dragnflymuse

Started working out tonight with Leyla. We worked on a yoga machine her cousin gave her and a stationary bicycle for an hour, then did some stretching. Tomorrow night we begin yoga!

I'm sore already and cannot imagine how I will feel in the morning, but for now, it feels pretty good.

We start a detox this weekend and then I am going to start watching more closely what I am eating and drinking.

It's not really a new years resolution, its more just this was a good time to begin. She needs to start some exercise and physical therapy for her recovery and her father set up the home gym for her at his place. I'm going along for the ride cause she works better with company and well, lets face it, so do I.

We had fun though and are starting off slow. Now its just a matter of keeping each other motivated to move.

These...





And these...




Are all going with me on the road trip on Sunday night.


I'm fairly confident that these.....





And this one...




..will do just fine, having traveled cross country with them before.


It's this one....that worries me.





He did great on the short trip we took to a friends so he could have a play date with their young german shepherd, but this is a 14 to 16 hour jaunt and that is if we do not stop to see the in-laws...could be longer if we do that.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, it is going to be an adventure!

So you have that office function, or the school party or the get together at a friends, or the in-laws but you've no real time to dedicate to baking or making that fantabulous dessert!

Me, I say cheat, but make it look like you went to a whole lot of trouble! I know, but hey, that mother-in-law of yours will never know!

A quick tip for those last minute invites where you have to bring something!

Buy the brownie bites, you know the ones we all try to avoid in the grocery bakery or at Sam's wholesale?

Buy those puppies and make Santa Hat Brownie bites!

All you will need are whole fresh strawberries, some white chocolate chips and a piping bag and tip. And of course the brownie bites! Make sure you have as many strawberries as you do brownie bites, then place strawberries upside down onto brownie bites. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or carefully in a microwave and transfer into a piping bag. Pipe a ring around the base and a small dot on top—work quickly, the white chocolate can dry fast and clog up your tip!





Aren't they cute? Now, should you wish to be all industrious, you COULD bake the brownie bites yourself, using a box mix or even from scratch, let them cool, then apply strawberries and white chocolate as stated above, but hey, if you don't have the time...I certainly won't rat you out to your mother-in-law if you don't rat me out to mine!

Happy Holidays!

I haven't posted in awhile. I get distracted by routine and work. I've been in my current position six months come January, and I still love my job. I think that has to do with the fact that my boss and I get along so well and it is really just the two of us day after day.

The job is not difficult but we deal with a Board of Directors and lately, instead of once a month we have had five board meetings in December, one of which was a holiday dinner I organized. I am proud to say it came off beautifully.

We have another meeting on Monday night and then through the week I have to pack up the office and go through all the files, reorganizing them so that when we pack the last up and move on the 4th of January into the new offices, it will just be a matter of putting things where they go.

I am excited about the new office, it is my first real honest to Gods office, with big beautiful furniture and my own door and window. Plantation shutters and all. I've worked in a cubical and in a lobby most of my life, a real office to me is such a step up in the business world. (Don't mind me I got terribly excited about my business cards too)

I'm also going on vacation with the kids to my mothers in Missouri for the week of Christmas and stopping with luck by my in-laws place on the way there so the kids can finally meet their grandparents on Hawk's side of the family.

By the second week of January, (and the next board meeting) I am going to be exhausted. I'm exhausted just thinking about it...but a couple of days sitting on Mom's back porch reading a book sounds like heaven about now, even if its cold.

I'm tired and I don't see an end to it yet...not even down the line.

Hawk is on call the week of Christmas and the holiday, so he cannot go with us. It's the first Christmas ever without him, even when we were separated we did the holidays together. It feels weird planning the trip without him.

I still have tons to do, I have to try to find someplace to board the dog for a week, or try to make arrangements with mom to take him with me which, her dogs would probably dislike. I've got to get the oil changed in my car and get my brakes done...and I still haven't done any Christmas shopping.

Wasn't it Halloween just yesterday?

Good grief...well I am still alive, just slogging along. Still here, still love you guys!

Have a great holiday if I don't talk to you before it sneaks up on me!

It started off gently, tugging, pulling at the back of my mind. The itch in my palms.
I haven't felt it in a long time. The want to sit down and just write. Its like waking up after a long time...strange but pleasant.

So my boss left early today, decided to take some of the day off to spend some time with his 9 year old daughter when she gets out of school. My kids have to come to the office for an hour after school every day and hang out in the board room and draw or read or do their homework.

When we drove up this afternoon, my boss was parked outside work. I got out and his daughter rolled the window down and greeted us with big smiles and waves. I asked if I had locked my boss out and he said "No, but my daughter wanted to come back to work and play with your kids...so if its ok with you I will pick her up at 5."

lol So I guess I have a bit of job security as long as he doesn't get jealous that his kid wants to hang out with me and mine!

I was very flattered and the kids were thrilled to see her. Fast friends.

Wow, so have you ever run into someone you dated as a teen? Facebook strikes again. The red head from my teen years surfaced and he still has the odd ability to make me grin like a loon and laugh at the drop of a hat.

Seems life is treating him very well, as it is me. We are both fortunate that we have beautiful kids and wonderful spouses. So how does one tactfully express how much someone touched their lives and say thank you without seeming scary or sappy now days?

It is rare to have someone from your turbulent pubescent years that leaves an unconscious smile constantly on your face with the memories of time spent with them....I would like to let him know that without seeming like some kind of stalker. lol

Any suggestions?

Yeah so, I'm still here, just been busy and no internet for a month or so...but I am still alive I promise!

New job is great, working for the Dayton Community Development Corporation here in town. So far so good! I like that it is about ten minutes from my house and central to...well everything, as small towns tend to go.

The kids just started school yesterday, all at the same campus this year. They seem to be doing well and like their teachers so far. Cross your fingers for me. lol

Hawk brought home a boxer puppy a few weeks ago, he is growing so fast! We think he is part piranha he chews so much. Crate training would be easier if we were not all gone all day long. I swear I worry for his tiny little puppy bladder. We named him Max. Hawk says it is short for Maximum Density (IE Thick headed dog) I call him Barkus Maximus or Maximilian, depending on what he is doing and my mood at the time. lol He is a cutie, I will have to get some pictures loaded on the computer once I get mine back. (Whenever that may be...)

Hawk is working, constantly. Warrants and CID right now but he is always at his best when he is so busy he cannot breathe. Sometimes I think he prefers it that way. lol Still a little time off would not hurt him at all I think. Maybe I can convince him to take some time off before the end of the year.

So yeah, that's me in a nutcase so far...um, hows you?

Well my brother Floyd is off to Canada next month and asks if any of my Canadian friends can tell him of some of the "not to be missed" sights in the areas he will be visiting, so...all my wonderful Canadian friends out there...any suggestions?


Thanks so much!

~Suz



See below for his email to me about where he is going and when.





Ok kiddo,

I know that you have several friends in Canada. . . I'm going to be going to Canada this summer with Glennie and Kay. I'll be in Niagara Falls July 4th, Toronto July 5th for part of the day, and then off to Kingston, On to Ottawa to take a submarine trip on the 6th, then on to Montreal for the night of the 6th and the day of the 7th, and I'll catch a flight back to Pittsburgh at 5:15. Soooooooo, any suggestions of things that we should definitely see would be greatly appreciated. AND I will probably have about 3 hours on my own waiting for my flight, because Kay and Glennie are going to leave about 1 pm to go on to Quebec City.

Love ya,
Floyd