutrition.  
• She remained positive.  
• She laughed. I"m sure she cried, but I never saw her cry.  
• She prayed.  
• She inspired.

 Was it the prayers that helped her?  Was it her attitude?  Both?  ( Did those of us who were perfectly healthy do all of those things in the last six months?)

For as long as I can remember, I have believed in God, I have had faith. I have believed that there is a divine plan, much bigger than you or I could imagine and often do not understand.

 Over the years, as I have experienced disappointments, loss, unanswered prayers, trials, I have questioned my beliefs, my faith.  I have wondered if my beliefs are outdated, immature, unevolved.  There are people in my life that don't believe, that think differently than I do and that has also caused me to question. 

But then...some little miracle occurs, you could call it a coincidence, you could call it luck, I call it answered prayers.  Ironically, the prayers I most notice getting answered are the ones where I have asked God to help someone else.  It's like those prayers never seem to go unanswered.  I am not naive enough to think there won't be more loss or that I won't lose people I love regardlelss of how hard I pray, but those heartfelt prayers for the well being of another, the realistic ones, there is no greater gift than watching those get answered.

I leave you with a couple of thoughts:

1.) Did you know this is not really a Bible verse?  No where in the Bible does it say this!

"God helps those who help themselves!"
Hezekiah 6:1

2.) "Work as though everything depends on you, Pray as though everything depends on God."
It doesn't say this either, but I sure like it!

Thank God for Life, Love & All that Jazz, and ask him to help a friend!

The Ride (Part 2)

We are now heading northeast from historic Cross Village (the lunch stop) towards Mackinaw City.  The terrain flattened out significantly and so did the pack of people.  There was a choice to ride 25 and stop in Cross Village or continue on for the full 51. 

I didn't mention a big unanticipated surprise on our journey.  There was a recent bug hatching in northern Michigan (maybe no-seeums?(not entirely sure  ).  You know, the little tiny bugs that are plastered all over your windshield when you drive fast on the freeway?Flying down hills at 30+ mph makes YOU... a human windshield.  Disgusting!  I was happy not to have facial hair, they were in Sam's beard and mustache.  I inhaled several and they found their way through my sunglasses and in my eyes.  If you thought about it too much ick, best to keep riding and keep your mouth closed. 

Despite the flatter terrain, the wind changed directions, seems we were fighting it the entire way.  We only stopped once and that was for a quick photo on the lake.   We saw some wipeouts, mostly skinned knees. There was a woman who crashed and her bike was pretty banged up.  I have to talk about the fashion for a second, wow:

• Way too much spandex and lycra!
• Picture someone who shouldn't be wearing spandex or lycra and then add :  padded butt shorts, YIKES, while they may be comfy, they are NOT flattering, saw some saggy padded butt shorts too!
• There were themes; for those of you that have been on traditional trips with us (i.e. canoeing) you know I love themes.  Quote from Karen " If Tami does this again, I see a theme in our future".  I loved the guys who wore 'tuxedo shirts and their helmets had orange construction cones on top! too cute!
• Many people had clips for pedals and clipped on their shoes ( I could never do this, and clearly some of them shouldn't have either!)
• For those that are fb friends with Sam, saw the dude in the maid's uniform with the fishnet stockings! FUN

People were mostly friendly, chatty, relaxed and having a great time.  After my temper tantrum before lunch, I apologized to my best friend, thanked him for doing this with me and had a wonderful time!

By the end, Sam and I were exhausted and ready to stop pedaling!  When we crossed the finish line, I was a tiny bit emotional, not quite as emotional as when I did the duathalon, ( that day I actually balled at the finish line!) this time I just felt glad we finished and mostly glad we spent time together doing something different that we had not done before.  The Bacardi tent was hopping, $2 drinks and I must say the grape rum with sprite ROCKED! 

We hung out for a bit and then road back to the hotel.  Before dinner I took the kids to the pool, and hit the hot tub.  At the hot tub I met Chet and Polly ( names NOT changed to protect the innocent, --these were their actual names LOL).  Chet was an older gentlemen (maybe 65ish) and is daughter Polly (25 tops), they did the ride too.  Chet said this " Every now and then in life, you have to have an exclamation point" " do something different that you will never forget" he said.  I loved that he said that!  I agreed, I will not soon forget this ride.

 Everyday life is so busy; work, kids, sports, class, chores, its so great to take a 'time out'.  It was awesome being in beautiful northern Michigan, bugs and all.  I loved spending time with Sam, Karen and Jay, I loved that our kids were waiting for us, anxious to go to dinner and take the ferry to the island.  (Don't worry we did not leave small children alone!)  Katie our 15 year old niece who has grown into a beautiful, responsible, brave and mature young lady took care of them for the day.  I even loved that my phone was dead!   I hope anyone who reads this will consider doing this with us next year! 

To our jazz girls -- Total calories for the ride = 1432 (about  2 1/4 classes--- OUR CLASSES ROCK when you do the math!) You would have to do BLOW and Enrique about 3 or 4x to make your butt burn like those hills though!

I am rejuvinated and can once again start a new week.  I leave you with this final thought:

"There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other". -Douglas H. Everett

You only get one shot at it, make a few exclamation points!  xxoo

The Ride - May 2011 (Part 1)

And so it begins, the ride from Boyne Highlands to Mackinaw City, 51 miles of pure fun!  I didn't sleep well the night before, it was a busy day at the Toledo Zoo with Matt's 1st grade class.  We got home from the zoo, finished packinig and we were on the road to Northern Michigan.  I never sleep well in a hotel the first night, tonight ,was no exception.

We arrived at registration, picked up  our packets, our wristbands (very important to have these)  and of course our souvienier tshirts!  We moved on to breakfast, it was a buffett feast loaded with enough carbohydrates to induce a coma.

Before we left the finish line, I already lost my wristband, I hoped this was no indication of what was to come, because the people at registration would not replace it!  In the car, on the way up, I downloaded an app for my phone so I could track our route, determine our speed and ensure we went  the full 51 miles!  (no cheaters! and I love stats!)

And we're off, it wasn't a 'group start' which means riders could start the ride any time they wanted between 8am and 11am, we started about 9:30.  The weather was perfect.  The people watching was even more fun!

The first part of the ride was loaded with hills.  Uphill, then downhill.  I'm not sure which was worst, going up and the insane burn in my butt, or going down at 30+ miles / hour.  Sam loved this part, flying down the hills, no need to pedal. I hated this part, I rode down with the brakes on, envisioning that I would hit a rock, flip over the handle bars and be in the emergency room . 

Below is a link (which would be from the app I downloaded to my phone, however, the constant use of the GPS and lack of signal burned out my battery halfway through the ride!  http://www.mapmyhike.com/routes/fullscreen/17873704/  

Some riders reported speeds of 40mph going down hill at the "Tunnel of Trees' (which was lovely--the trees, not the speed).   I was alone at this part of the ride going down this crazy hill.  I experienced what bike racers call 'DRAFTING" A group of 8 riders (clearly professionals)  were on my left flying down the hill  all in a single file line,  their speed was so intense it pulled me into their DRAFT and lined me up right behind them, it was crazy! The wind tunnell just sucked me in, I had never felt something like that before.

So ,I mentioned I was on my own during this part of the ride, I also mentioned Sam loved the speed.  We were going down a hill, I asked him to wait at the bottom of the hill for me, (while I rode the brakes)  and I didn't see him again until lunch!  I was mildly annoyed with him! He had my money, my i.d. and my lunch ticket (remember I lost my wristband-which entitles you to lunch). I arrived at lunch and searched everywhere for him, the more I searched, the madder I got.  How could he be so insensitive?  I had no cell service, because I used up my battery on bike route mapping! ugh...Where the hell was he?  20-30 minutes later he arrived at the lunch spot, I apparently passed him without realizing it.  He was snapping pictures and I was pedalling my ass off trying to catch up to him so I could yell at him for not waiting for me.  It was nothing a little food, drink and balanced blood sugar didn't cure :) (ok ok, yes of course I yelled at him a tiny bit)

 Lunch was the 1/2 way point, the 4 of us had lunch together, rested and stretched our legs a little and we were on our way, once again!

Stay tuned for Part 2.