I find myself thinking about odd things on my way home from work. You might think, do you even have time to think since it's literally down the street and to the left just a little, but I do have time to think. Especially when I walk.

Walking to work, my mind is on normal. I'm usually drinking a cup of coffee with my purse slung over my shoulder. I'm concentrating on the deep smells of morning and making sure I say "good morning" to all my neighbors so that I don't appear to be rude.

This morning, I pulled on sweats and a t-shirt. Standard weekend wear for my job. I slipped on my tennis shoes and prepared to enjoy the great outdoors. There were clouds in the sky, but I could tell that they would burn off by the afternoon, and I hoped that it wouldn't be too hot. That's the tricky part about working in an ice rink. It's cold at work, but warm on the way to and from it. It's only about a mile to my job, so it takes about 9 minutes of walking to get there. I think it's a perfect way to start my day.

I opened the building, checked the tills, sold some skate passes and basically scrambled around all morning long until the afternoon shift showed up. Then I retired to my office and researched newspapers and community calendars, wrote up a couple of proposals and waited for the computer to catch up with me. Our network is notoriously slow. Around 4:00, I donned my costume, put on my skates and did my turn on the ice. I hand out coupons and prizes to kids during the afternoon session. Got off the ice, all hot and sweaty. A couple of deep drinks of water and then I cleaned up my desk and headed home.

Now this is where the funny thoughts start. I'm taking the same route home, but I notice a pile of junk on the side of the road. The city actually has "extra" garbage days, held every week so that people can dump their oversized items or if they had a party over the weekend they set out extra trash bags, stuff like that. Anyway, I take a look at the stuff and wonder if the virulent purple, rickety bookcase would be something we could use. I'm thinking of a doll house. I keep walking and then I start thinking about the clothing I'm wearing: sweats. How apt because I am sweating. Not too badly because it's only 96 degrees out, and I only have a mile to walk. Then I realize what a silly thought that is. I try to think reasonably: IT'S 96 DEGREES! YOU SHOULD BE HOT! WHAT IDIOT DECIDED THAT 96 DEGREES WAS SWEATS AND WALKING WEATHER? Then I calm down and realize, I don't really feel that uncomfortable. The sweat is just slight. I shrug and actually consider running until I remember that I've got a coffee mug tucked in my purse and that would be uncomfortable having ceramic whacking me in the back.

So, these thoughts take up the rest of my time until I let myself into the house. No, I didn't stay in sweats all day long. After all 96 degrees no matter how you put it is still hot. I put on a tank top and a pair of beach combers. Yes, I turned on the air conditioner, and that was the extent of my day, my thoughts and my general appearance.

Gearing up for school...

It's that time of year again. Time to go shopping for uniforms, school supplies and lunch bags. Time to register for classes, figure out schedules, consider what sports to do. Yes, we are gearing up for school already.

Tanner will be taking Calculus 3, Physics I, Engineering I and Computer Programming. I'll be taking Psychology I and Biology I. I've decided to hold off on the math because they don't offer it as an internet course, and right now, with full time work, kids and Tanner's course load, I just can't fit an on campus class into our schedule. Kate will be entering 1st grade this year, and we're considering soccer for her sport. I know that Reagan is going to miss her big sister fiercely, but if all goes well, then Reagan will be able to do soccer in January with her big sister.

We're trying to wind up all of our summer projects. Tanner installed a front door screen yesterday, and he added a third swing to the girls' swing set. He is almost done with siding the east side of the house, and in the next few weeks we should have the girls' room textured and painted. I'm 1/2 way there on that project, so the girls should be sleeping in their room by Wednesday.

We're down to one laptop and the one that is working seems to be overheating, so it's time to start saving up for a new one. Thank goodness laptops just seem to keep getting cheaper and cheaper, so we'll only be out a few hundred dollars when this one finally gives up the ghost. Laptops are a must when going to school, almost like a textbook, but we don't need anything fancy, and I think something that can run Word and Explorer is all that we need.

The scratch spin saga...

Now, I know that most of you must be bored to tears hearing about my ice skating saga, but seriously, I just can't help it. I love ice skating. Just to describe this obsession, I worked at the ice skating rink all morning long, then I put on some skates and made sure little kids made it to their lessons on time. Then I came home, and Tanner and I got the kids ready for swimming. Jonny went with us. We splashed and played and ate dinner and then came home. Put Tanner to bed. Got the girls cleaned up. Let them play for a little bit and then put them to bed. So, I sat here staring at the computer when I realized that, hey, it was only 8:25. I could still make it to the evening skate session.

So...yes, I grabbed my keys and went BACK to work. Skated for 2 hours. Came home.

But those two hours...you have no idea how wonderful it is to lean into your blade and cut a thin layer of finely ground ice as you take your first lap. The swishing sound as you pull one blade in front of the other and the immense speeds you attain as you round the corners. And then there is that heart stopping moment as you roll onto that lovely spot on your blade and with a quick flip you're suddenly going backwards and your hair gets blown into your face.

None of that compares to what I finally accomplished tonight. My scratch spin. It has been haunting me for almost 3 months. It's relatively simple to learn how to spin. It's just a matter of staying centered, pulling in your blade and standing on the balls of your toes. Voila, you have a spin. But there are all sorts of different spins, and the first real, marketable spin one must learn is the scratch spin. You've all seen it during the Olympics. The skater is going backwards. Their body twists. Then the arms swing around, the leg goes up and as the leg pulls into a triangle so do the arms then everything tightens up and the leg straightens while the spin just keeps getting faster and faster. That's the scratch spin, and I finally managed to pull off THREE successful spins.

My legs are tired. My feet are sore. My arms ache. My back thinks I'm crazy. But, my scratch spin thinks I'm all good.

Work, work, work, and a little play

We are up to our ears in work. We're either working on the house, working on the yard or working at our jobs. Tanner has started to side the house while I am texturing and painting the girls' room. We both have been sharing yard duty. That duty includes mowing the lawn, weed whacking, edging, bug spraying, weeding, tree trimming, fire-ant hunting and trash throwing. We're lucky that the city takes any "extra" trash every Tuesday. No extra charge. They take mattresses, dressers, yard debris, washers, computers, old T.V.'s.

I try to take the girls outside in the evenings when it has cooled down, and either we draw on the front porch with chalk, or we have a bubble party on the front lawn. Why the front of the house? Because the front is in shade at 8:00pm, and, yes, at 8:00pm you still need to seek shade or you will get a sun burn. Once in a while, Tanner will fill the kiddie-pool in the backyard. This week, he lined the slide up so that the girls could slide into the pool. You can imagine the big hit. Georgie could talk of nothing else for several days.

We are trying to enjoy this lull in our schedule because we know what is coming in the fall. Tanner will start school full time, and begin his first engineering classes at A&M. We are beginning to feel the pinch of tuition, and just hope that we can make enough so that we don't have to quit school for a term. Part of the reason why I attend school as well is because I qualify for extra grants that Tanner can't get. Yay, for being a woman! I'm not looking forward to balancing school with work, but I know that I must.

So, life is progressing, and soon we will be finishing up year two in Texas. I can hardly believe that we have made it 1 1/2 years. Not much, but time has gone by so quickly, and we have had so much fun, made so many new friends, and been showered with countless acquaintances. I am now beginning to look for a voice coach for Reagan. So far, finding a classically minded teacher is proving fruitless, but I will endeavor and contrive. I'm looking for a bigger violin for Kate and Reagan now plays the small violin. I think we will put Kate into soccer this year since ballet is so expensive, and I just can't imagine being able to afford all the recital fees.

The lazy days of summer are hardly that, but we are still finding ample time to rest and relax.

The sweet smell of...

lamb? Me? I guess I must really love my husband a lot. I got a phone call on Friday morning from a friend that raises sheep. There was a bummer that they just couldn't take care of. Would we be interested in raising a lamb?

It took me two seconds to say yes. I've been wanting some sort of animal for the girls to interact with. I've thought about cats...can't do -allergies. I've thought about dogs...can't do - they smell. I've thought about gerbils...can't do - too much like mice. And, I've even considered a guinea pig...can't do - again, smelly and mice. So, I considered the lamb and said yes.

Kate and Reagan love feeding it. Playing with it. Naming it (for the curious, Diamond Annabelle). Petting it. And generally everything a little kid loves. I'm not sure who enjoys the lamb more: the girls or Tanner. He loves to go outside and feed it. Then he walks around calling her name so that she will follow him. He even erected a little shelter for her so that she can always find shade. He always comes inside with some story about her much like a new mother always has a story about her new baby.

I'm thrilled because the lamb is an OUTSIDE pet. It doesn't jump up on me when I go out to hang the laundry. It's not really smelly. At least not yet. And, did I mention that it stayed outside? Plus, if it ever gets out of hand or we don't feel like we can take care of it, I know of a great butcher, oh, excuse me, they are now called meat processors.

I'll post pictures soon.