ohio is for lovers

we're going to ohio this weekend for the 2nd annual cornhole classic tournament. for those of us in the 'burbs, we like to call this "bean bags". but, if you're from the sticks (and there is NOTHING wrong with that, cause i am too), you can just call it cornhole. because, as you know, you are throwing a bag of corn into a hole. brilliant.

i'm looking forward to spending time with my sister, and my mom, and then having lunch with my dad on sunday. the 3.5 hour drive is no fun, but i've downloaded a book onto my iphone, so maybe that will keep me occupied while aaron sleeps or drives. not at the same time.

i love home.

i have a problem with this.

i love my dog (most days), so every day, i click on this link, to give food to animals in shelters, with hopes that they will be fed until one day someone will take them home.

but more than i will ever love my dog (sorry, duke), i love my mom, sister, grandmothers, gaggle of aunts, female cousins and best girl friends. so i click this link, to give a free mammogram to a woman who can't afford one, or doesn't have insurance.

my problem is this: yesterday ALONE, there were 211,723 bowls of dog food donated to homeless shelters! TWO HUNDRED, ELEVEN THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY THREE.

and yesterday ALONE, there were 19.2 mammograms donated to women in need. NINETEEN POINT 2.

really? heartbreaking. please make this a favorite of yours, it is so easy to do everyday, it only takes 5 seconds, and it could save a womans life. then click over to the animal page, and feed a dog. but after giving free boob squishes, please.

if we don't save the tata's, who will?

*in honor of my aunt heather, who had an abnormal exam, but is cancer free!
*in honor of my mother's friend diana, who has beat breast cancer!
*in honor of pat, my grandma's sister-in-law, who lost the battle in 1996.
*in honor of mrs. bright, a friends mother, who lost her battle in 2004.

bad to the bone

duke started his puppy class last night, oy. there are 3 other dogs in the class, 2 girls and one other boy. duke is the largest in size, and little emma, the 3 lb. purse dog will never match my 30 lb. lab in size or bark. duke clearly thinks he is the boss, especially when none of the other dogs want to play with him. he pushed the other boy dog, mingus, because he wanted to get friendly with emma instead of play with duke. what can i say, my dog is mean.

we go back next sunday, and i hope he's learned some manners by then. i would hate to get kicked out of puppy class for bad behavior. eek.

football, troy bolton, and tears.

i love saturdays when i don't have much to do. i got up today, spent some time with duke (who is almost 5 months old and starts puppy class TOMORROW) and then headed off for the tanning salon and grocery store. it is amazing how so many $1.89 things add up to nearly $100.00. I always set out with intentions of only buying what i need, but who doesn't need 3 jars of peanut butter? you never know when there will be a blizzard and you will crave grilled pb&j...

aaron spent the morning tearing down an above ground pool for a co-worker, and when he got home, he informed me that we would be going to the "super bowl". hmm, like football? ah yes, football for 8 year-olds. our little friend abby is a cheerleader for a football team in a nearby town, so we made the drive to watch the game, and hoped that one day, our son (or daughter) would play football (or cheer) on the same field. chicken wings followed, because they always do.

AND THEN, we went to see high school musical 3. i heard a woman say she cried 3 times yesterday during the movie and i lol'd. until i felt myself on the verge of tears, at which point i whispered under my breath "sorry". ah, high school. there is no time like it. no other time (at least that i've found) where your world is so care free, so easy going. not that there aren't problems in high school, i don't mean that. i just think back to the days of thinking i was sooo busy because i worked 3 hours after school and then had to go to musical practice. or when i had to get up early to go to choir practice, or whatever it was. i wanted so badly to just graduate and get out of there! but now i long to go back, just for a day. to the friends. the laughs. the jokes. the choir practice. the history class. where the biggest issue was who wore what and dated who (whom?? didn't major in english, sorry).

things were, are, so different. my best friend moved away, found alcohol, and all new friends. we were never the same. i thought he would be my best friend forever, or at least until i got married, and then my husband wouldn't go for that. my best girlfriend moved away to college, with her boyfriend, and did not need me anymore because she had new friends to talk to. there were no more choir trips, or late night pizza hut dinners. no more football games to go to, no more dances. no more of the familiar. it all changed. my other girlfriends (not from my school) and i lost touch. went away to college, had serious boyfriends, or just didn't have as much in common anymore. the things we used to laugh at weren't as funny, and the stories we used to share didn't interest us anymore.

people change and forget to tell each other.

anyhow, i cried tonight during high school musical. and also admitted to my husband that i think troy bolton is cute. he laughed.

shot up

i got my first flu shot today. i am still alive.

check back tomorrow.

well, see, i said i would change my signature, and i ended up changing my whole page. i closed my "myspace" page today due to lack of use.

i can't really find the words to describe how i feel right now...frustrated at myself, my dog, my bathtub. the tub won't drain, the dog won't stop biting me, and i won't stop saying things to my husband that i regret 10 seconds later. i really need to do some self-evaluating and figure out what's going on inside of me that's making me so ugly.

i told aaron tonight that i wanted to find a new church. the pastor at the church we've been going to was dismissed last week, and i just feel like it's a good time for us to start our search again. we never really felt connected there, but liked the pastor, so we kept going. i don't like the idea of "church shopping", but i want to find a place where i can get involved in study groups, women's groups, worship team.

tomorrow is friday, and for that, i am grateful. the weekends plan are full of nothing but high school musical 3 and potentially a new church.

i think it will be just what i need.

i just created my signature at mylivesignature.com and you can too. but beware, i will probably change it often, just to keep things interesting around here.

Do you see what eye see?

i put my contacts in the wrong eye(s) this morning. and one was inside out. after all the switching and turning right-side-out, i couldn't see for 3 hours. what a total waste of eye makeup.