it's been awhile...

hmmm... so, i thought maybe i should post a little update. nothing terribly exciting to write about, but i'll see what i can come up with. ;)

the first interesting thing -- and, acutally, quite exciting for me -- is that cassidy is home!! it almost didn't feel like 7 weeks while she was gone. i guess i was busy with this and that and didn't dwell on it for long. but, it's great having her home! i definitely missed her the most at night when i was online and she wasn't there to chat with on im. so, we've been making up for that.

our friends daniel and rachel had their baby girl, ava, saturday. on our 6th anniversary, no less! so, we actually spent the evening of our anniversary at the hospital visiting them. our mutual friends, jackie and ashley, also came out. so, afterwards we went over to katy mills mall and hit bass pro shops (for the guys) and the rainforest cafe. eating at the rainforest cafe was a treat. we had jackie and ashley's little girl, taylor, with us. she's a lot of fun to be around. she just turned one, so her little personality is definitely showing!

well... my closet has not gotten cleaned out. that's one of my major projects to work on this summer. and the days are counting down and i don't have a clean closet. haha. procrastination, what? i need to locate a good consignment shop for some of my clothes. i know there is stuff in there that i don't wear or can't fit in anymore that are still good enough for a second hand store.

i only have about 3 weeks left before i have to be back at hildebrandt. i've already spent a couple days up at school trying to get a couple new teachers set up. seeing as how there is only one keyboarding and one desktop publishing teacher in each school, the "newbies" often lean on other schools' teachers to get them started. i don't mind so much, though. kind of forces me to get my own assignments in order. i'm thinking of going up one or two days in between now and the 17th to work in my own room. i think if i spread it out a little before i "have" to be there, i can get some stuff done.

well, i'm off to clean out the fridge. trash day is tomorrow and i have a few things that are not doing so great hanging out in the fridge. ;)

maclaren parker bell

i finally got to meet maclaren today!
jamie called me yesterday to let me know she and maclaren were ready for visitors... so, off i went to downtown houston this morning to pay the little guy a visit. he is just precious and was so good while i was there. i'm not much of a baby expert... but maclaren has the longest legs and fingers and toes i think i've ever seen on a baby. he's going to be tall and lean like his daddy, i believe. check out those toes in this photo!

here's me looking just lovely after sweltering in the 106 degree heat index today. and, of course, the proud mama.

and here's toby. he holds a special place in my heart because i helped find him a home with jamie. he's been feeling slightly neglected with all the attention maclaren gets, yet he is very good with the new little guy around. he just comes and takes a peek at him now and then and then goes on his way.

houston race for the cure

so... i'm thinking about doing this. anyone interested in forming a team with me? my friend amy - her sister-in-law beat breast cancer last year - brought it up tonight. i've thought about it in the past, but never have followed through, because i didn't want to do it alone. maybe this will be the year?

houston race for the cure

the neverending rain of summer 2007

so, someone told me today that it has rained 17 out of the past 18 days. well, i don't believe them. because, it sure feels like it's rained a heck of a lot longer than 17 days. i'm seriously starting to think i know what noah felt like. i thought it might be interesting to list the realizations i have come to over the past days of rain and thunderstorms.

~ i've given up vacuuming the carpet every time a muddy paw print shows up. the dogs come in with wet feet every time they venture outside.
~ i dump 1 to 2 inches of rainwater out of the feed buckets and sarge's dog food bowl every time i go to feed.
~ i've only filled the horse's water trough once in the past 2 weeks. typically, this time of year i have to fill it - at the very least - every other day.
~ i automatically put on rubber boats when venturing into the backyard.
~ i don't bother to wait for the rain to end before i leave the house to run errands. i'll only get stuck in the next thunderstorm a couple hours later. might as well leave when i planned to.
~ i have forgotten what the sun feels like.
~ the yard may never be dry enough to mow.
~ i shouldn't bother straitening my hair. the incredible amount of humidity ruins my attempt. yet, i stubbornly continue to do it. one must hold on to some normalcy.
~ driving through massive amounts of water collected on the side of the road doesn't even make me slow down.
~ the trees are so waterlogged that every time it rains, new branches break off. i'm praying a tree doesn't fall over.
~ i base the clothes i put on before leaving the house on "how will this do when i get drenched?" "will the hem of these jeans/pants drag through water puddles?" "how do these shoes handle massive amounts of water treading?"
~parking in the driveway has become a strategic operation. what position will avoid the most puddles and allow me to get back out without having to touch any grass (because i will get stuck in the muddy grass)?
~ i have learned to watch tv around flood watch and thunderstorm watch messages.

now for a few photos...


the horse pen. i feel so sorry for them.

where once there was grass. the camera strap got in the
way of my trusty rubber boots.

sarge stays in a perpetual state of muddiness.

what i wade through to feed twice a day. my lens got a bit foggy.

***disclaimer -- i am by no means implying that my bout with the rain is more disturbing than some of our neighbors suffering real flooding. i am thankful, so thankful, that it is not worse for us... however, i thought it was fitting to blog about my own experience with the seemingly neverending rain.***