Ride Like the Wind

Thank God I don't have to type with my thighs tonight! Yeah, 27 miles on my bike with the 5th graders today has done me in. "The ole body ain't like it used to be". However, I did it and did it respectably. I think I went up a few notches in K's eyes. I know she impressed me! I knew she could ride a horse for 27 miles, no problem, but I was a little worried about the bike. Not only did she do the ride, she made it to Hip Hop dress rehearsal even! Here is our day in a nutshell, minus the 50 other kids and 30 or so "helper "teacher/parents.
The bikes, fresh and waiting for their riders!
Riders, start your motors! I mean legs!
My kooky aunt sent this helmet cover to K. I decided to wear it. It provided people with much humor!
You would think she was the only one on the ride. Not true. And hey, yay me, I took this while riding and holding the camera!

13.5 miles and we made it to lunch!

K, cousin C and Newfie Lily at the lunch stop.
K and me, getting psyched for the ride back!
And we're off! I cracked up at what some of the kids were wearing. Some of the girls were wearing jean shorts or jean capris. Some kids had on fleece. It was a beautiful 65-70 degree day. Some real bikers wore "the shorts" ( I wish I had me a pair of those!). We wore PMC ride shirts donated by Stop and Shop. The PMC is the Pan Mass Challenge, a Mass fundraiser for cancer. And here is K's trick she picked up along the way from one of the parents (thanks Jeff!).
It is called highway riding. She was real swervy while trying this which made me oh so nervous. I did learn that when K is angry or frustrated, she rides real hard. She wasn't mad at me, but one of her friends kept riding ahead of her. No wonder her legs are tired tonight! I have 2 more years to practice before B gets to do this! I don't think I will start tomorrow, though!

Boston

There is nothing like a ride on a yellow school bus to get your adrenaline pumping for the day! Yes, the 3rd grade and I went on a field trip to Boston today. And yes, it took a good 1 1/2 hours to get there. On a yellow school bus. More fun couldn't be had anywhere else!

We went on the Duck Tours. These car/boats are amphibious mobiles that were used in WWII (I think). You get a tour around Boston and then you get a tour on the Charles River. It is very cool actually. We couldn't have planned a nicer day for this.
An example of a duck boat in the water.
The Boston sky line.
The Zakim Memorial Bridge.

Then we went to the Boston Common, had lunch and then went for a ride on the swan boats.


After the swan boats, we stopped by and visited Mrs. Mallard with her duckies from Make Way for Ducklings. This is a great book by the way if you haven't already read it yourself or to your kids.

Then it was the ride home, rest for 1 hour and head to soccer practice. You'll have to excuse me if there are more pictures than words tonight, but I am tired!

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend 08

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! I am trying out a new slideshow site, so if you click the picture of "Ms. Marples" and B above, hopefully you will see it! Ms. M and Uncle Lickey came in from Michigan for the weekend and spent a day with us! We squeezed in putting together a storage thingy on my parents new deck, horseback riding, the beach and DH brought home some big lobsters! Yes, you get the royal treatment when you visit us!

4 Years and Counting!

I went with my mom to her annual check up with her breast cancer Dr. yesterday. 4 years and she is (knock on wood) cancer free! I had not been to Dana Farber with her before yesterday. My Dad was getting 20 yards of loam, a man on a bobcat and my brother yesterday, so he passed the torch to me. Let me just say that Dana Farber knows how to treat a patient. Other Dr.s out there, especially my GYN Dr, whom I love to pieces, but could take a few pointers on waiting rooms, listen up!
She had a 10:00 mamo and an 11:00 meeting with her Dr. The hallway to the mamo office was all Red Sox. (Hey, we like the Red Sox, ok, worship the Red Sox, here in Boston.) Very cool. There was also this cool cow in the lobby of the parking garage.
For some reason, I am not able to download the cool pictures of the Red Sox walls. Must be a Yankee's fan putting a curse on my phone. So the women in the mamo office, couldn't have been nicer or quicker! She was in and out in 30 minutes total and was told she was tumor free right away! I am thinking of my mamo office where, yes the people are nice, but I am there for 2 hours!! Plus, I sit in a crowded room with lots of ladies in various stages of dress, mostly paper johnnies. UGH.
So then up to the Dr's office we go. We check in and sit in the waiting room. Hello!.....but what do I see, SNACKS! Yup, chips, popcorn, granola bars, water, coffee and on the counter a big bowl of Jolly Ranchers. We didn't have time to finish our shared bag of popcorn before she was called in by the nurse. Weight, blood pressure, off to Dr's room. 2 mins later, nurse comes in and asks some questions and tells my mom to put on gown. OK, here was our longest wait of the day.... maybe 7 minutes before the DR came bouncing in! She weighs about 95 lbs soaking wet and is so cute and talked the entire time!
We were checking out of the parking garage at 11:30. Totally unbelievable. So we celebrated with a trip to Crate and Barrel and a delicious lunch at the Rustic Kitchen. I did take a pic of my mom's avacado and crab salad because it was so fancy and cute, but once again my phone is hogging it and won't share with me.
So a great day, not just because I got to share it with my mom, but the good news that went along with it! Hope you all have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend! I will try to catch up on visiting your blogs, it has been a very busy week!

The Donkey

This is an email that my mom forwarded to me. Hope you like it!



One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pret ty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each
of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the
deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Tears on My Pillow

Ask anyone and they would tell you I am a pretty together person. I use humor to diffuse situations and am very laid back whether in crisis mode or not. That all changed today by a few Littlest Pet Shop animals.

My house needs to be cleaned out for the rental season that is quickly approaching. I do not think at the end of the summer we will move back in to this house as usual, because we just cannot afford both houses. So I am really trying to clean out closets etc... because our other house is smaller. So under the eaves today, I pulled out bins of Groovy Girls, Baby Dolls (and clothing), blocks and the Littlest Pet Shop animals. Oh yeah, and lots of stuffed animals! I have a really hard time throwing away stuffed animals. They look up at you with those cute furry faces, UGH. So I put them in a box, hoping to find a shelter or something that needs them. The bin of Groovies smelled horrible, so I threw them away. (If they hadn't smelled, I would have had a problem throwing them away too). I boxed up tons of Littlest Pet paraphenalia, but saved the animals. I figured the girls could pick 15 each or so to save.

So sorting was fine. The thing that brought tears to my eyes is that the girls don't play with these things anymore. They used to play for hours upon hours making up little stories, having weddings, babies, etc..., but now, not so much. I used to bring them home LPS animals as little gifts if I had been to Target. I searched high and low for certain animals. The whole thing of them growing up started to get to me. My poor mom was the one to call while I was feeling so sad, so she got the melt down of tears.

I knew this day was coming. In Toys R Us about a month ago, they couldn't find anything that they really wanted. I was floored! OK, they found things for over $50, but nothing in the under $20 category. When I was talking about adding on to our other house, my husband said, "Why, the girls will be going to college and living on their own in about 8 years." Talk about a punch in the gut.

So, if anyone sees me out in my sunglasses for the next week or so, please understand. I still have to go through the Barbies, Polly Pockets and Fisher Price doll house stuff.

Jess Riley

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TUESDAY MEANS?!?



It is the first day that you can buy Jess Riley's first published book, Driving Sideways! It will be a wonder if you can even fight the crowds to get into the bookstores! This book will be flying off the shelves. If you don't dare to tackle the crowds, order it on Amazon. If you want to really be impressed and can possibly wait until June, go to Target. It will be the FEATURE book there, yes, at Target, my favorite store! If Jess' book is anything like her blog,
then it is sure to be a huge hit! She is very funny, very real and she lives all the way in Wisconsin! How many writers do you know that come from Wisconsin?!

Here is part of the first chapter:

CHAPTER ONE

I am alone no longer.

It’s strange how much you can change in just one year. Twelve months ago, I’d have laughed in your face if you told me I’d be packing for a road trip this morning. Not rudely, of course, but because traveling anywhere remote was a remote possibility for me at that point. I’d have sooner believed you if you’d said, “One year from now, you will become a Scientologist, learn the pan flute, and join a Bay City Rollers tribute band.”

But I’ve had a change of heart. Well, kidney, really. I’m leaving for Los Angeles this morning, about to do some things long overdue. My Saturn is idling in the driveway, stuffed with suitcases I’ve never taken anywhere but to hospitals. I feel as if I’ve just discovered that the cure for cancer is dark chocolate followed by two orgasms. I think I’ve forgotten to pack my toothbrush, but I don’t care. I can buy one on the way. The thought thrills me.

“So you’re really doing this,” my brother, James, says from behind me, sending me out of my skin.

I jump, making a hair ballish–noise like aak, and spin around to face him. He crosses his arms and fixes me with his practiced stare: one part condescension, two parts disbelief. It’s the same look James gives the paperboy when the Fond du Lac Reporter misses the welcome mat on the front porch by an inch or more. I lean back into my car, pretending to check my cooler of snacks and bottled water while trying to regain my pretrip composure. As my surrogate parent for the last sixteen years, James has always been able to sneak up on me—catching me in an innocuous act like reading and still making me feel as if I’d been caught stealing from a quadriplegic. “Yes, I’m really going.”

“Does Kate know?” he snipes.

“She will,” I reply. I shut the cooler and turn to face James.

“Leigh, why do you even care? She’s such an asshole. She’s a footnote.”

“I just do, is all.” Kate is our mother, who developed the curious conviction when James and I were younger that she would one day become a great actress. The morning she left us for Hollywood, she crouched next to me and whispered absently, “Never settle. Take big risks.” Then she stepped into her Ford Pinto and lurched away from the curb, her silver bumper glinting in the sunlight, the scent of Charlie cologne mingling with exhaust in the air. I was five years old. I sat on the curb waiting for her until Sesame Street came on, after which I returned to the curb to wait for her return. Twenty-three years later, I’m still waiting.

“You’ve got to be kidding.” James walks around my car and stands directly in front of me. He looks spooky without having had his first cup of coffee, a little like a B-list actor with an emerging heroin addiction. Not that James has ever done heroin. James actually times his alcoholic beverages—one per hour—to ensure he never “loses control.” Eighty percent of my friends have had a crush on him at one point or another. Even the guys. They all want to be him, until they spend more than an hour in his presence. “When’s the last time you even talked to her?” he continues.

I ignore him and pretend to examine my kayak, which I’ve secured with bungee cords to the roof of my car. Exhaust forms a foggy pool around my ankles. I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell him Kate has no idea I’m dropping by. Or that the last time I talked to her was about seven years ago.

“And how well did that conversation go?”

I ignore him some more. If I ignore him long enough, James usually gives up.

“Leigh, be reasonable. You’re in no shape for some . . . road trip . . . that will just disappoint you.”

His tone makes my stomach contract into a fist. “I’m in fine shape. Dr. Jensen said so last week.” I adjust my kayak one last time. Why couldn’t I have just gotten up ten minutes earlier? I suddenly hate the snooze bar. I wish I could think of something clever to say, but the best I can do is, “Besides. I’ve been reasonable my whole life. That’s the problem.” James rolls his eyes: Give me a break. Even now, he knows exactly how to make me feel like a twelve-year-old who still can’t read a clock.

“People wait for years on kidney transplant lists. . . . You’re lucky enough to get one, and all of a sudden you’re Peter Fonda in Easy Rider?” He shakes his head, almost knocking me down with a sonic boom of disappointment. I think he’s more upset by the fact that I’m growing as a person—his little sister is changing from un- assuming, vanilla Leigh, with a spine like a warm Twizzler stick, to independent, empowered LEIGH, with a firm handshake and excellent posture. I once was lost, but now am found, thanks to a kind stranger named Larry Resnick.

Makes you want to read more, doesn't it?! Well, then be the early bird and go get it!