Been Kind've Busy, and Lame.

In preparation for my stint as a volleyball coach I have had to change my work schedule.  My normal hours were 8-4:30 and are now 6-2:30, that means that I have to be out of bed by 4:15 if I want a shower.  Let me just say, it is SO nice to be able to get home at 3:30 instead of 6!  But that also means that by 8pm I am crawling in bed.  LAME!  When did I become that person?!  Oh well, I highly value my sleep.

Volleyball started Monday - I have an awesome team and an amazing assistant coach.  I look forward to practice every day.

Our exchange student from Canada, Catherine, came back for a visit.  It is so nice to get to see her.  I have been trying to spend all of my extra time with her.  Last weekend we took off on Wednesday and went kayaking on the Rogue river with my grandpa.

Jessie, Kehly, Catherine, Me, Andi, and Grandpa (Grandma is the photographer)- a few of my favorite people.

I shared a kayak with my cousin, Kehly.  We got dumped, twice, and had the exciting opportunity of riding down not two, but three sets of white water rapids without our boat.  Basically, we missed out on all of the awesome big rapids because we were IN THEM swallowing way too much water.  I'm pretty sure I gained 5 pounds in water weight, yum.  The weather was beautiful, the water was ruthless, and the memories will last forever. 

AND - this weekend is Family Camp!!  I plan on taking both of my cameras.  Now, lets just see if I will use them.

Thing of the Day - Plus a few things both Awful and Awesome

Thing of the day award goes to....

TIGI Dry Shampoo!

For those of you who don't know, I have to shower every morning and wash my hair.  If I do not wash my hair daily it is greasy and yucky and ugly.  I also don't wear hats because they make me look stupid.

I bought this product a few months ago thinking that I'd have it for emergencies when my hair takes a turn for the oily and I need a quick pick me up.

I needed it today.  Today was an emergency.



Here are a things both awful and awesome for my awful Wednesday morning:

Awful: Alarm clocks that are mad at me for posting about them playing the wrong song in the morning so they decide not to play anything at all and leave me to my own devices to wake up.  Which doesn't always work.

Awful:  Waking up 10 minutes after I normally leave for work in the morning.

Awesome:  Getting ready in 10 minutes flat.  Brushed my teeth, put my contacts in, got dressed, and took care of the pets.

Awful:  Not getting to wear my cute new dress because I didn't have time to shave my legs therefore having to wear JEANS in this gorgeous HOT 80+ degree Oregon weather. 

Awful:  NO SHOWER :( AND NO COFFEE :( :(

AWESOME:  TIGI Dry Shampoo... since I didn't have time for a shower.  Also awesome, make-up in a to go bag.  So convenient for times like today when I need ALL of my makeup and can just zip the bag up and take it with me to work.

Awful:  Having no control of my words this morning resulting is a string of cursing.  My poor dog didn't know what was happening and was an angel because he saw how frantic I was, thanks dog for finally cooperating with me.

Awful:  Not having time to pack my salad for lunch that I've been looking forward to... at least I have a few crackers at work to get me thru the day.

Awful:  Getting stuck behind a row of cars going 40 mph in a 55 moh zone resulting in more cursing and road rage.

Awesome:  Illegally talking on the phone while driving with my amazing husband who calmed me down enough to keep me from going crazy.

Awesome:  Not having to ride the bus and parking my car two blocks from work.

Awesome:  Getting to work at 7:55am when my work day starts at 8am.  BOO YEAH!

UPDATE:  My office building locked me in last night.  I was SUPPOSED to leave at 4:30pm but actually didn't get out of the door until 5:06pm because the blasted doors wouldn't open.  Not awesome.

My Moment

There is this moment I have in the mornings, usually before my alarm goes off, where I feel the peaceful presence of God.  It doesn't happen every morning, and until now I haven't found a good explanation for what it was I felt.  It's like all time stands peacefully still and I know exactly where I belong in the world.  The best way I can describe it is the feeling a child gets when they are protected and know that their parent is close by watching over them.  So I decided to write a quick paragraph because it got my creative juices flowing:

Her ears, attuned to the smallest of sounds, faintly picked up muffled whimpering from the far end of the darkened hallway.  Making her way noiselessly to the closed door she slowly let her eyes adjust to the dimness that surrounded her.  With the slightest creek of the door, she gently pushed it open just enough to peek through the crack at her slumbering offspring.  The small form in the narrow bed was tossing and turning, violently fighting off awareness, barely clinging to the last strands of unconsciousness that kept him tied to the sweetest of dream worlds.  A small smile played across her lips as she watched and wondered what dream her baby so fiercely clung to.  With practiced stealth she quietly padded across the room to stroke back a lock of hair and kiss the sweat dampened forehead.  The child, feeling his mother's protective and loving presence fill the room, was engulfed in the peacefulness of belonging and relaxed blissfully back into the sweet oblivion of sleep.