Some updates...

First of all, thank you so much to everyone for all of the kind thoughts and good suggestions regarding the death of my daughter's hamster. Hampy was buried in our backyard. My daughter wanted a stone to mark the grave, so she chose an angel garden statue. She was really sad for a few days, but is doing much better now. Thanks again to everyone for your sweet comments.





I had another 5K today and I will get to posting a race report at some point. Things are crazy here for the next few days. A few things I shall mention now:


- I saw a girl at the starting line wearing teeny, tiny white see-through shorts and a thong underneath. I was determined that, if nothing else, I must beat "thong girl"...I did.

- Running in the heat and humidity just downright stinks.

- I came close to a PR, but missed by about 10 seconds. But...I placed first in my age group. Here is the proof:

I have no idea why MissyMiss isn't smiling in this pic. She was thrilled for me. She even made me a pretend cake and sang "Happy Medal Day" to me. :)

We have been busy! The kids and I went blueberry picking this week and had a great time! The blueberries were great this year! As soon as we got home we made Blueberry cobbler. It is such an easy and healthy recipe...I promise I will post it as soon as things settle down.

Lastly, I had a FUN trip to the quilt shop last weekend and have LOTS of projects planned. I just finished a twirly skirt for MissyMiss and will post a pic as soon as I get one of her wearing it. Next on my list is a wall hanging for the dining room and then starting some Christmas stuff.

Definitely lastly, I was in Home Goods (my fav!) the other day and they are already starting to put out fall decor....my heart skipped a beat when I saw it! Fall is my favorite season! But...even better....my favorite holiday is Christmas and my local radio station did Christmas in July this weeked. So...they played Christmas songs all weekend! Any other Christmas freaks out there?

R.I.P. Hampy

It has been a sad day here. My daughter's beloved hamster, "Hampy", had died. She is so very heartbroken. She loved that hamster and took such good care of it. It is our first experience with a pet dying and it is just so sad. We will bury Hampy in the yard and MissyMiss has requested that we get a special stone or statue to place on the spot so she will know where it is. Anyone have any good tips for helping a 6 year old deal with losing a pet?

Give Me the Simple Life

Some find it pleasant dining on pheasant.

Those things roll off my knife;

Just serve me tomatoes; and mashed potatoes;

Give me the simple life.

Now that school is out we have been able to slow down a bit around here. I purposely did not schedule much for this summer...some swim lessons, a 3 day vacation, and a 1 week morning camp for MissyMiss...that is about it. It has given us a great chance to enjoy the simple things in life, and the kids and myself are loving it.

Here are some of my favorite simple things:

- a good book and the porch rocking chair

- meatloaf and mashed potatoes

- the slip-and-slide on the front lawn

- a long walk on a breezy night

- the swings at the park

- soft serve ice cream

- a long run on a gorgeous day

- a beautiful drive to my favorite quilt shop

- garden fresh tomatoes

- backyard bonfires

- hometown parades

- strawberry picking

- hiking

- watching the kids splash in the pool

- hot dogs on the grill

- smores

We are all about the simple life over here. What are your favorite simple things?

My friend

Whenever I get the chance, I run at a local paved rail trail. It usually has a decent crowd that helps to keep things interesting. I also walk, bike and rollerblade there, as well as take the kiddos to the park along the path. I am there often.

For the longest time, there has been a man who walks there often. I would guess him to be about 70ish. He is the nicest man and always gives me a little salute when I pass, as well as a big smile. He is there so often that I just expect to see him. He is even there in bad weather. I love to see him there...it is just comforting to me for some reason.

Well..for the last few months I have not seen him and I have been so worried about him. Since I know nothing about him, not even his name, there was no way for me to find out if he was o.k. It has been troubling me a lot and on my mind when I am at the path.

Today I was at one end of the trail where I turn around and I looked at the cars in the parking lot and THERE HE WAS! He was just getting into his car. He must have been just in front of me. I slowed down and waited for him to look up and when he did gave him a big wave...I was thrilled to see him. It truly just made my day! He was too far away for me to talk to him, but at least I know that he is o.k. and back to walking. I can now rest easy that my "rail trail friend" is back.

Exercising Your Mind

So...while physical fitness is important to me...so is mental fitness. :)

I LOVE games, puzzles, etc. (What can I say...I have always been like this. Once a nerd, always a nerd...) I found this one and our whole family is just loving it!



There is a junior edition and a regular edition...we have the junior. The whole point of the game is to get the escape car, which in this case is the ice cream truck, out of the traffic jam by only moving the cars forward and backward. There are 40 different challenge cards that range from beginner to expert.

I bought it for MissyMiss, but hubby and I played with it first. It was such fun! The beginner cards were way too easy, but the expert ones were really tough!!! I am naturally a really competitive person and decided it would be fun to time each other and see who could complete a given card first...hubby was not into this.

We finally let MissyMiss have a try and she also loves it. She calls it "my thinking game". I was amazed to watch her breeze through the beginner and intermediate cards. She could even complete the advanced levels by herself.

I highly recommend this game...it is excellent for keeping your mind sharp. :)