~~ Yardwork ~~

Well, we wrapped up this 3 day weekend with an evening of yardwork.  Got the front yard and backyard mowed and edged (mostly).  It's been too hot to do much during the day, so I started late, and well, the sun went down on me before I was able to finish up.  We are supposed to get another round of rain Wednesday so the mowing had to be done.  I love working in the yard and the boys and Phillip are a huge help with trying to bring my flowerbed visions to life.  I need to take a current picture and compare it to ones from the past.  The change is amazing.

*This is day 7!  How many days of doing the same thing, over and over, does it take for it to become a habit?  There are a few other things I am trying to do consistently on a daily basis to be a better me.  Some I'll share here.  For now, I'll share today's verse from my devotional - Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.   Matthew 11:28  

~~ Soccer ~~

Today was spent at the soccer fields.  The boys haven't played soccer in years, so it has been awhile.  This weekend my niece was in town for a tournament.  I wasn't able to make yesterday's game, but today I got to see both her games.  That's her in red surrounded by white defenders.

 

The first one was early and the weather was amazing, but the best part was seeing her score a goal.  Her team won 3-0.  The second game was a tie 1-1 and it was in the heat of the day.  Sun was beating down-no clouds, no breeze.  I don't know how they run around and play in it.  Turns out her team won the tournament and got championship medals.  It was a good day for her and her teammates.

Between games we were able to run home and get the dog out for a walk and after the games it was a quick lunch and a nap.  So glad we were able to see this little firecracker play today.  

~~ My Girl ~~

This is my girl Zola.  She joined our family in July 2012 so she has never been mentioned on the blog.  She is a rescue dog we got from the shelter when she was just 6 months old.  They advertised her as a lab/border collie mix.   Um, yea I don't think so.  She may have a little bit of those in her, but she most definitely has some pit in her too.  Not that it matters though, she is the sweetest dog and the biggest scaredy cat.  Of course she barks and chases squirrels (when she is in the mood), but she is not aggressive at all.  She loves people and kids and other dogs.  Like the rest of the family she likes to eat so recently she's been enjoying lots of evening walks.

A side note about the blog - the conversation last night my oldest:

Jess - What are you doing?

Me - Just writing a blog post.  

Jess - Oh, you blog?  

Me - Yes, I'm starting up again.

Jess - Really,  Hmm

FIST BUMP!  

Surprised me, but he thinks it's cool I'm blogging (again).  Maybe one day he'll actually check it out!

~~ Day 4 ~~

It's day 4 of blogging!  Getting into the groove and starting to get in the habit of doing it daily.  That's my goal for September anyway, a post a day!  Today started out with me heading into work during a nice little rush hour thunderstorm.  Last time that happened I was leaving work and was totally unprepared - no umbrella, no raincoat, nada.  This was me when I got to the parking garage.  SOAKED!

Today I was ready!  Had my umbrella and my tennis shoes and I was movin' from the garage to the office.  I love my building and my job and could not be happier.  Here's a pic of the Tower from a sunny day from earlier this week.

 

The last thing I want to post is a page from a beautiful calendar my sweet niece Emily gave me for Christmas on year.  I miss my family and my friends and this year has been weird and I don't what normal will be, but I pray for a vaccine so that I can get together with the ones that are close to my heart.  

~~ Burn ~~

 We like to do those frozen Italian dinners from Sam's - yum! - about once a week or so.  Last week I was heating up Chicken Fettuccine for dinner.  Super simple - remove lid, place on cookie sheet and bake!  The timer went off and I go in with my hot pad on one hand, thinking "I got this, who needs two hands?"  Well, I grab the cookie sheet with my right hand, protected by the hot pad and just as I bring it up to place it on the counter..... the dish slid and I, without thinking, grabbed the side of the cookie sheet.

The cookie sheet THAT JUST CAME OUT OF THE HOT OVEN!

The hand THAT DID NOT HAVE A HOT PAD ON IT!

It was an instant - I burned my thumb and two fingers, but I did not drop that Fettuccine!

What is funny about this is it brought back these two very distinct memories.  Ya know how they say a smell or a song can bring up old memories, well it was like that.

The first thing that came to mind was the time Jesse was maybe about a year and a half old and we were heating up tortillas on the comal, which happened to be on the front burn of the stove.  He just walked right by the stove and for some reason reached up and touched it.  That was over 15 years ago and I still feel terrible when I think of that.  My baby, oh he screamed and cried!  The blisters were so big on the tips of his little fingers and the worst part was having to doctor them until they were better.  As a momma, it is just the worst when your babies are in pain.  You feeling in your gut.   

The other incident was when I was younger, maybe 12 or 13.  My cousin and I were with my dad and grandfather out in the country at the family farm.  While they worked my cousin and I rode up and down the dirt road on his go cart.  I'm younger, so anytime the go cart died or needed to be restarted I had to go around to the back and pull the starter.  It was like a lawnmower engine, it was square and you pull the rope to start it.  Not hard and not a big deal,  I did it many times.  But for some reason this one time I was having trouble pulling the rope, so I put my left hand on the engine for leverage.....it was HOT!  Ended up with a HUGE blister down the side of my hand and that was the end of go carting for that day.

So the lesson I learned - just because you think you can take something out of the HOT oven with only one hand doesn't mean you should!

~~ Royalty ~~

Ha!  Not really, but I felt like it this morning.  Had to drop off my, almost 17 year old, minivan this morning.  Needed a ride back to the casa so I took my very first ever UBER!  It was like having a personal chauffeur.  I'm sitting in the back seat googling "how much should I tip the Uber driver?" all while having someone drive me around.  It was like I was, for about 20 minutes, living like the rich and famous!  Silly I know and how have I never been in an Uber until now?  I just don't get out that much I guess and when I do, I drive myself!  Actually, I like to drive.  Not crazy about traffic, waiting, and some people (ya know some people are just ridiculous). My driver said he drives 10 hours a day.  No way José.  

~~ September ~~

Happy September 1st!  

It's been busy, busy around here since school started (8/20) for the boys. This year COVID didn't delay the start of school, but it did change how they go to school.  Everyone in our district started school online, from home, and probably, like mine, in pajamas.  (That's a lot of commas. Did I get them all or did I put too many?)  Anyway, I have a 11th grader and a 10th grader this year!  WHAT?!  I think I say that every year when school starts.  Crazy how time flies!  

Here they are in their classrooms - 

      

Although it is different, they are off to a GREAT start!