A beautiful boxer/shepard mix who was dumped in our rural neighborhood has adopted us. He’s still got some puppy in him. Nowhere can I find online local “lost dog” nor did he have on a collar. He’s skinny, but happy. He’s been around other cats and dogs, and my dogs have taken to him. If he hangs around for a week or so with no family claiming him, he’s welcome to stay and be ours!
How cool is it when you are the one adopted by a stray!

I woke up. That is the best part of everyday for me….from there it is a bowl of cherries.

I got an e-mail from an old friend :)

My lounge is finally re-decorated :-)

I get to go to sleep! (I know this sounds silly, but I’m a dispatcher working 12 hours shifts. Sleep is great news when you finally get to do it!)

My crush started to text me again and thats all I am willing to ask of my life.

I started cleaning/organizing the basement. It is a total wreck right now. I’m trying to make it more laundry friendly.

I have spent the last few hours working on graphing the chatrooms on Fluther. Pretty much a graph to show what hours are most active for each day of the week. I scraped all the data. I just need to make it pretty. But that will have to wait for a bit. I’m just a data/visualization nerd.

A girlfriend from over 25 yeas ago found my daughter on Face Book and contacted me through her!

I just taught a sixteen year old girl how to make a perfect ¼” fillet weld using an arc welder. She is so proud of herself!

I didn’t get killed on the way to work. Six mile drive and three idiots crossed into my lane on corners, one by two feet. They all got the bird.

The weather is nice enough that I’ve started walking again this week. It’s so great to be outside in the fresh air again – I missed the sunshine!

And now I’m laughing because that was such a dark posting. The sun is shining, its been over 50 degrees, and geese are headed north.

I have a new customer for dog training who is going to be a challenge. If I can help to sort this dogs issues out then he will have a much happier lifestyle because of it.

@Leanne1986 That’s lovely. Think you should start an online ‘dog advice centre’ ... you would be inundated I am sure!!

@Adirondackwannabe :: I don’t drive and I consider myself lucky every-time I cross the street and live.

The pain meds have kicked in and I’m spending the day with my family (including the new addition). I’m pretty sure I’m the luckiest/happiest person on Earth. Also one of the most tired. But the good outweighs that.

@johnpowell I don’t have a choice, living in a rural area, but I swear there must be a target on the front of my Jeep. Three times in six miles? @Leanne1986 Go for it. Online doggy counseling.

@partyparty and @Adirondackwannabe Let’s see how I get on with this one first! He’s probably going to be my most challenging case yet and I might want to give up dog traing for good after I have worked with him!!!!!!

I was doing my best to coax the arse to get up and go for a jog early this a.m. (before work). The arse complied and now I feel great. The roads were clear (of snow) and I got to see the sun come up whilst jogging.

@Leanne1986 If you can handle men it’s only a small step higher to handling dogs.

My old Au Pair found me on Facebook!

I saw a momma bear and her two cubs. Fortunately I wasn’t between them, I would have hated to have to shoot momma.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land What kind of bears? I didn’t know England had all that many of them.

I found this thread is still alive in its fourth incarnation! That makes me incredibly happy.

My man and I have had some pretty challenging times during the last month or so. I think we are finally starting to get closer to the other side and it pleases me immensely. Also, my youngest son performed at school last night and it was one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen!

@SuperMouse It was a great question!

I cleaned out my fridge. It was scary and smelly, but now that I’m done I feel so much better. It’s amazing what can get lost in the back of a refrigerator, although sometimes I see things that remind me of how much fun I had when I took a bacteriology class. ;)

Now I am ready to go to the store to stock up again!

I drafted magic twice last night. My team lost horribly both times but I had such a great time and made a couple new friends. I also learned a few new card games and played real dominoes for the first time!

@SuperMouse This is actually the fifth incarnation. Somebody used a different naming convention for one of them. Thanks for posting the original question. I get a kick at all the positive focus it brings.

I introduced a 12-year-old girl to power yoga, and now she can’t get enough of it! She is already shifting to a more positive attitude and treating her mother better. :-)

@Adirondackwannabe I don’t think the UK have ANY bears. @stranger_in_a_strange_land is in the USA

@stranger_in_a_strange_land So are you allowed to shoot the bears… if necessary of course?

My bad. For some reason I was thinking he was english. Sorry stranger.

@Adirondackwannabe @stranger_in_a_strange_land is American.

Hi Dibley. I just had it in my mind he was a retired English Army officer.

@Adirondackwannabe Why?

@Dibley I don’t know. I guess it’s a good thing I got set straight today.

@Adirondackwannabe But he writes like an American, and oh whatever.

@Dibley I always thought he had a more formal style to his texts, more English than American.

It’s a beautiful day here, I made a fantastic breakfast and I still have the smell of the ocean on my clothes.

@Adirondackwannabe I live in New Hampshire, pretty deep in the woods. We do have bear, but not the size of those in the western US. Although bear are not in season, we are allowed to shoot any wildlife that are a threat to life or property. Since I was not in between the female and her cubs, she ignored me. I did have my .44 Mag out of the holster though. I estimate the female at about 400 pounds. I’m very glad that I didn’t have to shoot.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land So am I, they sound just beautiful.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land So just out of curiosity… what happens to the bear if you shoot it? (I know it will die of course). Do you have to report what has happened for instance?

@stranger_in_a_strange_land My apologies sir. That’s still a very formidable bear, especially a mother with cubs. A .44 Mag would handle one but I’m glad you didn’t have to find out how well.

@partyparty I would have to report it to the game warden, who would come and take it away. I’m glad I didn’t have to shoot because that would leave two orphaned cubs to die. @Adirondackwannabe One or two rounds of 240gr FMJ .44 mag would have been sufficient. I’m not really a hunter, other than keeping pests out of our crops (I use a Ruger 77 in .22 Hornet with night sights for this), and I take my one deer per year in black powder season (.45 cal Tennesee-style long rifle).

@stranger_in_a_strange_land I used to hunt a lot, shotgun or rifle, but my g/f is a rabid animal lover, so I had to give it up. I guess that was a great thing for the animals.

A modest request. Can we put side comments in whisper, please?

@janbb Thank-you

@Adirondackwannabe My wife was a better hunter than I. She obsessed about getting her limit every year. Actually hunting is good conservation, since the deer herds here have few natural predators and would breed to starvation level if not kept down by selective culling by responsible hunters.

My puppy came through her spaying surgery okay. :-)

@Dr_Dredd Good for both of you.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land So what will happen to the bear? Is it eaten… by humans? Just curious

Someone lovely messaged me from a online dating site… as opposed to another sex squirrel so that’s was good! And I’m doing really well with my counselling… I’m getting there!!

@partyparty Bear can be eaten by humans, but you have to be careful of trichinosis. However it’s spelled. That wouldn’t be a great thing.

This question went from post something lovely about your day to killing bears. Guys, for the rest of us, whisper, please.

This is why I love the Meta section.

@johnpowell Why? Because it’s where all our dirty Fluther laundry gets hung out?

@Adirondackwannabe Presumably that is some disease the animal carries around. Can you actually buy bear from a butchers? (sorry I seem to have changed the subject matter here, but I am very curious)

@partyparty PM him.

@partyparty I don’t think you can, I would hope not anyway.

I pmed

@Adirondackwannabe Good boy!

@Adirondackwannabe =)

Since I just woke up a couple hours ago and nothing’s really happened yet, I’ll talk about yesterday.

I started a new job that pays well and will give me enough money to pay my father the money I owe him, move out of my parent’s house, and live independently.

I talked to a friend who called from Florida and got all caught up on her life.

Cloverfield added me to his fluther :)

I had an extra cozy snuggle session with my love before he left for work. Snugging is my favorite thing in the world.

I got tickets to see one of my favorite bands play in Montana, where I’ll be meeting up with an old friend I haven’t seen in a year.

@jeffs’twig’nberries which band?

@jjmah Thrice. I can’t wait!

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Nice. Jealous. :)

My hubby and I re-visited the house we’re interested in buying yesterday after seeing two others. It felt like coming home. We love the house. So does my son. We felt like a family unit checking out the house.

We’re meeting with the realtor tonight to put in an offer.

I passed a message of good will on to someone I haven’t been able to talk to in two years.

The alarm guy is fixing one of the sensors in my building.

YEA!

i have a date tonight!

Congrats @ubersiren! I’m so happy for you and your family! :)

I slept in until 11 am and came to work late! It was awesome.

This was yesterday, but it just made me laugh…

I saw somebody walking through the woods with an axe in one hand and a spade in the other: I found it rather amusing, but decided to take a diversion, just to be sure. =P

@Cupcake Thank you!

Our family has had a long string of bad luck this year, but I just talked to my mom and she cheered me up. moms are awesome for that! :)

@partyparty They donate the meat to charity, usually orphanages, etc. It tates much like beef, once you render out all the grease.

It’s finally warming up by us. The sun is shining, and it may hit 60 today.

Bear hunting/eating? :( no more talk of that on a happy thread..

I woke up before my alarm to realize that I left my window open last night. The weather is perfect outside right now. The birds are singing and there are two squirrels playing tag in our tree. My neighbor is teaching his 4 year old son how to ride a bike without training wheels and it looks like he is going to be able to do it by the end of the afternoon. I’m going to go grab a blanket and then go visit the cemetery. Lying on a blanket and reading a book by my friends grave is very relaxing to me.
So today isn’t even over, and I know it’s going to be great.

i just ate the best orange ever.

@rangerr aw :’)

Oh! My neighbor boy just made an entire lap around the court without someone holding onto the bike! Turns and all! He’s now spinning in circles in his front yard. He’s so proud, it’s so cute.

Sorry folks, no more animal stuff. Went out to do some errands and the day is beautiful. 60+ degrees F when 15 to 20 is normal. Sun is shining, I brought my coat back in and left it and then stood in the sun and let it warm me up. Two cheers for the neighbor boy.

I woke up early, made my buddy some breakfast, got all the laundry done and now have time to go shopping for new undies!

Not today, but sunday I bowled a 173. Insane.

I had an hour-long chat with someone that I didn’t know very well. I enjoyed it.

Tomorrow starts my Spring Break and I’m going to Florida. Penguins gone wild!!

I just went and got my mail and among the junk was a tiny envelope covered in Simpson’s stamps. It was addressed to me from my former manager. I opened it up and found a whole bunch of Magic cards, some of which are worth quite a pretty penny. My manager’s husband plays and has been trying to unload some of his cards When he said he would be sending me some, I didn’t expect there to be a whole bunch of rares and mythic rares worth money. Sushi’s on me tonight!

This past weekend I was able to hangout a lot with a person I’ve been wanting to get closer to and hangout with a friend I haven’t seen in a long time! It was nice. :D

I stepped out to buy crickets for my “desk spider” at work, but when I saw my broken watch on the seat of my car, I decided to go return it, instead. Next to the place I returned the watch was a Starbucks, so I satisfied my “warmed apple fritter tooth” and ran into a friend from my teacher training program and got a nice chat and a hug. Soooo much better than crickets. I’ll feed my spider tomorrow.

I did three swirly bits on my painting, studied like a trooper and stuck to my diet!! :-D

I went for a bike ride in the absolutely perfect weather.
Then I still had time to take my dog for a walk in the absolutely perfect weather before my bus came.

And I just got an email from a friend who had been in Israel for the past 9 months. He’s back in town, so I’m about to give him a call.

My three year old grandson and I pick a bag of oranges from the orange tree his Dad gave me for Mother’s Day 10 years ago. There are still at least two dozen oranges left.

Well, I woke up today. It means I’m not dead.
I may lead a boring life, but looking at it this way helps me haha.

Went to my third day of a new job that I’ve been looking for for almost a year. Further, it’s turning out to be dang near a dream job.

I was able to go shopping and my ribs didn’t hurt…(oddly enough I was purchasing ribs)

@talljasperman What happened to your ribs? (Not the ones you bought, the ones you belong to.)

I slipped on the ice feb 24th;and broke a couple of them

Can we have two? I discovered this thread.

the are short ribs being cooked in BBQ sauce in a slow cooker for 10 hours if you can get to Jasper national park in Alberta, Canada by 3 am mountain standard time I will share them with you

I haven’t seen/talked to my lady all week. I just found out that we’re going up to Northern Michigan. We’re going to stay at her family cabin.. just the two of us. Romantic weekend in beautiful Traverse City. I miss her…

I lined up an interview with the owner of one of the yoga studios I frequent. We’re going to discuss creating a new class that I will might teach.

Today being after midnight started off with an almost 3 hour talk/storytime with my favorite person. I had mango tea, too. I can now sleep happy.

We have three artists staying with us for a week while they take a class at my husband’s studio. They are all very nice and really entertaining.

As if that isn’t great enough, they brought me coffee, chocolates, brownies, and other gifts as a thank you for having them and saving them hotel costs. One of them even brought a movie for the kids. I love it when people are so thoughtful! I just hope I can resist the temptation to have a brownie with my “death by chocolate” coffee for breakfast.

I woke up bright and early this morning to have breakfast with my man before sunrise. It was relaxing and a great way to start the day. Also, today marks the beginning of the second half of our Fast.

Today I head to see friends I haven’t seen in a few months, one of which recently had her first baby, and tomorrow I wake up to go kayaking!

Got up to go to my fourth day of work at my new job!

@lynneblundell Bravo and ((hugs)) !!

@SuperMouse I thought it was the second half of the Fast! I told hubby that this morning when we woke up… but we were both too tired to figure it out.

We put in an offer on a beautiful house that already seems like home. The realtor (is also realtor for the sellers) is confident that we will soon own that house. And my best friends are trying to figure out a way to rent our house when we move (we’re only moving to the other side of the city).

I’m a happy, happy, lucky, lucky lady. It’s so wonderful to begin a new stage in life with a wonderful husband, a great son, one more year left in grad school and hopefully a beautiful new (to us) home. :)

@Val123 YAY FOR NEW JOBS. Today is my third day at a new job too! Woop woop!

Since I’m still in bed and it’s only 830, the only good thing that has happened to me is that I am extremely cozy and warm under some blankets curled up like a sloth since I slept with the window open. Ah golly, life.

Yesterday was just a whirlwind of friends and fun. My boyfriend hung out with me until about four and then left to do homework he doesn’t have break this week :( and then I went out to dinner with a good friend of mine. After that, we came back to my apartment and watched Sunshine an excellent movie that I thought he would love and I was right! After that, I went drafting with another friend of mine with a nice intimate group of people all of whom are nice young men who are extremely friendly. My team won both drafts we played and I got a card I needed for a deck. Then I went to a diner with the friend I met up with and one of his friends. Turns this guy who I had previously not liked is a really nice, interesting young man who also wants to go into TV or film. All in all, an excellent night. :)

Today I was reminded yet again what great friends I have. I made a bad call regarding allowing a picture to be posted on the internet and took some flack for it at work (A friend is a professional photographer and takes very tasteful cheesecake photos. I did some for my husband while he was in the ‘Stan and let her post one with my face on it.) I was feeling like Hester Pryne yesterday, even though it was not that big a deal, so I sent her an email asking her to take it off her site. She did, and three of my friends offered to rally to my defense, act as character witnesses need be (let’s hope it doesn’t come to that), and generally seek vengeance on the petty sharp-tongued women I work with. I don’t really want to do those things, but the fact that they were there, ready and waiting with six plans and their own righteous indignation was enough to turn my day around.

After assisting a yoga class, I was asked by another student if I was a massage therapist. If this keeps happening, I may have to get my license and start doing massage, too…

I just got back from my barrel racing competition.
I took first place with a time of 14.17 seconds.
That’s a personal record and a record for that arena.
It was very surprising because Patriot refused the barrels during our two practice runs. So I was really expecting him to get us disqualified. I could feel him start breathing hard and getting antsy before we made the run. They gave me the okay to go and as soon as I gave him the signal, he took off and gave it his all.

Then I sat on a fence and shared an apple with him while we watched the other girls make their runs. The weather was perfect again today.

I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary today, but the ordinary has been so great lately. I went for a bike ride, then came home and had lunch, then took my dog for a walk. The weather isn’t as great as it’s been the past few days— today is cloudy— but it’s still warm. The clouds are kind of nice anyway.

@rangerr: Congratulations! <3

I just bought a ticket to see Conan O’Brien!

COCO!

I cooked sausages, with mash made using double-cream and butter. I made the gravy with the water from boiling the potatoes, fried onion and garlic (cooked alongside the sausages) and some of the oil/water mix left over from cooking the sausages (my wife taught me the trick of putting water in the frying pan and putting the lid on to steam/fry the sausages towards the end – it makes them so very, very juicy!)

It was quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever cooked, and I was hungry.

I ate another fantastic orange.

I won two gold medals in a singing competition today and then this evening my boyfriend paid me a surprise visit.

@zephyr826 You have nothing to be ashamed of in sending sexy photos to you man serving his country. My lady did the same thing for me when I was in Saudi, Afghanistan and other godawful places. It’s a terrific morale booster for guys (and gals) whose partners show their care and love that way. This old soldier heartily approves; the moralizing prudes who don’t like it can pack sand.

I made it to Florida at 1:30 a.m.after three hours in the airport waiting for the plane to be fixed. It’s pouring down today but still great to be here.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Have i mentioned lately how much I’m glad you’re here?

TODAY I RODE MY OLD BIKE THAT I CRASHED A MONTH AGO AND IT WORKED AND I’M STILL ALIVE. I am so happy.

@deni You always make me happier.

:’)

OFF TO MAKE FALAFELS!

I have learned that Fast is a gift. Amazing things can happen during The Fast.

Oh man oh man oh man.
I just got back from Shamrock Fest concert in DC
It was outdoors, it never stopped raining and it was about 49 degrees all day. I was in shorts and a short sleeve shirt.
I met The Roots and two members of Train. and had front row for both of their sets.
I saw Carbon Leaf and Stephen Kellog and the Sixers.
I danced about 95% of the day. The other 5% was spent shivering.
I can’t hear anything and I am on the biggest concert high ever right now.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

My husband and I went out to eat while my daughter was at a birthday party. big deal for us. we get to go out maybe once or twice a year :)

i just had REALLY GOOD SEX. now im laying here lifeless.

is this too much information? the rest of the day was great too. it was SIXTY. i got to snug outside in the grass which was glorious and play frisbee with strangers and pet cute puppies and read a good book. AND I HAD EXCELLENT CHEESECAKE FROM THE BEST BAKERY EVER. WITH STRAWBERRY TOPPING.

GOD, LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!

@deni o.o

I slept. At night! Seriously, this is probably the first time in months that I’ve been asleep during the night. :D

I just got home (1:20a) from a St. Patty’s day dinner party thrown by a couple-friend. Their parties are usually with a bunch of his friends or a bunch of her friends. Tonight, they mixed it up and invited both groups: yogis and landscape architects. I met some new people, and everybody got along great. Eventually, we yogis started practicing ways to bring each other deeper into poses and trying some new poses, including partner poses and acrobatics. Tons o’ fun with like-minded peeps and great Irish foods!

We had a glorious walk on the beach at Honeymoon Island yesterday with friends. Saw an armadillo for the first time in my life. It is finally beginning to warm up in Florida.

I went to the cinema with my mum (It’s Mother’s Day here in the UK) whilst my sister looked after Theo for me… saw Alice in Wonderland… loved it!! (And they’ve started letting you drink LAGER in the cinema…which was simply brilliant! ‘Pulp Fiction’ eat your heart out…)

We then went for a meal at Pizza Hut… just me and my mum… starter,salad, pizza and wine in the afternoon…was sooo amazing, (Amy Winehouse and James Morrison even played on the radio whilst we were eating – my favourites) we had fabulous conversations…had a such a good time and had my son to look forward to coming home to…sun still shining… life couldn’t be better

I had a great dinner out last night with about 20 other people, some from Italy and France, others from all over the US. The company and conversation were wonderful, and the raspberry martinis were quite nice as well!

I’m on the phone with my mother right now and she has just informed me that my uncle who has stage 4 lung cancer has a much better chance of survival than originally thought. He has two tumors, one in each lung, and each one is self contained and can be dealt with. :)

I placed third at my tournament and was able to beat someone who has been great competition for a while.

I made myself print up a list of my greatest stresses and at least three ways to alleviate each. The great news is there were less than 5 and seeing them listed with several plans of attack gave me stress relief in itself. Whew.

I would classify today as one of the best – if not the best – day of my entire life. I am in love. So very, very in love.

@SuperMouse so cute :)

@SuperMouse How great!

@SuperMouse Fantastic! I’m so happy for you!

Well it was my only day off this week.

“Something good that happened to you today this weekend”

My weekend up in Northern Michigan (Traverse City).

My girlfriend and I got her family cabin all to ourselves. Check out some pictures and video that I took. She’s a beauty. (I’m narrating).

Nikki’s cabin/beach.

Cabin/beach part deux

Forest path/stream onto the lake

sunset out in front of Nikki’s cabin

Pictures (Let me know if you can see them)

I spoke to a friend around 5am this morning that I hadn’t spoken to in months. We had a falling out but he randomly called this morning.

@jjmah How beautiful! You know that’s my kind of heaven. :)

@jjmah The last one depends on a password, and the password I entered is apparently no longer valid.

@jjmah the videos are beautiful, but I’m having the same problem as @YARNLADY on the last link.

You may have had a nice relaxing weekend, but you missed out on an epic AstroChuck prank. :)

@jjmah MI ftw

I brought a friend from my teacher training to see one of my favorite teachers today, and got a great workout, then I went to my wife’s house where her boyfriend made a delicious steak dinner for the three of us.

Here they are:

Sunset in front of Nikki’s cabin

Nikki checking out an old silo

Old Silo

Remnants of a deer. A Bobcat had a wee feast

Stream/fallen trees leading into the lake

Nature walk (next to Nikki’s cabin

View of the lake on our nature walk

Breakfast noms

Lake in front of Nikki’s cabin

The cabin

@jjmah I didn’t click on the deer. But that is gorgeous.

@jjmah I’m jealous. Great pictures!

Thanks , guys. I’ve never felt so relaxed in my life. We cooked shrimp out on the grill when the sun was setting. It’s was 58 degrees and sunny during the day and the nights were awesome. A blue/black sky filled with a million stars (we sat out on the front porch and smoke a couple of cigars whilst looking up at the sky). Heaven.

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities I was supposed to be in on the AstroChuck prank. How did that go down?

@jjmah It was great! This question was fantastic when nearly every single person answering had the same avatar. Reading it now seems kinda odd without the avatars, but it was fun at the time.

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities HA! I love it! Too bad that I wasn’t there when it went down.

Wow, thanks, I would love that.

@jjmah look for the question I sent you; it was inspired by you. You’ll enjoy it.

@jmah, those are beautiful!

Today my youngest son gets braces! It is the first phase of treatment because his bite is so deep his bottom teeth rub against the roof of his mouth. He said today is one of those days where that is hurting him. He is getting a bite plate to stop that and head gear to work on the bite. I am really happy it won’t hurt him anymore and we are on our way to fixing the problems. Bonus: he is going to look so cute in his head gear!

It’s my March Break (off from teaching), and I just woke (next to my purring feline) from a mmmm.. siesta. :)

Wow! @jjmah Who is Nikki and where is the cabin and can I move in??? Is that on the Oregon coast by chance?

My aunt is doing some part time work at the same place I woork so she is staying with my dad for a few days. I am lucky if I see her 3 or 4 times a year so the fact that she is so close for a few days is really cool. She has bought two of her dogs with her as well which is always a bonus for me! Tonight we are going out for “all you can eat” Chinese the dogs will stay at home!

I put on shorts for the first time in a long while. Yeah, spring!

Boy, are my legs white.

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Pics or it didn’t happen.

@rangerr You just want to post pictures of my sexy gams online, don’t you? Well, I’m not your puppet. :)

Actually, they’re way too white to post. Time to start working on my tan.

I was sad and overwhelmed earlier today so I went home for a break and my hubby cheered me up. I love him.

Today is my husband’s birthday, which he decided he was too busy to celebrate. He’s hosting a couple of art classes and entertaining a lot of people from out of town on top of running his own business. So, I baked him a birthday cake and surprised him with it while the group from the class took a lunch break. The look of embarrassment on his face was priceless! I got to eat lunch with him, then we all sang to him and had cake. He’s so cute when he blushes. He thought he could get away with canceling his birthday, but he underestimated my birthday prowess. muahahahahahaha!!!!

I have been working on a presentation for thursday and managed to finish it today barr a few tweaks here and there. Now that it has come together I am really confident and excited about the presentation. It has the potential to make my job a whole lot more exciting.

Also, I found a penny.

My EPT was negative! (This is the third time in a row I’ve said that, in case you missed the other two!)

I had the best apple of my life today it was a Royal Gala maybe @deni and I should exchange…

I played on the swings in the park

I went to the doctor and didn’t come out feeling as small as a mouse

I’m finding compassion, understanding and patience where there was only criticism, disregard and tantrums

@lynneblundell lets! i need to stock up on oranges, i blew threw the last batch they were sooo good. i can’t wait for peaches to be in season AHHHHHH DROOL

the nectarines as my local supermarket are great at the moment… of course they’re not British :-/ but hey ho!

Went walking with friends visiting from home at a local Florida park and saw three alligators! It made their visit.

It was a gorgeous day outside, so a few friends and I went to the cemetery to visit our missing link. We all sat on a blanket and listened to Sublime. There was pot involved. We were barefoot. So cliche, but such a great day. We shared so many memories and quotes that being sad wasn’t a factor today. So so so great.

listening to Sublime… might just be the new music I’ve been looking for for a while now!

I’ve just discovered some great new music!

@lynneblundell :D

I SAW TRIVIUM LIVE IT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!!!
But my neck hurts like hell now. =)

I did most of my Fluthering on my laptop out by the pool today. I finally had to come in and fix dinner, so now it’s too chilly to go back out.

The power went out so we lit a bunch of tea candles and played Gin Rummy until sleepy, it was really nice! I forgot how soothing candlelight is and the smell of warm wax made getting sleepy easy.

Woke up feeling better than I have in days. (Antibiotics are a miracle invention, you know?:)

Part of my yoga teacher training is to form a group with other trainees and use yoga to brighten the lives of people in less fortunate stages of life. Our group is planning to teach yoga to the members of a job training corps. They are young adults between 18 and 24 in an impoverished area. There are about 30 corps members, and most have dropped out of high school or are recovering from addiction, etc. We met with them and the leaders and offered our program to them. They are all very excited to receive our gift.

Anyway, the great thing that happened is one of our group met with her connection, and a very large phone company is going to fully fund our program!

I am sitting on my back deck doing homework.
I have been sharing a box of crackers with this squirrel for about 45 minutes now.
He is now sitting on the ground next to my ankle, accepting them from my hand.
I hope he sticks around.
I named him Clyde.

I met with a member of my yoga seva project group to discuss the flow of the classes we’ll be teaching. We finished that in about a half hour, then we spent the next 3 hours walking around the capitol park and downtown. Stopped for a slice of pizza, some dark chocolate, coffee, and ran into four random friends doing the same thing. It was a great day of warm sunny weather!

I made catering arrangements for a surprise for my husband’s birthday.

I went to my youngest daughter’s school play this evening. Not expecting great things from a middle school production of Suessical the Musical, I was quite pleasantly surprised. It was fantastic! Some great talents at that school, not the least of which belongs to the Chorus teacher who ran the show. Best of all, I got to see my daughter do what she loves best… perform for a crowd. Great evening!

The last three days, we’ve had beautiful weather. Sunny and almost 60 degrees! It’s been lovely to have the kids outside playing after school until dinner is ready, and yesterday I took advantage of the sun to expand my garden and double it in size. Maybe this year I’ll manage to not kill any plants. Today looks like it’s shaping up to be very nice again, and I can’t decide if I should go for a walk downtown or take a bike ride after my son goes to preschool. Because God forbid I do some laundry…

I know this might be getting redundant, but I am really with the most amazing man on the planet. Also, my middle son turned ten on Wednesday and we had a great night celebrating his birthday yesterday! Happy Birthday mid-Size!

@MissAusten we had fabulous weather yesterday, it was over 60 and gorgeous. Today we are expecting snow. Blech!

I cashed my first paycheck (480$) and bought some hot pockets, insoles, and spk.

@OperativeQ No, no, something great that happened to you. I’m pretty sure hot pockets don’t count. ~

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities The paycheck was the great part. I have money for the first time in a long time.

I went to a movie by myself last night. It was nice.

@SuperMouse I keep waiting for one last snowfall here. New England seems to like to torment its residents with a few spring-like days followed by another dose of winter. :(

I had a dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cup today, a reward to myself for behaving well at the grocery store. The kids get lollipops, I get chocolate!

I just bought presale tickets to see Iron Maiden in June! Woohoo!
Though $100 each kinda sucks donkey balls…

10K party was today. I feel humbled.

My parter who’s never been in love sober is beaming because he’s feeling love in a whole new intensity. We’ve been in love for sometime but sobriety is enriching it for him.

@Neizvestnaya I can say the same about my partner, isn’t it great?!

@Leanne1986
It’s great that he feels he’s getting more out of sobriety than what he gave up and it’s our hope he’ll be able to stick with it, he understands our future together needs this as a stabilizing foundation, we’ve pretty much got everything else.

It’s been a wonderful week. I’ve spent the last three afternoons in the park with my daughter, enjoying 60 degree weather. snow tomorrow, bleh!

We also received news from my son’s German teacher that they extended the payment deadline for us for the student exchange trip. It looks like he may be going to Bavaria in June after all!

I got to play nanny to my two week old great niece again today. Holding a baby is the best!

<opposite day> It snowed today </opposite day>

Today my six year old son decided he was ready to have the training wheels taken off of his bike. He was so determined to get the hang of it, and never gave up. His poor legs are going to be black and blue tomorrow, but by this afternoon he could pedal from one end of the driveway to the other on his own. Now we only need to work on turning!

At one point, he was biking straight for a tree. Instead of turning the bike, he swung one leg over the seat like a stunt cowboy and threw himself off of the bike. The bike hit the tree and fell on top of him. I ran over and asked, “Are you OK?” He looks up from the grass with a huge grin and yells, “SWEET!!!! That was an EPIC FAIL!!!” He is so excited to practice more tomorrow. I only hope my nerves can handle it.

Besides that, we took a long walk on the beach and found a lot of sea glass. My daughter and I took a long bike ride, we got the yard and deck cleaned up, and had dinner with my husband’s family. It was a beautiful day, and I am completely exhausted in the best possible way. :)

I went for a 26 mile bike ride. The weather was beautiful. And I felt so great.

I’m going to clean my room tonight and move my bed to the other side of the room so it’s near the window.

I love Spring. Happy Spring everyone.

@petethepothead Happy Spring to you, too! I love you more than spring, though.

Today I went shopping with a few family members.
We are out of town, and despite the fact they find it necessary to all be in the same hotel room, we have been having a decent time.
My cousin and I just trolled Chatroulette for an hour with my teddy bear. Hilarity ensued and I hurt from laughing so hard.

I also got two skirts today.
I don’t wear girly clothes, so this should be interesting to see if I can pull it off.
Also, the weather is perfect. Sorry, @OperativeQ.

We found a really good bargain on a highchair for my youngest grandson, JJ. I played all day with my 3 yo grandson, Mr X. We picked oranges, went shopping, played with the new Mega Blocks, chased the dog all around the yard, pulled weeds for an hour, and planted a bunch of flowers.

Picking oranges

I went to an awesome party with beautiful people tonight.

I just recently got a job as a tow truck driver. So, I guess not damaging someones car is a good thing that happened to me today. That’s….. that’s about it.

I went to a gay bar to help my friend celebrate her birthday tonight. There were plenty of straight women in our party, and I actually danced! There was a great DJ playing some really good techno…and the alcohol didn’t hurt…

Fun party. Great cuddling and conversation after. (It was a house party.) I got to be an Enneagram expert, and people were so curious about that. I love that. I felt good. I like people.

Ooh, and the NCAA basketball I watched today was amazing. Northern Iowa???!!! :)

I got to speak to my boyfriend who is working on the other side of the world to me at the moment. Only one more week until he is home and I am counting down the seconds!

@Trustinglife If you notice the topics listed under this question, the frisbee listing was for you.

I saw my first ladybug of the season this morning.

I planted a boatload of seeds, ate 2 ice cream sandwiches ( it’s the weekend! lol ) and soaked in my hot tub at sunrise this morning!

Bliss to the 10th power!

I bought a couple books, a cd, and a new pair of shoes today. Everything I’ve bought has been good so far.

I had a fun and meaningful conversation with a dear friend.

I watched the health reform pass in the house.

Also, I finally ended my failing relationship.

A group of us from a yoga studio went out to a club. The studio owner talked to the guy at the door and said, “I’ve got sixteen people with me who can put their feet behind their head. You should be paying us to come in.” They waived the $10 cover charge for each of us!

wow @andrew that’s brave… are you doing ok?...obviously perhaps…otherwise it wouldn’t be a ‘great thing’ ? :-/

I talked to my mum and dad about how crappy I’m feeling and they actually made me feel a little better by discussing with my my will arrangements…sometimes one just needs some help!

@andrew You have lovely eyes and hair. amidoingitrite? You need us again?

Last night I cuddled with one of the horses. He’s not doing too hot and is being put down this week.
I woke up to him nuzzling my neck. We shared an apple this morning and despite the rain, he seemed pretty happy when I let him out of the stall to go play in the mud.
It was cute.

This afternoon I discovered a new form of utter bliss: ricotta cookies. I can’t even describe how insanely delicious they are. Maybe if I eat a couple more…

I had a pretty horrible day, but I feel slightly better now. I’m going to just ride random buses all night, and probably end up at my grandparent’s house. I’ll sleep in the garage and maybe see my baby cousins in the morning.

@petethepothead I appreciate your honesty, Pete.

I found out my grandmother is way better and out of the hospital.

I got a text message from my boyfriend telling me that he thinks I am “lush”! It made me smile as it was unexpected and seeing as he is on the other side of the world at the moment every bit of communication makes me smile even more than it usually would. My apologies, I’ll stop sounding like a love sick puppy when he comes back!

I’m back at work after Spring Break and realizing what a great job I have and how lucky I am to have such good and supportive work friends!

I went to all my classes and didn’t leave early. This is a big deal.
Then I found out that Danny doesn’t have to be put down for a while.
Happy day. Now it’s naptime.

I had amazing sex with my boyfriend last night. It was between rounds of playing magic online.

I put this in a whisper because I know that some people don’t like the good sex stories. ;)

Now, that’s what I call “Magic”, @KatawaGrey!

Tonight at dinner, my five year old was talking in a really loud voice and driving us all crazy. My husband said to him, “Why are you yelling? You need to be quieter!” Our son said, very seriously, “I was using ACTIONS. Actions speak louder than words!” I almost choked on my chicken pot pie, I was laughing so hard!

I guess when I use phrases like that, I need to do a better job of explaining what they mean!

@ru2bz46: Ha, yes, yes it was. :P

@MissAusten: You don’t know how hard it was for me not to bust out laughing in my class just now.

I took an hour long Spinning class yesterday and I’m planning to take another tomorrow.

I got most of the weeds pulled on the side of the house and prepared the soil for grass.

Saw my girlies today, and we had dinner together and some cuddle time. It was nice. :)

A customer to our store became a possible new friend today.

Two yoga studio owners asked me if I’d be interested in teaching for them when I finish my 200-hour certification next month!

I came up with a pretty creative thing to say to get a couple of high school kids back on track with their work. There were only three kids in the building. At some point two of the boys decided to start visiting with each other instead of working. They were, quite possibly, testing the “new girl” to see what I’d do. They were actually in another room, and finally, after about 15 minutes I kind of hollered, “What are you guys doing?” and got some kind of smart aleck, snotty response and went back to talking. I didn’t hear the words, but I heard the tone. I sorta didn’t know what to do because this isn’t a regular class room at all, and I was there for the last hour by myself. Well, a few minutes later I decided I couldn’t let it pass, because then I’d flunk their “test” and it would be that much harder to keep them on task next time. With no idea of what I was going to say (I had a good idea of what I was NOT going to say though, because I’m not a nagging, broken record teacher. I don’t go “Be quiet! Quit talking!” over and over…) I moseyed on in. They were examining their driver’s licenses.
I said, “Did you just get those?”
They said, “No!”
I said, “Are you organ donors?”
“Yes!” they said in unison. And there was my opening.
“Good! Because I’m gonna kill ya if you don’t get back to work! That will make some folks and doctors really really happy!” That got ‘em. :) They grinned sheepishly, I went back to my desk, and after about another minute of talking (To prove I wasn’t the boss of them, and they got quiet only because they wanted to get quiet) they got back to work. :)

Something good was that my paycheck today was 100$ more than last week. I’m all like =D

I’m finally going to see Alice in Wonderland 3D tonight. I know it’s old news now but I can’t wait!

Last night I picked up my best friend’s daughter.
She is .. the cutest.
We hung out last night on Skype with @Ivan who I think she is in love with.. she kept kissing my screen for a while then we watched Empire Strikes Back.
I woke up to her opening my eyes with her sharp fingernails. We went to IHOP and rocked out in the car to Train.
Now we are cuddling and watching Zoboomafoo it’s the horse episode!
Stress relief at it’s best.

Today I found out that I’m getting a promotion and will be doing summer field work in Alaska. I’m so freaking excited right now!

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Congrats! That sounds frickin’ sweet.

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities I’m coming with you. Thanks.

@jeff’s etcs. That’s so great!

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Yay!!! Send money!

I took a hard Zumba class with a different teacher. I used to do folk dancing as a teen and was even in a performance group; this is bringing back some of those learning skills and pleasure. And the music is so much fun!

earlier today, i jumped off a sky scraper and found found that i can fly. if that’s not great then i don’t know what is.

@janbb so jealous ;-)

@neverawake so jealous!! :-)

but I danced ballet round my living room and that was pretty lovely too :-)

I took my six year old to a birthday party at an ice skating rink. He has never skated before, so I hung around to keep an eye on him as he fell all over the ice. The mom hosting the party saw me watching him and said, “Go get some skates and join him!” So I did. :) I haven’t skated since I was a kid, and never tried hockey skates before, but I managed not to break my ass or even fall once! I had a great time wobbling skating around with my kid, laughing at each other and just being silly.

My sister and I spent the evening at the park playing frisbee. It was cold, but in a good way. I hate the cold all winter, but once it gets down to the last few crisp nights before the start of sustained warm weather I really enjoy it, especially when I’m running and snatching a projectile out of the air. It’s a great feeling.

Tomorrow night I’m going upstate. It’s been too long since I’ve been there. I’m going to spend a much needed day or two alone in the woods.

My 15 year old daughter just got her learner’s permit, so last night and today I took her out for her very first driving lessons. And we didn’t die! On a serious note, it was such an odd feeling… really recognizing how grown up she’s become. Pride and sadness, all rolled into one. A bit bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter. As a plus, she’s catching on very quickly. She did a great job!

I modelled for a hair catalogue today and really enjoyed the day. The group of people I was working with were really fun and I am loking forward to seeing the pics when they are all printed.Now I just have to try and wash the endless amount of hairspray out of my locks!!

discovered lesbian naughtiness on youtube

The movie Old Dogs was nowhere near as horrible as I thought it was going to be and How to Train Your Dragon was down right good!

@Leanne1986 you must have fabulous hair! I am jealous!

@SuperMouse I’m taking my daughter and a few of her friends to see “How to Train Your Dragon” next weekend. Glad to hear it’s good!

@lynneblundell w00t!

I just saw my first kirtan “concert” in San Francisco. It was Krishna Das with Deva Premal, Miten, and Manose. They had Greg Douglass and Kit Walker sit in for the set as well. The show lasted over three hours, and had a lot of audience participation (kinda the definition of kirtan). It was an amazing experience. Next concert on the list: Iron Maiden!

@SuperMouse My hair is long and very easy to style, not too thick and not too fine. When I took all the grips out of my hair at the end of the session I counted 24! No wonder my head felt like a pin cushion!!! Btw, I can’t wait to see How To Train Your Dragon, I’m dragging my dad along with me!

Today I didn’t get stuck in any traffic on theway to work. I love it when the kids are off school!

Well, my boyfriend and I got into a big argument yesterday not a fight per se, but just this side of a fight and I thought we weren’t going to speak for a little while. When I broke down and texted him last night to see if he was willing to talk, he said he would prefer to sleep over instead. We had a nice sleepover and a good day before we both had to go to class.

Then, at my class, we learned all about obscenity laws in the United States and it is extremely fascinating stuff! It’s also stuff that worries me more than a little in terms of who’s in office.

Hubby’s 59th birthday was an unqualified success. His Mom and sister and her family flew in, we found a wonderful hotel and the whole family (including our son and his family) got together for swimming, partying, eating and celebrating.

I took my wife and her bf to the San Francisco airport today for their trip to Hawaii. They bought me a nice sushi lunch for my troubles, and we all had a great morning afternoon together. Before I drove home, I stopped into my teachers’ teacher’s studio and took a 2-hour advanced yoga class. I just got home from a fantastic day and still feeling great from the workout.

@ru2bz46 Where is that lovely (ex-?) wife of yours, anyway? Haven’t seen her here in ages!

I got to hold my great-niece (3½ weeks old) some more at the seder last night and this morning. Holding babies is just about my favorite thing to do!

@augustlan She’s still around, but she not immediately recognizable.

I started assisting yoga classes at a second studio (well next week is my first class), and the owner wants to meet tomorrow to discuss my teaching goals. I finish my formal training at the end of this month. Though none of the six studios that have approached me have actually seen me teach yet, they sure are interested in me. They’ve seen me practice and assist, and have heard from my students, so I guess they have an idea of what I am about…and they seem to like it.

I woke up at 3 AM and went for a long walk along dark, silent country roads.

I had breakfast at a diner. They opened in August. Today was their last day open; business has not been good. I had tea and toast, because they didn’t have much else left to offer. A few old guys who have been there every morning I’ve gone there sat in the corner and talked to me from across the room about turkey vultures and tractors. One of the guys was once the world champion in a tractor race. He built the tractor himself and had to have it shipped to Norway on a boat. He showed me a picture from his wallet.

I walked in the woods in the rain and saw a porcupine. We stood together for a long time. Neither of us spoke.

I went to a bookstore with my cousin but I didn’t buy anything.

I got a new phone in the mail today. I’m not excited about that, but my sister is, so that’s a good thing.

This is more of a “strange coincidence” than a “great thing,” but I have to share.

Yesterday my husband was out running errands and saw some big flashlights on sale. He bought them and the batteries, since our flashlights are always being lost by the kids or never have batteries. This morning, our daughter noticed the new flashlights, and as my husband was telling her they were only for emergencies and not for playing, the power went out. Weird, huh??

The great thing is that we’d already made coffee, and just had to drink it fast before it got cold. Power is back on, just in time for me to take a shower and get my youngest to an Easter egg hunt at a friend’s house before preschool.

@MissAusten Hum – from your mouth to G-d’s ear?

I went to pick up a new horse today. His name is Takoda. He’s not mine, but I was the only one who knew how to drive with a trailer attached. He’s a cutie, but the camera spooked him and he ran off in the field before I could get a good picture.

When I got back, I took one of the horses down to the ring to practice.
The dogs followed me down and they took naps in the grass.
About an hour into riding I watched one of the little Jack Russels get up and walk over to the big, grouchy and still asleep German Shepherd.
He stood there for a minute. Then he peed on him and ran away.

I started laughing so hard that I spooked the horse. He took off running and it was fantastic.

I plucked up the courage to phone the police with the help of my counsellor but have realised unfortunately that not everyone is as helpful or understanding…

@lynneblundell Good for you

@petethepothead that sounds like the perfect day. lurve to you.

Just now, I went for a walk at Lake Chipican (a beautiful wooded park where I live). I had my iPod on with this song playing, the sun was going down, and as I rounded the corner of the lake, I saw my Blue Heron standing ever so still in the water. The brigh,t orange sun was going down behind her. :)

@jjmah Isn’t there a song about “My Blue Heron”?

Don’t laugh, but, this makes me cry.

@jjmah Beautiful. I actualy have a Blue Heron here on (heron?) my lake in NJ and see several of them when in Fl. They are magnificant birds.

Looks as though someone else got to see her/him.

Wow – that is stunning. Would make a great watercolor subject.

Oh, I know. :) I rarely see this guy when I’m out on my walks. When I do, he surprises me as I round the lake. You can get pretty close to him, too. He just stands there. It’s a beautiful site to see.

One of my favorite teachers is opening a new yoga studio in June. We spoke today about me possibly teaching for her. The style she wants for her studio involves chanting at the beginning and end of each class to help bring the community together. A couple weeks ago, that would have scared me away, but I co-led my first chant with the teacher in a class I assisted tonight. I told my potential employer about it, and she asked me to lead the chant (by myself) in her class next Tuesday. I’m actually looking forward to it!

I’ve kept my mouth shut. I’ve been trying to be quiet more often about “hot topics”. Thankfully I’m getting there. Slowly but surely ;P

I’ve been hanging in the kitchen with my housemates and their friends for a couple hours. We had delicious homemade pizza, and then my housemate made homemade banana ice cream, supplemented with amazing organic dark chocolate.

Now we’re listening to crazy music, drumming with hangers, dancin, and enjoying.

If I weren’t me, I’d want to be me.

@Trustinglife If I weren’t me, I’d want to be me. I say that when I’m having an awesome moment too. Get off Fluther and go back to your awesomeness!

<< Wants to be @Trustinglife, too. ;)

I just noticed that I got sunburned today.
This is very exciting.
Sun burns = warmer weather = less clothes = NOT PALE.

@rangerr No! Sunburns = Not good. Don’t go messin’ up your skin, girlie!

@augustlan I forgot sunblock today. I’m not use to good weather and no jacket. I’m good about that normally, I promise!

woah…is it just me or have we been seriously hijacked… me thinks am missing something

@benlynneblundelldrew Have you looked at a calendar lately?

yes…I know…. x

Haha, well, our lovely founders have pulled an excellent prank on us and I am greatly amused (and greatly confused).

Trying not to threadjack here, but, that Pink Floyd song, the feeling that I get from it is the same feeling that I’m sure I’d get if I were flying through the sky – arms stretched out and all – dipping into vallies and up over mountains. Listen to it again and picture yourself flying.

I rode my bike to school today. The weather was perfect. Class wasn’t officially cancelled, but the professor didn’t show up. This wasn’t the first time this has happened. About five of us decided that we’re not paying for a class about Political and Social Philosophy to show up every week and go home after waiting 20 minutes, so we sat around and talked for a while.

Then I rode home, and found out that my mom was at my grandparent’s house babysitting my grandma while my grandpa was at church. I know she hates that job so I took the bus over to take over so she could get home earlier. By the time I got there my grandpa was home, and my mom had already left.

I went to the park and swung on the swings, and jumped off. It was fun. My aunt and uncle live right next to the park and my grandparent’s house. They pulled into their driveway and I went over and said hi. They invited me in for tea. That was fun.

I thought about going over and just saying good night to my grandparents, but by then it was late. I looked through the window and saw my grandpa tucking my grandma into bed and kissing her goodnight.

@petethepothead You are one sweet guy!

@petethepothead It’s official. I love you and your whole family, too. :D

King’s Dominion opens today!!!!!!!!
My sister, her nurse and I are all going for the day. Mostly so I can pick up my season pass.
The new coaster tops at about 94mph. With an 85 degree/300 foot drop.
I. Am. So. Excited.

@petethepothead D’awwwwww.

I went to see Nanny McPhee 2 at the cinema. It was a very sweet film and didn’t take to much brain power which was a welcome relief!

I never actually went to King’s Dominion. Series of random events occurred as I was leaving the house. I’ll start my weekly trips next week.
I caught up on sleep and got a lot of cleaning done today.
So nice.

I just got back from the beach with my kids. We found a lot of sea glass to add to our collection and saw some kind of strange sea creature that looked like a cross between a centipede and an earthworm. It was only six or seven inches long, so we didn’t call The National Inquirer. It was a really nice afternoon, just tromping along and climbing over rocks to see what we could find.

Before that, we had some family over for lunch to plan our upcoming spring break trip to South Carolina. Only one more week!

@MissAusten I love your stories of your family life.

@MissAusten Can I join your family?

This didn’t actually happen to me, but it gave me good feelings. While reading this post, I got a text from my wife pro tem (she’s in Hawaii with her boyfriend). They wanted to see the Arizona today, but the tickets were sold out, and they’d have to come back at 7:00a tomorrow. Just then, some guy walked up and gave them two tickets and walked away! I love hearing about cool strangers. :-)

@janbb Thanks!
@ru2bz46 Sure, just bring a horse and my daughter will adore you forever!

Today I went to the ranch and got a great practice session in. Even with my horse acting like a fat cow.

I then went to the mall to get my dad’s Easter gift.
I pulled into the back parking lot and watched a lady throw two cat carriers out of her car.
Curious and a bit concerned, I went to check it out. Carriers don’t flip themselves over.
Each carrier had a rabbit in it. I strapped the carriers in my car and took them home.
After arguing with my parents thanks to Ivan for keeping me sane during my breakdowns. to let them stay so they wouldn’t get put down at our crappy local shelter, they agreed to let me keep them if I did the house chores all summer and I built a hutch.
I am taking them to the vet on Monday to get them checked out and hutch building starts Tuesday afternoon.

This is JT -Named after Jabba The Hutt. The first thing he did after I calmed him down was eat an entire plate of greens.
This is Stella -Named after @Dog. Because she has the best personality ever. And it’s fun to say.. STELLAAAAAAAAA

And this is just cute
I am convinced that Stella is JT’s mother.
Yes, I checked sexes.

I never got my dad’s Easter gift.
I shall go do that now.

@rangerr They are adorable, and very lucky you have such good timing.

@rangerr Bunnies! Adorable.

@rangerr You really are the best person ever. :)

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Oh, hush.

I caught up with a good friend who makes the best cake EVER!

I spent half the morning freaking out, thinking I’d left my wallet someplace and would never see it again. Not only did it have all my stuff in it, but my husband’s debit card as well. Searched the cars, searched the house, called the gas station where I last remember having my wallet…nothing. Meanwhile, my husband went off to a business trip to NYC livid because he really needed that debit card.

Well, my father in law called and said, “I found a wallet in my trunk. Is it yours?” Oh, sweet relief! I have no idea how it got there, unless someone tossed it into the trunk along with stuff from Easter dinner by mistake. I was just so happy to know that I wouldn’t have to go about replacing everything in that wallet, especially since we are going on vacation later this week!

And, I just had a piece of lemon cake leftover from Easter. oh so yummy

I found out that the rabbits are very healthy.
I also found out that they are both female.
So JT is now named Nippet.
Star Wars reference to this little Ewok.

I flew out to California for two days and had a surprisingly wonderful – possibly last – visit with my mother, who is suffering from dementia and has had mini-strokes. I didn’t think she’d recognize me but she lit up when she saw me. I had been ambivalent about whether to go and it turned out to be a peak life experience.

I assisted a yoga class at the temporary location for a new studio. The owner (someone I knew through another teacher, but not well) asked me to lead a chant to start the class (my second time to ever do this, and my first time completely solo!). She asked me to tea after class to give me feedback on my assisting and chanting. She loved both and wants me to be more involved!

We talked over tea for another two hours afterward and really bonded. She had to pick up her son from the airport, so we left. I was five minutes from home when she called to tell me about her flat tire (five minutes from her home) on the way to the airport. I turned around and let her take my car to get her son while I dealt with her tire. She brought me a hot cup of tea and we talked for another hour sitting in the car. I got home around 2:00a from the 6:30p class, but I had a great night, and I have a new good friend.

@janbb I’m so happy it turned out well for you.

@YARNLADY Thanks – it was truly amazing and so much more than I expected.

I can now successfully fit in to an old pair of shorts! Last time I tired them on, they were pretty tight, but now they fit great!

I feel skinny

Fun first date tonight. I was super nervous at the beginning, but was soon at ease and we took a long walk after we had tea. Second date next week. No major fireworks, but… I don’t know. Trying not to think about it too much.

I guess there’s a time to be single, to have this crazy uncertainty. It sucks, and it’s exciting.

@Trustinglife I hope it works out for you you are a lovely guy x—

I had a lovely cuddle of my son this morning

Second date tonight! :) Feeling good about it, not obsessing too much.

We’re going to my friend’s stand-up comedy show! What could be better?
I’ll report later…

@Trustinglife Have fun!

Good luck my friend x

I just spent the evening swinging and playing tag at the park with my daughter. We stayed until dark, and we were the last to leave the playground. I’m worn out, but in a good way. (playground tag is a great workout!) :)

I met the yoga studio owner for whom I assisted the other night for tea this morning. We talked for a couple hours, then ordered lunch and talked more. We really connected over the last week or so. When we finally left the table, I walked her to her car and we hugged as usual.

When the hug was over, we found ourselves still holding each other while saying a few final words. Then she snuck in and grabbed a kiss. :-) We’ve been texting all day while we’re both in teacher training in different cities for the weekend… I’ll see her again on Monday at her place for some voice practice…

That’s great to hear, @ru2bz46!!! Enjoy!

I promised I’d report back after my date tonight… well, it’s with a heavy heart that I admit the truth to myself that it’s probably not going anywhere. We had a good time together – it’s really easy to be together – but I just don’t feel much of a spark there for me. Sad. But we saw my friend perform stand-up comedy in a competition with a bunch of other aspiring comedians, laughed a lot and had a great time nonetheless.

Sometimes, it’s good to get away for awhile. Here I am on the lake at Nikki’s place. I’m feeling a bit under the weather, so, I’m not able to go with her to her Uncle’s 50th (they’re having a roast for him). It was just the fur kids, some Pink Floyd, the sunshine, a cool breeze and I.

Whenever I come here, I feel so relaxed. More and more, I could see myself in a little cabin along the lake…

@jjmah Nice to see the place, but I really wanted to see YOU in the picture!!!

Just got up from a good night’s sleep and the sun is shining!

Good morning, @janbb! :)

I woke up next to Nikki’s fur baby. She cuddled into my armpit. Coffee for me, then a beach walk. It’s a beautiful day!

I’ll come over and walk with you @jjmah – sounds great! Or you can come her and walk by my ocean?

Your way sounds lovely, but, I just finished brewing some freshly ground and it’s quiet as a mouse here. Pretty peaceful. C’mon over.. Your way next time? :)

Sure thing, sweetie, keep the coffee hot

I’m in South Carolina with my family. :) The weather has been amazing, and this afternoon my daughter, aunt, and I went to Charleston to walk around and enjoy the city for a while. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen! We’ve been hanging out on the beach, spotting alligators in the ponds, and swimming in the pool. We haven’t been on a vacation for years, so this has been amazing!

Also, I tried pimento cheese for the first time and actually liked it. We also got the most incredible pralines in Charleston, and I can’t wait to go to the Piggly Wiggly just so I can say I did!

I finished another painting :-)

I went out for a hike with two friends whom I consider fitter than me and was asked by one of them to slow down when we were climbing up a hill. All the exercise classes are paying off!

We had a rough weekend with a lot of family drama (my mom and my sister not seeing eye to eye on sis’ wedding plans…), but they managed to sort it all out with a lot of reasoning and mediating from me and my dad. Everyone seems to be happy again, and the stress of the weekend is starting to dissipate, which is good – my family almost always gets along well, so we don’t deal very well with it when we don’t!

Well, my yoga teacher and I couldn’t wait until Monday, so I went over for a cup of tea Sunday after we both got back from our respective teacher trainings. I left 35 hours later. We can call her my SO now. :-)

@ru2bz46 Oh wow – that is so cool!

@ru2bz46 congratulations!!! xxx

I’m sitting here watching one of the horses clean her baby.
She was born in the rain about 10 minutes ago. She’s gorgeous. I should have a picture by tomorrow night.
I was going to go out and help her, but by the time I got my boots on and got out to the field gate, she had already had the baby.

So now I’m sitting in the screened-in porch, drinking tea watching one of the best things you can ever watch.

My car died at an intersection about two hours ago. The great thing is I had a really nice guy offer to pull me out of the way after several others passed without any offer to help.

hey….gotta look at the bright side. Right? :)

@jonsblond that is great news

I did another crazy long walk/run (2 hours), then slept for two hours. Trying to get ma’ healthy on.

This is the second day, and I’m determined to get back into running daily and feeling healthy again.

My new gf and I are spending the weekend in San Francisco. My wife is filing for divorce. Her bf got a job on Maui, and they are moving to the island. I’m moving back into my house. My gf is moving into a new apartment near her new yoga studio. Change is in the air, and all is well! :-)

This happened last night, but I read this question. Awesome!

I won £10 on the lottery last night :) The funny thing about it was I bought a lucky dip ticket in the shop rather than choosing my own numbers like I usually do and most of the numbers I was given were very significant and ones I would have chosen myself. I showed it to my boyfriend and told him it must be a sign to which he laughed at me. Then I wake up this morning, check the results and now I’m the one laughing!!!!

Ok, so it’s only a tenner but it’s a much needed tenner right now!

We’re finally home from our vacation, which was wonderful. I am so happy to be home though, and can’t wait to crawl into my own bed! The great thing is that I survived the road trip part of the vacation without doing bodily harm to my children or mother-in-law. ;)

I lost 4 lbs (checked the scale today). =)

I just slept for 16 hours.
:)

I went to the dentist and got my face numbed for the very first time… it’s so funny!

This weekend, my little brother’s high school put on a production of Godspell, and my husband and I were able to attend. It was really well-done, and my little brother was so good. It meant a lot to me, because I left for college when he was nine, and I never really got to support him by coming to his stuff (track meets, concerts, plays, etc.) like he had to for the rest of us. I had no idea he was so funny, and I was stupendously proud.

I’m in the process of moving, and today I went through my stuff and got rid of a bunch of useless junk I’ve accumulated over the years. Some of it got donated, and some of it went to the dumpster/recycle bin. I should have done this ages ago, everything feels a bit cleaner and clearer now.

My working day went by pretty quickly which is always nice, I had dinner with my stepsister who is currently climbing the walls because her partner is stranded in China although hopefully will be able to fly back tomorrow due to the flight restrictions over the UK and much of Europe, we took one of my dogs for a walk and saw lot’s of wild rabbits (luckily my dog realised early on that they could outrun her easily!) and I got a phone call from my favourite man just to say hello and make sure I was ok.

Was a good girl and turned down this after work (Chocolate Volcano). Damn near killed me, though.

Determination.

Well. Um.

I’m engaged!

Congrats, lady!

I woke up to a phone call that one of the horses just had a foal.
We had no idea that she was even pregnant, but the baby is perfectly healthy.
I also realized I am going to end up with 4363545353 animals when I am older.

I was especially appreciative of my hubby yesterday. I got home after a LONG day of work to walk on the floor he installed on Saturday, to see the flowers he bought me on Sunday, to smell the dinner he was making, and hear all about the little things he took care of for our family. We enjoyed going to see friends for a short time. Then we had great sex.

:)

@Cupcake Sounds like a stellar day!

I didn’t get arrested today.

@rangerr That’s always a bonus!

This afternoon my five year old and I took all our broken crayons, peeled the paper off of them, put them into mini muffin tins, and popped them into the oven until they melted. We got a lot of cool multi-colored circular crayons with flat bottoms.

Then, we went out to pick up a few things and I saw a big pad of very large paper. I bought it, just on a whim.

When my older two kids got home from school, we decided the weather was too nice to not enjoy. My daughter told me about tree bark rubbings they’d done for science class, and I was hit with a brilliant idea. We took our funky crayons and big paper to a nearby cemetery and spent an hour rambling around doing rubbings of the headstones. Those crayons we made were perfect for the job, and I got a lot of giggles out of my youngest son’s worries that ghosts would follow us home or zombie hands would reach up from the ground to grab our feet while we looked at all of the old graves. After a while he started having too much fun to worry about being tormented from the beyond, and on the drive home we all described what kind of headstones we want. My daughter wants hers to be colorful, my boys want theirs to be huge statues, and I want mine to be shaped like a bench so people can sit on it while they ponder how empty their lives have become without me. ;)

I bought six more rolls of grass for my side yard. The first four are doing very well. After we finished laying them out, it rained last night, and helped “set” them. Now I only need three more to finish it up, which will be done this week.

@MissAusten You are a fabulous mom. :)

@MissAusten 2nd vote for that!

@janbb and @sdeutsch Thanks, I try! I have my strengths and weaknesses like any parent. Doing fun, goofy things with the kids while neglecting housework is my biggest strength!

I think I’ve asked this before – can i come live with you?

@janbb Sure, you can be in charge of cleaning and laundry!

You know that ‘s not what I meant.

Yeah, I figured it was a long shot. Move in anyway! I’m casual as long as no one messes with my coffee.

Today I was offered a job teaching lil’ munchkins how to fence! It would be my first job, and it’ll be doing something I love! :D

I had a lot more peace of mind than usual. Now I am having a cuddle with my little dog before I hit the sack!

I saw this short film in my yoga teacher training: Validation

We got a letter in the mail today from our daughter’s middle school. She has been “identified as a candidate for gifted testing” and will be tested next week. My husband and I spent the afternoon laughing off and on about it. All through grade school, the principal and I butted heads about testing her. The principal said she didn’t qualify because her study habits were not serious enough (um…she was in second grade!). She finally agreed to do the testing, but during the test our daughter got sick. She finished, but came home immediately after with a fever and stomach bug.

Her scores came back two points too low to meet the school’s standard for gifted identification. I met with the principal and asked for another test, one that would hopefully not coincide with a virus. She basically told me it was a waste of time because they don’t have a gifted program. It was frustrating for all of us except our daughter, who we never involved in the drama and I’ve since contented myself with dealing with her teachers individually. This meant starting over each year and going through the process of getting to know the teacher, letting the teacher get to know our kid, taking time to let the teacher see that our kid needed more stimulation in order to not be bored out of her wits, etc.

So, when that letter came in the mail without me even asking about it or knowing they would test kids again, I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. It is still cracking me up. We’re just going to see what happens, but so far the middle school has been much more rewarding for our daughter than grade school, so maybe that trend will continue. Anyway, it was great to get a little confirmation that I haven’t been crazy all this time and know that someone at her school nominated her to be tested and saw, all on their own, that she could benefit from it. :)

@MissAusten: Oh that’s great! I was in the gifted program in middle school and I had a great time. Not sure if I was academically enriched, but I had a lot of fun. I hope your daughter makes the grade. :)

@ru2bz46 I love “Validation”! Such a great little film. I’ve seen it at least twice.

Today I put on my polar bear pajama pants, watched some Seinfeld, and took a couch nap. Then I woke up and had pop tarts and coffee. Win.

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities Awwww

Were they brown sugar Poptarts???? God I love those things.

We had some thunder and a bit of rain late this afternoon, but then the sun came back and we had a beautiful view of a rainbow right from our deck. The sight of it inspired our daughter to stand in the yard singing a song from chorus class at the top of her lungs. God bless her, she might be tone deaf but she’s so friggin’ cute.

Then, my five year old sneezed on himself four times in a row during dinner. He looked at his shirt sleeve, where he’d sneezed, and saw a drop of red. He screamed, “Oh no, I sneezed so hard I got brain blood on myself!” It was ketchup. The rest of us couldn’t stop laughing, and the phrase “brain blood” became an instant hit.

It was a colleagues birthday today so a large group of us played dodgeball in our sports hall. It was kinda violent but lot’s of fun. There was birthday cake too!

Also, my grocery shopping bill wasn’t as high as I thought it would be.

I decided to move in with my gf today. :-)

@ru2bz46 Wow! Going like gangbusters, if you’ll pardon the expression.

I had a very stressfull week but taught a great class this morning. On the way home, I stopped to pick some lilac branches from bushes that are growing on a vacant lot. They are now on my ktchen table, lending their fragrance to the upcoming weekend.

I bought a used portable dishwasher for a really great price and it actually works.

I went with my sister-in-law to our local arts cinema to see “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” One of my favorite books! It was very intense, but such a good movie. I’m so glad I finally got to see it!

@YARNLADY Um.. What’s a portable dishwasher?

One of the guys I am training at the ranch made a lot of progress with jumping today.
I’m quite proud. Most 20 years olds are too cocky to ride a horse for competition jumping.
Plus he’s totally hot and I got to hold his butt because he couldn’t get the concept of not sitting down while making the jump.

@rangerr A dishwasher with wheels that plugs in to the wall socket and has the input hose connected to the kitchen faucet, and the output hose in the kitchen sink.

I taught a yoga class to my teachers and fellow teacher trainees tonight as sort of a final exam for my 200-hour training program. I rocked it! I got good feedback from my teachers and peers.

I am auditioning to teach at my gf’s new studio in front of my first teacher, several of my trainee peers, my gf, and assorted friends/family in a week and a half. I kinda wish it was a bunch of strangers. My gf will be taking input from the class to decide if I pass the audition. Wish me luck…

This morning I discovered a little unpaved road in my town that connects two side streets. I’d never known that road existed. Then I rode my bike to the thrift store and bought a radio.

Tonight I left my philosophy class, as always, utterly baffled and unsure of my own existence. God I love that class.

Rather than sit in front of a computer for an hour while waiting for the bus to come, I instead found a cluster of pine trees and lay amid them. I still have needles stuck to me, I still smell of pine.

The moon was out and the sky was clear. I’ve become nearsighted lately. When you spend too much time looking at screens and walking from one moment to the next blindly, as I have been as of late, you start to lose perspective. I came to the realization while I was lying there that the moon and the stars are real, which of course I knew, we all know, but it sometimes takes a intellectually taxing philosophy class and some time alone under the heavens to really regain that knowledge, to really realize the significance of that knowledge.

In Lakeport with Nikki. Tonight, beach + blanket, strawberries, wine and we’re lighting tea candles and placing them down by the water. Romance. :)

@jjmah and @petethepothead I have such a platonic crush on both of you!

I vacuumed the living room and my, once nervous dog, managed to sit still throughout the whole process without barking or trying too kill it once. Yay for progress! Now we have to work on her fear of bicycles!

Today is the perfect date: “Miss Rhode Island, please describe your idea of a perfect date.” “That’s a tough one. I would have to say April 25th. Because it’s not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.”

I just went to see How To Train Your Dragon and loved it!

The missus and I went for a beach walk on the weekend and came upon this. It was our first time at that part of the beach.

Those are our initials and we didn’t create that. =)

I had my 20K party yesterday and it was a lot of fun!

I had a lovely chat with my favourite man before I started work and I found out that a friend of mine has made me a Banana cake. It’s the simple things in life!!!

I’m still cracking up about this.

So, the girl and I were in bed in the buff with a blanket covering us. Her kitteh jumps up on the bed and tries to get under the covers in between us. I screamed and my girl and I stared laughing. My girl then said (pretending to be her kitteh with kitteh’s voice, which sounds as though she’s a Southern Belle) ‘It’s only weird for a minute…”

Hahaha!!

My boy and I went to a concert last night. Aside from getting a little bruised, I had a good time. He even got me a tee-shirt. :)

I had to report for jury duty today, which I was dreading for a few reasons. The drive into this particular city is always horrendous, it was raining heavily, I don’t know my way around and the GPS died on me once I got on the highway. I managed to find the designated parking area for jurors with the help of my cell phone and my husband, but from there had no idea how to get to the courthouse. I am so directionally challenged.

Luckily, the woman parked next to me was also a juror and was happy to show me the way to the courthouse. We sat next to each for four hours while waiting to be called, and chatted off and on. She was very interesting to talk to, and very funny. Neither of us were called to even be interviewed as potential jurors, and at noon we were dismissed. It was lucky for me, because I’m not sure I could have found the parking lot again. Once we got back to our cars, she told me the quickest way back to the highway, which beats my method of driving around until I see a sign that looks promising. She was like my Guardian Juror Angel, helping me not get lost and keeping me entertained at the same time.

I love unexpectedly coming across someone who is so friendly and helpful when you really need it most. :)

@MissAusten Isn’t that great?

I’m feeling pretty chirp today after a down time last week – had a great conversation with a friend yesterday, a good Zumba class today and something else nice last night!

We bought a new mattress made out of memory foam. No more springs… no more night-time motion transfer well, not during sleep anyway. We pick it up tomorrow!!

Tomorrow is our first court date for my husband to adopt my son. :)

@Cupcake OOOH!!! Good luck with the adoption! I say good luck because my family went through court dates for 4 years to adopt me.

@rangerr… ughhhh, how painful. Thanks… I’m hoping it goes well tomorrow. It’s the first of a few, at least.

Well, adoption court sucked as my son’s biological father showed up and contested the adoption. He’s saying he wants visitation and “will pay child support if necessary”. Bastard.

But then my hubby took me out to lunch, and tonight I got good-fitting bras (I’ve gained a few lbs) and we picked up our new mattress! Tonight he snuck out and bought me a dessert I’d been wanting earlier tonight. Oh, and I’m totally avoiding finishing my take-home final exam due Thursday.

God, I love tonight.

I. Am. Drunk.

@chels lol…..me too., and it’s been many months since I’ve been.

@jonsblond GO US.

ALSO I LOVE THE NEW FLUTHER! + SOCIAL! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

@Cupcake Oh, man. I’m sorry about how court went. :(

@chels I love it, too!

Through a lovely website that subsidizes technology for educators, my colleague and I were able to get flip cams for school. I am so excited. The kids are doing skits for their semester projects on Friday, and now I can tape them for posterity. Hooray for philanthropy!

It ws a beautiful day in my neighborhood yesterday and I took some time off from Fluther and walked down to the beach with my book and a cup of coffee. Read for a while then walked on a few miles through the shore towns. The sky was clear blue, the light fantastic and it was great to be out.

Today is kind of a mix of good and bad. Overall I’m happy.
I haven’t been feeling well lately and I’m gonna be going to the doctors when I go visit Jersey in a few weeks. This morning I nearly fainted in the shower (I hate that feeling) but RH took care of me all day and even got me apple juice from the store. Oh! And he cleaned up the kitchen and did some dishes which is really really wonderful. He’s passed out right now but that’s okay. He needs the rest.
On another note, a guy I knew in high school passed away a few hours ago. He’s been suffering from cancer for quite a while. It went in remission, and then came back even stronger. I’m sad because he’s gone but happy because he really did suffer and now he’s not anymore.
The whole day has been bittersweet and it kind of reminds you what life is all about. Love and happiness, losing people you care about, and realizing that life really is precious. Being happy, even through the hardest times, is so important. For a while I was unhappy because of a few different things. I didn’t want to do anything about it at the time because I didn’t want others to judge me. I didn’t want to be looked down on or thought of badly because of my actions. Then took a step back and asked myself: ”Am I happy?” The answer was “No.”. I realized that I couldn’t live my life afraid what others might think. Why hold myself back from doing something or being somewhere or being with someone that I love? Wasn’t that the whole point of life? Making the most out of it? Making the most out of what you have? It’s sort of weird coming to realizations like these when your whole life has been doing things to make other people happy. Always putting other people first. As much as I love(d) making people happy it wasn’t making me happy. I would just give and give and never get in return, which is fine but after a while you’re just like “Why?” It was at the moment of this realization that I decided to change things. To do things for me because I could do that and still make others happy, right?
Since then I have never been so happy with life for so many reasons. I’m not afraid what others are going to think anymore. I’ve made some choices that some people don’t like and that they disagree with, but they are still there backing me up 100% because they see that I am happy. That’s such a great feeling. It’s so true when they say that you have to make yourself happy before you can make anyone else happy (and it’s also so important). I feel as though I wasn’t really living before, I wasn’t as happy before, I was so insecure about so many things, and there was really no reason for it.
All of the changes I’ve made since then have improved so many things, including me as a person. I wake up every day next to the one I love, and I wake up so incredibly happy and that’s such an amazing feeling. I honestly would not change any decision I’ve ever made. Life is wonderful and beautiful and I couldn’t be happier.

- Anyway. Sorry for the rant. I kind of couldn’t help myself.
I hope everyone has an amazing Mother’s Day weekend!

@chels I lost a dear friend to cancer on Thursday. I understand what you mean because, I too am relieved that my friend is no longer suffering.

@Leanne1986 They’re in a better place now, that’s what matters! I’m sorry for your loss as well <3.

@janbb Time to start a new thread?

We had a lovely cookout today. My Mother-In-Law’s birthday was Friday, so it was a combined Mother’s Day/birthday celebration. Great food, great people, and my girls gave me some really perfect Mother’s Day gifts (they couldn’t wait for Sunday!).

@Leanne1986 and @chels I’m sorry for your losses.

@chels Kudos on finally being true to yourself!

@augustlan That’s awesome! Cookouts are the best. And thank you :)

I’m having warm, homemade chocolate cookies for dinner.

Per Auggie’s request, new thread starts here.