Dancing in the rain

What I saw today on my way to work:

1. People running with a smile on their faces...in the rain.

2. A mom dancing with her little girl and hands raised in the air...in the rain.

3. A woman sticking her entire arm out the window while driving...in the rain.


It's so great how times like these bring out the little kid in us. Have some fun on this nice day today and go jump in a puddle!

Let the countdown begin

There are many things that I look forward to in my life and right now within my top 5 I shall say is this coming weekend. Now, I will admit that next weekend will be just as important probably, but I am so tired that I need some time to just be me.:)

My countdown has began for the next few days and it goes something like this:

—>17 hours until my weekend officially begins
    *Give or take 30 minutes.

—>26 hours until my Sunday morning coffee with Matty
     *A cup o' Joe and getting to see his pearly whites.

—>28.5 hours until much needed Church
     *AH...to soak in His presence.

—>51 hours until my last softball game of the season
    *Then the countdown to volleyball in the spring will begin

—>51.5 hours until I am on the couch relaxing while I watch Gilmore Girls with my marvelous guy.
     *OH and that also includes a spectacular cup o' Joe.

AND somewhere in there I will get to see the sublime faces of my Allen Family. Yay!!!

My eyes are tired and my feet hurt...bring on the weekend.

Caught "String Cheese-handed"

It doesn't matter how quiet you are.
It doesn't matter if you hold down the light button in the refrigerator so he doesn't notice it has been opened.
It doesn't matter if you open the package with a knife (to minimize on noise).
And it doesn't matter if you tippy toe across the linoleum so you're unheard.

No matter what, you are stopped in your tracks as soon as you tippy toe around the kitchen corner with string cheese in one hand and a peeled portion of it dangling above your open mouth in the other hand. While PJ Harvey sits there with his tail wagging from side to side, hound dog eyes staring at you and a quizzical look on his face asking why you have yet to offer him a piece.

This is the moment in which you wonder where he gets this from.
Oh yes...

Your thought process goes right back to each instance in the past 2 1/2 years where his Grandma Joy has fed him consistently off her plate or his Papa Terry has let him lick the ice cream carton after he was finished with his share.

However, for me, each day is a day where I try not to be caught "String Cheese-handed".

The end to an addiction

Okay. I am going to admit, right here on this page that I am an addict. This addiction to such a wonderful liquid did not come in spurts, rather it was a constant thought in my mind. It has many different smells and many different tastes. I needed it in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. It affected my mood and how I communicated with those around me. I could smell it from miles away.

I have been addicted to this substance since I was about 4 or 5 years old due to my mother giving me sips of it from time to time. I started hitting it a little harder in junior high, then my impatience to have the substance grew in high school as I would drink it in the mornings and in the evenings. I began with the harder stuff in college - doubling my intake. After college my intake expanded as I began shots of the substance.


I have given my niece a few sips, which I think has passed my addiction on because she whispers to me all the time, "Aunt Val, do you have any of that yummy stuff?"

I am proud to say that I have ended the addiction to this substance within the past 21 days as I have cut back to only drinking 1-2 times a week...and those times that I do drink is do to pressure from my boyfriend (whose pops owns a shop FULL of the substance) and my Pastor who would always remind me that he had some every time I walked in the church doors.

Since my routine has changed due to my new job at the Jefferson City News Tribune and working 3 - 11 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, I tend to sleep past my normal drinking time. By the time I wake up, my day involves constant running about so that I am distracted from my addiction. My work provides the substance (no charge), but they don't brew it correctly, so it tastes horrible - even to an addict like me.

All of this to tell you that I have kicked the addiction and am no longer drawn to it. HOWEVER, I'm sure that it is okay for an addict to be drawn to Wal-Mart's aisle 5 and day dream about taking sips. I'll admit those times that I do have a cup, it is downed within minutes.

To tell you the truth, I miss it - tremendously. So much in fact that I can smell it coming from the coffee shop just a few blocks over.
It smells so smooth...so refreshing...so full of delight...

Hmmm could I feel a relapse coming? I think it's my breaktime...Sorry, I have to go...

What am I doing?

I have no clue what I'm doing with this blog and I have no idea what to write about...even though I'm a writer.

Well, I will start with this, "So...it's a little hot outside, isn't it..."

Don't look at me like that - the weather always comes up when a conversation isn't going anywhere. Geez.