August Rush

Apparently it has been really quiet here... I cannot believe how fast August is rushing by and I keep wishing I could slow it all down, 'cause once August is done, we're on to fall and you know what comes next? Okay, I won't say it, but it feels like it is coming awfully fast.

So far August has been a rather high drama and insanely busy month, we'll see what I remember:

1. Celebrating my brother Emmet's 21st birthday (makes me feel really old).

2. Going to see the same brother's band perform in a show in Ypsi. My mom came and as we sat in the outdoor patio area of this bar, having a beer before the show, she pulls her knitting out of her bag. Oh gosh. We told her in no uncertain terms the knitting was not allowed inside the bar. It just simply does not do to knit during a rock show in a bar. The show was good- the drummer (neighbor from growing up) was fabulous. Emmet was a fabulous base player. And the guitarist was good at the guitar and did more yelling than singing. Guess you can't have it all.

3. Taking my little sister shopping for dorm supplies. You heard that right, my baby sister is heading of the Franciscan University in just a couple days!! We had a blast navigating ikea in search of the necessary bedding, plastic bins, closet organizers and other critical items. I'm so happy for her and yet it is hard to believe she's heading off to college!! I'm going to miss her!

4. Work... lots of stuff going on at work. I inserted myself, for the good of the company (believe me, it was absolutely necessary) in the middle of some politics between the bosses. Intense for me, especially since I try to avoid politics and conflict at all costs. But I am still sure it was the right thing and hope it brings about some needed changes. Still working too many hours, but I've been averaging high forties instead of fifties, so I guess I'm still trending in the right direction.

5. Tomatoes. The tomatoes are rolling in. The plants aren't doing fabulously- they got leaf spot and something is eating half of the ripe tomatoes closest to the ground-- but as usual, if you plant enough, no matter how badly you do, you're bound to have plenty. Mmmm I love tomato season. So far I canned one big batch of salsa and tonight I made a big batch of fresh salsa. Lots more to come.

6. Celebrated my sister in law Lindsey's birthday last night-- same day as my brother Garrett- though he lives far away so I had to celebrate his from a distance. August is an insane birthday month in our family... and at the end of the month, my dad turns 60! Gasp! That's practically old!

7. Cous family reunion with the extended family last weekend.

8. Doctrine classes at church (fabulous!)


9. Suzie has begun the late August trend of attempting to scratch all the fur off her body. I predict we make it another week before I break down and take her to the vet for her annual August steroids round.

10. They are replacing the water main on my street and repaving parts of the surrounding streets. So everything is torn up and I'm never sure which way to go out in the morning. Strangely this has made me miss my civil engineering world / job more than usual. I know what goes into these projects. I used to be the one prepping all the bid docs, processing change orders and pay requests... I miss those days. And somehow my street being ripped up floods those memories back-- not that it's a bad thing, I just never could have told you that road construction would make me so nostalgic :)

11. Softball has been a blast, maybe my favorite season ever. Tomorrow is our final tournament. Sad to see it coming to an end. It sure has been fun.

12. And somewhere in there I've visited a few friends, cleaned a few bathrooms, mowed the lawn, worked on plans for the next couple weeks, and attempted to keep my head above water. I am no further ahead on any projects or anything else, but at least I am still treading water for the time being.

Okay, there you have it. August so far. I hope it slows down for this final week...

Top Ten for today

Things I'm loving lately:

1. Sunday Softball: I truly love it. So much fun to be out in the sun, playing games with my friends. And this year is the most evenly competetive it's been in years, just all around good times. Not to mention the ADORABLE fans we have, the awesome umpire... okay, I'm really enjoying it-- 'nuff said.

2. The gardens... the roses are blooming, the rose of sharon is blooming, the tiger lilies are blooming, the tomatoes are ripening... love it!

3. My friends: I am so blessed with amazing friends in my life. This week I was overly social-- meaning plans with friends every single night. And yes, this week my introverted self may need an evening at home alone with the lights off... and yet, I am so profoundly grateful for the amazing people I share my life with. I am blessed!!

4. Daily Mass. This is far from being #4 on my list in order of importance. It was a good week and I actually made it to Mass every single day and as always, my week is better when I start it the right way each day. I am thankful for the many priests and parishes surrounding me that makes it possible. I am blessed!!

5. I love every single thing about summer. Every. Single. Thing.

6. My godchildren-- some of the coolest munchkins I know. And I've gotten to see the three local ones in the last 2 weeks, which always manages to just make me more mush over them... and it makes me miss my long distance ones more too.

7. Homegrown tomatoes.

8. Air conditioning.

9. My car. I just like it. A lot.

10. Weekends. I do love weekends.

Life is good.

Dog Woes

The big dog has gotten back into stealing food... and seriously nothing (well at least nothing dog-wise) makes me madder than walking in the door to her cowering and growling at me, knowing she got into something. Sure enough, there's ALWAYS a chewed up bag on the living room rug. In the past, once this has started, she goes on a spree of getting in trouble every day until I rudely nip it in the bud by mousetrapping everything. It usually only takes once or twice of setting a trap off and freaking her out to get her to stop for a year or more. This time, I brought on this rash of bad behavior. I accidently left a bag of groceries on the floor- they were mostly boxed groceries for vacation- but Maggie discovered it and ate through a box of graham crackers... and she's been on this food stealing binge ever since.

Last night I put my new loaf of bread on the counter, in a hard to reach spot, and put a mousetrap in front of it. Usually enough to scare her away. But instead I came home to a growling dog, a chewed up, empty bread bag on the living room floor... and once again had to reiterate that she may spend the REST OF HER LIFE IN A CAGE IF THIS KEEPS UP!! Gosh it makes me mad.

And tonight I recognized that I let it make me too mad and needed to reign in my own reaction. It was a loaf of bread. I knew the risk, even with the mousetrap. I will still win this fight, even after a setback. Maggie will stop stealing food. I can stop coming home dreading what I'm going to find. And life will go on. Deep breath, Reenie, deep breath.

And boy I wish I could say this was the only thing that has gotten me worked up lately...

Family History

I've always been a fan of old family photos and in the last few weeks I've been immersed in them. First digging through my own photos for Fiona's grad party photo board (gosh she's a cutie!) and now going through and scanning photos for my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary slideshow. So awesome. Here's a few great ones of my mom as a kid. I love finding these gems.

Counting down the hours...

Well, the last two days have been good. More peaceful than I hoped for- thanks for your prayers!! I'm down to the wire. I have worked over 40 hours and haven't hit Friday yet... but I did bring home some work to do tonight... and then there's that conference call in the morning. And that's it. Done. Till a week from Monday. Yayay!

I got to spend last evening with my good friends in town for a wedding this weekend. Great to catch up. Great to snuggle those crazy munchkins. Great to just be with my people. :) Looking forward to another great day of that tomorrow (different people-- including my sister and her family in town!! yayayayay!) and then a week of that on vacation.

As overwhelmed as I can get in life, I am constantly amazed at the gift God has given me in friends and family. Each one of you is a constant sign of His great love and mercy in my life. Thank you.

And here's to the vacation countdown... just a few more hours...

2 days and counting...

This is it... the week before vacation... never a particularly peaceful time. And maybe even less so than usual because I don't know how on earth they are going to manage next week. On the one hand, that sounds conceited. But really it's just the reality, I am the hub. That's my job. It's what I do. So next week could get really interesting with no hub there keeping things spinning. I told my boss today (when he was panicking a little about next week) that next week they would all realize how much they miss me... or realize they don't need me at all. Either way, coming back will be interesting (and I won't dwell on that again until next Sunday night around 9 pm). In the meantime, I'm trying to get a lot done this week at work...

And things at home are busy too. All the usual stuff. Plus scanning photos for a slideshow for my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary on Sunday. Plus dog sitting (though we love having Buck here). Plus house cleaning. Plus paying bills. Plus cleaning for a BBQ on Friday. Plus trying to see some good friends who will be in town this week. Plus anticipating my sister and her family coming in (hooray!!!) Plus laundry and packing for vacation. And buying dog food (don't forget the dog food whatever you do). Yeah, I'm working myself up to needing a vacation even more than usual (is that even possible?).

The launch to vacation will be intense:
Mon-Thursday - work like a crazy person to get stuff ready for me to leave.
Friday - I'm off work except conference call first thing (meaning my vacation technically begins at 10.30 am). Then mowing the lawn, hosting a BBQ (can't wait to see everyone).
Saturday - wedding for a family friend, help wrangle friend's toddlers at wedding and reception (yes, some of my favorite toddlers, so I'm definitely looking forward to some quality time!)
Sunday - pack the car in the morning, Mass in Monroe (mid day) and reception for my grandparent's 60th anniversary. Back to Saline for 2 softball games. Drive up north after the games end (around 9 pm). And finally vacation...

A whole week with my extended family... it's going to be awesome... Can't. Wait...