This June 12th was my fifth anniversary. Welcome to my day:

8:17 AM - Yea… I’m late for work, what else is new. It’s casual day so I dug out my old Bob Probert jersey to show my support for the Wing’s game seven in the championship series.

8:43 AM - Several co-workers volunteered to help clean up the weed beds around work. So I stopped to take a few pics. You know, generally, people don’t seem to like having their picture taken.

5:21 PM - I heard a cool song on Sirius Alt Nation so I took a picture to remember the names.

5:31 PM - Picked Hunter up at daycare. His first question to me was : “Mom, what you got?” I try to have some fruit for him when I pick him up… and he knows it.

6:06 PM - This was cute picture I captured of Hunter, but it was terribly out of focus so I did the best I could with photoshop.

6:05 PM - Sharing french fries with Grandma. Grandma came over to watch Hunter so Kev and I could go out to dinner.

6:12 PM - I was setting up the tripod so I could take a nice picture of Kevin and I on our anniversary. Of course Kev had to be Kev… yo yo yo! Apparently I married a PMF (punk mother-fuc.. .uh.. you get the idea).

6:14 PM - I am thrilled with this picture of Kev and I. Can’t wait to hang it in our home. Kev didn’t like the vignette on this one, so I took it off.

8:05 PM - Leaving Longhorn. As I was taking this picture another couple was pulling in the parking lot… the guy asked if I was a private investigator. LOL

8:08 PM - Ok, so it’s getting later in the day and I know I don’t have enough pics… so here is Kevin’s dream car… a Grand National.

9:17 PM - We went to Game Works to play a few video games. Every game I touched had credits on it still… it was weird.

10:12 PM - Home watching the last hockey game of the year. It didn’t really end the way we had hoped. I think my Probert jersey is jinxed.

Obviously, I have been doing some Photoshop homework. Playing is really the easiest way for me to learn. I’ve been collecting tips and techniques from podcasts, you-tube, books and other online crap. But you can listen or read all day, but for me, it just doesn’t sink in until I actually do it. I think I have the vignette thing down pat.

Go and check out some other 12 of 12’s, they really are cool.

June is uber-busy for me, I will try to keep up on crap-o-rama.

~S

Yesterday Hunter tried to take a step on his punching balloon and I believe the ride he got caught him off guard, but he wasn’t hurt and it was honestly hilarious; watching someone fall on ice hilarious. Kev and I were cracking up and so was Hunter.

But here’s the thing you have to remember about 3 year olds (holy crap… he will be 3 in 3 days!!) … when someone laughs at what a 3 year old does, they will do it again…
and again…
and again…
until someone gets hurt.

Yep, just like our Moms told us. And that someone was Hunter. The third time he attempted his balloon walking technique he hit his head on the floor pretty hard. Hunter is quite resilient and when he cries like he was, I know he was hurting pretty bad. Remember, he’s the kid that only cried for 2 minutes after being stung by a wasp… resilient, I say.

Anyway, we put ice on his little bean and I rocked him until he felt better and started to fall asleep. This was good and bad. It was also very close to his bed time so all the crying and drama made him quite sleepy. Good since sleep meant his head didn’t hurt him any more, but bad because 100 things are going through my head about if he’s okay or not.

I keep putting the ice on his head and feeling around to make sure I don’t feel any big knots or anything. Then I see what looks like a scab on the back of his head through his hair. Now I can’t see up-close for shit without my glasses and Kevin has Superman vision so I call him over to look at what I found.

“It’s a tick!” he said as he was already two steps towards the bathroom to get tweezers. Kevin was very calm, but I know inside, we were both freaking the hell out.

Now is probably and appropriate time to mention that Kevin had stage 3 Lyme’s disease several years ago. It is now in full remission (if that’s what you call it).

I’ll save the you the details of how my wonderful husband expertly got the tick out, with it’s head intact, still alive and chewing on a skin tag from my son (little fucker). We saved the tick and he is now at the doctor’s office, hopefully dying a long slow death. It honestly didn’t look like the tick had been there very long. We had been in the yard earlier in the evening and that is probably when he got it. Which means not much chance of it having infected Hunter with anything.

It was an “American Dog Tick” (<- warning, there are pics and these are creepy little things!) which isn’t a carrier of Lymes. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is what that particular type of tick carries and I don’t EVEN want to know what that is!

Side note: I have looked it up (of course) and it looks extremely serious. All kidding aside, we will be monitoring Hunter very closely for the next couple of weeks.

Plus the tick looked male and I think the gender of the tick has something to do with whether or not it can transmit diseases. Hey, don’t ask ME how they knew it was a male.

But just imagine the look on Kev’s face when the doctor told him not to worry there isn’t Lymes disease in our region, it’s mostly north of here. Ummm… ok.

Good news, Hunter seems fine; both from the bump on the noggin and tick ordeal. He actually slept through the tick thing which is amazing and I am very very grateful for.

The “everything happens for a reason” moral of this story is obvious. If Hunter hadn’t hit his head, I don’t know when we would have found that tick and that makes my stomach kinda flip-flop.

oh yea….Now I need new tweezers… I’m never using those AGAIN. Ewww.

~S

P.S. Consider this your 12 of 12 reminder.

I never ever would have imagined that I would have attended your funeral yesterday. It still seems so unreal… so unbelievable. Your sudden death has left so many of us in shock… just like you to make a grand exit.

I’ve spent every spare second this past week thinking of you. There aren’t any bad memories, not a one. Everyone who knew you talks about your gigantic wonderful smile that could light the darkest of rooms. But you were so much more than that. I’ve heard “he was a good man” at least a dozen times this week. This is so true. You were kind, generous, caring and most of all you were the real deal.

Any person was lucky to know you, but I have the honor of calling you a friend. And we were great friends too, weren’t we? Our souls were connected, that’s how intense I believe our friendship was.

Of course I am going to miss that amazing smile that everyone talks about. But I am also going to miss our great conversations, our “eye to eye” gesture, your wonderful laugh and just your presence.

I’m so glad you met the love of your life. I know our get togethers became less frequent, but I also understand. You and Kelly were living life and loving it. You deserved that kind of love in your life and I’m thrilled you found that.

Bri, words cannot express the sadness that I feel knowing that I will never see you or talk to you again in this mortal life. Knowing my “eye to eye” buddy is gone. Selfishly, I am so sad, but I know you are in a better place.

Thank you for your friendship and love. Thank you for all the amazing memories I will hold dear. Thanks for being who you were for me.

Rest in peace, my friend. I love you. xoxo

Brian Keith Cato
February 8, 1966 ~ May 23, 2009 (way too soon)

Our first stop? Chapel Hill area of North Carolina. We stayed with the wonderful and generous Meghan and her family. Hunter got to play with his new friend Xan.

And I got to play with my friend, Meghan.

It was tons of fun. It was great to hang out, drink a few brews and chat over some pizza. Meghan is an amazing photographer and it was a real treat to watch her take and process pictures.

Thank you Meg for allowing us to hang out and invade your weekend… it was a blast!!

Then on to Myrtle Beach. It rained the whole drive from North to South Carolina. It was cold and rainy for the first couple of days. But after a trip to Wlmrt we had warm clothes and were able to literally chill at the beach. lol

This was Hunter’s first look at the ocean. The contemplation on his face is very similar to how I feel when I visit the ocean.

One of my favorite shots from that first day:

These next two shots are hilarious. Hunter was throwing sea shells back into the ocean… then the waves came in and he came running back…

The family vacation shot. I really dig the way this on came out. It might be a little tight at the top, but I still like it.

I actually got up one morning at 5AM to shoot the sunrise. I’m either really trying to be a photographer or I am just bat-shit crazy… either way… I hope you enjoy the pic.

All of these shots are sooc (straight out of camera). I just haven’t had the time to do proper adjustments… and if I tried to wait, I would have never gotten around to my vacation post.

The vacation was wonderful. But I am also a firm believer that even a crappy day at the beach is better than a great day at work. Hehehe I love being at the ocean. It rejuvenates my inner peace.

We got back on Sunday morning (around 1AM) Kev drove all the way through coming home. Hunter was amazing in the car, I couldn’t have asked for him to be better. The plan was to get home and chill on Sunday and Monday and head back to work Tuesday.

However on Sunday afternoon I got a phone call that was horrible news. A great friend of my passed away suddenly. The heartbreak is almost unbearable… but that is another post. Probably tomorrow.

More vacation pics on flickr… just click on one of the pics above to see them.

Is it bad that it’s only Wednesday and I am thinking about when I can go on vacation again. Lol

~S

I warned you yesterday, the pictures were lacking. But I was able to make up for it last night. Honestly, there is nothing like spring in Michigan.

7:30 AM – I was chasing Hunter around the house with the camera… literally. This is the one shot I got that wasn’t so blurry. Even tho’ a couple of the blurry ones were kind cool.

5:46 PM – Flowers from a planter hanging in the back yard. Cool colors together.

5:47 PM – Even dead flowers can make a cool picture.

5:47 PM – I love finding hearts in unusual places. Here is a heart in the freshly tilled dirt of my flower garden. I hope it’s a sign of a garden to be filled with love.

5:52 PM – Kev making dinner… tacos, yummy.

6:40 PM – This is the poppy plant that we bought last weekend to plant in one of my flower gardens. It was frosty out these past couple of nights, so it’s living inside for right now. I love the colors of the flowers.

6:42 PM – Hunter outside… of course. Actually he is playing with the bird feeder.

6:58 PM – Here is a pic of my new highlights. I’m not having the best hair day, but you get the idea. NOTE: of course it looks much better today. Lol

~*~ Yard tour begins here~*~

7:25 PM – This is a close up of the flowers on my Twisted Weeping Lavender. It really is the coolest tree.

7:30 PM – I thought the light looked cool coming thru’ the back of the pear tree.

7:30 PM – Apple blossoms. There are so many this year, it’s great. Last year a late frost killed everything off and we only had one apple on this particular tree.

7:31 PM – My multi-tasking man! Kev is pushing Hunter on the swing and playing catch with Tyler. And yes, Tyler is sticking his tongue out. LOL

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed the backyard tour. Thanks to Chad for hosting this monthly exercise.

~S

Be prepared for lots of evening shots from the yard.

~*~*~*~*~
Happy Birthday Xan!! I hope you are having a stupendous day!!

Hunter and I were walking thru the yard the other day, as we often do. Going from tree to tree admiring any new growth, looking at the little blooms and new leaves.

Out of no where, Hunter says: “It’s a beautiful day.”

Honestly? I almost cried.

This weekend I finally made a decision on what to do about my computer. My current laptop was a 30 gig… hey, stop laughing. So needless to say, I didn’t have any photos stored on this laptop. I’ve been ogling computers for months now, but just couldn’t justify the funds (especially on one income) and really didn’t want to have to deal with Windows Vista. Planned obsolescence of computer software has always been a pet peeve of mine.

So I went to the local Micro Center and bought 4gig of ram (2 for each computer) and a brand spanking new 320 gig hard drive ( would have bought a 500, but they didn’t have one in stock). I also purchased a nifty little gadget for cloning hard drives. Within 2 hours, I was up and running with my new expanded hard drive and the best part? I didn’t have to re-install anything. My hard drive cloned perfectly. The only way to tell I did anything is by looking at the properties of the c: drive.

For under 200 bucks I upgraded my laptop hard drive and ram and added ram to the other laptop.

Kev has even started to call me a gadget ho.

Life is good.

Oh hey… what do you think about Moon and Starz Photography?

I have lost about 13 lbs since I went to the doctor last month.

I was quickly heading back to my heaviest weight of 250 and I swore I would never get back there again. But with work stress, Kevin unemployed and the Mom guilt stress that comes with raising a 2 and half year old boy, I was creeping up there again fast.

My energy level sucked … no other way to put that. I was tired, cranky and just generally felt like shit. My annual physical was past due by a couple of months and I didn’t want to go. I knew I was at least 25 lbs heavier than the last time I saw my doc (last year). And to make matters worse, the last time I was there, over a year ago, he actually gave me a high-5 for my weight loss (35 lbs gone since March, 2007).

My physical didn’t reveal anything dramatic… and actually my cholesterol had gone down below 200. But I knew since Kev lost his job we hadn’t been eating out as much and we don’t fry anything at home, so I wasn’t surprised. Even tho’ I don’t think I ate that bad, my weight was going up, my energy was going down and my emotional state was all over the place. Kev’s cholesterol on the other hand, had gone thru’ the roof. It was time to do something.

Like everyone else, I wanted a quick fix. But like everyone else knows… there isn’t one.

I don’t normally watch “The Biggest Loser”, I bowl on Tuesdays, but I usually am home in time to catch the last 15 minutes or so where they show who was kicked off the ranch and how they look today. However, about this time I saw the whole episode of The Biggest Loser where a constant who was eliminated in the first couple of weeks came back 12 weeks later with an amazing 87 lb. weight loss…87 pounds!! At home. On her own. No magical ranch, no magical trainer… just her and 87 pounds after only a couple of weeks, if that, at the ranch.

Shit, if she can do that … so can I. So I did a little bit of research on the Internet and then went to the bookstore, March 28 and purchased The Biggest Loser, 30 Day Jump Start. Then I went back and bought Bob Harper’s “Are You Ready” and I also picked up the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. Good thing I still have money on my Border’s card. Lol

Up to this point, lots and lots of things have been going through my mind; mostly frustration at myself. I know how this is supposed to work: eat right and exercise. But my self-talk had a million excuses: I must have a metabolism problem, my hormones are wonky, I don’t really eat that bad (after polishing off a sleeve of Girl Scout Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies), I have stress, I’m tired… and on and on and on. I was craving ice cream and cookies. I really felt like my body had completely turned on me.

When in fact I fear, it was the other way around; I had turned on my body.

And then there is the mental image… I’ve always been a bit startled when I see pictures of myself. In my mind, I am a lot thinner. The person I see in the photo looking back at me can’t possibly be me… but it always is. I hate my chins the most… all of them. lol

However, there’s been a change, now I am eating more whole unprocessed foods. I’m staying away from white foods, like white potatoes, white toast, bread in general and I am eating whole fruits and veggies. I’m measuring my food and have been writing down and tracking everything I eat. I’ve never been a pop drinker, so that wasn’t an issue. I still have a cup of coffee in the morning, but I also make sure I have some nutrition. And right now, during the week an EAS Myoplex shake works for me… the strawberry is yummy.

My favorite treat is sugar free – fat free jello pudding, made with low-fat milk. I’m eating whole grains instead of processed, but I also have room. Room for a slice of pizza, if I want it, I just make it thin crust now. My favorite sweet tooth item right now is a whole grapefruit, cut in half, with splenda. I am eating every 3 to 4 hours, so I never get to the point where I am starving. And it doesn’t take much food to satisfy my hunger.

I actually road my bike this weekend.

My goal is 10 lbs a month. I think it’s doable and at that rate I will be 175, by my birthday in October.

You are probably asking… “Ok Sheryl, so why are you putting all this crap on your blog? “ Well, it’s simple. A blog named Crap-o-rama is a perfect place for crap like this and simply put, I’m gonna do it this time and now I have to be accountable. Not just to my family, but to my bloggy friends. If and when I start to falter, I want to be able to look back here and see how I was so motivated.

If someone else sees this journey and is motivated, then that’s cool too. Am I trying to be the next weight-loss guru? oh hell no. I’m just trying to be my own guru. I owe it to my family. I owe it to my son. I owe it to myself.