Tight Rope

Today is November 17th. I should probably get around to putting away the Halloween decorations. The wind is blowing like crazy and it feels like snow in the air. I should probably fetch the baby pool from the back yard and put it in the garage before it blows half way across the neighborhood.

All these things I should do. All these things I planned on doing a while ago but just haven't gotten around to it.

This exact time last year I was unemployed, but I was on top of my to do list mainly because I didn't have too much else to do. Seasonal decorations were put out and packed back up in a timely manner, summer toys were rounded up from the back yard and stowed neatly in the garage, the air conditioning unit was covered with a nice new tarp to keep out the winter rain and leaves. Jesus, all of my spring bulbs were planted by the end of September.

It's definitely a different story this year. Not that I am not thankful for my job. I am. It's just that the delicate balancing act I have been trying to perfect since I went back to work at the beginning of the year just seems much more difficult right now.

I feel scattered. Maybe it's the holiday season breathing down my neck. Or maybe it's because my kid is sick and I haven't slept well in days. Or maybe it's because work is flipping crazy right now. Or maybe it's ALL OF THE ABOVE.

I know a large part of my problem stems from expecting too much out of myself. Oh, and it would be helpful if I knew when to apply the brakes - when to say "enough is enough" Just this morning as I was driving into work I caught myself thinking of Christmas presents to MAKE, (really?!) for my sons teachers at their school. Forget about the gazillion family members I need to buy for, let's see where I can fit in homemade Christmas presents for 15 teachers! Maybe in between planting the rest of my Hyacinth bulbs and the two birthday parties the kids are going to this weekend.

Seriously, what is wrong with me?! Enough is enough!

In all fairness to myself I know I can't be the only person on earth who feels like they are constantly walking a tightrope while juggling a million things. So, if you are one of those folks and you have any secrets for staying balanced I would love to hear them.

The Hood

Here's a little video my best friend showed me today. It's about our hometown - Raton, New Mexico. Raton is a tiny little town and growing up there was a mixed bag so to say. I couldn't get away with practically anything because everyone either knew me or my parents and my friends and enemies alike knew my business before I even did.

My friend and I like to reminisce about the "good 'ol days" growing up there - when the town was a lot more vibrant and seeing better times. Back then we had a racetrack and we even had a very small, but thriving mining industry. But all of that shut down a long time ago.

I've been back to visit only a couple of times in the many, many years since I've been gone, and I each time I leave I can't help but wonder how long it's going to be before the whole place shrivels up and blows off the map.

I have no idea who these people are who made this video but we got a few good giggles out of the whole thing so take a gander for yourself. But before you do I need to make one thing very clear- I NEVER wore Wranglers or western shirts and I wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of "mockies". Mother huggas.

Extreme Makeover Recap

Extreme Makeover - Home Edition rolled into town in the middle of August. Work officially begin with the "door-knock" on September 6th at 5:00 p.m. and for 7 straight days after that I put in 12-14 hour shifts as an on-site volunteer coordinator with 4 other lucky folks. I had a fantastic time and would do it all over again even though I saw my family about 30 minutes a day and I felt like I had been hit by a semi-truck by the time I drug myself home at 9 at night.

The Oregon State School for the Deaf was chosen as the site for Extreme Makeover and it received a brand new, green living, dormitory wing and a complete "over-haul" of it's haunted house, The Nightmare Factory, which is one of the school's main sources of revenue each year. The haunted house has always been super scary, but Extreme brought in Rob Zombie for this makeover and now it is truly over-the-top, shit your pants SCARY! I am going to wear a Depends when I go because I know I'm going to mess myself!!

All-in-all I had a great time and I was lucky enough to make some new friends, meet some incredible people, including Ty Pennington himself. And yes, he really is that crazy, energetic and nut-so in real life.

I vaguely remember saying in my last post that I would write during the week and post pictures and all, but I was completely oblivious to what laid ahead of me. It took every last ounce of strength I had just to get my teeth brushed at night so blogging was out of the question. But better late than never, here are a few pictures of my week. Be sure to check out the episode when it airs on Halloween night - it's going to be wicked good!

This is the beginning of the scene the show's producers call the "Brave Heart" scene, where all the blue shirts come marching in. On TV it looks like it happens just once, but of course we shot this scene three different times.










There were soooo many cool things being created in "Art World" that I could have went nuts taking pictures. They didn't really want a lot of pictures being taken of the haunted house stuff so I behaved myself and just nabbed these guys as they were "bringing out the dead". These are just a few of the beauties that will grace the haunted halls of The Nightmare Factory for years to come.
















Here's a group of firemen who came to add some additional "heat" to the work-site. Especially the two cuties on the left. Smokin!














I like to draw, especially on dusty patrol car windows. For some reason the cop didn't appreciate my work so much.














This is "Big Dave", one of the main behind-the-scenes guys with Extreme. I had to get an adjustment from the on-site chiropractor after this hug.















This is what a 12 hour shift will do to people. And he was just delivering pizza!



















And finally, this is Jeanette, my good friend with ridiculous connections. If it wasn't for you being who you are and knowing who you know I wouldn't have experienced all that I did. Thanks for asking me to be part of your team - you are a rock star!

A great weekend and a BIG BIG week!

Now that I am a full-time working stiff I treasure my weekends more than anything. Most all of the time they pass waaaay too quickly and most of the times they are pretty good.

But, once in a while I am treated to a weekend that is nearly perfect in every way - the boys behave for the most part and treat each other like brothers, we have some really cool adventures and no blood is shed. This weekend was one of those weekends.

It started out early, on Friday morning,(one of the reasons is was so great) with myself and the boys loading up the van and heading up to Neskowin, Oregon with my best friend and her son which is also Captain Crazy's best buddy. My husband's cousin owns a beach house there that is truly a little piece of heaven and we are lucky enough to get to stay there pretty much whenever we can.
The weekend ended with us pulling into the driveway late Sunday, very tired and still nice and sandy. In between Friday and Sunday our time was filled with lots of playing on three different beaches, long walks exploring new paths, ice cold Mike's Hard Lemonade, lots of sunshine and fresh air, and watching the boys play Star Wars on the deck overlooking the ocean. Our husbands got to go fishing and we even got to go shopping!

I wish I had taken pictures but our camera really sucks and we are in the market for a better one. And even though I am trying harder at remembering, I just get caught up in the moment and forget to snap a few shots. Hopefully I will get better as time goes on because this is the only shot I took on the whole weekend - Captain Crazy playing with his bubble gun after we got home.
Now that I have rambled on about my great weekend I guess I should let you in on the BIG BIG week I'm going to have, right?
Well, today I start work on the set of Extreme Makeover, Home Edition. I am one of the daytime volunteer coordinators. I report to the work-site today at 3 - about an hour after they have done the "door knock" and surprised the family.
For the next 10 days I will be working 10 hour shifts at the work-site - coordinating volunteers and making sure people are where they are supposed to be. That's why I guess it was so important to me that this weekend was a good one - I feel like I'm not going to see the boys at all until sometime next week - and I feel badly about that. But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I didn't want to pass it by. My husband has pledged to keep the boys alive and happy and the house relatively intact while I'm doing this so I guess I am set.
So for the next week or so I will try my best to post often, with pictures, about my experiences throughout the week.

Anniversary

This year it should have been copper, last year candy, the year before that wood, and the year before that flowers.

If you are the other half of a couple that marks milestones with presents, cards and sweet little nothings, then you get the picture.

This past weekend was our 7th anniversary. And this year, just like in all the past years, it came and went without much fanfare. Again it felt like the date snuck up on us, took us by surprise. We scrambled to find a baby-sitter and rushed to make dinner reservations. Again no presents -just dinner and a movie and then home before 12 so the babysitter wouldn't be out too late. We didn't even open our cards on our anniversary - I forgot to take mine to dinner and I left his in my purse - so we opened them separately when we each had time this weekend.

Our lackadaisical attitude would surely bother some, but my husband doesn't have a romantic bone in his entire body so this kind of half-assed attempt at celebrating such a big milestone doesn't bother him. In fact, we often poke fun at how unromantic he can be - which we often back up with the story of how he asked me to marry him by handing me my ring in it's box and saying "here ya go" while his roommate ate a burrito the size of a small baby on the couch right next to me.

Sometimes I think back and wonder where the time went. but other times it feels like I have been married F.O.R.E.V.E.R. Not to dump on my marriage or anything because I know for a fact he feels the exact same way at times. We each have our little habits that drive the other to drink. He swears that I have poor organizational skills which he likes to point out every time I misplace my car keys or my cell phone. He leaves his shoes right, smack in front of the doorstep so that when you step out the door, you risk twisting your ankle or falling and breaking your neck - it all depends on the size and number of his shoes that are left there. We both of course deny having any faults of any kind - but I have photographic proof. This was taken last year on our trip to Hawaii to visit his parents. It's a death trap! So now I know why he does what he does. Yikes!


But as half-assed as our date nights and milestone celebrations might be - it's still great being married to him. And what he lacks romantically he makes up for with heaps of loyalty, dependablility, kindness, and humor - which comes in handy when I'm yelling at him because I just tripped over his sneakers....again.

Bounce Back

I started this little blog of mine a little over a year ago when I was working part-time and still had time to peck out a few random posts here and there. Then that nasty recession caught up with me and overnight I went back to being a full-time SAHM.

That's when things got a little crazy. Being home with my two boys was non-stop activity and by the end of most days I had just enough energy to keep my eyes open until 9 and then it was "game over". My blogging decreased dramatically and I missed it. I made several feeble attempts at a "come back" swearing to myself that I would resume a regular schedule of reading my favorite blogs and throwing a little something up on here as well. I failed miserably.

Then I got another job and found myself juggling the demands of working full-time and being a full-time mom all the while beating down the guilt and sadness of not being with my boys. I enjoyed working though and soon adjusted to the entirely new pace my life had acquired when change swooped down again. I was asked to apply for new position within my company. This new position came with more pay but also more stress, hours, and responsibility - so of course I took it. I am a glutton for punishment if nothing else! Now my work sometimes calls me into the office at 7 and keeps me there until after 5. Most nights it keeps me awake long after I should be asleep.

Being so busy has forced me to zero in on my priorities and focus on what is important to me. I have dropped a lot of activities from my schedule and I haven't missed them - except for blogging. For months now I have been thinking about all the things I would like to whine -I mean talk about, on my blog and I have just decided once again, to yank back my towel, wring out and go another round.

This time I plan to stick around.

Some times you just have to laugh

I know this has been on YouTube forever but it's one of my favorites. It's literally impossible to feel crappy after watching this little guy.