Baba Doodlius Way Cool Blog Award

I've been nominated for the Baba Doodlius Way Cool Blog Award (its very prestigious...look it up if you don't believe me). I've also been included in on various memes but can't seem to figure those out and what I'm supposed to do. Now its my turn to nominate some Way Cool Blogs...

I here nominate Three Blogs from Colorado
http://theink.blogspot.com/ - The Ink
http://awtr.blogspot.com/ - Loving a Soldier, Living the Life
http://raisingcalvin.blogspot.com/ - Never a Dull Moment

Here is a list of previous winners
Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes (my favorite)
Elise's Secrets
PeopleareAwesome!
Attitude, the ultimate power
Mental Poo
The Totally Transparent Party
Linda and her surroundings

Bloody Hands

If you could see what time I am typing this you would say, "Michelle, why are you up at 1:43 am typing on your blog?" To which I would reply...

Just a few moments ago, I was in deep slumber when my eyes popped open and I exclaimed, "I forgot the bloody hands!"

I remembered the cookies, the napkins, the punch bowl with spiders, the plates, and even the toilet paper for the mummy wrap but I forgot to make the bloody hands (ice) for the punch! How fast can you make ice anyway? So I ran downstairs and filled 4 large (latex free for the sensitive) gloves with Koolaid and gummy worms and set them in the freezer. Now the 1st grade Halloween Party can go on without a hitch!

Lifelong Friend

To my friend...thanks for lunch!

A window to my past
A comfort to my soul
20 years of knowing you
You're a part that makes me whole

A dear friend you are now
In the past we shared a lot
I hope you know, for you
I'll always have a weak spot

Take comfort my friend in knowing
No matter where you are
You'll never be without a friend
For I won't be very far

Michelle Hix
10/2007

I Am America (And So Can You!)

Last night as the Rockies were getting played, I decided to mute them and read Stephen Colbert's latest. Soooooo funny! Glad I did. Its a super quick read and deliriously funny. Like pee your pants funny.

Blog Home Page

What I'm Reading Next

I tend to get in ruts with reading depressing novels about death, mental illness, and war. So I've decided on my next two books and they are much more light hearted...I Am America by Stephen Colbert and Giving by Bill Clinton. Both are politically charged but one is satirical while the other I am hoping will be inspirational. With both books I hope to gain some insight into the 2008 campaign and what lies ahead without taking things too seriously.

"I am now a checkerboard chick!"

Oh man!!!! I loved this musical sooooo much...saw Hairspray today....Looooved it! Mark was taking the kids to the dollar movie, so when they decided to see Hairspray I just had to go along (and skip all the laundry I was so excited to do today). I had planned to see it the second it came out...and now here we are like 3 months later and I finally saw it.

Originally I was supposed to meet the reunion planning committee downtown tonight...yes folks, we can plan a reunion, but we can't seem to plan our own planning parties for fear of all that Rockies traffic. So we postponed til next week. Probably just as well since I am going downtown Tuesday for lunch. My butt doesn't need what I was about to eat twice in one week!

Two of my favorite actors, John Travolta and Christopher Walkin were brilliantly cast in Hairspray. In one scene, they even dance together. Doesn't get any better than that. Villainess, Velma Von Tussle is played by Michelle Pfeiffer and I will reluctantly admit that she is pretty good. I fell in love with Tracy and her determination. Both my girls watched it and it was a good segue for a civil rights discussion.

I Wish I Knew How To Handle Things

I find myself caught in an uncomfortable situation quite frequently. I have a person in my life, not a close friend, not a relative, but an acquaintance, a rather close acquaintance, that offends me on a regular basis. Each time it happens I am totally caught off guard and totally surprised. I hate to say it this way, because she doesn't realize that she is doing it, but she is racist. She's not a hater. She's an elevator. She elevates herself above other races. She makes HUGE generalizations about whole entire races of people. Honestly, I know that I am naive. I've never been friends with someone like this. Sure, I have some old fricken uncles that live in the south somewhere that are racist...but this is someone close to my age, that I see on a regular basis that I care about. On more than one occasion I have had to excuse myself while talking to her because something she said about someone else has shocked and hurt me to the point of getting a lump in my throat. I've tried to politely but vehemently disagree with her and voice my opinion the moment she makes a racial comment. So far, it hasn't worked. This is clearly something that she doesn't think about at all and clearly something she was raised with and therefor has no idea how incredibly stupid she sounds and how hurtful she is being. To know me is to know how passionate I am about this subject...how does she not realize what she is saying? And more importantly, why does this effect me to the point that it does? To top it off, I can't even begin to tell you how super nice she is to me. It would be very easy to remove this person from my life. My relationship with her is dependent on me and not her and if I choose to do a certain activity where I see her. So I can stop seeing her if I really want to. Am I supposed to? Why do I get the feeling we are in each other's lives for a reason?

Yahoo!?

Have any of you switched to the new Yahoo!? I switched a while back and I can't decide if I like it. It has many new features (some I don't use and won't list) but here's the ones I like:

1. Auto-CheckYahoo! - Mail automatically checks for new messages (basically it refreshes for you when you are in mail)
2. Reading Pane - Peek inside any message without leaving your inbox (you can see your inbox and your actual message at the same time)
3. Chat - Send Instant Messages to your online friends directly from Yahoo! Mail. I'm not much into IM, but several friends have IM me since I've switched and its pretty convenient.
4. Texting (SMS) - integrated text messaging (pretty cool since I can text the hubby from my email).
5. When you start emails it opens different tabs, so you can switch back and forth between many emails if you want. Not sure why I would want to but hey, cool none the less I suppose.

Here's what I don't like"
1. Its slower than classic when loading, deleting messages and populating screens/fields
2. I don't particularily care for the keyboard shortcuts that I haven't memorized because I keep hitting keys and randomly either deleting emails or sending them to random folders without even knowing it.
3. Its just a little quirky (like me!)

With that said, I'm going to keep it for a while. I miss the Classic Yahoo!, but, I'm okay with my cheese being moved!!!!

Poor Rockies

I can't bear to watch. Score is 13 to 1. Making it worse is the fact that I don't even have a beer to cry in. I'm actually sitting here at my computer now watching it on ESPN's gamecast (which is totally cool by the way).

Spoken Like a True Mom

This morning I hear a crash in the kitchen. I don't think too much about it...the cats are always getting into something. After I heared another I went in to see what was going on. I say to them "where are you little troublemakers?" To which they reply with silence...but a very guilty silence. I can see that they don't have any food and their food box is tipped over and spilling across the floor as usual. I then say to them "haven't I asked you to use your words instead of destroying things?" They look at me with tilted cat heads the way cats do when what they really want to do is roll their eyes at you like your kids do when you say that to them.

Rockies Fans Listen Here

http://www.postnewsads.com/hub/sound/rockin.mp3

Bears, Oh My!

Once a friend of mine told me that he wouldn't to go parachuting because he was afraid that there might be bears where ever he landed and he was afraid of bears. He was serious, but I couldn't help but laugh. Still today, I probably think about him saying that once a year and it makes me laugh. I don't know if it was the ridiculousness of the whole idea, or the look in his eyes when he told me that was so funny. All I know is that now, after last night, I can understand (to some degree) his fear. Last night Mark went to the game and I was really really tired for some reason. Like, I mean I went to bed at 7:30! I thought I was coming down with something. Once the kids got all their homework done, I got them into bed and let them watch a little TV. Then I went to bed to read. The thought of going to bed that early sounded fun and cozy but of course once I actually got in bed, I wasn't really as tired as I thought. My brain must have freaked out on the fact that I was horizontal at such an early hour because I had the WORST dreams ever! Mostly, it seems the entire night I dreamt of bears. I dreamt I was at the cabin, only it wasn't the cabin, it was one little room with 3 exit doors. One door was only a half door, another one was paper thin and didn't have any lock, and the other one was one of those swinging doors like you see in restaurants!!!! And of course, there were 3 bears!!! One was a huge black bear and the other two were smaller. I feel like I just spent hours dreaming about keeping these 3 bears out of the cabin! I was running from door to door trying to keep them out and they would get in, and then I would have to run around outside until they came out and then I would go in again and start the insanity over. I've been up now for a half hour and I can still feel my heart pounding fast from it. I finally ended up stabbing one of the bears in the head with one of those tiny little manual cork screws.

I'm a Loser!

I sat at my three computers for 20 minutes and watched each one time out on me continuously. Then I had to leave to give hearing tests at the school. No tickets for me! (but on the bright side, all 70 kids I tested have perfect hearing).

9 Minutes Til World Series Tix Go On Sale

You could hear a pin drop. I have all three computers logged on to coloradorockies.com...will my fingers work fast enough? Stay tuned...

Look Mom!

This morning at breakfast "C" pulls this gallon size zip lock from her back pack and says "look mom!" I look. "Um, what is that "C"?" She brings it closer so I can inspect it and sets it in my lap. As I pick it up, the first thing I see is a used band aid...then another band aid...then a Kleenex...a plastic spoon...a golf tee...a half eaten piece of candy...and then, while trying to hold my breakfast down, we have this conversation...

MOM -" "C", what on earth is this?!?!"

"C" - "Oh, my friend let me have it."

MOM - "Why? Where did this stuff come from?"

"C" - "The Playground."

MOM - "I don't understand, did you get in trouble and someone made you clean this up and take it home to show me?"

"C" - "oh, no, my friend and I found this big bag and we collected the stuff and she let ME take it home."

MOM - "She let you take it home?!?!"

"C" - "Yep!" (looking mighty proud at this point)

MOM - "But "C", this is a bag of trash!"

"C" - (frowns at her mother)

Beautiful Kaylee

First Snowfall = Snowcones!

Today we are experiencing our first snowfall of the season here in Denver. In the summer months we like to use our handy snowcone machine that Gram and Gramps bought the girls but today we decided to make real snowcones. Yummy polluted air snowcones! "C" had the job of scooping up the snow. She reassured me that she would only get white snow. She asked "do you know what yellow snow is mom?" She chose groovy grape and cherry for her flavors.

So Much for the Meteor Shower!

I know its silly, but I LOVE meteor showers. Every time I hear that one is going to be visible I will stay up late, turn off all the lights, sit on the back porch and wait. Well the best time to see last night's was supposed to be between 1:30-5:30 am. So I got up at 2:45 am and went out front because the showers were supposed to be high in the southern sky. But there were too many clouds. I would try to stare at the spaces in between the clouds but I never saw anything. I was so bummed. Probably best, I think my family is tired of me waking them up in the middle of the night to see shooting stars!

Kaylee Michelle

It was a girl's day out today. We hit the mall pretty hard. We shopped for a baby that is now exactly 2 hours old...Little Kaylee Michelle...I get to hold her tomorrow. I'm waiting for a picture to come via email and then I'll post it. Congratulations Kristin and Dave!

"Oh, I Have That Kid?"

I just had parent teacher conferences. I met with 3 of "M's" 5th grade teachers. "M's" teachers find her to be an absolute joy to have in class. They can't say enough about her. She's getting straight As and even her band teacher thinks that only after 2 months of playing clarinet she wants her to try out for concert band which is usually reserved for 6th-8th graders who have a year or two of experience. They said that she is incredibly polite and thoughtful and they just love having her in class. I was of course on cloud 9 and feeling really good and thinking "wow, this parent-teacher stuff is getting easier every year." So I go down to meet with 4 of "C's" 1st grade teachers. I walk in and all 4 immediately talk at once and tell me that "C" is way too social, talks too much, gets out of her seat, brings toys to class, spills water on her desk daily, goes to the bathroom too much...hmmm, what else...oh yeah, and apparently she is missing 1/3 of her homework that I know she completed at home but for some reason it never got turned in. So they separate her from the class and make her sit alone sometimes and apparently IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!! She still finds a way chit chat with all the kids. I was horrified! All I could say was "I have that kid?" As we left the school that day, it all starts to come together, all the things I have been missing...from the front door of the school to the end of the sidewalk, anywhere between 5 and 10 little girls AND boys yell for "C" and run over to hug her like they are going to miss her sooooo much overnight. When did this happen? She's only 6!!!! This past weekend I had her sit down and write 4 apology letters to her teachers, stating what she thought she needed to improve and made each of them promises that she would try harder to pay attention. The teachers have said that there has been a change in her attitude at school but then when I was helping out in her literacy class the teacher made her sit alone at the teacher's desk so she would stop talking. I gave her the evil eye when it happened.

Immaculee Ilibagiza

Yay! I'm so excited! A group of us are going to see Immaculee in person here in Denver on the 1st. I've wanted to see her for a couple of years, after reading her book Left To Tell. I just barely missed her when I was in San Francisco. Just thinking about it sends chills up my spine. If you don't know the story of the Rwandan holocaust and are interested, you should read Left to Tell. It not only tells of the horror and inhumanity of the bloody genocide of nearly 1 million Tutsis, but it tells a love story between Immaculee and God, the most moving love story I have ever read. When I think back about this book, and remember the story of the devastation, the soul-wretched devastation, its still hard for me wrap my head around the unquenchable faith that she had and her ability, her need to forgive the people that slaughtered her family.

To See My Pictures of Immaculee and Myself, go here.

Have You Ever Done Crack?

I think this is what it feels like...Wake up at 4:30 am to your husband snoring in your ear, stay awake, skip breakfast, overdose on Starbucks and spill the other half of your Venti coffee on the clarinet that your daughter forgot to take with her, and then try to sit criss-cross applesauce in your 1st grader's literacy group listening to gifted kids speed read! I think this is what it feels like to be on crack.

Breaking News?!?!?!?

I am canceling my email subscription to the Denver Channel!!!! I am so tired of the headline "Breaking News" only to open the email and read something like this - "Court Suspends Spears' Visitation Rights." This is not news and its certainly not breaking news by any means. I just want a little bit of local news...real news...in my email box... is that too much to ask?

Sausage Lentil Soup - My Favorite Recipe!

5 large Italian sausage links

1 onion, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 small zucchini, diced

8 cups chicken broth

2 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained (I like the Italian flavor)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups dry lentils, rinsed

Black pepper, basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, rosemary, marjoram, sage, to taste

Usually, I use larger sausage links than shown above. Since these were small I used more than 5. We like a lot of sausage. I always put the sausage in the freezer for 15 minutes before cutting it up. Its much easier to handle when its firm (ladies, you know what I mean). Its easier to cut that way. :) I use scissors to cut the sausage lengthwise (as shown) and then each length I cut into small bite size pieces before browning. Once its all cut up, brown the sausage, onions, and garlic together. Put all the other ingredients into a large pot, bring to a boil, add browned sausage, reduce heat and simmer for about an hour or more. Serve with fresh Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Stiles Apprehended!

Right before I went to bed last night I saw on the news that Stiles was caught. That's all I wanted to say. I've given the jerk enough space on my blog. Read "Chester Arthur Stiles" below to learn more about how I really feel.

Kid Stuff

"M" & "C" and the neighbor boys made these today.

It was Fate!

I just got off the phone with a nice man in India that works for Symantec. He solved all my problems. As soon as he told me his name I knew it was meant to be! His name was Balu. Why is that so special you ask? Well, around my house Balu means "I love you." When Cami was a baby she couldn't say I love you...it always came out "balu" so that's what we said. And now Balu has cured my virus! Balu Balu!

I've Been Infected!

Ugh! This sucks so bad! I have a virus on my computer! Norton just gives me a message saying something like "you are a loser". Why do I pay them? Now I am on eternal hold with Symantec...listening to some musical without the words...I can't figure out which one...la la, la la la la la la, hmm, hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm, la la, la la la la la la la, ---- Oh, wait, its coming to me... yes, To dream, the impossible dream, to something, the something something, to bear with unbearable sorrow...what musical is this? And what's the point of playing a musical with no words? Is the point to make people with computer viruses even more on edge than they already are? Oh man, what is it? Wikipedia I've got it! Man of La Mancha! I've never seen it. But now I have the song in my head. Symantec has graciously reminded me not to hang up during the waiting process. They say it will only increase my waiting time if I hang up and call back. When they finally do answer I'm going to tell the operator that in fact I did hang up and got through immediately and that they must have a virus on their phone system.

Okay, just spoke with someone. They are charging me $99 to clean the virus. I hope I'm not a suckah!

Motel 6

A good friend recently reminded me of a story he likes to tell. I haven't thought about this in almost 20 years! When we were in high school we drove to Eads Colorado (get a map) to visit his family. It was him and I and two other friends. On the long way home, apparently the two of us girls were too afraid to go to the bathroom on the side of the road (or too prissy) and we made the boys stop at a Motel. Since it was closed we knocked on the random door of some guy and asked if we could use his bathroom. Some day, far far away, when my daughters are in their 40's, I might be able to tell them about my younger years. But not for a long long time. How did I ever make it out of my 20's alive?

Girls in the Treehouse

Old Friends & Daydreams

I just got an email from an old friend. This friend and I sporadically keep in touch. Once every couple of years we find each other and play catch up on life usually around my birthday because he always remembers to call or email. I know this friend will be in my life forever, even if years pass without hearing from him. He's one of those people that sort of owns a period of my life. He came into my life at a very impressionable and formative age, a time when I was lost, a time when I didn't know who I was. We shared many late night discussions about things that mattered to us both. We offered sincere honest advice with kindness. We sort of rescued each other during times of need, whether it was a broken down car on the side of the road or a shoulder to cry on. My awesome friend, I miss you so much! Thank you for the birthday email surprise!

Well, right now the girls are riding their motorcycles with Papa. I have been sitting on the front porch in a lawn chair reading A Prayer For Owen Meany. There are trees all around me of course, I'm sitting on a mountainside filled with trees. There is a slight breeze, just enough to give you goose bumps. But the sun is so warm. As the breeze dances through the trees, I close my eyes and its not much different than the sound of the ocean. I forget that I'm reading a couple of times and the warm sun makes me day dream of other things...

Fun Filled Day

Andy needed to go into town today to load up the truck with bags of cement for a job he was doing in Badger Creek. I decided to go with him and let the kids hang with grandma for a while. On our way, we got a call over the fire radio that there was a fire near Badger Creek. We were heading the opposite direction, but mom and the girls were back at the Cabin and got the call. They jumped in the fire engine, sirens and all, and headed for the fire. The girls were pretty excited. Andy and I could hear over the fire radio that Cleta was en route with two kids to the fire...pretty funny. When we arrived back at the cabin we found out that they got stood down, meaning that they canceled the call for their station and they were able to go back to the cabin. So the girls didn't get to see grandma in action after all. Then the girls, grandma and I went for a drive. The pic of "M" is her hanging out the sunroof of the 4-Runner. We fed the horses and looked for any remains of the fire but couldn't find any. Once back at the cabin, we enjoyed a little happy hour and then made tacos for dinner. During dinner we ate international style...everyone had to speak in a different dialect/accent. "M" was Chinese, I was Irish, Papa was old Jewish Man. After dinner the girls put on a skit for us and now they are serving up the chocolate cake that they made this afternoon. Its been a busy day and we are tired. I am starting a new book tonight but not sure how far I will get. I'm still a little tipsy from happy hour (I can't keep up with grandma and papa).

A Week Too Late

Our drive to the cabin was beautiful but we missed the aspens turning by a week. Right now, the kids are in the tree house with grandma playing school. Last night I had 3 glasses of wine and started reading a book which I finished today. It was about two old native American women who were left alone by their people to die in the cold. Real uplifting. for all the wildlife we saw coming up here, I don't know why I was compelled to take a picture of this dumb cow. Maybe it was because she was right in the middle of the dirt road that we were on and she didn't want to move. So I just rolled down my window and took a picture. I thought for a moment that she might stick her head in my window. Mom and I went for a long walk this morning. The girls are going to bake me a cake today and grandma and papa have a skit for them to memorize and perform for us. "M" has played her clarinet for us all a few times and tomorrow she is taking a guitar lesson from a lady that teaches Papa. She picks up music so quickly that I'm sure she'll be playing a song tomorrow night for all of us on guitar. She's going to teach grandma to play piano too one of these days. We're just trying to keep "C" out of trouble...that's about it. She takes after her Papa!

Did I Say Relax?

Hello! What was I thinking...the kids argued most of the way to the cabin today. I turned up the music and pretended I was driving across the country on a National Geographic expedition and that the kids in the back seat were just some strays I picked up along the way. Once we got to the cabin the kids got all sugared up on the coffee ice cream Papa bought them and then things really got interesting.

Good Morning

Its 5:30 am. Just thought I would get one last blog in before I head to the hills. Maybe I will have a chance to write up there...not counting on it though. I'm hoping to catch the aspens with my camera before they are gone. I'm going to do some hiking and some relaxing for the next several days!

Early Birthday Surprise

I'm heading to the hills tomorrow and might be gone through my birthday...haven't really decided when I'm coming back. This was an early birthday surprise from Mark today.

Replenish

This is what I was craving after I ran two miles and then walked two miles this morning...a guacamole salad. Are these the most beautiful avocados you've ever seen?

Strange & Sad News

I recently found out that the very first guy I ever dated was murdered in Vail. I met him my first year of high school right at the beginning of school. I was at a football game and I saw him in the stands. This was back when the bleached ripped up jeans were popular and he was wearing some and so was I and I knew we were meant to be together! I told my girlfriend "that boy is going to be my boyfriend." I didn't know his name but someone told me he was a senior (always loved the older men). About a week later I was at school alone sitting in the hall in front of my locker (probably decorating it?) and out of no where he walks around the corner and just stands there as if to say..."here I am". He asked me out and we dated for about two whole weeks before I chickened out and broke up with him. I was pretty sure he wanted to do more than just kiss me and that totally freaked me out. After high school he became a model and apparently hung out with the wrong crowd and was murdered and left on the side of the road in Vail. I continue to receive such odd/sad news about classmates while in this process of planning our 20 year reunion. Cancer, diabetes and car accidents seem to have taken the lives of many.

Mom's Universe

Excerpt from a conversation I had with the kids:

"C": Your step dad.
"M": "C", you don't even know what a step dad is.
"C": I mean, your step step dad.
Mom: "C", there's no such thing.
"M": "C", a step dad is like if Mom and Dad didn't live together and mom married...
Mom (chimes in excitedly): Kurt Russell!?!?!
"C": Who's Kurt Russell?
"M" (one eyebrow raised): Oh, he's like a hot guy in mom's universe.

For Francine - Unparalleled Au Gratin Potatoes (if I do say so myself)

This is a recipe I made up for Au Gratin potatoes. I have fed these to my dinner party friends, my neighbors at our block party, and my family. Warning - if you make these, people will want seconds, possibly thirds and the recipe. You will have to divulge to them that indeed, the potatoes are not entirely from scratch! (sorry Marlo). Your husband and children who usually merely tolerate scalloped or Au gratin potatoes will beg you to make them twice a week now. These potatoes have been the topic of conversation lately and so I wanted to share my secrets! If you would like to make these from scratch, you can, just make them the way you normally do and then add the cream cheese and onions. Voila!

1 Box Betty Crocker Au Gratin potatoes, including packet
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons real butter (margarine is yucky)
1/3 block of cream cheese
French's fried onions
Kroger's extra crispy fried onions (it's a King Soopers Brand)

In a 9x9 pan, any shape, glass or metal, lay down potatoes and sprinkle packet mix over top. Then sprinkle a handful of French's fried onions over top. Pinch dollops of cream cheese off and drop on top of potatoes somewhat evenly. Thinly slice and lay butter pats across potatoes. Pour boiling water evenly over top. Take a spoon and sort of smash the cream cheese and butter and it will melt. You won't even need to stir it if you've laid everything out kind of evenly. Lastly, pour milk evenly over top. Pop into a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Check potatoes, if they are starting to brown, sprinkle top with the crispy fried onions. Don't do this though unless they are browning and have formed a pretty golden layer on top. Put back in the oven just long enough to heat the crispy onions a bit. Serve and stand back and watch the madness!

Note: The crispy fried onions are harder to find. I found them at King Soopers and I believe they are actually a King Soopers brand. I don't remember if French's makes their own. If you skip the crispy topping they will still be good (although I wouldn't do it) but you cannot, under any circumstances, skip the onions mixed into the potatoes!

The picture above is a double recipe.

Life

Life is a divine congregation of consciousness for which I want to show up and participate. When life gets too heavy; the weight of the burdens too cumbersome to bear, my speed accelerates. I want to outdistance the tiresome circumstances. The more I flee, the more life tugs me back to ride out the pain, therefore the stronger I matriculate back into life. This is life, I know. Why do I fight to control it so much? Today I sit, thinking about the tools that I am given along the journey. The tools on which I forget to rely; God,my friends, my family, my own resilience. These tools are quite possibly the difference between wallowing in the pain and being propelled into life again.

Michelle Hix
10/2007

Can You See My Underwear?

Your childhood is over when you stop asking this question before you leave the house. (although I’ve seen grown women who may need to ask themselves this question, I’m talking about my kids here.) "C" was invited to a tea party on Saturday. She got all dressed up and then asked me if people were going to be able to see her underwear. She was wearing a long, floor-length dress! What did she think she was going to be doing at a tea party for her dress to make its way clear up to her bum?

Lesson from a Homeless Gentleman

Several weeks ago, the girls and I were in the area of 6th and Grant so we decided to go eat at Moe's Bagels. I used to eat there a lot when I worked for Interlink. Moe's is next door to Q-Doba's Mexican Restaurant. As I was parking the car, I noticed a homeless man sitting outside of Moe's with his back against the wall. He was extremely weathered looking, with sun-damaged pigmented skin that looked like un-oiled leather, with tattered and dirty clothes, with long achromatic scraggly hair and a long beard. Before getting out of the car, I reached inside my purse to see if I had any change when I remembered cleaning out my purse the night before, getting rid of all the heavy change that sits at the bottom. As the girls and I walked by the gentleman, he asked me if I had a dollar I could give to him. I told him that I did not have any money with me but that we were going to Moe's to have a bagel and that I'd be happy to buy him lunch. He paused for a moment and said "okay, but I usually eat at Q-Doba's!" I thought, well, I guess if someone is willing to buy you lunch, you might as well ask for what you want right? I replied "well sir, I have to use my credit card today and we are eating bagels so if that suits you, we'll be happy to get you something." He said "okay." The girls and I enjoyed our lunch and purchased a turkey bagel sandwich and a drink for the gentleman waiting outside. When we got in the car, "M" commented that the man never said "thank you." I kind of laughed and told her that is was all kind of odd, the fact that he "usually eats at Q-Doba's" and the fact that he didn't seem very appreciative. I knew that there had to be some lesson here but I didn't know who the lesson was for. Was this a lesson for the homeless man to be more grateful? Was this some sort of lesson for the kids? For me? Days passed and it occurred to me that the lesson was definitely for myself and the kids. I realized that sometimes we are called to help. And that's it. We're not supposed to know why. We're not supposed to receive anything in exchange. We're just called to fulfill a need. Its not for us to determine how great the need. Our only appointment is to act when we are called.

People Watching

Just got home from the Oktoberfest. People watching was interesting. There were a lot of people wearing chicken hats...don't think I ever figured out why. But I realized that although I didn't want to wear a chicken hat, I think I did want to be the friend of the chicken hat wearer. I mean, if you are wearing a chicken hat, you have to be a lot of fun right? So while I did not envy the person wearing the chicken hat, I envied the friend of the chicken hat wearer. The highlight of the night had to be our fab dinner at Mexico City! Got to listen to a great local band and drink some yummy beer too. I'm so tired...off to bed...

Amputated Leg to Be Returned!

Did anyone read this in the paper?

MAIDEN, N.C. -- A South Carolina man who mistakenly lost his amputated leg when it was sold in a barbecue smoker at a public auction will get the appendage back, authorities said Wednesday. John Wood, of Simpsonville, S.C., had been battling to regain custody of the leg from Shannon Whisnant, who found the leg in the smoker he purchased at an auction of Wood's belongings last week, WXII-TV in Greenville, N.C., reported Whisnant had said he wanted to keep the leg if Wood wasn't willing to pay to get it back. The leg was being kept at a funeral home, the television station reported. Whisnant said he previously charged people to look at the severed leg. "It's mine, I want it back, I have a receipt," Whisnant said Tuesday. He said that if Wood cared about the leg, it wouldn't have been left behind in the smoker. Wood's leg was amputated three years ago after an airplane crash. He had been keeping the leg so it could be cremated with him when he dies.

What the !@#$?

No Work Today

My friend Francine and I are going jogging along the dry creek trail today. I probably won't bring the camera. I'm wearing shorts without pockets. It should be a nice route.

Jojo the cat is adjusting just fine. He slept with "C" all night. Sharky walks around like he is the king of the castle now. He checks in on Jojo to make sure he is still there but hasn't played with him or touched him yet.

I feel tired and fat today...would kind of like to crawl back under the covers...but I can't. Once I'm up, I'm up. Mark can get up, eat, take a shower and go back to bed if he decides he wants to. Me on the other hand, if I get up and brush my teeth then that's it. There's no going back to sleep.

Broke Down Mom

The kids, and Mark, broke me down finally on the cat issue. Apparently one cat is not enough! I don't understand how this could be possible. Sharky is so animated, restless, and obsessive-compulsive....he's a fruitcake I tell ya. I should get "the call" today saying that our adoption went through and we should be able to pick up Jojo this afternoon. I guess I'm fine with it...I just really wanted a dog!

Oktoberfesting

The act of drinking beer and laughing with your best friends in October! What could be better than that? Nothing! Certainly not the Columbus Day Parade on Saturday! Why don't they just cancel that thing already? So if we haven't already invited you to join us, this is your invitation to the fest! So far, its kind of planned as a girls night unless Gary can make it...the more the merrier...fellas welcome too if you can keep up!

You Are Not Replaceable

My friend
We met yesterday
Or maybe we met under the stars a thousand years ago
Or maybe I met you at the skating rink
Or maybe you cheated off my paper in 9th grade and I let you
Or maybe you saved my life and you don't even know it
My kindred spirit
You are irreplaceable to me

My friend
You told me it was okay to be me
You laughed at my dumb jokes
You gave me words with honesty
You gave me silence when words were not good enough
You held my hand
You shared your secrets with me and I kept them
You are irreplaceable to me

My friend
I saw you yesterday
I haven't seen you for a thousand years
Can you still skate backwards?
I'm glad you got an A on that 9th grade history test
I owe you my life
My kindred spirit
You are irreplaceable to me

To all my friends...everywhere...I love you.
Michelle
10/2007

Go Rockies!

We're pretending that we didn't just see that instant replay!

For the first time since 1995, the Colorado Rockies are going to the playoffs!

In a white-knuckle that went to 13 innings, the Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 9-8, securing the wild card spot.

They advance to take on the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday at 1 p.m.

My Husband is Following Me

Mark had a meeting to go to this evening after work. After he left, I kept smelling him all over the house. Its like he was following me. I just couldn't figure it out. Then it occurred to me that after he jumped out of the shower, I put after shave on him. Its been on my hand all evening! Mystery solved.

All That for a Stubbed Toe?

Okay, the title of this post has nothing to do with the post itself...but it will make one person laugh today. (and she knows who she is).

Man, I ran my butt of this morning and then worked it off at work. I don't know how there's so much left back there!

I have to say that my pumpkin bread was a hit at the party we went to on Saturday night! For those of you who were worried he wouldn't show, Mark did make it home and we were only 30 minutes late...but just in time for the hayride, food, and pumpkin carving.