TGIF Randomness!

Happy Friday!  This has been a good week.  I am almost back to 100% after having strep.  Yay, now you don't have to hear me whine any more about how debilitating this has been! :D

I have 21 eggs sitting in my kitchen sink, waiting to be cleaned out.  But you will need to wait a little while longer to see them.  I accidentally dropped my dremel and it landed nose first, bending the bit.  I need to run to the hardware store for a new bit before I can clean them all out, get them etched and then photographed.  Boo hiss for clumsy hands.

We will be celebrating Father's Day this weekend with my husband and my Dad.  It will feel a little empty not having my favorite father-in-law with us.  He is up in Northern Minnesota fishing and dodging tornadoes (they are having some majorly nasty storms up there!).  It will be another two weeks before I see him.  Sigh. 

Look!  My gladiolas are starting to bloom! :D  They make me happy

The kids and I will be leaving after work next Thursday to start our two day drive up to Minnesota.  I am so excited.  I can't wait to see my in-laws, relax, fish and soak up their company for a little over a week.  We will see aunts, uncles and cousins.  The time will fly as we laugh and eat delicious dishes that we only get when we're spoiled by the grandparents.  This vacation means two things:

1. I should be finished with egg orders before we leave (at least if no one signs up after Courtney!)

and

2. I'm getting that much closer to releasing my kids for three weeks. 

To not snuggling in bed with them in the mornings. 

To not kissing them good night.

To not listening to them laugh or seeing their eyes sparkle.

To not saying prayers with them every night and discussing the highlights of our day.

To not tickling them just because I can and love to listen to them laugh.

I love daisies.  They were the main flower at our wedding.  I love that they will grow nicely in my garden for me!

During the three weeks that follow my return home from Minnesota in my non-working hours, I will throw myself full force into being on the torch and watching Todd play in every tennis match that comes up.  I will sort through closets.  I will have a garage sale and do my best to empty out the house of everything we don't use or need.  I will count the days until I bring my chickadees back home.

Phlox!  I love phlox.  I love the sound of phlox.  And the spelling.  The spelling of phlox with all those consonants and one of them being an X is fun!

This morning I read Crystal's blog about copycatters and letting go of that frustration.  It reminded me of the message I almost daily ask my kids....Who do you worry about?  Yourself.  You can't control others, so why should you worry about what they are doing?

I've got gobs of echinacea/cone flowers growing in front of our house.  I just love their centers.  And the pinks of their petals.

Keirsten of Lune Designs awarded me the Kreativ Blogger award. Thanks Keirsten!

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Post the award on my blog

2. Thank the person who gave me the award

3. Link the person who gave me this award

4. Share 7 things that you probably don't know about me

5. Choose 7 great bloggers to give the award to

6. Share a link to their blogs

7. Leave a comment on their blog

Seven things you probably don't know about me:

1.  I have regularly flown on airplanes since I was a child because my Dad worked for Delta.  I LOVE flying.  I love airports.  I love the smell of diesel jet fuel.  Even though I have been on probably close to 500 flights, I still get butterflies of excitement in my stomach the night before all the way through take-off whenever I fly.

2.  I never wanted to have children until I met my husband.  I would still like to have one more, but he thinks he's too old (cause 45 is just so old...it's amazing he doesn't use a cane.  geesh.  men)

3.  I met my husband in 1998 and we got married two years exactly from our first date.  He keeps me balanced and grounded.  He makes me laugh.  Every day.

4.  I used to be a voracious reader.  I was routinely in the middle of 8-12 books simultaneously and had no issue keeping the storylines all separate in my head.  After I started dating my husband, I found that opening a book caused him to need to talk to me within 30 seconds.  Need.  I'm told his father does the same thing, so it must be genetic.  Now I only read when I travel.  By myself.

5.  I was raised on Simon & Garfunkel, the Beatles, Meatloaf and the Bee Gees.  Their music is still at the top of my favorites to listen to when I get to choose the tunes.

6.  When I was little, I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian when I grew up.  That changed September 21st, 1991 when we had to put our golden retriever to sleep.  I knew I would not be able to deal with that level of grief.  That choice to not follow a veterinary path has been reinforced every time we have put one of our animals down.  That date is one of the few that is ingrained in my memory.  If you asked me for my children's complete birthdays, I would have to stop and do the math for their birth year from when I got married.

7.  I have been in telecom for over ten years now.  I am now one of the people I looked up to when I started working a decade ago.  I'm one of those people who has more years of experience than I could imagine at that time (how young I was at 22. I thought 10+ years in a company equated to the death of ones' soul).  I have been in this service manager position since 2002 and my youth is no longer an issue for causing immediate concern in others that I lack the work ethic, knowledge or experience to do my job.

8.  I don't like to follow directions.  I'm a rebel.  That's why I have 8 things about me, instead of 7.  And why I'm not naming anyone to follow through with this.  So it's up to you if you want to participate.  Give yourself your own Kreativ Blogger award and then come back to comment and let me know so I can go look.  I know you deserve it!

No go forth and have an excellent weekend!  Great weather, good food.  

May there be Happy Father's Day celebrations galore!