Monday, December 27, 2010

Thursday, September 2, 2010

More Gear from DCRAINMAKER!!

So while we're all stuck inside because of Earl, do a little surfing and contest entering!!!
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Monday, July 19, 2010

...what's been going on???

...lots and lots of veggies...above is my first eggplant...since then I've been lucky enough to get 4 more with several more on the plant....lots and lots of cucumbers...the chili pepper plant has a million peppers on it while all the other peppers that looked close to dead are now flowering and producing....TONS of tomatoes which are still all green...grrrr...hoping that they begin to get red and ready to eat soon....the herbs are going crazy...mint and parsley has been made into some tabbouleh while the zucs and eggplants have been grilled and baked....basil is awaiting to be made into some fresh pizza...can't wait!
A little race as therapy for a disrupted adoption....anyone out there in my extensive list of followers (love ya mom, dad and JJ!!) that has experience with older child adoption, I'd love to have a discussion...suffice to say, the situation was ugly and although I'm sure I wouldn't change anything I did, I do think if we try again we will do some things differently.
And lastly... what's a blog without a few pics of the handsome boys!!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Go Go Gadget...

DC Rainmaker Style

...If you've never checked out the best sports gear reviews and travel pictures you must stop by today and browse through...and while you are at it enter to win a Garmin F110!!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Garden Pictures...

I was going to write about the defiant child and his many Emmy award winning temper tantrums but really, who wants to read about that crap?! So on to a much more worthwhile topic...the garden! It's amazing how a little rain (OK a lot this week) and lots of sunshine really do make the garden grow! All of the plants have taken off...including my garlic......and I even have baby chili peppers....
This is my first try at squash, eggplant and an assortment of hot and sweet peppers not to mention some of the herbs so I'm pretty excited how great everything seems to be growing right now. Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

The Garden is Planted...

...and has been expanded!(Top pic is the new bed, bottom pic is the old bed)
On the menu for this year is tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, red peppers, green peppers, banana peppers, chili peppers and jalapeno peppers. On the herb front basil, rosemary, parsley, cilantro and chives...with a little mint planted in a pot at the front of the house so that we can have mojitos by sunset this summer...a girl's gotta plan you know! Here's hoping for a bountiful harvest!!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Someone Call Guiness....

...I may just have witnessed a record breaking tantrum...really an hour and a half of CRAZINESS...I just want to know how these gurus... ...and
...recommend I totally transform my defiant child when I feel like going.......on him!! I think even the dogs are starting to wonder if all the drama is worth a measly treat here and there!!
But on the upbeat and positive side, while the kid that throws tantrums every few minutes but still gives us treats continue to earn solitary confinement and possibly juvenile detention within the next year, I am honing in on my Rock Band drum skillz because when and if he finally earns the right to play, I want to make sure that I can ROCK...like Bret Michaels...except on the drums...and that my friends is a plan!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Temper Tantrums...

When we last left this poor lonely blog we had announced the matching up of a child with our family...since then we've not only visited this child but have permanently moved him into our home...and it has been all drama all the time folks!! Some days even the dogs start looking at him wondering if he's for real!
Several summers ago we babysat our friend's Bichon Frise for the summer...we used to walk around the neighborhood with our two puppies (aka miniature ponies) and hers and laugh about how the neighbors were probably scratching their heads wondering "what the F*&K?"...which led us down the path to the following nicknames for the dogs...Knuck (short for knucklehead), Chuck (short for chucklehead) and F*&k...so we thought that a new nickname was in order for the latest addition to the family...anyone out there seen the movie Jarheads? Well we are now embracing The Suck! And while it sounds pretty miserable of us to have given such a nickname, I'm sure those out there that have adopted an older child might also fondly remember this phase...the testing...the defiance...the temper tantrums....the generalized horrid behavior...and think to themselves how fitting.
Nanny 911 and the World's Strictest Parents would probably be out of their league...and the amusing part is that despite all of the talking amongst yourselves, we as parents have to find our own niche in parenting and go with it...this role for me really hasn't changed much...before the hierarchy of the house was something like this according to the big dog...Jack, his master, the pesky, upbeat other dog in the house and the lady that feeds us while the master works....now the hierarchy stands at...Jack, his master, the pesky, upbeat other dog in the house, the kid who throws temper tantrums every few minutes but still gives us treats and the lady that feeds us while the master works and when the treat kid forgets to. It's all about knowing your place...and let me tell you, if I forget, sooner (like within the next millisecond) the kid that throws temper tantrums every few minutes but still gives us treats will remind me of it when he blissfully ignores or downright says "No" to any and all requests made by the lady that feeds us while the master is away.
Over the weekend I thought it might be fun to do a little science experiment...one in which I tally how many times I get told "I don't want to" (51), "why" (7), "I'm not" (12), "I don't like" (12), "I can't" (11), "hate" (5), "No" (8) or just blissfully ignored (18)...in six hours folks...six hours...if I had only known that my research paper should have been on such a topic instead of the use of radio-frequency detection systems for sponge counting in surgery in an effort to reduce retained sponges following procedures I would not only have written my paper but I'd have collected my data and probably gotten a "A+"...for the paper....not my parenting skillz...and been on the fast tract to a PhD! Oh and just for fun (and so you know that I still believe in being fair) I had did have a category for cooperation...you know, giving him the benefit of the doubt...sadly, there wasn't a doubt, much like there wasn't even 1 single tally mark next to the category....embrace The Suck Coleybear....embrace The Suck!
Well it's obvious...if you haven't figured out already by reading this blog...I'm not totally the warm fuzzy type but I did look at the skinned knee and offer a band-aid the other day as well as made a really nice ice bag for the "sprained" wrist, so I'm not totally heartless...and while this experience so far has definitely required me to channel my inner psychological warfare tactics I am going to give it a thumbs in the middle so far...you know....well at least they tell me so...it does get better...hopefully I'll be able to change that thumb in the middle...but in the mean time I'll continue to video tape the temper tantrums and embrace The Suck...as long as he figures out one of these days that I will win or die trying!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

OMG...it's been a LONG time!!


So like everyone else I blame Facebook for my disappearance...really JJ you need to sign up because you are basically one of the few reasons I keep this up!! :) So since I left you what's been going on....

1. LOTS of school work...a big BOO HISS to APA for changing their format again and not getting it correct in the first of the two publications of the 6th edition (of which I got the first...go figure!)

2. Snow...for real...at the beach...and it lasted more than a day....unfortunately I spend my life slicing and dicing, saving lives and that is a 24/7 job that doesn't give out snow days...kinda like 7-11...without a big gulp machine....

3. Sunshine...it is finally not dark in the morning and for a bit longer in the evening...running sans flashlight is fun...and much less dangerous to the ankles...

4. We matched up with a little boy...well not too little...10...so I may have to change the blog title to "Zero to Middle School in 6 months...strap in TIGHT!"...we'll see...should be a fun, exciting and extremely challenging few years!

5. In two weekends TPH makes a comeback at the Shamrock Half Marthon...where JJ will conquer the 13.1 mile distance for the first time as LL and I escort her...hopefully she's not going to put me to shame....and maybe while we run the team can explore the option of a marathon again with all three participating!

6. In three weeks I do my first trail race...shoule be fun and amusing and I'm hoping to not break my leg or neck...we'll see...running over bridges and overpasses just doesn't really give you the feel of a mountain "trail"!!


Hope everyone is doing well...and eating LOTS of french toast!! :)


Friday, January 1, 2010

Goodbye 2009....

....Hello 2010!!
It's funny how we get caught up in our every day lives and think that it's boring and nothing new happens, but as I was out for a run this morning I was reflecting on how many things really did happened this past year and thought it was suitable to post and start the new year out right!
I started out the year applying to graduate school, getting in and eventually starting this past fall...wow...now I remember what school it like! In addition to stressing out over my research class and APA format I also spent the semester learning about family health and life stages...and while we certainly encountered some of those this year...I find the ones that aren't in the textbooks both fascinating and frustrating at the same time.
In the spring the hubby and I embarked on a journey to adopt a child or two from the American foster system....we aren't sure exactly what the ending will be but has opened our eyes to how simple and truly blessed we have been and currently are in our lives. While the statistics quoted to us state that there are 50 to 250 adoptive families to each child we have been looking at older children (9 and above) who comprise a huge percent of the children waiting for a family. These kids have had to endure so much in their short lives that it's a wonder how they remain positive and continue to hope for a mom or a dad...and yet the one's we've meet at various speed dating (my affectionate term for the meet and greets) opportunities are so hopeful and awesome I want to take everyone of them home with me! But alas we submit the home study and wait and wait and wait and wait...but in the end we both have faith that this is going to pan out exactly as it is intended for us...and while we know it's going to be a bumpy ride we are sure to enjoy every minute!
So while we wait I thought I'd post some pictures from 2009....I did some races...some were good...some not so good...
...we said a sad goodbye to a friend....
...we visited family....

....and got to see friends....
...we met some new friends....
...I planted a garden.......we had doggie surgery....one was planned....
...the other was not....
...but all's well that ends well...

...here's wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2010...CHEERS!!