The Gift of Fear- Part 2

This morning I went walking with 2 friends- I learned my lesson and was not about to go by myself. Well, there were some kinks in my plan. First of all, I told my friends to meet me at the park in the parking lot and I still chose to walk there in the dark. Also, I couldn't remember if I told them to meet me at 6:15 or 6:30, so I showed up at 6:15 so I wouldn't miss them. As it turned out only one friend came and I had shown up a little early and she was a little late. In the interim of waiting in the parking lot, Mr. Hoody-Man, AKA evil guy who scared the tar out of me on Mon, showed up again. At this point I'm inclined to think that he is a regular walker in the morning and not a mass murderer, but it is still spooky to be alone in a park with a random guy you don't know. Right at the point that I saw him get on the walking path, but he didn't see me: the lights (that are spread around the entire park) turned off! Sooooooo, I tried to stay as still as possible so as not to alert him to my presence, and felt like a fool hiding out from a man who is probably a regular, nice, trying-to-keep-in-shape grandpa! I am so neurotic!

Scottie's Cool 4th grade report

Scottie did a report a couple of weeks ago (actually he gives one every two weeks!) where he had to compare and contrast two things. He chose two animals: the pink river dolphin and the giant anteater. I was actually surprised by how many things these two mammals have in common...but I won't bore you with the details. I just thought the pictures were cool! AND he got a 100% on his very well-researched report!

Puerto Penasco, Mexico...AKA Rocky Point

Greg and I were invited by our friends Tory & Janie to go to Puerto Penasco, Mexico, which is about 4 hours away from here. We left on Thursday night and stayed through President's Day. I have NEVER had a vacation that is SO relaxing!! We played games, took strolls on the beach, took afternoon naps on a hammock, ate authentic mexican food at hole-in-the wall locations....

Ahhhhh, I have to admit, it was hard to come home. No matter how great my days are at home, they are never as relaxing!!









This was the view from the balcony




Ahhhh, the sunset




Low tide, cool coral, fantastic sea shells

Another balcony view

Low tide...

Greg & I....so relaxing!

The Gift of Fear

The Gift of Fear is a book that was talked about on Oprah a long time ago. The premise is that we all have an animalistic instinct when we are in danger, but we choose to ignore it for many different reasons. For instance: we see a spooky guy in an elevator and don't want to close ourselves into a metal box with him for fear that he'll do us harm, but we tell ourselves that we are not being charitable, nice, we're being judgemental, etc and we step in. Any other animal would back away from the situation, but not us humans. Anyhow, this morning it was on my mind.
I have a goal to arise at 6 am and go walking. Today was the first day of the rest of my life. I put on some warm clothes, my ipod, and off I went to the neighborhood park that I seem to live at with my kids. I started walking around the walking path (I admit, I was a little nervous leaving the house because it was so dark- but I told myself that the sun would come up soon...) and I heard footsteps behind me. They weren't close, but they echoed off of the rock wall that the path was by. I looked back and saw a man with a hooded sweatshirt on covering half of his face. It was too dark to see any features even if his hood hadn't have been on. So I sped up to put some distance between us, and would surreptitiously look back to check on my progress. But every time I snuck a look, he was still the same distance...at least he wasn't any closer. I was getting spooked out, The Gift of Fear was in the back of my mind, and plus the perp was whistling one note over and over every few seconds. Serial killer walking behind me-great.
I decided that it was not enjoyable to exercise when I was afraid, so I started to walk home by cutting through the grass and getting on a different sidewalk that would take me home. I was feeling really good about this decision until I looked up and saw that the murderer was 50 ft in front of me and walking towards me! I skidded to a stop and stood there like a deer caught in the headlights. How did he get in front of me? Where did he cut over? AND...why the heck was he stalking me unless he had some evil plan in his demented brain that somehow involved me?!?!
As I stood frozen, he walked toward me, mumbled "good morning" and walked on. After he had passed me, I tried to still my racing heart, but to no avail, so instead I ran all the way home.
So now, 3 hours later I'm feeling a little foolish, sheepish, chicken-ish...but I'm alive! And after talking to Greg and my neighbor friend, I realize that walking early in the morning when its dark is not a good idea without a partner, or pepper spray...

Entertaining Joelle

Entertaining Joelle, on the days that she doesn't have school can be hard! Even on the days that she is occupied with preschool, I am finding that I am running out of ideas! Anyhow, we always fall back to one of our favorites...baking.



These cupcakes were made at preschool...then she wanted to keep baking when she came home!

Sooooooooo, we made sugar cookies!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy (Early) Valentines Day! Greg and I will be in Mexico on the holiday, so we are celebrating a little early. More to follow!

Super Bowl Sunday

Cousin Justin


Joelle



Cousin Isabelle

Justin, Lexie, Joelle, Tory, Scottie

Our Super Bowl Party consisted of Greg's brother, Jim, coming over along with his family. Also, Greg's sister, Jilynn, and her family came over as well. The adults were hoping for a Cardinal's victory...but the kids were more interested in the cupcakes!