Went to IKEA, shopped. Got lost. Picked up things I didn't really need. Spent the last hour just browsing.
Got to the register lines, looked down, and realized: I wasn't pushing my own cart.
...
Oops.
Went to IKEA, shopped. Got lost. Picked up things I didn't really need. Spent the last hour just browsing. Got to the register lines, looked down, and realized: I wasn't pushing my own cart. ... Oops.
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Considering that I am married to an LEO, it’s not so outlandish that I have an affinity for firearms; I appreciate the role they play in our nation’s rich history and I especially love that I live in a country where firearms are a constitutional right given to the people. This year, Mike and I were privileged enough to be amongst a record-breaking 67,000 attendees that made the pilgrimage to the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade show, otherwise known as SHOT show, in Las Vegas. SHOT hosts an amazing array of vendors – from guns to camping gear to camouflaged lingerie (yes, that would be camo panties) – and runs for a full 5 days, which is still not enough time to see it all. The trip was very much a blur – but there were a few highlights:Meeting Chris Costa. This man is quite possibly God’s gift to firearms training. He is respected in the industry like no other, and meeting him in the flesh was a tongue-tying moment. He chatted with us about his latest promotional video and how the behind-the-scenes portions were the true reward of the production. He graciously gave us a few pointers on Vehicle CQB for Mike’s upcoming class on the subject. We were beyond honored that he would invest so much of his time with us. Laying hands on LWRC’s Special Edition PDW. I. LOVE. THIS. It’s compact, it’s light, it has full-size fire-power, it’s ergonomic, it’s intuitive… and it’s gorgeous. About the only things I might change on it is the color, which is fine because it's going to be standard in black, and possibly the forward grip. Someday, when they unleash the six8, I hope to make one of these little beauties my own. Being in Vegas – good times. There’s not been a Roulette table that’s been bad to me. It’s a fun game and I enjoy the pace of it. I especially love it when my number hits and that crotchety old dealer has to stack up a mountain of chips and slide them across the table to me. (Don’t worry, I gave him a tip for the trouble.) I would also like to add that taking the winnings to the piano bar is too much fun. Especially after a few spicy Bloody Mary's. The Sights... A Vegas tradition for me is going through the Bellagio Atrium. This year, they have it decorated for Chinese New Year. What’s neat about the Atrium is that nearly everything is made in flowers. It’s like a parade float, and it’s amazing. And last but not least, Making lots of great new contacts in the industry.... The boys demanded outside time today, and I can't say that I blame them. After several days of wintery weather, this Sunday morning was actually quite pleasant. Max was on a mission. He quickly set about rearranging the kiddie table and chair set on the front porch of the garden shed. He then went and gathered clover, dandelion, and lettus leaves from the yard and garden and proceeded to make us a "Healthy Garden Salad." He laid out the spread on his table, complete with a garden spade and hand rake for utensils. Excitedly, he welcomed us to his "restaurant" and invited us to "enjoy!" Sweet Max - he clearly has been picking up on all the "healthy eating" discussions I've been having with Mike lately. "More greens" I say. And Max delivers. It's funny how they listen, even when you don't realize it. It's been a while since I've posted. A change in jobs, a change in seasons, Max starting school... I have many stories to tell. But today, a short note on Christmas... I love Christmas in the comfort of my own home. I enjoy the zen of making my home festive for my husband and children. It is a yearly ritual - a chore, really - but worth every measure of preparation. The sentimental ornaments, the handmade treasures, the yummy treats, and the sparkle of tiny golden lights - they all seem to root me a little more firmly to tradition and family. I am filled with spirit and thankfulness. After the food is shared, after the gifts are given, and after the frenzy of festivity is over, I always try to take a moment and just sit... and simply absorb. Decorating... This year, I tried to mix things up a little - changing the way I decorate the tree, using up-cycled ornaments, and materials I hadn't tried before. I deconstructed a wreath I made a few years back and used the berry picks for fillers on the tree. The old, unused grapevine wreath became a cascading natural accent, once broken apart - and it was a good compliment for some silvery ribbons, which I had saved from the tables of our wedding reception. Heirloom ornaments share boughs with bargain store finds - I'm not ashamed to admit that several of them are from Walmart. Illuminated with the help of a random-sparkle light set I wove through the tree, all the adornments twinkle in their own right. A few years ago, I managed to get my hands on one of those crazy rotating Christmas tree stands at an after-season sale - and it's been worth every bit of the $20 I paid for it. It's admittedly a challenge to decorate all sides of the tree, but the end result is fun and festive. I got the camera out and took a few pictures, leaving the shutter open while the tree spun. I loved the effect - it reminds me of time and how quickly it flies past us... And how I should enjoy every moment while I have it.
The San Antonio Zoo is on the cusp of its 100 year Anniversary; they're calling it the "Zootenial Celebration." Despite some of the improvements that are being done to the zoo (read: exhibit closures, construction noise) to mark the occasion, we still had a fantastic time. It was a prime summer day, but the park didn't feel crowded. For the most part, the boys were happy and we had a great time looking at and exploring the animal exhibits. Throughout the zoo, a group of young volunteers was on hand in the exhibits to help the kids passing through learn more about the animals. These little "Information Stations" were really engaging and I was impressed at these teenagers' willingness and patience to interact with Max and have long-winded discussions about the animals with him. I think he actually surprised a few of them with what he already knew about animals. Looks like that subscription to NatGeo Kids wasn't such a waster after all! Our first stop in the zoo was the bears. Since it was mid-morning, the bears were still fairly active. We got to see one bear move about his enclosure for a while and we explored the information stations at length. Then we made our way to the Reptile Exhibit, which included a two-headed turtle ("Thelma and Louise") which was born at the zoo and was clearly quite a celebrity. After the reptiles, we decided to take a trip in to the Butterfly House. It wasn't stroller friendly, so Mike waited outside with Maverick while Max and I went in and explored. We had to pay a few extra dollars to go in (I suppose that helps with too many people trouncing through), but it turned out being worth it. There were so many butterflies - they were everywhere! Max did a great job of adhering to the butterfly-house rules: not touching any of them and carefully walking through so as not to accidently step on one. Our favorites were the giant Morpho butterflies - which were bright blue when open, but looked like owl eyes when closed. They were beautiful to watch. One landed on my calf and "rode" with me up until it was time to leave. We got the help of a butterfly keeper, who encouraged my new friend to find a new place to hang out. As beautiful as it was, it was still a little creepy to have a bug that large attached to me for so long. In leaving, we had to go through a special "Wind-Lock" at the exit, where they blew air around you to ensure you didn't have any other hitchhikers. After ensuring that we didn't have any stow-aways, we made our way to the Gibbons and Cat Grotto. Next, we saw the Andean Condor exhibit, and the resident was proudly showing off his wingspan! Lager than Max in body, and with a wingspan nearly as long as Mike and I were tall together, he was pretty intimidating perched up on a rock feature within the enclosure. By late-morning, the temperature had begun to get really hot, and I was quickly running out of snacks and drinks for the boys. So we decided to go ahead and break for lunch. Once fully fed and watered, we opted to try and stay "indoors" for a little longer and made our way through the aquarium exhibit. There were a few surprises in the aquarium - the best was seeing what we thought was a rock feature down in the water suddenly move! It turns out that they had the Hippos in there with the fish! Max got a kick out of seeing the fish pick around the Hippo's rear end... "Look at those fish kissing the Hippo's bottom!" he shouted delightedly between fits of giggles. I know he's only five, and this is probably just a preview of the future humor I can expect from him. Still, his laugh is pretty infectious and I couldn't help but crack up a little with him. Then it was off to the South American animals exhibit, where we met a Pokémon armadillo, which can roll itself into a prefect ball like a pill-bug, and a giant ant eater that walked on its knuckles to preserve his sharp claws. There were also birds and monkeys of amazing colors. Then we headed for the Safari where we got to see an incredible array of animals from Africa. One of these was an Opaki - a strange animal that looked like a mish-mash of giraffe, zebra, and gazelle. The warthogs were happily wallowing in mud - just like you would expect pigs to do - to protect themselves from the heat and sun. They looked so gross! But I have to admit the day was growing hot enough to make the mud look kinda refreshing. We were also lucky enough to be greeted by one of the zoo's mongooses (yes, it's mongooses and not mongeese! lol) He seemed very interested in Max and stared at him long enough for me to get a picture of him. Otherwise, he was running all over the place, much like a meerkat. After the Safari, we were pretty tuckered out. The temperature hit 105 and we decided to try to go indoors for a while. We ended up in the Hixon Aviary, which had a beautiful collection of birds from all over the world. Some were new to the zoo; interestingly, to help the new birds adjust, the zoo keepers painted the windows of the enclosures up so you couldn't see in (and the birds couldn't see out). Little by little, they would strip the paint off in sections, eventually "introducing" the bird to its new home. There was also an incredible open-air exhibit in the middle of the pavilion where they had a collection of trees - and all through the trees were free birds of nearly every color. They could flit around where ever they liked within the aviary, but they mostly stayed in the safety of their trees. They were all singing and chirping. One tree had a bird on nearly every branch as if they were purposely decorating it. I wish I had taken better notes on which birds were which - but the zoo was moving a lot of the animals around so that many were not correctly labeled. Still, I truly enjoyed looking at the feathered beauties! The boys just enjoyed cooling off! In addition to all the animals, the zoo also had botanical specimens that were truly phenomenal! Even in the midst of summer, there were colorful berries, beautiful roses, flowering vines, and towering centuries-old oaks. When we left the zoo, we walked across the street to ride the San Antonio Eagle around the park. We had to buy tickets in the gift shop, and Max had fun trying on dinosaur masks. They were pretty cool! When the train pulled into the station, Max immediately hopped on to the car directly behind the engine. He wanted to watch the engineer drive the train! What a relief to sit down on the train after walking all day - it was a great way to put our feet up and enjoy a little summer breeze before the ride home!! Today I am enjoying joblessness - basking a little in the pure satisfaction of doing something I never thought I would, combined with the glorious freedom and thrill of a clean slate. There is no stress today. Only Southern's Pizza and a few celebratory beers. "You did it. You finally took the leap." Today, I keep the company of two little boys and a grown man who is my best friend in the whole world. Today we celebrate. Tomorrow, we swim. A few days ago, I submitted my week's notice to my boss. As I looked across the table at the man I'd spent nearly a dozen years with, I was riddled with anxiety and guilt. I held my breath and adopted an internal chant of encouragement: 'you can do this.' I waited for a natural moment in the conversation to break it to him, desiring to do so as gently as I could - but the subject matter at hand wasn't making it easy. In fact, he was going on an on about the difficulty in replacing good people. Just my luck, really - before I marched into his office, fully prepared to deliver my news, I hadn't been aware that he had lost two other sales people in the course of three days. I was about to become his third. Well, damn. I liked my boss. I respected him. He reminded me very much of my father, especially in his mannerisms as he candidly shared his plans for covering his losses and what a pain in his ass it was to interview new people. Every word was unraveling my nerve. I felt selfish. I felt I was about to betray him. Every fiber in my being wanted to jump up, and commit myself, sacrificially and stupidly, to staying right where I was. But no. Something primal drove me forward - I knew better than to stay on a ship I knew had been sinking under me for a very long time and offered nothing but a watered-down grave for the person I wanted to become. My decision was sound and my motivations were true. I thought of my boys and my ability to provide more effectively for them. I thought of my own potential. I thought of shrugging off the chains of business philosophies I no longer agreed with. And then, I took a deep breath, and I made the words happen. "I'm here today to resign." I saw the flash of shock in his eyes, but I bit back on the apology before it had a chance to escape me. I had a bad habit of apologizing for things that weren't mine to be sorry for. Part of my new plans involved breaking myself of that. I would move forward - I would be strong - I would be confident! The conversation following was short and a bit terse. There wasn't much left to say. We worked out the details of my last day and the transfers of clients. Then, I thanked him and stood to leave. He said it had been great to work with me - a pleasure and an honor. My heart finally broke. I burst into tears as I started for his office door. I was completely embarrassed - so much for that strong and confident crap - what the hell was I doing?! As I paused in that brief moment to collect myself before walking out into the main area, my heart beating like the hooves of mustangs, my then ex-boss showed a rare moment of compassion: a half-hug and the words, "You'll be okay." I crossed the threshold. He was right. Today's Maxism: As we were leaving the gym today a little girl ran up to the window and she and Max exchanged enthusiastic waves good bye... Me: "Who's that?" Max: "My girlfriend." Me: "Really. What's her name?" Max (shrugs): "I dunno." Me: "you don't know her name?" Max: "I don't... Doesn't matter though - she's really cute." Can I just say that I am always amazed that Max can pick up an iPhone or iPad, and in just a few minutes, he can completely figure it out... I can't say whether this is a testament to his intelligence or whether the iPad is simply so intuitive that a 4-year-old could readily navigate it... Who knows? But it's moments when I discover all these hilarious photos on it that I realize that leaving him alone with my iPad within arms reach is going to pay me back with surprises! |
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