Catchin` up

Last night, for the first time in at least five years, I put on my dancin` shoes. My fella and I went out dancing on a Friday night. And we had a BLAST! So much fun! While we were out there boogey-ing down, I realized the song ("Staying Alive" BeeGees) was older than a lot of the kids out there dancing with us. And did you know they've done a mix with "Sweet Home Alabama" with a heavy dance beat? Go figure! So much fun. I grinned until my face was tired. He is really making me happy in a big way.

About a month ago at work, I was given a special nerd assignment. That's going really well too. I have "exceeded expectations" and have even heard the word, "Phenomenal!" I'm really enjoying it too. So that's going good.

Because I come here to whine about how pitiful I am on a regular basis, I figured I'd share the good. And today - it's excellent!

TableMan Strikes!

Wow! Look what TableMan left on my porch today! (I was going to say "the Table Fairy" but it just didn't seem MANLY enough for such a super surprise!) I mentioned in passing to my fella that I could use a coffee table like the one he has, but a little different...

And WOW! I get home from work today to find my very own, hand made table - Just what I wanted! I am so freaking excited I can barely stand myself!

WOW! WOW! ... Okay - so normally I'm not at such a loss for words, but ...

WOW!

Valentine's Day 2009

After many years of not having a Valentine, it sure is a wonderful, warm feeling to have someone special on the mushiest holiday. He sent me flowers to work (it's so much fun to show off when a delivery comes at work!!). Saturday we had a great evening in Greensboro. Although he'd promised we'd go to one of the SPECIAL McDonald's with a KidsPlay area so I could go down the slide, we ended up at Fuddruckers. Yumm-O! If I were a python that only eats when it's hungry - I wouldn't need to eat again for several days. Being a Yankee driver, he pulled a U-turn on HighPoint Road, no problem - which tickled me to no end. We went to Borders where I got two Neil Gaiman books - and to Priscilla's - and to Fifth Season for a drink, before coming back home. Definitely a Happy Valentine's Day to us!

Cheers for Mikayla!

Ramona's oldest granddaughter (and Ashley's oldest daughter), Mikayla is a cheerleader. AND her cheering squad won best dance routine in her age group! When Elisha was telling me about going to watch Mikayla cheer, he said she was the best cheerleader there!

Congratulations, Mikayla! We're ALL very proud of you!

That's her beautiful self on the left! Way to go!!!

Biker Jenn

Okay - those of you who've know me for a long time would probably see the title "Biker Jenn" and remember my motorcycle days. Apparently, as a Grammy, I've gone back to the days of leg-power bikes. Is this my second childhood already?

Here's where I went wrong: I told the man I'm seeing that if only I had a bicycle, I'd ride down at the River Walk. But - oh well - since I don't have a bike, I guess I'll take a nap instead. He turned up the next day and said, "Since my mom isn't using her bike, she says YOU can ride it! Isn't that great?! We can ride together down at the River!"

Oh joy. I tried to remember the last time I actually rode a bicycle. And that took some advanced calculating skills. "Hmmm... if I'm 51 now... and the last time I really rode a bicycle was when I was 17 or so... " And back then, bikes had banana seats and no gears. His mom's bike has three sprockets and six gears for each sprocket. Now - that may mean something to you - but to me, it meant I was in for a world of trouble... All this because I wanted an excuse to take a nap!

I told him that I don't like being stupid - and I don't particularly like looking stupid - so I got a crash (no pun intended) course in Bikes 101. Off we went to ride. After a very cautious, slow, clumsy start - didn't want to fall and break a hip or anything --- I got the hang of it again. I found my favorite three gears and stuck with them. We rode for what seemed like a long way - until I consider my sister does 100 mile bike rides. <cringe> He says all together we rode about four miles. The part of me that was on the bike seat says it was further.

It was fun after all. We posed the bike wreck for me to send my mom & dad since they know my talent for awkwardness. He is fun to be around - makes me laugh - and he didn't make me feel like I looked stupid at all. Don't know how he pulled that off!

I may be getting the hang of Jessica's self-photography too!

Dreaming about Snakes...

I had a particularly vivid dream last night that I actually remembered for a change. In it, I was outdoors with a group of people I used to work with (MFM folks) and we were being friendly and talking - walking along a golf course type grassy field with gently rolling hills - nothing alarming about that. But here's the part that made me wake myself up: As we were walking along, I looked down and saw that snakes were rising up from the grass as if alerted to my progress - they just slithered up. As I took each step, two or three snakes would appear on my left (always), then turn toward me. I realized I had a tennis or badminton (yes, I checked the spelling) racquet in my hand, so I started swatting them gently away from me. Not swatting so much, as encouraging them to go the other way. I then realized I was alone, and larger and larger numbers of snakes were appearing at each step - to whole writhing knots of snakes - and there was no more gentle encouraging - it was using the racquet to actively PUSH the bunches of snakes away. I was so freaked out that I woke myself up gasping - and VERY thankful to find myself safe and secure in my bed without any snakes.

So naturally, I went online to see what I could find about snakes in dreams. Hmmm... so what do you think?

To see a snake or be bitten by one in your dream, signifies hidden fears and worries that are threatening you. Your dream may be alerting you to something in your waking life that you are not aware of or that has not yet surfaced. Alternatively, the snake may be seen as phallic and thus symbolize temptation, dangerous and forbidden sexuality. If you are afraid of the snake, then it signifies your fears of sex, intimacy or commitment. The snake may also refer to a person around you who is callous, ruthless, and can't be trusted. As a positive symbol, snakes represent healing, transformation, knowledge and wisdom. It is indicative of self-renewal and positive changes.