theme song for my life

life on fast forward

The summer ended, school began, and life started moving forward even faster than it already had been. Most days it seems our lives are on fast forward, with days full of more activities than we really want, and not enough downtime in between, which would explain my lack of blog writing, reading and commenting.


With that said, and only a few minutes to spare before my hamster wheel starts rolling again for the night, here's a random list of some of our activities and events over the past couple of weeks.


1. First Day of Second Grade - The little man started 2nd grade. 2nd grade, my God!! Where does the time go? He was thrilled to be back in school and came home the first day saying how much he "really" likes his teacher. When asked what he likes so much about her he replied, "She doesn't yell at us." I laughed and reminded him, "It is only the first day of school, buddy. And if you guys treat Miss M like you treated Mrs. T last year, I'm sure she'll be yelling at you too before the end of the school year."


2. PKD Walk - On Sunday, September 16th we walked a 6k with some friends from work for the PKD Foundation. Thank you so much to those of you who donated money to support this very worthwhile cause! It was a cold and grey day, but we had fun nonetheless and raised a little over $400 for the foundation. Don't we look hawt in our oversized (and overpriced) PKD shirts!?! If you want to see more pics you can cruise on over to my Picasa site and check 'em out.


3. Teevee - So the kiddo and I were total BB8 whores this season. Didn't miss a single episode. And were we happy when my man Dick won. Woohoo!! Now we're on to Survivor China. So far my favorite is James, but there's only been one episode so I'm not totally married to that idea yet. Then again, I did pick Dick from the first episode and stuck with him all the way, so whythefucknot. I'm picking James to win Survivor.


4. Party Weekend(s) - It was party central starting last Friday. Two friends from work celebrated birthdays (one turned the big five oh!), then we had the Welcome Back picnic at school on Saturday, and a birthday party for one of WJ's classmates at Skateland on Sunday. I can't tell you the last time I was on a pair of skates but I strapped them puppies on and had a total blast. Even came in second in a race for the 9 and older crowd. (The 9 year old won. On a pair of blades. Damn! I knew I shoulda gone with those.) This coming Saturday we'll be officially celebrating all the September birthdays at Girls Night "In", and the following weekend we have a baby shower to go to. Talk about a packed social calendar.


So that's the highlights. I won't bore you with the details of the drama in my life, the ever increasing workload, or the school committees I've somehow found myself on. I promise to try to catch up on all the posts I've missed reading as soon as I can.


In the meantime. Cheers!

fire and blood

I ran across this over at Groove's blog and just had to run it for myself. Besides, the coat of arms is just too cool to not share.

Your Score: House Targaryen

63% Dominant, 81% Extroverted, 81% Trustworthy

Ancient. Noble. Passionate to the point of insanity. Transcending lesser beings, you are of House Targaryen.

You are a dominant personality—in fact, you are the most dominant of all eight house types. You will not suffer yourself to be ignored. You will not suffer yourself to be ruled. The phrase "I will not suffer myself to _____!" was practically made for you. You are willful, arrogant, and exceedingly dangerous to screw with. With a temper like yours, anyone stupid enough to saunter into your line of fire won’t soon forget their mistake.

You are also extroverted, which means that everyone in the world knows exactly what your intentions are. Unlike your cohorts (who hide behind smiles and courtesies and court politics), you think of it as your birthright to come riding in on an enormous dragon, breathing fire and fucking your siblings. Hey, what you lack in subtlty, you make up in style!

Finally, you are trustworthy. Your absurd amounts of power and borderline psychosis are not used unjustly. Unlike many, your general aims are just and true. You we bred for rule, and the fact that you cannot rest until you are doing so is not your fault. If you make up your mind, it becomes reality. Never one for empty threats or vainglorious lies, you can only speak the truth. And the truth is "fire and blood."

Representative characters include: Daenerys Stormborn, Rhaegar Targaryen, and Viserys Targaryen

Similar Houses: Baratheon, Lannister,and Tully

Opposite House: Frey

When playing the game of thrones, you play it to the death.

Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words!

Props to whoever knows the quote in the title.

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy reading? Finding a nice, quiet spot and getting lost in the words is so relaxing and reenergizing. And now that the little man has 30 minutes of reading homework every day for school, I get to have 30 minutes a day of reading time for me too. It's awesome!

Of course I can't usually stop at 30 minutes when I truly get into a book. I've been known to polish off some books in just a few short hours and go right on to the next one. But I haven't had that luxury recently, and when the weather is nice out I tend to put reading to the bottom of the list in favor of doing other outdoor activities (read as yard work - ugh!).

Take the last book I read, Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich. Normally I would have sat down and read it within a few hours. Not this one, though. It took about a week of reading snippets here and there when I could. Now I'm on to Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes (one of the many books someone sent me that I'm now getting around to enjoying). And then I always have a couple more going at the same time, cuz that's just the way I am. Right now I'm into my 3rd reading of Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield and my first reading of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. If you ever want to see what I'm reading, you can check out my Goodreads profile.

And now it's time for my 30 minutes of solitude. Aaah!