hot, hot, hot

Well the weather guys did finally get it right and it was HOT this weekend. Woo Hoo! Of course that means I was completely unproductive, sat around like a lizard in the sun, conserving my energy (which was non-existent), and trying very hard to keep the blood in my veins somewhere below boiling point.

To accomplish this I killed several Coronas. I'm not really a beer drinker, but I'll tell ya, those Mexicans have it figured out! There's just nothing quite as refreshing as an ice cold Corona with a couple of lemons floating around in it on a really hot day. I know you're supposed to use limes, but I prefer lots of lemons. Occasionally chewing the little pithy parts and spitting a seed across the lawn just to keep things interesting. I wonder if I'll get a lemon tree sprouting up? I'm also reading a really good book. So I enjoyed my last couple of days of unemployment following the shady spots around my yard with a book and a beer. Nice.

Today I get to clean the house, go to the bank, get the horses' feet trimmed, and prepare myself to hit the workforce tomorrow. Doesn't sound like nearly as much fun as flippng pages and killing Coronas, but at least it won't be 90 degrees. Can you imagine how worthless I'd be if I lived somwhere where it's hot all the time? Arizona here I come :)

friday

My mom replied to the blog yesterday with this:

Well, Grandma says, Evil Knievel did it, why can't Joe??? And I happen to know that Joe has God on his side. Of course, that Knievel guy must have had Him, too, or he wouldn't have lived as long as he did with all the crashes he had....

God Bless Grandmas, and dirtbike riders too! :)

___________________________________________

80 degrees today?

I sure hope the weather guys got it right! It was supposed to be hot yesterday, but I don't think it got much above 65. I was at the track in a sweatshirt and not quite warm enough. Grrrr. I am ready for summer.

___________________________________________

Speaking of the track...

Kate's Kurt crashed pretty bad last night in practice and got a concussion. It's his FOURTH! I think I'd buy that kid the most expensive helmet I could find and swathe him in bubble wrap before I let him ride again.

The upside to Kurt getting hurt is that it gave us an opportunity to get to know his family a little more. His mom (who is a firefighter/EMT) took him off to the hospital for CT Scans, so we didn't get to meet her, but his dad (who is a motocrosser) stayed at the track to race. We also met his Grandma Jeri, who was very cool. His grandpa on the other side of the family happens to be Ed, the farmer who owns all the land around us (and spreads crap on the fields occasionally). Small world here in Custer.

After dad raced and loaded up the bikes we figured they'd head out to meet up at the hospital, but they wanted to stay and watch Katy race. Isn't that nice? Kate says she is Kurt's first girlfriend, so it looks like they must approve since they made an effort not only to include her in the concussion updates, but to take time to speak to us too.

It's kind of amazing to me how much better I feel with Katy dating someone I like and approve of. Not just because of the kid himself, but because of his family. It kind of feels like she has a bigger safety net and even more family to watch out for her. That bullshit about "Well, if she's happy, I'm happy" doesn't fly with me. I didn't care if she was happy with the last one, I definitely was not!

___________________________________________

Toad & Kim

It's their 10th anniversary today (WOW). Jim is going to babysit for them while they go golfing. Isn't that a cool thing to do on your anniversary? It was Kim's idea. She decided she didn't want to just go out to dinner, she wanted to try golfing. She's done it once before and enjoyed it and thought it would be a fun thing to do tonight. I think it will be a great way for them to spend some time together and the weather should be perfect. Congrats guys, enjoy your day!

___________________________________________

K, I'm out to enjoy the sun :)

blogless

It's kinda wierd, I haven't really had much to say lately. I guess cuz not a lot is going on. The kids are finally out of school and the weather's been beautiful, so we've been hanging out outside a lot this week. It's supposed to hit the 80s this weekend which I know some people hate, but I can't wait! These are my last few days of unemployment, so I am thrilled that the weather has been great.

_____________________________________________

Sneaky Joe

I found out Joe has been sneaking rides on his sister's motorcycle. Nothing crazy, just hopping on and riding around a bit while they're out in the field. So yesterday I figured I'd let him get on the bike and really feel it out, with my approval and my very watchful presence.

My reasoning is this... The bones are healed as much as they're going to be. Now the big task is to rebuild muscle, strengthen ligaments, and continue rehabilitating the hands. In my opinion, riding a motorcycle is great for the hands. The actions of holding onto the grips and reaching and pulling in the clutch and brake levers are using every muscle that needs work. The particular muscles/nerves that are damaged happen to be very difficult to isolate using traditional therapies, but the work of riding used them to their full extent. The proof is the fact that after 1/2 hour yesterday his left hand was tired and sore.

I had been nervous that he'd hop on a bike and think that he was going to be as good as he was on February 18th. After watching him yesterday I realized a couple of things. He is as good as he was on February 18th. What I saw is that Joe is such a good rider that even after 5 months off the bike, doing a couple of laps on a very tame trail bike is about as dangerous as walking down a set of stairs. More importantly he knows his limitations and he is fearful of pushing them. Kind of like when I was pregnant; I didn't stop riding horses, I just stopped riding crazy horses... I made him stop several times and tell me how it felt. He said it felt great, but he knew he wasn't yet strong enough to ride his race bike.

Maybe I'm the worst mom in the world, but I can't tell you how good it felt to see him in all his gear out there looking like he'd never had a day off the track. Knowing that every little molecule in his body has been longing to be back on a bike every minute of the last few months. It's hurt me so much to see him lose his vibrance and vitality. Yesterday for just a little while, it was all back. He was happy and confident and doing what he loves for the first time since 1:30pm on February 19th.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not about to give him free rein and tell him to get out there and rail. I have just decided that it's time to start including motorcycle riding into his rehabilitation routine. 30 minutes a day on the pokey bike with a parent supervising and no jumping!!! I am positive we will see huge improvements much faster now. As far as the doctors go, they said return to normal activities "as tolerated". What exactly does that mean??? He'll only be able to tolerate the slow bike for a few more weeks, then it will be endless badgering until we let him get on the YZ. Don't worry, that won't happen any time soon.

I'd love to hear what you all think. Am I insane? Or is this good rehab...

i got a job!

Thanks Bridget and Alison for the great references! I will be working at the Bellingham Technical College helping administer all the money received through fundraising and donations. It's the department that gives out scholarships and awards. The hours are great, the benefits are great, and the pay's not bad. Better dust off my 'business casual' wardrobe. Bleh. I start on July 1st, I think it's the job I wanted... I'll let you know after a week or two :)

__________________________________________________

Katy has a new boyfriend. THANK GAWD!!! We couldn't stand the last one. Lowlifepotsmokingshortstubbyscrub that he was. The new one is tall, cute, polite, CLEAN (as in no bad habits), a motocrosser, friends with Joe, enjoys spending time with his family, and he actually takes the time to interact with Jim and I. How refreshing! I think the best part is that he is tall, so she can actually wear heels to the prom :)

Summer's here, go enjoy!

the job search continues

AAARRRGGGHHH. I hate it!

I've had interviews just about every day this week. I guess that's a good thing, but I HATE interviewing. I feel like I talk too much, don't say enough, wear too much make-up, don't wear enough make-up, over dress, under dress, yadda yadda yadda.

Yesterday I interviewed for a postition at the Bellingham Technical College with the fundraising foundation. It pays well, has perfect hours, and would be such a great job!

Today I interview at St. Joseph's Hospital, which would also be a great job and would probably pay my tuition if I ever get into nursing school.

Tomorrow I interview at the Ferndale newspaper to be their Sports & Education reporter, how much fun would that be?

What if they all offer me a job? What if I accept the first offer, then the one I really want offers the next day? The problem is I don't know which one I really want... They all have many pros and not too many cons. AAAARRRGGGHHH!

Wish me luck!

father's day

Since my beloved is up and out and doing stuff I am taking it upon myself to enjoy dad's day on his behalf. I'm still in my jammies, the kids are frying bacon and eggs, I might not move much at all today...

My uncle Dwight gave Joe a bow a couple of weeks ago. Its a real hunting-type bow. We know nothing about hunting-type bows, so Jim and Joe headed over to my brother's house yesterday for a crash course in proper bow handling, shooting, etc. Turns out Joe isn't a big fan of the bow, but Jim has discovered a new passion.

He spent hours yesterday afternoon shooting the bow. Twang, thump...twang, thump...twang, thump. After digging arrows out of the chip pile about 20 times, he realized at some ungodly early hour this morning that what he really needed was a couple of hay bales to aim the bow at. So up he got and headed to the feed store to buy himself $20 worth of father's day hay.

I am glad he has a new hobby. Sometimes it seems like he just works and sleeps and that always makes me feel bad because he spends so much on everybody else's hobbies. I say that now, but I just googled 'archery equipment' and see that we can spend a whole lot of money on bows, arrows, braces, and all the other stuff he can buy for his new hobby. Ah whatever, no matter what it will be less expensive than three motorcycles a year and 100k worth of medical bills.

So enjoy your bow honey, we love you and you deserve it!

sheesh, what a week!

I can't believe its been a week since I blogged. Its been kinda wierd and awful.

_______________________________________________

goodbye my hero

On Friday we went to my Grandpa Robin's memorial service in Oak Harbor. Ya know, I'm not sure how old he was, but he was eightysomething. He got sick around December, so it was a pretty quick run, which is best.

Grandpa Robin was a retired Marine Corps Officer who fought in three wars, a fact that always made me very proud. I think I had more respect for him than any other person I've ever met. We are losing our WWII vets now, so if you know one who is still with us, shake his hand and thank him for serving! Without them we'd all be pledging allegiance to the Communist flag and electing a new Kaiser every four years. Anyway, at the end of his service three Marines marched very slowly in, played taps, and presented Faye with an American flag. It was very moving and I don't think there was a dry eye in the place. I love the way our military keeps ceremonial traditions alive.

I'm a pretty matter-of-fact kind of gal. We all expect to lose our grandparents and I've felt pretty blessed to have so many of them around for this long. When my Grandma Tutu (Robin's wife) died 4 years ago, I wasn't sad about it, it had been a long time coming, she led a good life, yadda yadda. Then last year my Grammy Beaulah died and I felt the same way. But Grandpa Robin was my last grandparent and since hearing that his illness was terminal I've had a few sad moments thinking about that. For the first time in my life I am walking the earth without those ancestors. It makes me feel old.

Last month when we were landscaping we pulled out a shrub and laid it on the sidewalk. Out rolled a perfect Robin's egg. Now I've been a semi-country girl all my life and I have never found a Robin's egg in the wild. I thought it was kind of a cool reminder of my Grandpa Robin, the circle of life and the newness of spring.

_______________________________________________

mom giving us all high blood pressure

Yesterday when I was on my way to a job interview I got a call from my sister Sandy saying my mom was being rushed to the hospital with chest pains and high blood pressure. Yikes! I turned around and headed toward Bremerton. None of her family were within shouting distance, Nick and Sandy were in Seattle and I was in Burlington, so I called my amazing friend Bridget who works about 5 minutes away from the hospital. Bridget left work early and headed over to see how mom was doing. She convinced the nursing staff that she was mom's daughter, barged her way in, and took charge. All things that I knew she would do, that's why I called her :) Turns out mom was fine, probably a panic/anxiety/stress induced thing. The docs made her spend the night, which didn't make her very happy.

The story goes...As she was getting ready to be transported to the hospital, she looked up and saw a God dressed in a firefighter's uniform. Thought she'd died and gone to heaven ;) Might have been this guy:

_______________________________________________

the job search continues...

Which kind of explains the lack of blogging. Lots of emails, cover letters, googling, phoning, etc. Lots of interviews, lots of not-very-interesting jobs out there. I'll find something, but I refuse to jump at the first thing offered. Unless, of course, it's perfect.

That's it for today, gotta go dig through my 'business casual' wardrobe to find something appropriate to wear.

cya

you don't have to like motocross to enjoy the photos

This is 19-year-old Josh Hill from Roseburg, OR. Josh is one of the young hotshots on the pro motocross scene.

Nice to know that if the whole MX thing doesn't work out for Josh he can always be a plumber...

race update

I forgot to get pictures of the James Gang. Sorry. Suffice it to say that they all look good, haven't changed a bit, are still loud and crazy, and we had a lovely (too short) visit. The Gang is down to Dwight, Debbie, and Samantha (14). Ian has finally moved out and is living in Texas. Rumor has it that he loves it there and is gainfully employed. What more can you ask for for your high-school-drop-out-hard-partying-twenty-three-year-old son? Amanda (15) is in Juvy. Stole mom's car, went on a three-day joyride, ran out of gas, called to get picked-up. Mom obliged by sending men in uniform to get her. Don't mess with Debbie James!

__________________________________________________

speed racer

Katy raced at Hannegan on Thursday night. Once again she started kinda shaky then got into her groove and finished strong. She got the holeshot (which is a really big deal in motocross racing)!!! But then she, uh, kinda got "stuffed" in a corner and went off the track.

When Katy's racing, pictures are always so much more entertaining than mere words. See for yourself:

good start
getting to the front
woo hoo, holeshot!
uh oh
nothin' hurt but her pride

The funny thing is, I ordered her a 'butt patch' that goes on the back of her gear pants that says "COTCHA LOOKIN". Too bad we haven't gotten it yet, would have been perfect for these pics :)

gas prices

Thanks Mom, for the funny email :)