Organized Chaos

Lily and Luna

     Losing Potter so quickly a few months ago was hard on all of us, but especially hard on Lily.  She has had a companion since we adopted her as a puppy.  She was bored and anxious as an only dog.  So, one month ago we decided to adopt another puppy.  Greg and Sam drove an hour north to Denver to a big puppy event held by a local rescue society.  We had been looking at pictures online of the dogs that would be available.  There was a litter of 5 corgi/blue heeler mixes waiting to be adopted.  We picked out one of the boys, filled out the paperwork online, and then head north to adopt a puppy.  Once in line at the adoption fair Greg saw Luna and it was all over.  He did not even pick up the little boy that we had seen online.  Greg said her face was so sweet that he could not resist her.

Continuing with the Harry Potter themed names the kids named her Luna Lovegood.  She was a wee 5 pounds when she arrived.

She is a playful, little puppy who is always waiting for you at the top of the stairs.

She and Lily are constant companions who nap snuggled on each other.

Oh my, does this puppy love her boy.  She jumps with excitement and violently wags her tails when she sees Sam.

She is a teething puppy, so she wants to bite everything.

It has been wonderful to see her relationship with Lily develop and to see Lily so happy.

One of her ears popped up for a day and then went down again.  We have been told that this is normal for corgis and that her ears will go up and down several times in the first year.

Welcome to the family, Luna!

Goodbye Potter

Potter

2004-2016

Today we lost our sweet puppy Potter.  We adopted him 11 years ago and after a brief adjustment time he became the most amazing dog.  He became sick a few weeks ago and passed quickly.  He will be dearly missed.

2nd Degree Black Belt

Today I received my 2nd Dan Black Belt at a ceremony at Iron Horse Tae Kwon Do.  My actual test was last month.  The test lasted several hours and included fitness tests, meditation, forms, weapons, board breaks and sparring.  For today's ceremony I did a board break demonstration and then received my lovely new belt.

It is hard to believe that it was 6 years ago that Sam and I tested for our White Belts.

I did an ax kick board break.

A spinning punch board break.

I did a traditional bow to thank my family for their support.  Thea represented the family.

Master Kim put on my new belt and gave me my official World Tae Kwon Do certificate.

Many thanks to Master Kim for his support and encouragement over the years.

I could not have gotten to this point without the support of my kids and Greg.  Sam was home sick today, so he missed the ceremony.  But my girls were there to cheer me on.

Woo hoo, 2nd Dan! :)

Our Self Watering Plants Experiment

Sam and I were inspired on Earth Day to buy a self watering herb kit at Target.  We had high hopes, but tempered expectations.  You never really know how things will go when you buy a kit on the clearance shelf.  Luckily our results have far exceeded expectations. :)

 

Day 1

Week 1 -- The instruction booklet said the mint would grow much slower than the basil.  You have to squint a little to see the mint amongst the pebbles.

Week 2 -- Making good progress.

Week 3 -- I forgot to take a picture.

Week 4 -- I am beginning  to think the mint is a bit of a show off.

Week 5

I think the basil will need to move into a real pot soon because the roots are starting to fill the jar.  The slower growing mint gets a little more time in her jar.  Sam has been helping me every weekend to empty the jars and refill with fresh water a little bit of fertilizer.  All in all, Sam is quite pleased with the experiment.  And Greg cannot wait to use some homegrown, fresh herbs in his kitchen.  The basil will be ready around Week 7 and the Mint by Week 12.  :)

The Prom 2016

Thea is heading to The Prom tonight with her boyfriend, Jaxon.  It is a Masquerade Ball at a local hotel.  It was so fun for me to see Thea excited about getting dressed up, buying fancy sandals, letting her sister do her make up. testing out hairstyles.  Thea never wears make up or gets dressed up.  Tonight Thea said she felt beautiful and isn't that what every teenage girl needs to feel about herself. :)

 

The Prom is a Masquerade Ball and Thea is wearing the mask I wore a few years ago at a Wing Holiday Party.  The Mask is Venetian Lace.

 

Thea's hair was fun much fun.  I put around 30 soft curlers in her hair last night and then this afternoon I did a curly bun.

 

Georgie graciously agreed to do Thea's make up.

Thea and Jaxon.  They are both Juniors at James Irwin Charter High School.

Here is the gang before they went out to dinner.

Jaxon is wearing a mask that I bought a few years ago for a Wing party, but did not wear.  How wonderful that the mask matches his shirt and tie!  They looked lovely together and I hope have a wonderful time tonight.

 

 

 

The rest of the weeks of 2015

My project to post every week in 2015 fell apart in December.  I was grading finals, completing professional trainings, getting ready for a Tae Kwon Do test, attending band concerts, choir concerts, going to the orthodontist, walking dogs, working out, and getting ready for a big Holiday trip back to the Southeast.  And then my phone decided to reset back to factory settings and delete about 1000 pictures that I had not bothered to back up. 

Greg and I attended the 1940's White Christmas Ball in Denver at the beginning of December.

Thea earned her 3rd Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. We are so proud of her hard work and determination.

We drove across country to see family in the Southeast.  15 states in 12 days.  Woo hoo!

We visited Greg's parents in Charleston, SC.

We got to see nieces and nephews in North Carolina.

We saw a sweet niece in Louisiana.

We took a quick visit of Auburn for the kids to see Greg's Alma mater. We also visited Papou's Alma mater, The Citadel, and took a drive through LSU.

We even got to take a quick trip to New Orleans.

December 2015 was a little crazy, but a fun way to wrap up the year.  I am looking forward to all that 2016 will bring. :)

Week 47 -- Thanksgiving

We has a lovely Thanksgiving with a visit from some old Air Force friends, the Dillows.  There is nothing better than seeing a bunch of Air Force cousins hanging out and playing together. :)

We made some lemon and chocolate cupcakes for Elizabeth, the birthday girl.

The kids helped me to make cookies for Thanksgiving.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Week 45 -- Tae Kwon Do

Usually when I write about Tae Kwon Do I focus on the kids, but today I will explore my journey.  I tested for my first degree black belt two years ago.  I took a break from testing for awhile.  I was still attending black belt classes and still assisting teaching classes.  But I was content to just be a 1st Dan belt.  Recently I realized that I was only one year away from my 2nd degree test.  So, for the last few months I have been practicing all the time in order to get ready for a Dec 5th stripe test.  So far I have passed my tests for forms, self defense, and weapons (double nun chuks, bo staff).  Next week I need to break two boards, knife hand and jump round house kick.  I have the December test, a test in March and then, if I am ready, my test for 2nd degree in the summer of 2016.

Thea has been kind enough to help me practice everything.  She is pretty busy herself as she is going to test for her 3rd Dan Black Belt.  I could not be more proud of her focus and determination.

Week 43 -- Halloween

 Happy Halloween!

 

A cute witch and a John Lennon loving hippie!

 

Captain Kirk, Mr Spock, Captain Picard.

 

Some Romulan Ale to liven up the party...

 

The Trick or treaters.

Week 42 -- Boy Scouts Camperee!

 

Week 41 got away from me.  It was the end of cross country for middle school, almost the end of cross country for high school, PSATs for Thea, a new course curriculum for me.  Busy, busy, busy...

 

Week 42 was all prep for Sam and Greg to head to Camp Alexander for the Annual Camperee.  It was a cold weekend, but luckily did not snow.  Sam is enjoying Scouts more and more.  I think his confidence is growing as he gets to know more boys in the troop.  The Camperee Weekend was filled with fun activities and wildlife.

 

A good time was had by all!