Irony in Bloom

This is Kelly, the daughter of some dear friends, and she is the most impressive three year old I know. She recognizes me without prompting, and even noticed once that I was uncharacteristically wearing glasses . Here we are with the flower she picked for me at a coworker's baby shower. At this home, verbena apparently grows as a weed, whereas I pay for it to get it in my garden. :)

The Day I Died.

*Names have been changed not to protect the innocent, but because I do not know the name of the guilty.

It was a beautiful day, the last day of my life. I walked to my car in the back parking lot of my school, which is actually a great place to park during the day, and I was accompanied by my friend and coworker Ashley. The sun was high in the sky, and a light breeze reminded me that the spring, however short in these parts of Texas, was in full force. Adding to the springtime atmosphere, a young girl, Stacey*, biked around the corner of the parking lot, headed the opposite direction; as a member of the Outdoor Education class, 6th period would be enjoyed by her daily outdoor activities, bike riding included. She donned a pink tank top and a blue helmet, which reflected the sun as if it were made for that one beautiful day only. The three of us all made eye contact, and cordially smiled.

Continuing the short walk to my car, and with the girl out of my peripheral vision, I heard her call to "Tito", apparently to one of the boys on the track at the time. And then, with a slight quiver in her voice, Ashley exclaimed "Oh, watch... watch out!" Even through the rushed stammer, I could hear the surprised shock in her voice. And then, as if time herself had slowed, it happened: a bike tire ran up my right heel and ankle, ripping it to shreds. Not an instant later, handle bars rammed into my bike. Somehow, the bike suddenly appeared in front of me, and it fell with a thud, taking the neglectful rider with it. Fighting the inevitable face plant, I stomped hard on the bike tire as I attempted to keep my balance, which I found was worsened by the entanglement of my high heel in the bike tire's spokes. Only a miracle kept my face from certain turmoil on the asphalt.

(Ok, so I didn't die.)

The girl laid, half under and half on top of the fallen bike, saying nothing, but looking as if she had no idea what to say. That is, looking as if she's never known what to say about anything at all, and there had never been a complete thought to leave her lips. Loudly, I proclaimed "Owww! What were you DOING?"

Perhaps it was tears welling in her eyes, or perhaps she was as empty of thought I had had previously assumed, but she could only ask, in the smallest of voices, "um, are you okay?"
Of course I wasn't. She had just ran into me. After making eye contact with me no more than 4.5 seconds before. Still, I answered yes and asked the same of her, then told her to get on her way. Who DOES that? I can't believe this girl might get a driver's license some day...

Enjoy :)

Dear Air Force:

I am no longer upset with you for moving us to Little Rock. I think I can handle it, and, as a matter of fact, I am even a little excited. A little. I imagine Little Rock has some great opportunities, and I hope I'm right.

Sincerely,

me.

Wouldn't it be great if they landed me a job, too? That would make things lots easier!! I have a full plate right now, and I think that would really help clear up some time to take care of cleaning and selling our home, caring for the dogs, grading papers for 120 or so students, planning lessons, working in the yard, grocery shopping, and hopefully finding a spare hour to work out.

But there are some wonderful homes in Little Rock (based on what we've seen on the web) and I am excited to start a life there. I'm flipping on the optimism, too. There's no LA Boxing in the area (in the entire state or any 5 bordering states) but maybe I can learn to love running.

Give me a break. Who loves running? Crazies. That's all. And since I'm perfectly (that's debatable, but at least mostly) sane, how would I learn to love running? Hitting and kicking suits me much better. Plus, I'm pretty sure 1 workout at LA Boxing must be equivalent to a half marathon. I mean, I've run 5 miles before without resting, and one hour at LA Boxing is waaaay harder.

Also, I will learn to love Arkansas' food. I've never heard anyone talk about the amazing cuisine of Arkansas, but at least I'm a good cook and recreate lots of Texas dishes.

I'm excited to plant in the soil, assuming that I won't be limited to plants that must tolerate full sun and drought conditions. I have discovered some wonderful plants that fit that category, by the way.

I will see you in June, Little Rock. Please be prepared to receive me. :)

House is Ready to sell!

My house is ready to put on the market! It wouldn't be so without all the help from my wonderful family; so much so that I've decided to make two lists -- one of things I've done on my own, and another list of tasks accomplished only with help. What we did: completed the kitchen countertops, washed every last bit of laundry, swept, cleaned, replaced closet knobs, replaced bathroom hardware, changed a faucet, changed a toilet valve, unclogged a drain, painted the oven door, hung mirrors, vacuumed, built shelves in the garage, cleaned out the garage, levelled a hill in the backyard, mowed, painted the siding.


What I did: changed blankets in a bedroom, sprayed weeds, painted a bathroom.

Kinda pathetic by comparison, isn't it?!


I seriously would not be half ready to sell this place had it not been for the amazing fam. So thanks Daddy, Mom, Joey, and Jim. Couldn't have done it without you!

Awesome Week

Big week behind me, and lots happened. Since it was Spring Break, I drove up to Arizona with my parents to visit my Grandpa. The weather was beautiful and some of the orange and lemon trees already had fruit. According to Daddy, they're probably ornamental, and not the delicious orbs I normally associate with the AZ. It's always awesome to see my Grandpa, and I only wish I saw him more often. Mom did her best to convince him to move to Texas, but I get the feeling that's a ways off. Too bad; Texas would agree with him. Took this picture while we were there.
Upon returning home, Mom and Dad were their awesome selves and helped me overhaul my house in preparation for sale. Collectively, we laundered, organized, vacuumed, plumbed, de-clogged, painted, decorated, and repaired the house. Had a crazy hard working weekend that yielded truly amazing results, and I only wish I'd done all of this sooner. But, better late than never. In the master bath area I found the need to hang a frame between two mirrors, and took this picture of our new faucet. I painted the background white and added some photoshop texture, and voila.

Lastly, I was craving something tonight. Not sure what it was at first, but I finally decided to microwave myself some chocolate cake. Here's the recipe I followed:
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar (or Splenda, Daddy -- I'll try it that way next time)
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons milk
dash vanilla
Microwave for 3 minutes

It was really pretty good. I added some cream and cinnamon on top but it could have benefited from a more substantial sauce or icing. Definitely doing this again. :)

Hello, Spring? Is that you?

Yes, I think it is! Today I noticed several sets of small green leaves on my Hydrangeas out front, and the lilies in the garden are popping back up. Isn't spring just wonderful?!? My neighbor -- sent by God, I'm sure -- mowed the lawn for me last night. He scalped it short, so I spread a pre-emergent weed prevention and looked at some new flowers today. I just love the spring!!

I'll be planting yellow this year, since I've read in several places that it evokes a buying attitude... more on that later, though. Can't wait for just a little more time to pass so I can put some new plants in!!