Olympics, Surgery, and Coffee (of course!)

August 1, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

So if we’re being honest, it’s hard for me to think about anything but the Olympics right now.

Maybe because it’s going in the background? As it always is every night from about 8-11.

We might be slightly pathetic.

Or, possibly, extremely devoted fans.

Take your pick. :)

The Fab 5 was awesome last night. That was fun to watch…crazy to think that it’s been sixteen years since the U.S. women took the gold. That was almost half my life ago, and I remember that night in ’96 very well. Time flies.

More like travels on a high-speed jet.

So it’s been awhile since we’ve just chatted, and words just come easier when there’s caffeine involved. :)

Especially since it was an early-ish morning.

Dr. appointment.

7:30 a.m.

I didn’t even know that kind of thing existed.

Sorta like 7:00 a.m. college classes…they only existed at my college. True. (I think.)

Anyway, my new doctor confirmed what I almost would have bet the farm on…

Buh-Bye, Gall Bladder. It’s been fun.

Or not.

I meet with a surgeon on Tuesday, and hopefully it will all be over with soon after that. Not a fan of hospitals or anesthetic or horribly revealing hospital gowns…so you kinda get where I’m goin’ with this. It IS interesting how I remember that pain from the other night, though…and I remember it enough to be willing to go through with this. I’m even a little more willing after this afternoon when I got to experience it all over again…thankfully for a much shorter time period. But still.

Ok, way too much info for you all, I’m sure.

Whoever knew a (just about completely useless) random organ in the body could cause so much trouble?

That might be one of the first things I ask God when I get to heaven. :)

So Mae’s vocabulary has been completely exploding lately. She’s been pretty good with complete sentences for awhile, but she threw us a shocker the other night. She was watching an episode of Strawberry Shortcake (yes, yes, judge me now…) on Netflix, and one of the characters said, We have to go to rehearsal. She looked at Tobin and said, Daddy, they have to go practice!

Say, WHAT?!?!

So not only do I have a girl I can chit-chat with all day long, I now have a walking, two-year old thesaurus.

Wowsers.

I have to admit that watching her grow and learn and become the coolest little girl is totally FUN. Best time in my life ever.

She is just such JOY, and my life is blessed beyond measure simply because I have the privilege to call her my daughter.

And, speaking of that daughter, I need to head upstairs, turn off the lights, and tell her it’s time for bed.

She stayed up, with the light on, reading.

:)

G’nite, friends. Thanks for being here. :)

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, blessings, coffee, Maelie, random, where I am

Monday Musings

July 30, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Which could be conveniently renamed Monday Confessions of a Stay-at-Home-Momma…

So, though I’m trying to lessen the frequency that she eats these, when I give Mae fruit snacks, I sometimes steal the orange ones out first. Really, I’m a sucker for anything citrus…the lime and lemon are equally yummy. I know, I know…

My poor child is going to grow up never knowing that there are actually citrus flavored fruit snacks in those packets. Parenting fail?

I also almost always sneak a drink of her chocolate milk before I give it to her in the morning.

Yeah, yeah…maybe I just need to adopt the diet of a toddler. :)

While we’re talkin’ about food, I might as well confess that if I open a bag of these, they’ll be gone. It’s the honey mustard…totally addicting. I can seriously eat an entire bag in one sitting. Not so good. And, yet, SOOOOO good.

Yeah…and on Amazon? You can order them by the box. Holy cow, I should NEVER do that!

I’m a blog stalker. Sorta. I have a few I regularly read and love, but I need to be better about leaving comments. One of the blog writers I read alerted me to this site. Goodness, I’m not so sure this was a good discovery. (I already sent Tobin an idea for Christmas. Hey, it IS July. ;))

So today I was actually feeling somewhat better…enough to play outside with Mae for about an hour this morning and keep up with her for the rest of the day. I even did half of a workout tonight, though I didn’t put the effort into it that I usually do…I’m just pretty wiped out.

And while I could keep confessing, I’ll just end it with this one.

I have total Olympic Fever. I can’t get enough.

Swimming is on…and totally calling my name. :)

G’nite!

Sig

Filed Under: being mommy, just life, Maelie, random, where I am

The ABC’s of Mel’s Brain

July 24, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

It’s definitely time for me to sit down and have some quality time with the blog.

It isn’t like I haven’t been here the last few weeks, but I haven’t been here.

I guess life is just like that sometimes.

So…in 26, if-I-make-it-that-long, bullet points…here’s life.

Sorta.

And by the way, I wrote part of this on a Sunday…I think I reference that once or twice. :)

  • Andre is my dog…my nine year-old boy. I love him. He puts a smile on my face even when I don’t feel like smiling.
  • Hearts that break are opportunities for God to do some major healing. That’s what I’ve been learning lately.
  • I love to create. My brain is awesome at dreaming up ideas…the following through is hard. Ish. Really enjoying painting lately and almost ready to pull out the sewing machine and learn how to use it.
  • I still want to learn to play the djembe. Really play it. Thinking about blowing the rest of my birthday money on one since it’s cheaper than a plane ticket to Africa so I can buy one in a market there. :)
  • Epic moments have made up life lately. Nothing huge, just important. I feel like I’m finally comfortable with being who I am…and not caring (as much) what other people think. Took me awhile to even get to that point.
  • F is for big failure. Feeling like that in a lot of ways. A friend said something today about Satan attacking ferociously on Sundays. I have to agree…feeling really down today.
  • Good memories. Really trying to focus on the blessings that God has placed in my life. There are so many…and I’m thankful for each of them.
  • Happiness is this picture I bought for myself a few weeks ago with some of my birthday money. I love it. I can’t think of a better thing to hang in our kitchen on our green wall. :)

  • Ice cream cake. It’s worth turning a year older for…to be sure. A week and some later, we’re still working on it. Which could speak volumes about our self control…or the fact that I sorta forgot it was in the freezer! :)
  • Goofy, but I love toast with jelly. So does Mae.
  • Mae is still talking about chasing kitties on the farm. Golly, I love her…and that she had such a good time there.
  • I am so thankful that I am loved. By friends, by my family, by my Father. So good.
  • Mae lights up my life. Every single day. What a blessing she is.
  • Thankful for a Father who never gives up on me, even on those days when I’m sure everyone else has.
  • I’ve been overtired lately…too many late nights and too much early-morning running. Headed to bed soon, thankfully.
  • Poofy pigtails on my princess of a girl. Her cutest look so far, I think.
  • Been a week full of questions. I’m more convinced than ever that some things, there will be no answers for, until I can ask my Father face to face.
  • Reunions with sweet friends…always fun. Always hard to say goodbye, too. Still worth the hello.
  • I love my Sammy, too…I never thought we’d bring home an Indo souvenir like the one we’ve got living in our house. He’s one-of-a-kind.
  • Sometimes you just gotta cry big, fat tears. Letting them fall helps. And letting my two year-old daughter hug them away teaches the beauty of compassion.
  • Sometimes we just need people who love us unconditionally. Thankful for that this week.
  • I was thinking of learning to play the violin. Just kidding. :)
  • I found this bottle of wine a week or so ago. Seriously. I thought we had topped it with Barefoot wine, but this? Fantastic.

  • X…seriously? Who can come up with anything related to it in daily life? I don’t play the xylophone and I haven’t broken any bones lately, so this one may just have to stay blank.
  • Ever feel like life is a ride on a yoyo?
  • We haven’t been to the zoo yet this summer. We talked about hitting the one in Omaha with some of my family later in August. We’ll see.

If you stuck around long enough to read all of this…thanks.

You’re a blessing, friends. :)

Sig

Filed Under: barefoot, being mommy, blessings, dogs, family, friends, just life, Maelie, random, Tobin, what I'm learning, where I am

Don’t Eat All the Mac ‘N Cheese…You’ll Be Sorry!

July 16, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Hey, friends.

So it’s amazing how time slips away on Monday nights. Really.

And even I am saying it’s too late for coffee. So this is a water and protein bar date.

Mmmmm.

Or, not really.

Long story short, I learned the hard way last week that I should definitely not eat before I work out at night. So tonight, I didn’t. I really, really, REALLY didn’t want a repeat of last week.

And then I stayed after workout to do some 5k planning with a couple friends, and by the time I walked in the door, it was 10:15 pm, and I still hadn’t eaten dinner. And by then, it was too late to make anything, and I was totally kicking myself for pulling the mac n’ cheese card on Tobin and Mae ’cause there’s never enough left over. (Or any at all if you happen to have two golden retrievers.) At the time, I never care…it’s always at that unreasonable hour that I suddenly wish there was some left for me. (Side note…really, would it KILL those people who sell mac n’ cheese to make the boxes just a little BIGGER?!)

Golly.

So, when it comes down to it, it’s Kraft’s fault that I had to eat a protein bar for dinner. Yeah.

I seriously love how I came to that conclusion…I’m really quite proud of it. :) 

Though if I am being fair, I did have a handful of Cheez-It’s, too. You know, to balance out all that protein.

I think maybe I need sleep…soon. Because that story just took way. too. long. to tell you all.

And, it was kinda dorky.

I had these grand plans tonight to tell you about weddings and surprise birthday parties and some pretty amazing people, and, well…maybe my words would be better used after I sleep. Being serious here…the words are starting to swim right in front of me. And, I’m misspelling things, which I hardly ever do, and putting commas in the wrong places and spacing twice after a period.

Horrors. 😉

Time to crash.

Thanks for letting me tell you all why mac ‘n cheese deserves a bigger box. :)

G’nite!

Sig

Filed Under: food, just life, random

Grass that Crunches While I Sing Veggie Tales

July 10, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

No, not really.

I’m just in one of those moods…you’ve been warned.

😉

This barefoot chica experienced a summer-first today. I would rather wear flip flops than go barefoot. Yes, indeed-y, the grass is sooooo very un-rained-upon that running over it barefoot can be compared (almost) to running over needles. OUCH.

So much for barefoot frisbee.

In my mind there are only three…count ’em…ways that raisins are EVER acceptable. 1) Chocolate covered…preferrably dark, but any will do; 2) In trail mix, but only if salty peanuts are also included because the salt coats the raisins, thus making them far more appealing; and 3) in Raisin Bran.

And if you put them in cookies? Shame on you. 😉

Certain items in the Target Dollar Section should be outlawed. Like, packs of Sesame Street Matching cards. How many times have I picked them up in the last two hours?

We won’t go there. Tonight, anyway.

Veggie Tales songs have an unwelcome tendency to stick in my head for, I don’t know, EVER. However, I did sing (perfectly, I think!) the songs, “It’s Laura’s Fault” AND “It’s Lenny’s Fault” from Larry Boy and the Fib from Outer Space.

In Maelie’s mind, I think that made me cool. :) (Should you want to watch a clip, both of the songs are found here.)

Weird, but true, I always have a backup pair of sunglasses. That’s because I break at least one pair a year. I usually buy them on clearance at the end of the season for the next year…just in case. You know, so I have a pass if I actually sit on my currently-being-used pair. Which almost always happens.

My daughter climbs. Like, really climbs. She tries to climb on top of her play kitchen and a few days ago tried to scale the side of the swimming pool. She also jumps. Everywhere she goes. Perhaps my favorite? She hangs from the little kitchen island-counter we have. Yep…can we all shout, Little Future Gymnast, together now? 1, 2, 3…

OY.

One of my favorite things ever is spending the day with a friend and my girl. Got to do that today…I seriously love friends, coffee, chatting, and all things Maelie. T’was wonderful. :)

I love the random of a day.

😀

Sig

Filed Under: barefoot, coffee, friends, just life, Maelie, random, where I am

Currently…

July 6, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I stumbled onto a blog of a friend of a friend of probably a friend (you get the idea…) awhile ago.

She’s such a good writer, and she does this thing that I’m gonna borrow tonight. :) I like it.

It makes me process, evaluate, think a little, and gives me permission to be a little silly.

Just a little. 😉

So I’m borrowing her ideas, once again, tonight.

Current Reads: Have I mentioned before that my Kindle has turned me into an insane bookworm? I devour books and lose sleep. Like, a lot. Most of the time it’s worth it. In the Presence of My Enemies, by Gracia Burnham, is a book I’m reading for the second time. I’m taking it a lot slower this time around, and it’s still as good this time, too. Read it. Really. I’m also reading Ready or Not by Chautona Havig…it was a freebie borrow from the Kindle store and I have to admit that it’s good. A lot better than I was expecting. It’s my stay-up-late-even-though-I-should-be-sleeping read. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen is also on my I-really-need-to-finally-read-this list. I am bound and determined to finish it by the end of the month.

Current Playlist: Honestly, whatever’s on KLove. True. I jam in my car…and I jam in the house, but those songs are pretty much the same ones. My running playlist is a little different…still mostly just praise and worship. It’s what I like. What lifts me up and brings me closer to Him. What I need. :)

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Tanning/lying in “Maelie’s” 12′ x 30″ pool. While she naps. (Not every day, though.) I say I’m unashamed that I do this…and most of the time it’s true, but there are always those self-conscious, my-thighs-look-too-big-in-these-tankini-bottoms thoughts. I need to get over it.

Current Colors: Kelly green. Dying…DYING…for a dress or skirt in this color but have yet to find one. Also really loving my usual brown and blue, the new color scheme for our front living room. JOY! (Now to actually paint it…)

Current Fetish: Clunky shoes. That one never really changes, but this summer, I’ve really loved the clunky flip-flop thing. Dear weather, will you please stay warm and ice-free forever so I can keep wearing ’em? 😉

Current Food: Just finished a chicken wrap about ten minutes ago…does that count? Thinkin’ about the sea salt caramel dark chocolate I have hiding in my fridge at the moment, too. Yes, you should be jealous.

Current Drink: Diet Coke with Lime. Yeah.

Current Wishlist: This jean skirt at Maurices that I completely heart. Oh, my. Oh, NO. Not unless it goes on, like, major clearance! Some type of organizer for all of Maelie’s downstairs toys. I am tired of tripping over them. I have some ideas…now to finance them. An agent. To help me with this whole book thing. So jealous (really) of people who have literary agents. Sometimes a writer just needs someone to believe in them, ya know?

Current Needs: Sleep. To drink more water. Yeah.

Current Triumph: Um…

Current Bane-of-my-Existence: Well, DUH. THE WEATHER!!!

Current Celebrity Crush: More um…

Current Indulgence: It’s pretty sad when I can’t think of an answer to this one, huh? Except for the fact that I eat too much chocolate, I really can’t come up with anything.

Current Mood: A strange mix of happy and pensive. The two, simultaneously, make for a strange Mel. One who probably just needs to crash for the night. 😉

My Current #1 Blessing: This one never changes. I am blessed with the most wonderful hubby and daughter and some pretty great friends, who I consider family. I love them so much!

Current Slang or Saying: Seriously?! Oy…is still on the list. Come on, Mel…lately, I’ve had to talk myself through running long distances. Sure. Those. Nothing exciting, just me.

Current Outfit: denim shorts, white tank top with flowers, brown wedges…which, strangely, I am still wearing. Usually I kick off my shoes as soon as I’m through the door.

Current Link: Honestly, my brain is about fried for the night. I’ll get back to ya on that one. 😉

Current Photo: Aren’t I cute? Don’t answer that. 😉

G’nite, friends!

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, random, uncategorized, where I am, writing

Really, Really Random

July 3, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

You know what?

Some days I can’t think straight. It’s almost comical.

So consider yourself warned because I’m going to give you some pretty crazy random…and I know you’ll all laugh, but I don’t so much care. You know me and shouldn’t be surprised AT ALL.

Hee hee. 😀

My hubby makes homemade granola. I don’t like it. It just doesn’t taste like much, and so whenever he makes it, he’s usually the one who eats the whole batch. Except last night, he decided to add butterscotch chips. I walked in from my sweaty, drippy, over-an-hour-long workout, smelled it, and immediately dove almost-head-first into that pan of just-out-of-the-oven, amazing-ness. It was like eating a giant, oatmeal, butterscotch cookie. YUM. Thank goodness I worked out before…

There’s a quote floating around Facebook. I love it. It’s something like…Why is it that when you’re a mom, going to Target alone feels like a vacation and going on vacation feels like work? So. True. I went to Target tonight to pick up soda ’cause we were dangerously low, and I purposely walked the aisles for ten minutes, looking at nothing in particular. Just walked. Because I could. It was nice. :) Though, I honestly can’t complain because most of the time Mae is very well behaved in Target and even happy to be there. She IS my daughter! 😉

I LOVE summer shoes. Flip flops (and all things related) just make me smile. Every morning, when I slip my feet into my shoes for the day…it just makes me happy.

I nabbed this book free on Kindle a couple of weeks ago. I’ve actually read it before and even own the paperback…somewhere. I’m really enjoying it the second time around.

I’ve been taking guitar lessons. I love them. I love them even more now that I finally learned to play B minor…one of the two chords that has been the bane of my existence for a month. Awe. Some. I’m ready to rock it! 😉

Lately I’ve been losing everything. Like, my phone six times in a day, a random pair of earrings I’ve been wanting to wear, and even my praise team schedule…which has been in the same place for eight months, and now it’s gone. Really, Mel? As scattered and spontaneous as I am, I hate to lose things.

We’re kinda in a heatwave. Chances are, unless you live in Antarctica, you probably are, too. Ugh. Yesterday I woke up with a migraine, which I’m pretty sure was brought on by, oh, the 1200 degree temps we’ve got goin’. 😉 Thankfully some meds and rest took care of it. I lucked out…my headaches usually hang on a lot longer. Still not love the almost-100 degrees projected for the next couple of days, but, hey…at least there’s A/C. And a swimming pool that feels a heck of a lot more like a bath than a pool right now. 😉

I’ve been “recycling” all of my bags and purses this summer. It’s been almost entertaining to dig through my purse closet every week and find something I’d forgotten I had. I’m planning a purse-purge…big time…at the end of the summer but figured it wouldn’t hurt to use a few of them before then! :)

My honey is off to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY tomorrow. He’ll have fun. I’m glad he’s going and that he gets to go with people who will enjoy it, too, because I’m not sure I’d love a trip like that.

And with all of that…I should probably hit the hay. It’s late, and I should get up in the morning to say goodbye. :)

Happy 4th to you all!

Sig

Filed Under: just life, random

Where the He– is Matt? 2012

June 28, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

This is insanely beautiful.

Really.

I want to travel the world and dance with everyone I meet. Enjoy! :)

Oh, and come back tomorrow for a recap of our adventures on the farm!!!

Sig

Filed Under: adventures, random, travel

Tuesday 10 (A Day Late)

June 20, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

So, once in awhile I’ll participate in a link-up.

Haha…ok, so I’m a little late on this one. Everyone else? Was doin’ the Tuesday 10 on TUESDAY. Novel idea. I, however, was…I don’t know, eating cake, chatting it up with girlfriends, and completely soaking up the night of freedom that Mae gave us when she chose to fall asleep at 6 pm. (FYI, I watched old episodes of Jericho and ate…ahem…more cake. Just thought you should know.)

😉

Yes, that’s what I was doing.

Hence the reason I am linking up on WEDNESDAY.

This one seemed interesting and didn’t require me to think too hard. All this sunshine and heat is drainin’ my brain! 😉

I stumbled onto this blog through one of my regular reads…she’s got some fun stuff goin’ on, and this? Well…it’s me. It’s about me. It could be considered indulgent. And you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to. 😉

I bring you…Ten Reasons I Love Being Me.

Hee hee. This could be fun. :)

1. Being Mel. Like, actually Mel. I love that when my dear friend in Indo gave me the nickname, it stuck. It became part of my identity. I’m definitely a Mel, and I like it that way. And it has dramatically reduced the number of times I get called Melissa and Melanie instead of my actual name. (Bonus points if you know it!) :)

2. I, unashamedly, use far too many smiley faces. :) :) :) :) :)

3. I’ve managed to thrive through a lot of change.

4. I’m a really good gift-giver. 

5. I’m sometimes-brave…like swinging on vines brave. Yeah.

6. I’m mommy to Mae and wife to Tobin. They’re pretty much the best.

7. I’m a loyal friend, probably to the point of annoying some of you. Sorry about that…thanks for lovin’ me anyway! 😉 

8. I love haircuts, flip flops, purses, and coffee. (Like you didn’t know that last one.)

9. Though I definitely have a crazy side, my favorite TV shows are Little House on the Prairie and Road to Avonlea. Totally serious.

10. I heart adventures. I talk about things like wanting to go purse shopping in Turkey and do an overland safari in Kenya and no one looks at me weird ’cause they know it’s me.

Mom2MemphisandRuby

Sig

Filed Under: just life, random, where I am

Saturday Chatting

June 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Hey there, friends.

So I’m definitely in a chatty mood today. In fact, I talked so much today I think I drove my hubby crazy. Maybe a good Father’s Day gift would be earplugs?!

No, seriously.

Sometimes I get in those spurts where there’s SO much swimming around in my head that I can’t talk enough! I just have to process it ALL! Whether or not the person on the other end of the conversation wants to hear it or not.

I believe that’s a characteristic of the classic ENFP.

I don’t have anything earth-shattering to share tonight…just what He’s doing.

God has really been challenging me lately to just soak up the NOW and the blessings that come with it. To wake up in the mornings ready to embrace the little things that make up the wonderful in a day.

Like today…which started with a 5k run. It was a tough run for everyone…I’m suspecting that the 70+ degrees so early in the morning had a lot to do with it. My usual running partner and I were at different paces today so I ran most of the time alone, and it was good. The running path we use is mostly shaded and just…pretty. It really is a nice run if I have to be working out. Just me…processing sometimes-aloud and talking to God. :) And as a bonus, there were no chipmunks falling out of trees today! (Did I tell y’all about that? I’ll have to go back and look. ;))

I headed home, and it was such a gorgeous morning and our backyard is shaded until afternoon, so we spent most of the time outside. Tobin ran out and picked up some breakfast, and we all ate out on the patio and enjoyed Mae and her exuberance. (And her attempts to steal my Diet Coke. Yes. Because that IS what I drink with my breakfast on Saturdays. :))

We spent about an hour with Mae in the pool after lunch, and that was really fun, too. She laughed and splashed and repeatedly threw the diving rings for us to grab for her. Just good times. She is at such a curious and busy, but FUN age, and I’m truly trying to enjoy each moment.

Even the ones involving sprawled-on-the-floor temper tantrums. Because she IS almost two.

Golly…in five days.

Sniff, sniff.

And there were other joys…naps, time to read a “fun” book, pizza for dinner, a walk through the neighborhood to visit and chat with some of our friends, bedtime stories and songs, and a sweet reminder.

Tonight, as Mae and I were singing He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, God have me a glimpse of His Love and Power…things that I needed to be reminded of. Sometimes situations seem out of our control, and all we can do is place them in His hands. And, really, that shouldn’t be my last resort, as it so often is. I should trust His Love and His Power enough to give it all to Him.

That’s so hard, but something I definitely needed to think about tonight. :)

I am extremely blessed.

Remind me of that if I ever forget it. Ok?

G’nite friends. Thanks for being here. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, family, friends, just life, Maelie, random, running, Tobin, where I am
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