Today's Superpower

"What would your superpower be today?" The question presumes that I may choose my superpower. I usually have to verify whether my choice is just for today, or if it will have permanent consequences. Sometimes I have to choose my own logo, and where it would go on my supersuit. I used to just choose flying, or excessive speed or strength. But because I have lived with a boy child for 13 years, I am now more adept at answering the question. So yesterday I wanted to be able to grow things (like plants) any where and whenever I wanted to. I could grow vines faster than Spiderman could spin webs. I could grow huge oaks to block the path of my arch nemesis. (I could grow grass in my yard.) My calling card would be a green leaf with a distinctive shape. My name? Green Thumb. I just couldn't decide if I was good or evil. I guess it depends on if you find ivy growing over everything you own frightening or enchanting.
Last week I wanted to have one eye that worked like a telescope with impressive zoom power. And capable of even greater magnification. Like a microscope. So I could just look at you and zoom in on one freckle. Or one skin cell. My name? i-mom. Definately one of the good guys. I would work with a whole network of other moms. Some with eyes in the back of their heads. I'm not exactly sure what I would do with this superpower. I did use it to impress a five year old at the track meet. He was waiting for his sister to throw the discus. (Waiting seems to be a common theme at track meets.) He told me he was a superhero. I said I was also a superhero and, incidentally, so was my son. How odd that the three of us would find each other at a middle school track meet in Cody, WY. His name was Battlewar and his super powers involved running really fast and flying. Novice. He did, however, have a theme song, which he sang for us himself. I suggested he get a sidekick, but in his most incredible voice he said, "I work alone."
I thought perhaps my boy child would never grow up, but now that he is teenager, I find myself nostalgic for the five year old who wore his Robin costume through the streets of Salamanca.
Today I wish my superpower was fixing broken dental appliances. I may be getting too old to be a supermom.

Meeteetse Chocolatier

Yesterday's track meet was in a little town called Meeteetse. It is home to 351 people, a school with a track, a mercantile, and a cowboy chocolate shop . The STP and I went to the chocolate shop in between events--to warm up. I mean--to support the local economy. No really, just for the chocolate. The STP bought me one of my favorite things--a brown paper package tied up with...twine.

And stuffed with bandana tissue paper.

Wrapped around chocolate peanut butter truffles. And some marshmallow coconut bark. (And I also had a bag of chocolate covered stick pretzels, which I was going to save for later, but I ate before I took any pictures of them. But they were also tied up with twine.)

The chocolate is made by a real life cowboy, who was not in town for the weekend. But I saw his picture on the way out of the store. And he might be fine enough even if he didn't make chocolate truffles, and brownies and cheesecakes. But we all know you should get at least two things in a guy. If one of them is chaps, the other might as well be chocolate. Yee-haw.

Today's Track Meet-eetse Style

Started the day in the field throwing the disc.




Unfortunately, while much of the rest of the country enjoyed near record high temperatures, the Basin experienced a Spring set-back. (Set all the way back to Winter.) Causing the disc to freeze to the Goober's hand in his first attempt to throw it.

Sad.














He had better success with the shot put.









(The STP took these shots because my little hands were frozen, but that is not me in the blanket. But if I had a snuggi, I would have worn it.)

And by the afternoon, when the running events were scheduled, he had thawed sufficiently to run like the wind. Go Goob. Go. Run Goob. Run.

In other news, I spotted the captain talking to Goober's track coach. No, wait. Maybe that is the STP.








Actually the STP looked especially like the captain today. I think it was the hat.



See what I mean.












Stayed tuned for what the brave and daring STP and I did during the lunch break. It involves cowboys, chocolate and baling twine...

Hungering and Thirsting for Cheeses

During our 4th week of Lent, eating only things that grow in the ground and drinking only water, I developed a strong craving. (And it wasn't for Diet Pepsi.) It was for cheese. I started to think about cheese on Wednesday. I wanted pizza with three cheeses. I wanted a string cheese stick. I wanted nachos with cheese. I wanted to unwrap a slice of processed cheese food and fold it over on itself until it made a little stack of cheese before I ate it. Forget the crackers--I wanted to spray canned cheese directly into my mouth. On Thursday I began planning what I would eat on Sunday. By Friday I was talking about cheese with people at the drive up window at Dodge City Federal. I spent Saturday preparing for Sunday, when I could eat dairy products. I had our small group over for lunch. I asked them to bring cheese. I'm not even that crazy about cheese normally.

And then I read Psalm 63.

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You;

my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for You, ...

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;

with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

On my bed I remember You;

I think of You through the watches of the night.

And it occurred to me that I never felt as strongly about God as I did that week about cheese.

I have hungered and thirsted after Diet Pepsi and cheeses, more than I ever have after my Heavenly Father and Jesus.

So the good thing is that now I know what hungering and thirsting feels like. I just need to figure out how this translates to earnestly seeking God and finding my satisfaction there. I'm thinking that it has something to do with love and relationship. As part of my quest, I am collecting 'in' verses. God 'in' me. Me 'in' God.

Jesus said: I am the vine and you are the branches. If a (wo)man remains in Me and I in him (her), (s)he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

I'm thinking I may have a little wine with my cheese.

GOOB to BORG

GOOB

BOOB

BOOG

BORG

New Appliances or Is That a Refrigerator in Your Mouth?

I bought a new appliance. Although it is shiny stainless steel, it is not for the kitchen. It does open and close, but it does not have an ice dispenser. It is an orthodontic appliance. It attaches to the Goob's back teeth and will reposition and realign his jaw in preparation for his braces. For the down payment I could have bought a refrigerator with an ice dispenser. For the additional payments, I'm pretty sure I could have a matching range and dishwasher. It is no consolation, but the Goob feels like he has a refrigerator in his mouth. He can not touch his top teeth to his bottom teeth, making it difficult to eat anything except chocolate ice cream. The metal hinges and screws rub the insides of his cheeks sore. He is not fond of this. He had no desire to have his jaw repositioned nor his teeth straightened. I tried in vain to convince him that I'm doing this to him because I love him and that it will be good for him in the long run.

Me: It will make you more attractive. Your wife will thank me some day.

Goob: Do you want me to marry someone who is so shallow that she will only be interested in me if my teeth are straight?

M: It will make you breathe easier and reduce snoring.

G: Would you love Dad more if he didn't snore?

M: It will help you sleep better and improve your grades.

G: Oh, will it turn in assignments on time for me too?

M: Um, it will make you more attractive. It will help you get a date for the prom. Here take this advil.

G: Are you saying that I am such a failure as a human being that I will need to adjust my lower jaw a quarter of an inch and straighten my teeth to even get a date? Do you think that this smile is going to attract eighth grade girls? Do you think that my middle school experience will be enhanced if I look like Jaws from the Bond movie?

M: I don't think you look like any one from the Bond movie. I think you look like some one from the Wallace and Grommit movie. Maybe Wallace.

G: Can I quit track?

Okay, I didn't really say the part about Wallace. By this point I was really questioning if this really was the best course of action and feeling bad for him and picturing my kitchen with new stainless steel appliances, and maybe even a granite countertop.

Maybe we would both feel better if there was a little light that turned on when he opened his mouth.

Miracle #3

Remember when the Goob rode his bike to school?

And when he shoveled manure?

Well today he went to a track meet. As a member of the team.

He went out for track at the urging, nagging, insistence of his parents. Everyday he comes home from practice and asks if he can quit. On very cold days he calls me from school before practice to ask if he can quit. Their first meet was canceled because of snow. It was rescheduled for Thursday evening. It was wicked cold and windy. He begged to quit in the middle of the meet. I bought him a pizza. The coach and his Dad said he should stick it out. I didn't see them buying any pizza, or listening to any pitiful begging.

Today dawned bright and beautiful. But by the time it dawned he was already on a bus heading to meet number two. Because in Wyoming tracks are few and far between (like most other things). And it takes all day to get there and back.

Here is what the trip looked like.

Here are some horses along the way. They may have been wild. I can't really tell. They didn't look particularly wild, but they were a hundred miles from civilization. So maybe...

Here is the Goob in athletic wear. Waiting to throw the discus.

And here we are taking pictures of ourselves to pass the time waiting to throw the discus. We are standing beside each other. He is that much taller than me.

Here is the Goob running the 100 meters. Because they called that event while we were waiting to throw the discus.

They announced his name over the loud speaker. Not because he won anything. Because he had to report to throw the discus.

Here he is finally throwing the discus.

I signed him out early and got him a blizzard at Dairy Queen before we headed home. He didn't ask to quit one time today. That's the miracle part.

Happy Easter

From the three of us....

...to the rest of you.

And the Oscar Goes To...

Every year I want all the eggs to be solid colors. I want them to be beautiful in the basket. I want the colors to complement each other and the dining room.
Every year there are new 'experiments' with the eggs and their dyes. Every year their are 'magic' eggs with names, and rubber band eggs and striped eggs. Every year there is one egg that goes into all the colors various times. The result is the ugliest egg ever. We call it the Oscar egg. (I'm guessing after the Sesame street character--not because it will win any awards.) This year the Goob had to do the Oscar egg in the absence of his sisters. If you think about it too hard it is a very sad and lonely thing--to do the Oscar egg by default.
If you think just a little harder, it is a very joyful thing to be part of a family with love and traditions to pass on and hang on to.
That's how hard I'm thinking tonight, but I still miss my girls.

Did God Really Say...

I love art class pottery. When I used to go to the elementary school art shows, I couldn't wait until my kids were old enough to do the clay projects. The girls each brought home several wonderful pieces. When I moved across the country, I loaded one representative piece of each of theirs on the truck. Sadly, a few had to be left behind. (Impulsively, I hid one fine piece in the ivy on West Ave. to be discovered by a future adventurer. I can only hope they recognize a treasure when they find one. )
Yesterday, the Goober arrived home from school with a surprise for me in his packback. A one of a kind, hand crafted bowl. With a little green trim.

Carefully glazed so that I can use it for serving food.

There is a difference between girl pottery and boy pottery. Girl pottery is used for candy dishes or candle holders. It has butterflies cut into the design. Boy pottery is more robust. It is painted black. It has serpents in the design.

This is from the Goober's Garden of Eden collection. We call it, "Did God Really Sssssay...?"

We Just Stay at Home, and Lie Around...

So the Captain who is being held hostage by pirates off the coast of Africa looks a lot like the STP.

Just in case you've seen the story and were wondering if the STP was being held captive by pirates off the coast of Africa, fear not. He is safely at home. Firmly planted in front of the HDTV bonding with his son over Clone War reruns. Although he does have an increased interest in the Somalian pirates, I'm pretty sure that I never will look good in leggings.

Aye, aye, Cap'n Crunch.

Itty Bitty Healthcare Facility

I worked full time the past two weeeks at the IBHF. Just covering for a vacation. (Next week I go back to the bank. Part time.) The IBHF is attached to a nursing home facility. Because it was the first of the month, I got to do blood draws in the nursing home. Met some very dear old people and some very sick old people and some very grumpy old people. I hope when I am a very old person that I am a very dear one. (Or at least that some of my 'cuteness' remains.)

The Dear response:
Ms. Brenda, I'm here to get some blood from your arm.
Alright, deary, which arm do you want?

The Sick response:
Ms. Brenda, I'm here to get some blood from your arm.
Ms. Brenda? Ms. Brenda?

The Grumpy response:
Ms. Brenda, I'm here to get some blood from your arm.
Do you have to do it before breakfast? Get away from me. Where is that girl who always gets my blood? Ouch. Ouch. Nurse, do see what she's doing to me? Help me. Someone. Anyone. Oh, sweet Jesus.

Goober Eating Peas

A Lenten Update


Do I have to eat this?

Yes.

Could you food process it so it will go down easier?



Yes.







Could I try it in a glass so I can just chug it?



Yes.

Goodness, how delicious!

Are we counting down the days until the end of Lent?

Yes.