by Sarah | Jun 3, 2012 | All About Me, Blogging Life, Books, Changing Tracks, Indiana Family of Farmers, Indiana Fever, Indy Geek Girls, Writing
[flickr id=”5074952547″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]The past twenty four hours have been a whirlwind. A crazy whirlwind of amazing awesomeness that I can hardly begin to describe.
Seeing as this is blog specifically for that, I’m going to try. All of the awesomeness will see its own post (or two) this week, so for now I’m going to bullet point the awesomeness and then start prepping posts for the rest of the week to fill you up.
* First my husband and I went to Vintage Indiana (Thank you, Indiana Family of Farmers). We sampled, we walked, we ate and we bought. We discovered a winery we didn’t know about and brought home a few bottles of deliciousness.
* After that I met my friend and neighbor and went to an Indiana Fever Game. They put us up in the Legends suite and it was amazing. Good food, good drinks, good friends, good game (side note: we won!)
* The ever beautiful Casey had a phone that I could replace mine with after the loss I suffered last week. My Thunderbolt is gone, but I welcome in the Droid Bionic w/ open arms. We came this close to agreeing to a date to see Barry Manilow together…but alas she will be at Blogher. Such a shame…we could have been part-time Fanilow’s together.
* Did I mention the Fever game? Yeah, that meant I got to hang out with the awesomeness that is the Indy Geek Girls. The blogging community in Indy is Da-Bom’…and I loves me ladies.
* After all of that fun I came home and checked my email – to find an offer on my novel!!! I literally fell off the couch when I read the email. Yes, literally. Just ask Erik or Denver – they were there.
* Once I finally got to sleep – I woke up to find another requested full for my novel. I’d entered a pitch contest on a whim and a tiny prayer – & that publisher wants to see it too!
* Today I found out what was causing Erik’s phone to be painfully slow and it appears to be fixed. The man is very happy.
So today I’ve been sending out emails, fulls and updates to those that have my work. I’ve contacted a lawyer to look at the contract I received to help me make this difficult decision (I may not like the contract, or get the answers I want to my questions). Even though I’ve waited a very long time for an offer – I won’t just jump on it. There are a lot of points to weigh and I plan on weighing each of them carefully and with as clear a head as I can.
So as the week goes on, you’ll learn more about much of the events of the past 24 hours. right now I’m still a bit giddy so you get the info dump! More soon, I promise!
by Sarah | May 25, 2012 | All About Me, Get Fit - Or Kill Myself - Whatever Comes First
[flickr id=”7267389774″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]When I was growing up I was the kid that hated gym. I despised it.
Okay, so I liked the times we did gymnastics. When I got older, I was cool with tennis and even took a semester of tennis in college.
Other than that? HATED.
My least favorite wasn’t the contact sports – it was track & field.
Running?
Ick.
Let me dance. Let me twirl and leap or do gymnastics (even though I was never great at it, that was my cousin’s realm).
Track and field made me cry. I don’t remember, but I probably mean that literally. HATED.
So what am I doing now?
Oh, just signing up to run in a 5k in September.
Running 3X a week using C25k to get there.
The thing that is shocking me?
I’m enjoying it.
When I got “injured” with some funky nerve pain last month and ended up laid up for days that turned into weeks, I missed it. I craved working out again.
I’m not just running, but I’m getting my ass kicked daily by Jillian Michaels. I favor her Ripped in 30 & Yoga Meltdown DVD’s. For some reason I never got along with the 30 Day Shred. I think it was the stupid jumping jacks. Jumping jacks should never ever be in my workout. We don’t get along.
I’m doing this for me.
Because I’m tired of hating myself because I’ve become lazy. I don’t ever expect to look like I did in high school again.
Actually, I want to look better. In high school I was so skinny I got called “Anorexic” by not just students, but teachers (heads up, I was not anorexic. I ate tons…mostly crap, but I ate tons).
I want to be healthy. Strong. I want to feel good about myself.
I know I have had kids, and a hysterectomy…but they are not fully to blame for my current state.
I am.
So now I move forward.
I’m not going to starve myself dieting – but I am going to eat better.
I’m not going to try to get back to high school weight (112 is an unrealistic goal) – but I am going to get back in shape.
I’m not going to deprive myself of treats & sweets – but I am going to practice moderation.
I want to be healthy…
So I run.
by Sarah | May 23, 2012 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Learning, All About Me, All About Molly, Crap, Random
[flickr id=”6987996541″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]One week.
That week includes a three day weekend.
And the kids are out for summer.
10 weeks.
I’m both filled with dread and…
Um…joy? Fear?
Well whatever it is, I’m filled with it.
We have plans, quite a few of them. It will pass quickly.
It will probably pass even faster because I will most likely be employed again by the end of the month. Part time. VERY close to home (like walking distance) and w/ hours that will let me meet the kids at the bus and kiss them at night before bed. Also, once school starts again I’ll still have a few days a week home w/ no kids.
No kids.
All the school day long.
How many days until school starts again?
by Sarah | May 22, 2012 | All About Me, Contest, Giveaway, Random
I grew up in Buffalo, NY. In Buffalo you have to love Hockey (Go Sabres! Even when you suck!) and football (Go Bills! Even when you suck!).
I didn’t. At least not at first. I wasn’t the sports girl – my bro was the sports nut. Over time I grew to appreciate going to hockey games that weren’t my brothers. to the point that these days I love a good hockey game.
One sport that I loved (to watch) almost from the start was baseball. It got even better once the Bison’s had Pilot Field. There was the fun of the games, cotton candy, and Buffalo had the “Earl of Bud“. Baseball meant summer and sun and fun.
When we moved to Indiana, my dad took me to a few games at the old Bush Stadium. The games were always against a New York teams – in fact the first game was against Buffalo themselves.
Since then Indianapolis has upgraded to Victory Field. As much as I always loved Pilot Field (I don’t care what it’s called now, so hush)…Victory Field has a leg up with the lawn. “The cheap seats” are the best in the house. You can bring a picnic (make sure your cooler is small…~ahem~), sit back and relax while watching a great game. Not that there’s anything wrong with good seats (I still enjoy those too) – but there’s a definite ‘summertime’ and real Family Fun air to sitting on the lawn.
Indiana’s Family of Farmers (@FamilyofFarmers) is hosting a #FamilyNight at the Ball Park at Victory Field this year.
Best part? You, yes YOU can win 8 tickets! Right here (and once again at other blogs – I’ll be linking those below).
Winners and their families (8 tickets) are invited to join us for the June 11, 2012 Indians Game against the Rochester Red Wings at 7:05 PM (Gates open around 5:30 PM).
Guests are also invited to join our In-Game Picnic in Coors Light Corner. The picnic starts at 7:30 and goes through the game. You will have the option of watching the game from the picnic area or your seats, which are in 120 on the first base side.
Kids 2 and under are free on a lap or on the lawn.
So you want to get in on this great night of family fun?! It’s SUPER easy. You have up to three ways to win. Leave a separate comment for every method you use.
1. Comment here telling me what your favorite sport is! {Mandatory}
2. Tweet about the giveaway and leave a comment w/ the tweet URL
3. Share this page on Facebook and leave a comment w/ saying you did!
For more chances to win this awesome night of fun, check out the following blogs. (This list will update regularly. Check back often!)
Bonus Entries – If you enter ANY of these other giveaways, come back here & let me know! For each blog you visit & enter their contest, you get an an additional entry into mine. Make sure you add an additional comment every time, so you get all your entries.
Details: The giveaway will end on Monday, May 28th at 11PMEST. I will pick & contact the winner on Tuesday the 29th. The winner will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
You can learn more about IFOF at the following links:
· IFOF Website
· IFOF Blog
· IFOF Facebook
· @FamilyofFarmers
Disclaimer: In exchange for hosting this giveaway, IFOF provided my family with tickets to the game. All opinions are my own.
by Sarah | May 17, 2012 | All About Denver, Cystic Fibrosis, Special Needs
[flickr id=”7215498312″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]It has been barely a year since the diagnosis. It has been almost a year and a half since we started the journey – all because of another round of pneumonia.
Since the diagnosis illness has kept its clammy hands away.
For the first time since the diagnosis, Denver is sick.
It started as what appeared like an allergy but quickly devolved. A mild fever, and an ugly cough. More coughing. Then more.
In a wonderful coincidence there was already an appointment scheduled. So yesterday he went. At the hospital all day running standard yearly tests. Waiting, still coughing, still sniffling, until he could see the doctor.
Within two minutes of her walking in the room she heard the cough. The look on her face said it all – it was ugly.
There is crackling in his lungs (the mucous) and it’s visible on the x-ray.
For now he is home on heavy doses of steroids and antibiotics. The instructions we are used to for the little one now apply to him. “Call if there’s any change” and “Come back in a month” have been said. Unlike her he can take full on pills (HUGE pills, blech), and most of his care is in his own hands. I mean, what teen wants their mom snuggling and coddling them?
There is nothing to panic about. He intends to go out and go through his “Ordeal” for the Order of the Arrow in Scouts despite his illness with his drugs in hand. Just like the diagnosis he’s not letting it slow him down (Did I mention he kicked butt in Track & Field this year? No? Well…he DID).
Still there’s that part of me that always panics. Deep down where I keep it hidden I wonder how/if this will affect the strength of his lungs. If it will change the depth of his illness (currently he’s ‘atypical’ and we like to keep it that way). His lung functions yesterday were horribly bad, so how will he get through his “Ordeal” this weekend…and forcing myself to not be ‘that mom’…especially given the name and motto of this blog (living life beyond our labels gets really damn hard sometimes).
Part of me wonders if he has that internal panic too. Wishes that if he did he would talk to me about it.
But he is a teen. He is stubborn. He keeps things close to the breast.
And he laughs in the face of CF (when laughing doesn’t throw him into a fit of coughing, that is…).
by Sarah | May 14, 2012 | All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, Random
[flickr id=”7196830566″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Mother’s Day happens when the kids are still in school. So, through similar sheets of papers from the school I got to see what I look like in the eyes of my little ones.
Molly says so many things that are accurate (thankfully she was not asked my age ~ahem~).
1. My favorite drink is “Casey’s drink” (I get many fountain pops from Casey’s)
2. My favorite TV show is Big Bang. (Why yes, yes it is)
3. For fun I play on the computer. (Who? Me?)
4. Around the house I “wash jeans and chlothes” (I’m afraid she is very very correct on this one. All. The. Time.)
5. My favorite thing is…..the computer. (It is in the top…of “things”.)
6. The best thing is “she is good to do exercise” (not lately b/c I’m injured, but I’m surprised the girls put this in there)
7. No, the best thing is “she hugs me,” or “she kisses me good night”, no, the absolute best thing is “she loves me.” (No, baby…the best thing is that you KNOW that and love me back in your own special way)
8. If she was a mom she would “go on comter, and wash dishes, and cook dinner. I’d be a super nice mom like you!”
9. Last, but not least, she says what makes me special is I’m “pretty”.
All so very sweet and special…seeing what she sees. (For the record she did fill out one of these for Erik too…let’s just say there was a lot of mention of “Family Guy” on it ~giggle~ She’s a perceptive little beast).
[flickr id=”7196832638″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”right”] Kennedy had a couple of similar, but different questions. Unfortunately she was asked my age…
1. My age appeared twice. Once I was listed as “93” the other time “30”. Truthfully, I’m somewhere between…MUCH closer to 30.
2. I like to “mac cake”, and my favorite food it “lettuce”. (A sign I’ve been dieting, perhaps? I like to make cake, but eat lettuce…)
3. To relax I “lay on the bed”, “watch TV” (2 different times)
4. I like to shop “at Casey’s” (I think I go there too much…O.o)
5. What she loves most is that I “love flowers”
6. If she could buy me anything it would be “a pet dog.” (awww)
7. What I do while she’s at school? Why, I “go running”.
8. I’m really good at “working on the computer”
9. My mom is as pretty as “a flower”, sweet as “a butterfly”, smart as “a heart” (??), most of all, special as “a rose”
10. And my favorite…and the most accurate statement is that what makes me so special is that “I love her” (Yes, Kennedy…the fact that you love me, and your sister loves me, is what makes me so special)
*~*~*
I have to say that I loved reading these…seeing how their minds work, and how they see me. one of the best gifts ever.
