Just...here...

So, no posts for a while, huh?

I can explain.

So many want me to update, and I have tons to write about (my trip to Dallas in May, my mom visiting in June, 4th of July, my new job, VBS, my dad visiting in August, my sprained ankle...what else am I missing?)  But the truth is...I'm not motivated.  I have been writing my story, and that takes so much of my mental creativity.  But I don't think that is all.

I've started working part time at the vet, 3 or so days a week, and it is nice to get out and be around people outside of just moms...and nice to get away from just...me.  But I don't really fit into this place.  I like to try to be social, at least make the day nicer to talk to people and get to know them a little better, but it keeps being met with a wall.  I'm the newbie...outcast...and I think it is hitting my self esteem, already low as it is.



So how do I explain the blog?  I can't even bring myself to upload the pictures taken from my awesome camera I got for Christmas...or even my phone.  I wonder how far back I will go when I finally do...

I'm just not...motivated...

Maine Randoms

I know...I know...

It's been a while, Jenn.  Where have you been???

Well, let's see:

I started going to a new bible study at church on Wednesday morning, led by one of my friends, Tracey.  She is doing an excellent job and I have been getting a lot out of it.  The study is Crazy Love by Francis Chan.

We've been to Dallas, which mean I have another post to put up with lots of pics.  This trip was great and included yummy food, great weather, and good visits with family and friends!

B is now talking in full sentences, asking questions, correcting us, and just all around being a big girl.

We are also working on potty training as well as taking away her 'bow' at naps and night...we are more successful at night, mostly because it is both Cary and me, and he is more stubborn.   Potty training, well, it's taking some time.  When we convince her to sit on the big girl potty, she sits for long periods of time without any luck, but within 5 minutes of being up, she piddles...fun!

I got a part time job at the vet!!!  I start tomorrow, and find out the hours.  I am a nervous mommy because I have to find a day care for B, but fortunately it is part time, and it is at a REALLY nice vet (people and place), so I am looking forward to getting messy again and having something to talk about at the end of the day.

Writing is taking up a lot of time, and I still love it A LOT! My 'story' is now in 2 different versions with a third one to be worked on...all to get my 3 favorite readers to check them out and see which one carries more weight.

B also eats the weirdest things:  oranges dipped in ketchup...strawberries dipped in ranch...cinnamon toast dipped in ketchup...do you see the pattern???

Now, for some odd things we have seen along the way here in Small Town, Maine:

We were in Dallas for 10 days, and in that time frame, suddenly EVERYTHING became green.  The trees are all in full bloom, making you feel like you are...surrounded by a lot of green things...

A lot more critters are out, and we've seen skunks, raccoons, deer, chipmunks, porcupines, groundhogs, squirrels, snapping turtles...

The owner of the Drive-In Movie Theater has always reminded me of John Locke from "LOST" and whenever I see him running on the side of the road, we wave to "Mr. Locke".  Well, he has grown out his hair (he used to shave it) and the last time we were out to see a movie, Cary asked one of the employees if he has ever been compared to him.  Apparently, he has by a lot of people and it is a big 'no-no'...he doesn't like the comparison!!!  So now, I call him Mr. Non-Locke.

Driving past my church one day last week, I saw a person walking up the drive and someone chasing them.  I was a bit freaked out because I couldn't tell if the person chasing was trying to sneak up or not.  As I drove by, I looked in my rear view mirror and watched the sneak-ee punch the sneak-er!!!  I turned around to make sure it wasn't a big fight breaking out, and notice it was a girl who punched the guy...they were at that moment sitting on the ground talking/yelling...I didn't know what to do, but now looking back, I should have called the church and told anyone that was there to watch them and make sure it didn't get bad again.  It was an eventful moment in a small place!

And as we were driving down our small, non-paved road just about a block away from home, we saw a hitchhiker.  In a residential area???  3 miles from a main road???  Needless to say, we didn't offer him a ride...

And Don't Let Me Forget To Add....

Over a month ago (March 20th to be exact), Brylee decided to get into a fight with the bench that is part of our (rental) dinner table.  She slid underneath it to try to get to Chester...and somehow managed to pull the bench over on her little hand.

Unfortunately, more damage was done to her little hand than the bench, but I think the most hurt was my heart.  The poor little thing...you can see from the pictures below how her middle finger was the most affected, turning a nasty black and blue.

Thanks to Jon, a friend who happens to be a paramedic, he gave me advice on what point to take her to the ER (no urgent care except for evenings) and things to do to help her hand feel better.  Within days, B was looking at her fingers, saying 'boo boo', but refusing to leave the band-aids on.

She lost her fingernail a couple of weeks ago, but doesn't seemed bothered at all with this.  What a brave little girl!

Project 52: 14/52 Music

This picture is from one morning that Brylee and I joined some members of our church to sing at the nursing home in Small Town.  This is a song that we sing to B every night, so I'm surprised she didn't fall asleep hearing us sing it.  :o)

See the entire list here!

Big Night Take II

April has been good to our little town here in Maine!  On Sunday evening, we got to experience our second Big Night in 2012, which is the night that the weather is perfect for amphibians to try to migrate to their vernal pool to reproduce:  this particular vernal pool though is located by a busy road, so we help the critters move across to try to keep them from being squashed.  It proved to be fruitful for the little critters that decided to wait to cross the road this night.

According to the leaders of the night, we helped over 12 spotted salamanders, 20 spring peepers, a handful of wood frogs, green frogs and bullfrogs, and a four-toed salamander!

We had a police officer walk with us as we 'hunted', and at one point, he pulled over a vehicle that was trying to drive past, only to  later have another police car go down to where they were...and even a little later than that, the walking police officer retrieved his car and went whizzing by back to the scene!

I unfortunately didn't get to see many peepers, green frogs, bullfrogs, or the four-toed salamander as I ended up straggling behind and helping a couple of salamanders.  Cary and Brylee, further ahead than I was with our friends Nancy and Kyle, saw more stuff!

You can't really see them, but this picture is of Cary and B:  both real troopers in going along on this late, chilly, and rainy night!

This is how we found B when we got home.  I just wish it wasn't so blurry when I took it, because she woke up immediately after I took it...

Easter 2012

Here are some pictures from B's Easter egg hunt:

And a picture of the beautiful colorful eggs I forgot to take with us to hunt (and have as deviled eggs...which may have been smart to not have on Easter Sunday...)

 

And B got some fun goodies from her Oma and Opa, including these little rocket launchers.  

 

Why Did The Moose Cross The Road?

A couple of Sundays ago, we were driving home from church when this guy ran out in the middle of the road, not too far from us.

Middle of the day, busy road, restaurants all around.

I wish it would have stopped and talked to me...

Proving Myself

Well, I did it!  Hence the numerous blog updates in one day...

64,022 words later, and I have completed my first story!!!  I am giving myself a weekend break from it, in hopes that when I sit down and read it with Cary, it will be with fresh eyes, and then on to my friend to have her edit, if she is still interested.

After that, we'll see. 

I'm so excited, but at the same time, so nervous about putting this story in someone else's hands.  I had a friend read it to give me an early review, but she is a trust-worthy person, so I was able to get over the anxiety of someone reading it.  But now, as I begin the process to send it away to see if it is good enough to be published, I am nervous again. 

It's not because of what is out there that has been published:  I am reading and have read quite a bit of books and have an idea of some things that are there.  It's more of the nervousness of what has been declined for being published.  Has anyone written something similar to what I have and it be rejected?  Is my hard work going to be laughed at before they stamp a giant DECLINED stamp across it?  I think I need to develop some thicker skin.  ;o)

But I can say that this is a goal that I am closer to accomplishing than I have in a long time, if ever.  And it feels good.  And there's more brewing in me.  But for now, it's time to take a (short) break before digging in again.  Perhaps finish more books that are on my kindle and become well-read again.

But I have a feeling it won't be long before I can no longer resist the urge to jump back onto the writing game again.  I am already fighting to not grab my usb to see what else I can do!

Two Days Of Pre-Easter...And A Day Of Storms

April 2nd:

Our typical day.  Wake up, eat breakfast, play, eat lunch, nap, play... you get the idea.  Except it wasn't typical with our Playgroup's Easter Egg hunt!  Oh fun!

So many eggs!  So much fun!  We took 42 filled eggs to the group to walk away with 14...but this momma isn't complaining...we have so many more from B's t, poppy, and granny j, not to mention I have several to dye today!

April 3rd:

Tuesday, things were a bit more stressful for this Texas-to-Maine transfer:

A package arrived here from my parents that they wanted to watch B open that evening, so on my way to pick up the package from Cary (he wasn't going to be home in time to skype with my family due to late nights with tax season) when I received a message from a friend stating that there have been reports of 5 tornadoes in Dallas.

And of course my reaction was, 5?  today?

 

(image found on washingtonpost.com)

On my way home, I called my dad and asked how it was out his way and he was on the way to the fire station to watch the weather.  And as soon as I got home, I tuned into wfaa.com and watched with stress as tornado warnings kept being given for all of the towns I knew, video footage of tornadoes ripping through the DFW area, and trying to make sure all of my family and friends were safe.

By the end of the day, a dozen tornadoes hit the area, a large portion of my friends and family had to take cover twice, there was hail damage on several vehicles, and my heart had a workout without even turning on Prayfit...

The biggest blessing is that there were no serious injuries to anyone that was hit by the storms (maybe a broken neck?  that's pretty serious though...).  Homes and businesses, and 18 wheelers were damaged, but much more easily replaced than a loved one.

So the evening was much more relaxing and allowed us to experience this:

And on Wednesday, I got this beautiful bouquet:

 

I joked with mom when I called her to say 'thank you' that I was glad that nothing bad had happened to my family with the storms the previous day and then received these from the next...

But truly, no matter what possessions and packages I receive, nothing compares to that of my family and friends, and the storms on Tuesday reminded me of what really is important to me.  I thank God for keeping all of them safe!

How Do You Spell Chaos?

Try 2 computers in 2 homes, all of them being on Skype at the same time.  Yep.  T and Poppy got to watch B from 2 angles last week when Cary and my dad mischievously decided to add in an additional call to their own computers, causing B to run around, sing, play the recorder and drums...and lots and lots of echoing...

Project 52: 13/52 Green

See the list here!

Project 52: 12/52 Door

See the list here!

A Difference Of Two Years

Not Your Normal Weekend

Well, normal weekends don't exist this time of year for us right now, as they consist of Cary and Brenda working every day until tax season is over (come on April something!!!)

This weekend, however, was pretty fun and different, starting with celebrating Brenda's birthday with lunch, presents and turtle cheesecake! Somehow I managed to get zero pictures of her gifts, which consisted of 2 necklaces, a ton of blueberry stuff, and an electric griddle!  Cary, did you get any?  If so, send them this way!

However, I did manage to get pictures of me earning some 'Cool Mom' points with Brylee by getting her a bubble gun:

Sunday turned out to be a potential for some great amphibian crossings with the temperatures in the forties and raining nearly all day.  So after going to youth group that night, Cary, Brylee and I went to kill 30ish minutes at Dunkin Donuts getting hot chocolate and of course, donuts!

 And then it was on to Big Night with the LEA, a night where we assist amphibians like Yellow Spotted Salamanders, Wood Tree Frogs, and Spring Peepers in crossing the road so that they can get to their vernal pool to reproduce without getting squished by cars.

Big Night ended up being 'Not-So-Big-Night' with us only finding 3 critters to cross the road, but that means there is some great potential for another Big Night when we get out of the drizzling snow and rain in the 30's during the day thing. 

We found 2 salamanders (the other begged for 'no photos please!':

I found this guy while waiting for a car to pass!

Brylee seemed to have fun with us, riding on her daddy's shoulders and helping us spot cars so that none of us got hit by one.  I do hope she got the opportunity to see the critters and someday she'll be ready to walk along with us and spot them herself.

I can't wait for the next Big Night!!!