High Five Friday

It’s no secret that I read a lot of blogs and am a ghost follower to most, and last week while looking around I came across an entry that I thought was interesting and decided to copy for a while to see if I liked it.  To give the proper credit, you can view the blog at From My Grey Desk – so here I am starting a new weekly entry called “High-Five Friday”.  Basically this is a summary of what I feel are my top five highlights of the past week, a way to reflect and document the good things in each week.

1. This Mother’s day was a great day. I received a lunch out, a book to read (might add I finished it by Wednesday – Yikes) and a bottle of my absolute favorite perfume that can no longer be purchased in stores; yep the hubby had his thinking cap on for this day!

2. Getting many updates throughout the morning on the 5^th grade All City Track for Miss K-K. She competed in four events this day. The High jump, the mile run, Co-ed relay and the girls relay. She did very well in the high jump; rumors on the street were that there was a very large cheering section for her chanting her name as she and a girl from another school were competing for first place. In reality Miss K-K had already won as the other girl had tipped the bar once already and Miss K-K had not; she finished first with 4’9”and was then given a second place ribbon – oops! I saw on her Facebook a friend named Joey posted “Me and Jaxson were about to chant “This is rigged!” – LOL! In the girls relay the team took first with her taking the end spot in the relay to. Her mile run was not her norm, unfortunately she skipped lunch thinking it would help her but in the end it bit her in the butt as she ended up light headed half way through and finished in the middle of the pack. Because she ran this mile she was given the option to skip the mile run at school…as competitive as she is…she is running the mile run to get her time back in line. Over-all a GREAT day even though I had to miss it, the text messages kept me on the edge of my seat!

3. D.A.R.E. Graduation for the 5^th graders was also this week and I was given the pleasure of attending this event. This is a program that is widely recognized for teaching the kids about Drug Abuse Resistance Education. The kids were awarded T-shirts and certificates as well as visits from some very important people in the community. Judge Lori Borgen, Officer Kellen, Police Chief David Ebinger and several city council members. Getting to see the kids go through this ceremony after weeks and weeks of classes, music and art all surrounded with avoiding drugs, talk of what a bully is, the health effects of drugs and alcohol and how to make good choices even with their friends. So happy that our community is involved with our kids!

4. I was also able to attend the 6^th grade History Fare for Justin with Blaine. The kids could work alone or with a partner and Justin chose to do his research alone and study the Iwa Jima Flag Raisers; he did a fantastic job! What a fun way to spend the morning! There were lots of smiles and the room was filled with boards displaying the knowledge that was learned. We stopped and spoke with a few of J.G.’s friends and found that all of them had researched something different and were eager to share what they had learned. It was also a great morning visiting with other parents some of which we hadn’t seen in a while.

5. The best high-five of my week though was the ending of my unsettling feeling of losing someone so special to me that I had never imagined my life without them. The anxiety that set in me was so unnerving that I just wasn’t myself for weeks no matter how hard I tried. I found myself doing things I wouldn’t normally do, like driving in wrong directions, going to a completely different location then intended, forgetting schedules, doing things twice or not at all, entering rooms and not remembering why, sleeping restlessly for brief periods of time and then startled awake to lay “thinking” again, my stomach was rolling, my head pounding and there was a great deal of strain in my neck forcing me to constantly twist and turn trying to release the tension. Talk about wishing for the flu instead so at least you’d know it would get better in a day or two! But fortunately I took a courageous step, for me anyway, and started asking questions knowing the answers might be the end of or the start of more anxiety. Since this is on my High Five list, I don’t think I need to go any further…J

So, here it is, my first High Five Friday! 

I hope this sparks you to also reflect and document,

if you do make sure you link into mine so we can share

Or

you can also add your High Five’s to the comments of this post.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone!

Seriously, I'm really up this time!

I'm up...right?

Ok, so this is it, this is what I look like on Saturday mornings during the volleyball season, hockey season, soccer season, football season...ok the every morning season. 



Where as I am certainly not a morning person, I wouldn't call myself a night owl either; but I have been known to stay up late watching some sappy movie that I just couldn't turn off, searching the internet for any tid-bits on taking pictures, messing around with photoshop, or reading anyones blog that I can find.  Most of that though is because I am one that struggles with sleeping because I cannot stop replaying the day over and over again.  You see, I am officially my worst critic of how my day went and how I could have done it better, I'm a "why didn't you say this" or "geez why did you say" that or "could you not have shoved all that junk food in your face today" kind of gal.  Oh if we could only do some days over! 


When I was a kid, I remember getting up early to watch Saturday morning cartoons despite my sleeping misfortunes.  I still love watching Road Runner, Tom and Jerry, and who can forget Yosemite Sam!  Oh the good ol' days!

"You're despicable" - Daffy Duck

What I remember most about Saturdays as a kid is being at grandma's house, smelling fresh bread being toasted, Golden grams being poured and getting to eat in the living room with a towel underneath me so I wouldn't make a mess while watching the "toons".  Ha-ha, toons sure doesn't mean what it used to!

Now days Saturday mornings are not so much for sleeping in, drinking coffee at the table while reading the paper, clicking on the television to catch the latest cartoons or news for that matter, or for  just taking things down a notch and enjoying the day.  They are now for cramming in all the fun stuff you enjoy doing into those few open hours, slowing down would mean missing out on a game, not getting to that sale at the mall or a garage sale early enough to get the good deals, having time for that motorcyle ride or getting in all your weekly runnings in so you DO have time to sit by the fire and have that little beverage.

So while I am pulling the cobwebs off my eye's, tyring to brush out those snarls that have taken over my hair through-out the night, and desperately trying to find matching socks, I am also thinking of all the things on my "to-do" list for this Saturday - and trust me...it's not all fun and games today!

Maybe next weekend I'll get up early and catch the latest Elmer Fudd adventures before hitting the pavement. They do still play Looney Tunes on some station...right?

Don't forget Mom this weekend!

Breaking news here!  All moms, with kids of all ages, want to receive a gift on Mother’s day.  Ignore their sweet smiles and echoes’ of “oh you don’t need to get me anything” because secretly they are want to be doted on, appreciated and given that high five for being all that they could be.

Now as for the gift, these can range in great deal, and to be honest, she has something in mind but don’t expect to be able to figure this out guessing.  If you want to get her something you know she wants and you have been given no hings, just ask, but if she is one that loves to pretend that there really isn’t anything don’t panic - - you still have at least 24 hours left to figure it.  We all know how busy things can be; we all know that even if it is last minute it doesn’t mean that you didn’t have your whole heart in it.

Here's a few ideas just to name a few.

Give her some Quiet Time, find her a nice bottle of bubbly for the bathtub, and give her the time to spend alone, with soft music and serenity. If there are little ones in the house, make sure that this bubble bath is kid free!

If your crafty, how about looking up some DIY websites and finding a quick project, moms will love that you took the time to make something just for her!  These pretty vases come from a DIY website, you can get there by clicking here Pretty vases, you can create this is in a matter of minutes and then fill it up with her favorite flowers.

This little novel turned out to be one of the top sellers for 2011 and is continuing into 2012.  If mom is a reader this might be one that you can find at any local stores that sell books.  If she isn't into this kind of book, your in luck...there are a million to choose from.  Maybe even a journal would be a great idea for her to have to write her memoirs!

If she's more of a techy person, why not consider a Kindle fire, with this little gadget she can down load her favorite books and read them when ever it is convenient, it even has a light to read in bed.  You can download apps of all sorts, check email and play music all at a reasonable price.

Cook her something, better yet bring her breakfast in bed!  If your not much for cooking here is a website that has some great ideas and some don't even require any cooking skills! 
Cooking ideas

If none of these work, scan the Internet for more ideas but what ever you decide, make sure Sunday is made into a "Mom's" day. Treat her like she is royalty even if it is just for this one day.

Happy Mother's day to all the great ones!

Learn how to drive you idiot!

Have you ever noticed that when your driv'in, anyone going slower than you is an idiot?  And anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
 
 And here's one of those things you have to do every time you drive, especially if you're in a hurry.
It happens at you approach a red light, and you find several lanes of cars ahead of you. As you roll up to the pack, you have to decide which lane to get into. You have to guess which looks like a good bet to take off quickly, so you can move out fast when the light turns green. With half a block to go you have to decide who's the really fast asshole in this group up ahead.
Forget the Volvo, she's listening to public radio, and drives the way she lives - with fear and caution. You'll want to avoid that Toyota with the fish symbol; Christians drive as though Jesus himself was a traffic cop. And, by all means, ignore the Lexus with the heavily made-up, bejeweled pig woman. She has the reflexes of an aging panda.

Ahhhhh! Here's the correct machine to get behind: a Camaro with four different shades of primer paint and a bumper sticker that says "I date my sister." This guy's a real risk-taker; full of crank, and on his way to an AC/DC concert. You'll be home before you know it.     ~ George Carlin ~

Heart thumping, fingers flying, arms flayling, curse words spewing, cars revving, horns blaring.  Sound familiar?  Would you consider yourself to be one that experiences road rage or would others say you are the one that more than likely causes it for others?

I'm quite certain we have all felt road rage at one time or another, some with more rage than others and for different reasons. 

Generally I don't get road rage but I have been known to "give the bird" to people without giving it much thought. Really...I do - surprise!  The one time that still sticks in my mind that quite frankly made me look more like an idiot than anything was when I was younger and still living in Grand Forks.  I was working at an office down town and I had parked on a side street this day.

It was winter time, I managed to get into my car to start it and then exit quickly to brush snow off the windows.  During the time I was brushing snow I was not thinking much about the traffic going by and it getting thicker by the minute. My mind was on the snow and how it was pretty, it wasn't too cold and I was in no hurry at all. (Correct, no kids yet)  I got back into my car, adjusted the radio all the while watching out the mirror for a break in traffic to pull out.

Where I was parked was close to the river, so there was really no where to go other than to the end of the road and make either a right or a left turn and of course it was a 3 way stop.  Not the best choice of parking but it was close to the office door so I thought I was getting rock star parking that morning.  I quickly learned others were smarter than me.

I waited for a period of time to which I thought was long enough, all the time my blinker signalling that I would like to not spend the night here in this parking spot so please be kind and let me out, but apparently this was misleading to the drivers going by; they must have assumed I was guiding them with flashers to the end of the road.  I slowly turned the front end of my car out further into the traffic hoping this would shed a little light on the subject, yep...nothing.  Then traffic seem to slow, so I pulled out a little more. still no give.  At this point at least an hour went by, OK not really but my patients were wearing thin.  I decided to go for it, and the lady coming up the road didn't think this was in her best interest and proceeded to blare her horn at me. 

I then of course did my famous "bird flip" at her and pulled out anyway.  Only to discover that I hadn't taken my mittens off, so of course it now looked like I was giving a friendly wave to her, which explains her bird flipping back at me and the verbal curses being mouthed that I was supposed to understand.  Clearly I did and clearly my red face was not from the snow.

Road rage can be caused by numerous thing. According to the 2012 statistics, traffic congestion is one of the most frequently mentioned contributing factors to aggressive driving, and aggressive driving is one of the most common causes of road rage. Aggressive drivers are more likely to become upset/angry while driving.

So with our little amount of traffic congestion here in Fargo, what would be the likely cause for us to get road rage?  Statistically we rate at a very low amount of "reported" road rage but I myself have seen people getting cut off, blocked from passing, fingers in the air, verbal profanity being mouthed behind the glass and rearing up behind cars on the interstate because they want to go faster than the car in front of them is doing, and that is just from driving with Blaine!

Whats your your road rage today? 

None:  I have not seen one monkey driving today.
Low:  I made it work, and only one person cut me off!
Average:  I got cut off, tailgated, blocked, the usual.
High:  I might have used my horn once, cursed, basically got angry once or more.  Saw a                  
monkey picking his note.
Extreme Danger:  Full mood drag racing, using your finger, people hanging their heads out the
window to curse.  ROAD RAGE!

Share what you have experienced, or what causes your road rage, I'd love to hear your stories!