This is what has been in my head...

It's all I have time for now. Been very busy painting. Finally rid of the cold. Left town this weekend and ready to get back at it come tomorrow.

This song brings a whole flood of feelings back to me when I hear it...thought I would share.

The Summer Cold!

Ugh. I'm ill. I can't breathe from my nose, my throat hurts and NOW, I've started to cough! I HATE being sick. I'm sure The Little Man gave it to me. He has been coughing for days now. I guess I should feel blessed that I am not as sick as he has been. He had miserable allergies this year, his eyes were swollen and teary and he couldn't stop rubbing them. He then got strep throat and right as he was finishing his antibiotic, he got this cold... and promptly gave it to me!

Why do I hate to be sick so much? Well, first you feel like crap. Second, it ruins your plans. I don't feel up to going out and enjoying the day because I feel run down. I have an agenda, stuff to get done and this cold is getting in my way.

Now yes, I could be very Zen about it, not fight it, scale my massive cleaning/painting back, put it on hold and just be one with my cold...BUT I DON'T WANT TO! The Professor comes home today and I wanted the house to be in better shape by the time he got back. I know he won't care, but I do and this cold is irritating.

The cold also puts my swimming/running on hold. I did three miles in the pool last week. I was shooting for 4 but felt too ill to swim yesterday. I also wanted to try a 5K on Sat. morning but was too tired and out of it.

Ok, ok, I'll stop whining. This too shall pass...right? I'll have to work at battling my ego today, decide whether or not to continue with my rigorous cleaning plans or go to Barnes and Noble, buy a good book, find a comfy spot in my house and read, relax and rejuvenate.

I want to get over this thing ASAP. I was reading an article that said a positive attitude will cure a cold. Ok, I'll try and be happy with my throat feeling like I swallowed sandpaper. I have also tried eating raw garlic in the past and that DID seem to help shorten the cold. When I lived in Mexico, they would have me sip tequila when I was ill. I'm all for that! I do think that the alcohol kills some germs. The Professor says that the Vietnamese say that Pho is good for a cold, especially with the hot sauce. I am willing to try it all...ANYTHING to get rid of it! Any advice on how to quickly get rid of this thing?

Swimming, swimming, swimming... cleaning, cleaning, cleaning

Went another mile! I remember when I couldn't do flip turns all the way through the laps and now I CAN! I am building my lung capacity, making my heart stronger and hopefully toning parts of my body. I don't see any physical changes and I know I haven't lost any weight but it must be doing some good for the flab.

Instead of painting today, I cleaned. The Epilepsy Foundation is coming to my side of town tomorrow (or today, seein' that it is 1 am as I am writing this)and all I have to do is bag up my STUFF and put it on the curb. I have been stacking up things for the past couple months that I don't need, doesn't fit or is just taking up space. Today, I did a final sweep of the house to see what else I could put on the curb. I am proud to say that I have approximately 12 bags/boxes of stuff. The little man even made his contribution of a pirate's hat, puzzles, a tea set, a drum and some too small ties. Had the teenager and The Professor been here, I'm sure we could have gathered MORE STUFF.

Where does all the stuff come from? What kinds of stuff could you get rid of?

You just never know

"You never know what will fall on you when a monkey is above you."

The Little Man

(This was said while riding in the car to the Science Museum to see the Star Wars exhibit. I have NO idea where the monkey fits it. It amazes me what goes on in their little heads. Not soo little anymore, he is almost nine.)


On another note...went one more mile today. I went fairly fast and BOY do my hip flexers hurt! You would think my arms would hurt but they don't. Overall, I'm just tired.

What was HE doing in my dreams?

I'm not a HUGE Rolling Stones fan. The Professor is. He does have a picture of "Keif" hanging in the study. I was thinking about music before I fell asleep. The Professor IS gone so...maybe all these random things came together in my subconscious and created this bizarre dream where Keith Richards and I were together.

I don't remember that last dream I had with a celebrity in it. I used to dream about David Letterman a lot (in my 20's). I know this sounds strange but every David Letterman dream I had (and I did not have a crush on him during my waking hours)was a all encompassing "love" dream. When I woke, I just felt loved. It was never a sexual dream, just a good feeling dream that said, "you are loved for who you are". It was just strange that the person giving me this message came in the form of a late night talk show host.

How about you all? Who is in YOUR dreams?

Joy Division video made me think of YAZ

I was listening to a lot of music today while I was painting the house. I was actually listening to the 4 disc set of Los Lobos...who are one of my all time favorite bands. They usually come to the Twin Cities annually and The Professor and I always go.

Well, as I was surfing the blogs tonight, I came across a blog that had a Joy Division video, "Love will Tear Us Apart". That brought me WAY back. So, I was going to put that video on my blog but I thought, I don't want to be a copy cat, so I starting looking for other old '80's tunes that I could put on. Joy Division made me think of Book of Love which made me think of YAZ. I found this on YouTube...another fav.

Ticking off the miles

Ok. Since last week, I've gone 5 miles in the pool. The Y near my house has the outdoor pool which is a 50 meter pool and makes the laps go by quicker because there are less of them to equal a mile. I have to do 16 laps for a mile.

The little man is taking swimming lessons this week and while he is learning his strokes, I will be doing mine in the outdoor pool.

It is quiet in the house with both of the big boys gone. The little man and I are enjoying some quality time. He is so independent, more of an introvert. I go about the house work and he will just occupy himself for hours in his room creating and drawing fabulous stories and characters. I have to remind myself to engage with him so that he doesn't feel totally ignored. Although, he is the kind of kid who will tell me if he does with full dramatic effect.

My Camera Went To Vietnam...without ME!

I will be without a digital camera in my life for the next ten days. It went to Tokyo, Bankok and then to Hanoi, Vietnam. When it gets back, I will post some photos of its journey.

I have the urge to run out and upgrade. I have a Canon Power Shot SD1000 ELPH. I would like to get a digital that could do a little more. Maybe one with a a bigger lens so I could get some action shots of the teenager's soccer games or diving competitions. I do like the pictures that I have seen at http://thesmittenimage.blogspot.com/ (ok, I wanted to do the thing where you put in a name of someone or something and it becomes a link - but I don't know how to do that). Hilary has such beautiful shots of wildlife and foliage. I would like to do more of that. With my current camera, I can't do the Macro thing when taking a picture of a flower without it getting all fuzzy. What's up with that?

The reality of the camera situation is is that I will have to wait to take digital pictures until it returns. As much I would like to buy another camera, it woud be excessive and there are many other things that I need to use my money for.

One of those things is PAINT. Tomorrow, I start painting the outside of my house (again). I started this chore in the summer of 2006. I was teaching then and had the summer off. I then got a year round job and didn't paint at all outside in the summer of 2007. I am now back to teaching and the summer of 2008 is a house painting summer. I HAVE to finish this year. In '06 I only finished the front porch. I still have 3 sides and the second story of the front of the house. When the camera comes back I'll show you what I am talking about.

I love the colors that I have chosen for the house. The main color is a sage/avocado green. I am accenting it with a red/orange and a maize yellow. Our house was built in 1878. It doesn't have a lot of decorative molding or artistry but it does have more than your 21st centruy cookie cutter house.

Soccer and sunshine

It was a beautiful night for soccer. The teenager's team played a late night game.


The waxing moon looked over the field.


The first official day of summer vacation, the little man and I bought a bird bath, filled it up and waited for the birds to take a sip. I got to see a sparrow have a drink but did not get a shot of it.



I went over to my mom's the other day to look at her garden blooms. It is obvious where I got my passion for gardening. Thanks MOM!

The question in my head before bed

This is not MY question but a question The Professor posed to me this morning. I will ask you all and see what you come up with.

When a Republican is put into office in the U.S., the liberal says they are moving to Canada. Where does the Republican move to when the liberal Democrat is put into office?

Hmmmmm....ideas?

Back on the air and swimming

I am officially on VACATION! Yipee! It still has not set in yet. I still feel the traditional panic I feel on the weekend. It's Sunday, and I have so MUCH to do before I have to go to work tomorrow...but wait....then I remembered....I DON'T have to go to work tomorrow! If I wanted to, I could SLEEP all day (sure I would have to ignore the kids and dog) BUT I COULD do it!

I swam outdoors last night and it felt GREAT! The outdoor pool at the Y is open and it is an olympic size pool. It is going to be great for me to practice my laps outside and in a longer pool because I have decided that I am going to do a mini-triatholon this summer, maybe two! Swimming outside in a pool better simulates a lake and that is where I will be swimming when I do the triatholon.

I did reach my lengths goal. A little later then I had wanted to. I think I probably acheived it during the first week in June...not bad. I am going to continue to have the same goal of 2 miles per week for the month of June. If I find I have more time, I might make it 3 miles per week.



I am thrilled to be back blogging. I have a bunch of photos to share from days gone past. I am SOOO happy I found my camera. That might be another story for another time.

Feliz domingo todo el mundo