Grey

Something scary happened to me last night. I was in my bathroom, brushing my hair when I happened to look into the mirror and something caught my eye. It looked like one of my hairs was covered in paint, which is odd since I haven't painted in months. I looked more closely. Yes, there was definitely something odd about one of my hairs.

So I pulled it out to get a closer look. It was....my first grey hair!!! For some of you this old hat, for me it is a bit frightful. You see, I've never been sure who's hair I have - my mom's or my dad's. The texture comes from mom, the color from dad. Mom's side doesn't go grey, Dad's side has stock in Clairol. Now I know. The question left is, how soon will it all go grey?

Bit of a funk

Sorry I have not posted recently, the loss of the rabbit has put me into a bit of a funk. For those of you who do not know, Speckle was a house rabbit - he acted like a cross between a dog and a cat. He was litter box trained, would beg for treats and play chase. I could let him out in my flower garden for a little "outside time" with absolute confidence that he would come back, since he loved an air conditioned house. There were times when he would almost trip me in his efforts to get back inside. Every evening when he would be running around the house, at 10:30pm he would stop what he was doing to jump up on the couch to watch "Sex and the City" with me. I think he had a crush on Sarah Jessica Parker.
Even hubby has been upset, although for slightly different reasons. As he put it, "You know there is no love lost between me and that rabbitt, but I am sad that he is gone because it is making you sad." I've given up hope on him coming back - there was a strange cat pacing in front of my house the night he went missing.

Lost

LOST

"SPECKLE"

Grey, White, and Black Rabbit

Will come to you if you offer a treat

REWARD

upon return of rabbit

Truth or Dare

So, monkeyboy seems to be enjoying the 3rd grade; or more to the point, the two days of chaos that his 3rd grade education has consisted of up to this point. It's a new school and they are a little disorganized. In fact, the playground is currently a barbedwire-topped, fenced-in field of grass. There is no playground equipment. It is due to be delivered "any day now".

In the meantime, the children need to find ways to entertain themselves. When I asked J what he did at recess, he responded with "We play truth or dare." My mommy radar went up, as I remember the games of truth or dare I used to play, and I was readying a speech about what is appropriate and not appropriate actions at school when I asked him to give me an example of a truth and of a dare.
His Response:
"Our truths are crazy questions like, 'is it true you kissed a cow on the lips?'. Isn't that just crazy Mom?"

"What about the dares?" I asked

"One dare that my friend gave me was to run around the school with no clothes on. That is just so silly and ridiculous. I dared him to go to the top of the Statue of Liberty and jump off."

So I can get rid of the speech for now. I wonder if years from now he will remember this and realize just how innocent and naive he was.

1st day of school

J stated 3rd grade today.
His school runs from 8:45am - 3:45pm
His bus was late coming home.
He came home at 5:35pm.

Locks of Love

I'm currently growing my hair for Locks of Love and it is driving me crazy - an adult woman should not have have hair that is half way down her back. It can't be styled and it keeps getting caught in the car door and windows. I go to turn my head to check if it is clear to pull out onto a road, and yank, my head painfully snaps back. Nevermind that I shed like a cat and these long strands of brown hair turn up everywhere. It would be OK if it was just in the bathroom, but in that night's dinner? Ew!! What is really frustrating is that I keep running into friends whose daughters have recently cut their hair for the cause. "Oh, little Susie cut her hair and donated it. This is the third time she's been able to do it (and little Susie is only 7)" Why does it take so long for my hair to grow?

Seriously, I only have 2-3 more inches before I can cut the foot length off for which I've been aiming. I just have to be patient and realize that it goes to a good cause.

Meet the teacher

Is it fall? It sure seems like that to me. Why? Well, we were able to go to J's new school yesterday and meet his teachers for his new school year. It seems he goes to a new school every 2 years, either due to us moving or to the district growing too fast. So, we went and tried to figure our the layout of his school and where his classroom is, got to see some of his fellow classmates, and in general where able to get psyched about school.

I love the beginning of a school year, not because he'll be out of the house but because I am one of those strange folks who loved school as a child. I would get giddy with excitement, planning what to wear to school that first week and deciding what "necessities" I needed to pack into my backpack. As the grades progressed, I would even make plans on how I was to decorate my locker, trying to find the perfect magnets for whatever them I was going for that year (usually it was "clutter").

Unfortunately, J does not share my excitement, at least not to the same intensity. He's had too many problems switching schools and has a mental block when it comes to writing essays, something he has to do often in his Horizons program. However, I'm optimistic this year. I have a friend who is teaching the same grade and is next door (figuratively, they have open classrooms at his school) and she promises to let me know if I'm going to need a marguarita or some other stiff drink before J gets home from school. Plus, most of the staff seems eager to have a good year, let's just hope this impression is true.

School bells ring

This is the last weekend before the little guy has to go back to school. We have yet to officially find out who his teachers will be and the playground has yet to be released into its possession. I hope that happens soon, since the kids certainly are going to need somewhere to run off their extra energy. Of course, they probably won't be doing much running since it's going to be high 90's - 100's for their first week back. Thank goodness the school has air conditioning.

Return to normal

My father returned J to us, after a three week vacation visiting his grandparents. From the sounds of things, he seems to have had a good time. My folks have mentioned making it a yearly event, since we no longer live within driving distance of them. I'll all for it - that would mean couples only vacations for us, which we enjoy; and bonding time for J with his grandparents.

Dad wanted to help around the house while he was here, which is normal for him. We did some lamp rewiring, and he fixed up my bike for me. He also wanted to mow our lawn while I was at work. When he asked if I would mind, I said "yes", since I figured my mom would not appreciate if he had a heart attack while he was here. You see, our lawn is composed of the thickest grass around which has a vine-like consistency, and it is an intense workout to mow the law since we do not have a self-propelled lawn mower. He assured me that he would only mow the front lawn, and only if he could breathe OK (remember, this is the man who just got out of the hospital a few months ago and has been using oxygen at night to breathe).

So I came home from work to the two strips of the side lawn cut and one line along the back fence. Dad's comment? "That lawn will kill you. I wouldn't mow that lawn ever again if I didn't have a self-propelled lawn mower"

Photos are fun

Now that I have ventured into the world of photo blogging, I must admit I am enjoying the extra dashed of color to my blog. It is something that I think I'll continue to do. Of course, that means I'll have to continue to take pictures, which is not something that I do very often. Perhaps one day you will see a picture of me on my blog. Or not. If I were to post it, it probably would not stay up for that long.

Thems good eatin'

There were feral chickens all over the island. You could find them at the pool, on the beach, climbing the rocks near the waterfalls - everywhere. We spoke to a few locals who commented on how tasty and healthy they were. The theory is that since they are "free range" chickens, they stay lean and that means less fat for those who are eating them.
Our kayaking guide gave us a live demonstration on how to hypnotize a feral chicken. He grabbed one off the rocks, laid her on her back, and started stroking her underside. After a few minutes, he stopped stroking and released his grasp of the bird. She stayed flat on her back, as though invisible bonds were tying her to him. Bryson, our guide, finally flipped her over and sent her on her merry way.