Tales From the Scales Karaoke

OK, leave it to someone anonymous reminding me (with love, of course) that it's Tuesday and time to weigh in. To be honest folks, I've stopped weighing in because my scale is from the devil and has a mind of it's own. I can get on it three different times and it will say three different things.

BUT-- that should not have stopped me from reporting in how I was doing otherwise...and from checking in on those faithful still doing the challenge. So, I'm back. And, of course...it's time for Tuesday's Tales from the Scales Karaoke:

(sung to the tune of "Old MacDonald".........)

Katiebod stopped weighing in
A couple months ago
She'd grown real tired of
Watchin the scale
Up and Down it'd go

With a pound lost here
And a gain of two there
Loss of one
Gain of three
Every day an up/down

Katiebod stopped weighin in
A couple months ago

But on the net there was a friend
Pulling her back in
Reminding her
Of Tuesday's chore
It's time to weigh again

So she's here to say
That she's back again
Workin' hard
Walkin' hard
Every day a walkin' walkin'

Katiebod is here to stay
Until the very end....

*****************

UPDATE: The scale says I've lost two pounds this week...don't know if I trust Mr. Unreliable......but, here's what's more important:

* I've cut out sodas completely (including my beloved Diet Coke)
* So far this week, I've walked 16 miles!!!
* My clothes are looser and I feel better!

Coincidence? I think not.

Daniel was just downstairs in the kitchen playing with his Leap Frog magnets that sound out words and letters. He was getting frustrated on a couple words and I was trying to encourage him not to give up.

me: "don't get frustrated...put one of the red ones in the middle (the vowels) and put letters on either side and see if you can spell a word."

daniel: [places the letters B - O - M in the slots] funky little sound signals an invalid word

me: "why don't you try another one?"

daniel: [inserts the letters P - I - H in the slots] funky sound....Daniel sighs..... "I don't wanna do this anymore, Mommy"

me: hey! Don't give up...let's try one more."

daniel: sigh.....[slaps three letters into the holder... N - A - G]

Nag? Are you kidding me?

game: "Great word!"

Some things are just not a coincidence.

One of those moments...

I just had one of those moments. A moment in life when everything is exactly as it should be and you feel so content that your heart just overflows with gratitude.

My son awoke from an all-too-short nap, opened his door, and called out to me, "did I take enough of a rest, Mommy?"

"No," I thought. But instead of sending him back to sleep longer, I asked him to come up to my office. I had soft music playing and when I reached out to him he asked in a soft voice, "you wanna dance with me?"

And so we danced.

His arms draped around my neck and his head laid on my shoulder, we slowly spun around and swayed back forth as his long, lean legs dangled down and occasionally tapped up against my knees.

As the gentle, breezy sound of the ceiling fan whirred above, I realized that all I need in the world was right here in this house.. a loving husband taking a much-deserved Sunday afternoon nap, a sleepy, snuggly 5-year old son and a slow song to dance to.

Life doesn't get any better.

I always loved Duckie. You'll need to hit "pause" on my playlist to hear this...one of my favorite 80's movie scenes of all time:

And the Winner Is..................

Tanyetta from
Days Like These!

Thank you to all who stopped by to enter my drawing... my site meter is getting some rest after working so hard this week (not that I'm complaining...it's been GREAT!)

Please be sure to drop by again in the near future for more philosophical insights into crucial topics like bathroom renovation, 5-year old banter and my feeble attempts at domesticity.

It's must-read stuff, I assure you.

Congrats again, Tanyetta. I'll be contacting you for shipping info.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

He Gets It

As open as we are with our son about the details of his adoption, I often wonder if he "gets it." Does he really understand the process and is he as excited/anxious about our next child as we are? I think I got my answer tonight.

We were watching a show that my hubby had recorded about teenage mothers giving up their children for adoption. I got pretty emotional as I listened to their stories and realized the enormity of their decisions. Tears were streaming down my face as I overheard my husband explaining what was going on to our son.

"You see, the mommies giving birth aren't able to take care of the babies so they have chosen a new family for them to grow up in..."

"And what's next?," my son asked.

"Well, they have to find a family that is waiting for a child to love."

"Then why don't they just call us?!," Daniel exclaimed.

By george, I think he gets it.

Blog Comments

How cool to check your blog and have 140-something comments on a post (see the Bloggy Giveway posted on July 23)! Now if only my everyday posts generated that much interest. :-)

Speaking of comments, several friends have remarked that they'd love to comment but don't have an account. Fear not! All you have to do is enter a comment with the "anonymous" button selected and you don't have to be signed in. Of course, it will show up as "anonymous" so please leave your first name of you'd like so I'll know who you are.

But, that's it...that's all you have to do.

To me, comments here are like receiving a letter in the mail. It sure brightens my day!

A Trip Down...

...the scratchy musical path of my past.

I'm at my Dad's house and happened to notice a shelf in his office containing 13 x 13 snapshots of my childhood...our family collection of record albums. The edges of the albums were lovingly shredded by cats through the years and, when I spotted them, I was drawn like a moth to flame.

I immediately plopped down on the floor and flipped through the stacks with eager anticipation...memories flooding in with each one. There are the Christmas albums by various artists as well as covers featuring evertone from Johnny Mathis to Madonna. All my high school albums transported me back to my lipsynching glory days ... Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie, Debbie Gibson and even soundtracks like The Breakfast Club. Suddenly, I am standing in my teenage bedroom with hairbrush in hand. I was invincible. Life was a series of torturous break-up songs and I loved every minute of it.

Oh, the drama of it all.

I could resist no longer, I dusted off an ONJ and put the needle down (for you poor sheltered souls...ONJ is Olivia Newton John) The crackly-crunchy scratchy sound was amazingly comforting to hear. No digital mastering here... but, I must admit, I got a chuckle when I stood up to forward to the next song like I do so often on my iPod.

I know I struggle to breathe in the absence of my electronic music doo-hickeys...but, there's something about a tattered, battered, doodled-on album cover that fills me with joy. I may be up all night reliving album-induced memories. Days when all I needed was a hairbrush, a trusty record player and an infatuation-induced heartache to stew over...

ahhh, the good ol' days.

OK...it's time for a Bloggy Giveaway, folks. Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a giveaway "carnival" and I'm getting in to the game, too. Beginning today, I'll be taking entries via the comments section of this post. On Friday, July 27, I'll randomly draw a name and the winner will receive the following:

"Becoming a Woman of Grace" Bible Study
by Cynthia Heald
New, unused (extra copy that I had)

and...

A floral-designed photo album
Holds 200 4x6 photos

The winner will be drawn from comments to this post only. Once a winner is selected, I'll contact you for shipping information (shipping is included, of course!)

I look forward to "meeting" you this week and good luck!

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me...

OK, I may be the last person on the internet to view this ... um ... interesting video clip. I'm riveted, I tell you. These are inmates from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Cebu, Philippines practicing Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

Perhaps if we implemented this type of activity in our own penal system, the crime rate would drop dramatically.

And, I ask you, what IS that in the white tank top?

Star Wishes and Shadow Games

It was the perfect summer evening.

My 5-year old Daniel and I were in the back yard of my inlaws with a blanket of fresh cut grass underfoot and a pitch-black sky freckled with clusters of diamond-like stars. He and I were alone in the dark with only the light from a street lamp illuminating sections of the yard. We played tag, hide 'n seek, and a "pretend we're animals" game he learned in school. Surely if a neighbor had come out and seen these two figures walking around on their hands and knees in the dark making all sorts of strange sounds they would think it quite odd.

One of my favorite parts of the evening was using the side of the garage to make shadow puppets. Our figures were cast larger than life as we fashioned alligators, bunny rabbits and even reindeer with our hands. At one point, the interlacing of our fingers and the way we were twirling them about looked like the inside of a kaleidescope I had as a kid. It was a good, old fashioned way to spend a summer evening and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Not long after, my hubby came outside and asked Daniel if he'd like to make a wish on a star. He squinted his eyes real tight and said, "I wish for transformers...the good ones and the bad ones...you know, like Megatron..." then he started to race inside the house. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and shouted, "Oh yeah! And a baby for my Mommy!"

Oh, if wishes on stars really came true....

The Fun Continues...

Let me give a quick shout-out to some of the good stuff about our trip--lest you think all I do is complain. You know "waaaaaaaaaa sand...... waaaaaaaaaaaaa hot...... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa intertubes (yes, I said intertubes...see story to follow) OK-- good stuff:

shrimp
crab legs
blue skies
tan lines
air conditioning
sno cones
sunsets
what alarm clock?

Now, the intertube thing. We went to the waterpark today. NO SAND! Already my idea of heaven on earth. Then, I came face-to-face with my arch nemesis: a bright yellow intertube.

It didn't have a name, but let's call him Teddy for kicks. Teddy the Tube. Teddy and I met on a summer's day when life was good and all was right with the world. Our relationship seemed so full of promise... images of us riding along life's river, afloat in relaxation, flashed before my eyes. It was not to be. Instead, Teddy and I clashed as his strong personality caused us to go against the flow. As happy couples floated past us, our relational conflict became ever more apparent.

"Teddy, let's go in the same direction as everyone else," I would urge. He would hear nothing of it.

His desire to buck the system and set us apart from all the others became a barrier to our tubular bond. On the last leg, his stubborness caused us to simply spin in circles as we were continually sucked back into a waterfall and into the path of others as they plummeted full-speed toward us.

It didn't work out between Teddy and I. Perhaps he will be happier with another rider. On the lazy river of life, a good tube-to-person bond is virtually a necessity.

Tan line report: moderate

Relaxation update: in full swing

Must go make sure the alarm clock is still turned off. [insert wicked laugh here]

Greetings from The Sunshine State

I hate sand.

I'm all for the sun, the surf, the subtle blending of emerald and turquoise water as it laps at my feet...the gulls and the giggles of happy children as they race away from the water's grasp. Love it all.

But I hate sand. With a passion, y'all. There's not many things I'll actually use that word to describe. Injustice, maybe. Or greed. Yeah, I hate those things, too. But sand ranks right up there. Gritty-stick-to-ya-crunchy sand. Blech. And walking in it...well, let's just say I'm not gonna be training for the beach volleyball circuit anytime soon thankyouverymuch.

As I write this, I feel the crunch of sand on tooth enamel in my mouth. I wasn't eating the stuff. It just gets in there. Don't ask me how. I said don't ask me. OK, I might (just might) have shaken my towel out into a stiff breeze and it flew in my mouth.

You're mocking me, aren't ya?

I hate sand.

Love me some vacation with my two wonderful men folk (actually, one man folk and one boy folk).

But...

I hate sand.

More vacation chronicles to come. Betcha can't wait, huh?

Vacation....

"vacation all I ever wanted... vacation so happy to get away... vacation makes me feel special ohhhhhhhhhhh..." Did you know that I heard an oldies station playing 80's music? What in the world? It pains me to think that 80's tunes are what 1960's tunes were to me in the 80's. Sigh...

I digress.

Vacation. We're on it. (yes, I am advertising that fact...but all ten people reading this will be thrilled to know I have a wonderful alarm system and wonderfully attentive neighbors-- that and the Brinks Home Security guy housesitting for me. Yeah, that should be good. ;-)

Back to the vacation part. Or, the getting ready for it part which was pretty darn funny. In retrospect, that is. I was determined to leave a clean house. I'm not talking about just a house that was "straightened up'" I mean SPOTLESS y'all. I cleaned my hiney-hoo off all day Friday, packed all of our bags and gathered all the accessories needed for a weeklong beach trip. Once all the suitcases, baskets, cooler, etc. were assembled, we looked like a European family traveling to the states for four months. It was ridiculous.

So, our assemblage of goods is ready for loading in the dining room and I doing one last check upstairs. It's 4:00pm. Hubby is on his way home. The house is clean and I am ready to go. The love and light of my existence (my five year old child) is "helping Mommy" by carrying my cleaning supplies caddy down the stairs. All of a sudden, I hear "uh oh" and then hurried footsteps. Figuring if it was a disaster, he would notify me, I retreat into my bedroom to turn off all the lights. I then glanced over the bannister and gasped in disbelief.

My well-meaning child had dropped an open cannister of Comet (you know, bright green cleaning powder) and it had kerplunked its way down the staircase spewing forth it's contents like a barrel of gunpowder exploding. You gotta understand. Our houseplan is VERY open and there are lots 'o stairs. There was Comet EVERYwhere-- the walls, the stairs, the floor, the dining room, the entrance to the living room. And, to make matters worse, um... I mean more "challenging," the enterprising young lad had soaked towels in water (not ringing them out) and was carrying them back and forth to the stairs (which are wood) to clean it up--creating a green mush-like river across the main floor of the house.

I reacted calmy because it was an accident of course and he was doing his darndest to clean it up. It took an hour and a half to clean up the mess and to de-Comet the stairs. We then mopped them with wood oil soap to get the haze off ( a sort of light greenish haze which was kinda pretty but didn't really match the decor... :-) ).

6:00pm--left driveway EXHAUSTED.

1:30am-- drove into the driveway of the beach house.

Vacation has begun.

Friday's Feast: July 13, 2007

(to check out others "feasts", click the logo above.)

A Friday the 13th Feast...OH MY!

Appetizer: What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries.
Growing up, Mom would always slice strawberries and sprinkle them with suger. She'd store them in the refrigerator and they were always nice and juicy. Yummmmm.

Soup: Who is someone you consider as a great role model? Tough one! This one is hard because I have different role models for almost every aspect of my life. I have people that challenge me to be a better wife, mother, Christian, writer...people who challenge me to be healthy and people who keep me on my toes in the motivation department. But, if I have to name one person-- my husband, Keith. His laid back, steadfast, loyal, humorous, go-with-the-flow personality keeps me balanced. Grounded. In check. He models for me the true meaning of forgiveness every day. I want our son to be just like him.

Salad: If you were to spend one night anywhere within an hour of your home, where would you choose? Camping alongside a stream in the mountains. Camp fire, crickets, stars...sounds like a perfect night to me.

Main Course: Name something you do too often. Read blogs, I'm afraid. I have all of my favorites saved on my desktop and every day I go from one to the other to the other...then, I'm guilty of going to new blogs off those sites and usually end up adding a new one (or 2 or 3...) to my desktop and.... you see where that's leading?!

Dessert Fill in the blank: I really like ___________ because ____________.
I really like writing poetry because it allows me to express the beauty I see in the little things. Whenever I notice anything that I might want to remember about life, I either jot down notes where I am or scramble to do it when I get home. It might be something silly like a tree at an intersection or the way my husband's hands looked as he was driving or my child singing along to a song in the back seat. These are the things I want to remember down the road. So, I try to write them down. Sometimes its poetry...sometimes not. But it always captures the memory.

Things That I'm So Happy You Can't See Through a Computer: #1

Me. Lip-synching Mary J. Blige's part in "One" (with U2-- see playlist below)

I mean I'm "singing" it with all I've got, y'all.

After the Storm

I've been in a funky mood of late--very contemplative and reflective...analytical, even. Today is no exception. We have had a series of storms blow through over the past few weeks. It seems like every day has seen its share of sunshine, dark clouds, a "gulley-washer" of a storm, and then sunshine again.

Isn't that so much like life? (see, told ya...here I go again) Just 30 minutes ago, we were eating dinner while the winds whipped through the trees out back and the rain pounded down with fury. Now, a short half hour later, the sun is shining in exquisite patterns on the trees outside my window and birds are chirping back and forth to one another as if to say, "you O.K. over there?"

We all have periods of our life when it seems like everything is going along smoothly and then "wham!" out of nowhere, our life changes on a dime--much like a temperamental summer afternoon in the south. It could be small obstacles or bigger ones that have a major impact on our life or the life of someone dear to us. Regardless, it helps to know that when the storm blows in...there's usually a period of sunshine, birds chirping and relative calm on the way. My advice: always have an umbrella AND a tube of sunscreen on hand...you're prepared either way!

Wordless Wednesday

~snapshots from daily life~

300th Verbal Doodle

OK... I was planning on celebrating the 300-entry mark anyway and didn't realize it would fall on my birthday! I know 300 is a drop.in.the.bucket for some of you veteran bloggers out there...but it's a milestone for me. I wasn't sure when I started blogging that I would be able to hang in here that long but it's been fun. I've met so many interesting people and I look forward to my son having a record of his Mom's thoughts one day...thoughts that are difficult to convey to him at five years old.

And, selfishly, it's for me, too.

Days turn into weeks... turn into years and suddenly it's all a blur. I wanna remember.

So, here's to 300 posts and hopefully...many more thoughts, memories, observations to come!

ps--weight loss challenge friends... zero lost. zero gained. I'm OK with that. Now, post-birthday cake, it might be a whole 'nother story. :-)

Heavenly Thoughts

On the way out of the church parking lot today, I was looking up in the Bible the reference to the specific size of Heaven. As I was reading outloud from the book of Revelation, I was questioning unfamiliar measurements mentioned such as 12,000 stadia and 144 cubits. As always, my ever-attentive 5-year old piped in from the back seat:

"It's easy, Mom. Heaven is 20 stories of goodness."

Once again, my child's comprehension supercedes my own.

Adoption

I have blogged here for a year and a half...roughly the amount of time that we've been contemplating and pursuing the adoption of a second child. However, it never occured to me until this morning to get the "word out" here in case any of you hear of an adoption situation.

You know, we tried for so many years to have a baby and then God brought Daniel into our lives. I look back now and the timing seems perfect...but, it didn't make the wait any less painful while we were going through the process. I know there is a reason we have not been matched with a child...it's just frustrating not being able to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

We are currently signed on with an agency that ministers to birthmothers; therefore, their central focus is making sure the needs of the birthmother are met. The problem is, since we have signed on, the "pool" of birthmothers has dwindled and the ratio to waiting families makes the possibility of us adopting from them very unlikely. And, at this point, we don't have the money to adopt through an agency-- so, I come to you internet friends.

We are hoping to adopt a boy or girl 5 years old or younger but would be open to a girl up to 6 or 7. We are also open to a pair of siblings. Of course, a baby would also be a wonderful addition to our home...we just want to emphasize that we are open to older children since they are typically harder to place. As for open or closed adoption, I guess that would really depend on the situation.

It breaks my heart to hear my son ask, almost on a daily basis, "Mommy, when can I have a 'brudder' or sister?" Please think of us if you know of, or hear about, any situations that might present an opportunity for us to build our family.

Thank you, guys. You have been so supportive in other areas of my life...I thought I'd turn to you for this one, too. :-)

If you need to contact us, I may be reached via email here.

When Did It Happen?

I am the lyrics Queen. I pride myself on knowing every word. to every song. ever written. So, when did I become the old woman who watched the Today Show this morning in horror as a rock band was spewing out words I couldn't understand? To make matters worse, there were hundreds of people--of all ages mind you--singing a long like they actually knew what the kid was screaming, um, I mean singing.

"Who in the heck is that?!," I ask myself. FALL OUT BOY, one sign read. Is that a command or is it actually the name of the band? Now, for those of you much "cooler" than me, you might think it crazy that I was oblivious to this group... but here they were, on my morning news show, with throngs of fans doing the unified fist pump and I was lost. They were singing something over and over that everyone understood--except me. When did I lose my way? When did the winds of hipness and youth blow through town and leave me all alone... I must have been in the bathroom or somethin.

When it comes to music, I like a little bit of everything--pop, rock, country, rap, hip-hop, classical, folk--you name it. But, I think I know what happened.

I'm stuck.

I'm caught in that window of time between being young and "in the know" music-wise and having kids that are listening to the stuff. Something happens in the canyon of time when, to escape the sounds of Dora the Explorer and the theme song to the Backyardigans ("and we're your backyard friends .... the Back Yaaaaarrrrrrdigans..." ), I immerse myself in my favorite music courtesy of iTunes; thereby skipping all things new.

I'm sure there'll come a time when I am headbanging with my son to some current hit and he'll think me cool. But...for now, I think I'll go fist pump to some rockin' John Denver hit.

I am so hip.

Wordless THURSDAY...so far!

I'm bogged down with work right now but thought I'd post a couple of pics...mainly for Melissa who sweetly chastised me for not having a blog posted this morning. These two pics make me chuckle:

Daniels' T-Ball team... I chuckle because, of COURSE,
my child is the only one who didn't wear his cap for the pic.

My niece...because she looks SO much like my Mom in this pic and
because she is a GOOF ball. She definitely has her Aunt KK smitten.

Tuesday Karaoke: "Beverly Hillbillies Theme"

Ok, you know the tune ... c'mon and join in everybody:

"Now listen to a story 'bout a girl named Kate
She really was determined to put less food on her plate
Eatin smaller portions and layin' off desserts
Walkin every morning (yes and even when it hurts...)

A hilly neighborhood, it is...
Ups and downs
Big inclines

Well, the next thing you know, ol' Kate is on the scale
Squinchin up her eyes, afraid she might of failed
Little did she know that her dream indeed came true
She watched the needle move and it marked a loss of two!

Pounds that is...
7000 calories
A weight loss for sure

So, now you've heard the story of a Georgia girl's fight
Although she had some setbacks, she finally did it right
She's lookin' to the future with a little bit of hope
And thanks the friends around her whose words have helped her cope!

Cheerleaders they are...
Encouraging words...
Keeping her on track!"

Have a great week everyone. And for more Tales from the Scales, click here.

Loser Mommy Award

My 5 year old son is bored beyond tears today. I am plugging away at an event I'm planning and absolutely need most of the day to get some things accomplished. I laid out puzzles, I drew dots in separate boxes for him to count and write the number on, I gave him practice words to trace and, of course, he has a room and a basement with plenty o' toys at his disposal.

When all of those resources were exhausted in the first 20 minutes of the day, I gave in and let him watch a few cartoons. Surely he won't lose too many brain cells...it's just for one day, right?

He just came upstairs. Did he come to show me his number work? Did he want to recite to me the ABC's or possibly the continents or something? Oh no. He came to tell me (and I quote), "Mommy...did you know that you can save space in your closet by using the blow-up thingie that you can put your stuff in and then suck the air out and then you can put more stuff in your closet? And, know what else, Mom? It's moisture-free and bugs can't get in there or anything? You need one of those, don't ya Mom?"

My son is now a walking infomercial. I wonder if my Loser Mommy Award will be delivered personally or sent via mail?

All Sorts of Fireworks

I'm PETrified of lightning, ya'll. Friends usually razz me with their fingers all pinched together making a "kew kew! kew kew!" sound. It's bad. There's just something about the thought of a huge bolt of electricity striking me dead that, oh I don't know, SCARES ME TO DEATH. (no pun intended)

Let me insert a little factoid here:
"A single lightning bolt can be as hot as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit - hotter even than the surface of the sun. Lightning will usually strike the highest object in area. This includes trees, antennas, a boat on a lake, or a person standing in a field. "

So, with that in mind, you'll understand why Saturday evening was one of the most terrifying nights... of. my. life.

Our friends asked us to go out on their boat with them. The sky was clear. Yeah, that lasted for about 10 minutes. Outta nowhere, a ginormous (yeah, really big) dark cloud settled over us and rain drops started to tickle our arms and legs. No worries. Love swimming in the rain. Woo hoo...swimming in the rain on a warm summer evening. Um, not so much. My friend, unaware of my abnormal aversion to a painful, lightning-related death, said "Ooh! Lightning!" My heart skipped a beat..or ten. Then another bolt appeared.

Now let's take stock of the situation, shall we? There's four adults, three kids sitting in a boat (lots of metal) out on an open lake in a lightning storm. What's wrong with this picture? Did I forget to mention that the waves are so big in the lake that the speed necessary to get us off the water quickly is requiring me to hold on to a METAL handle to keep from being tossed out of the boat. Yeah, color me the blonde with the big red target on her bathing suit screaming, "O.K. Lightning Boy! Come 'n get me!" I'm just sayin. My husband, compassionate soul that he is, is also pulling the "kew kew! kew kew!" stunt from the back of the boat. Gotta love that man.

We pull into their dock and, due to the lake being too low, we're four feet out into the water and have to wade in. The rain is pouring, the bolts are striking and the kids are fighting over who is going to let the ladder down for us to exit the Boat o' Death. Are you kidding me? A panic attack quickly approaching, I contemplate which small child I will have to toss overboard to get to that ladder.

I'll pause here. Ever wondered what you would do...how you would react...in a Titanic-like situation? The tragedy is in full swing and you have two choices...to be the coward who got in the life boat or Jack Dawson who stays behind so that the life of the one he loves can be saved? Yeah, well, I saw how I would react and ya'll, it ain't pretty.

O.K., forget the ladder, I jumped over the edge of the boat (after picturing my butt hanging off a METAL ladder that is rooted in WATER with the LIGHTNING striking around me) and grabbed my child to run uphill for cover. We made it and all were safe (yes, even the poor children who I contemplated tossing overboard. They were spared as well...no thanks to me)

But, the evening was not lost. The storm passed. We once again boarded the boat (no longer a deathtrap) and found the perfect swimming spot and enjoyed the rest of our outing swimming in the calm waters and laughing at our experience. And, to cap off a perfectly-perfect end to the evening, we were treated with a surprise fireworks display right above us courtesy of some houseboats docked nearby.

All sorts of fireworks occured last night. The first kind scared the everlovin' wits out of me and the last kind...well, they made me happy to be alive, floating on my back in a sea of darkness, laughing with friends and watching explosions of color fill the sky.