Saturday, September 20, 2014

My Ho Hum Ten Things of Thankful List

This is such a dull list that I am embarrassed that this is my best effort, but it is what it is, and that would be my Ten Things of Thankful for this week:

1. I'm not quite as exhausted this week as I was last week. I'm very thankful for this, because if I had been, I'm not sure I would have survived. You really should not wake up every morning and wonder how soon you will be able to take a nap.

2. Both of our foster puppies have been adopted! Emma and I have been following Coco's Heart Dog Rescue on Facebook, where the puppers were sent for adoption, and Monday, Audrey was adopted, and Thursday, Olivia was adopted! Their new families look fantastic, Audrey is ENORMOUS, and we couldn't be happier to know that they have finally found their very own homes. 

3. Tuesday evening, the Joplin Lady Eagles Volleyball teams got to play in their VERY OWN GYM for the first time since the tornado destroyed the high school over three years ago. It was such a long wait! The gym is not completely finished, and a group of volleyball parents spent a couple of hours cleaning construction dust from the bleachers before the games started, but WE HAVE A GYM AGAIN!


Practice the night before the first game and
their very first time to use the new gym.


Cleaning women.

4. Not only did we get to play in our new (almost completed) gym, but the Freshmen, JV and Varsity teams all won their games against one of our biggest rivals. 


Nice pass!

5. My daughter and her friend, both on the JV team, sang the National Anthem before the Varsity game began. The last time they sang it (at a "home" game played at one of the middle schools, since there was no "home" yet), the microphone didn't work properly, and it cut out repeatedly while they sang (which they did without missing a note, in spite of the microphone issues). Even with a portable sound system (because the sound system for the new gym has yet to be installed), the girls sounded great Tuesday night, and if you're interested, here's a video made from my iphone (in other words, not that great of one) of them singing. Please remove your hats....






6. Wednesday night, we had nowhere to go. NOWHERE. TO. GO. I went to bed early, something I rarely do. When my bladder woke me up around 1:30 a.m., there were flashes of lightning in the distance. The flashes got brighter as the storms moved closer, and we had rumbles of thunder the rest of the night, which is kind of nice. Well, until about 3:00 a.m. when there was a flash and a tremendous BOOM that came from nearby. It even woke up Sleeping Beauty my husband. Later, we found out lightning had struck a 75 foot tall tree on the campus of Ozark Christian College, which we can see from our house. The tree was estimated to be about 100 years old, and the lightning caused the tree to explode, sending tree shrapnel into nearby cars and also through some windows in the dormitories. Fortunately, no one was injured. Our house is about 1/4 of a mile from the college; I can only imagine how loud it was to those kids in the dorm!




7. In Part 2 of my video series about outside animals that wind up inside the preschool, I recorded myself trying to free a lizard that followed me into the airlock after I went outside to take some trash to the dumpster. This is really the lizard's thankful, but I shall claim it as well, since I was glad my mission was accomplished without me ever having to touch it.




8. The volleyball team traveled to Springfield Thursday night, the same town where my son goes to college. I got to spend a little time with him that afternoon before heading over to watch my daughter play. All three teams won their games - Go, Lady Eagles!

9. My daughter tried to update her phone with the new ios 8 update and something went tragically wrong, causing her to lose everything in her phone. She was the only one up when it happened (midnight-ish Wednesday night, when I had gone to bed early), so she called her brother at college for help. (He told me Thursday when I had dinner with him that he thought someone had died when Emma called him, crying.) They may squabble and fight, but they really do love each other!

10. It's Friday night. The weather is just cool enough to sleep with the windows open. We spent the evening sitting with friends, watching the football team win an exciting game. The weekend holds no real plans, other than working around the house, decorating for fall. I'm the only one awake, except for Ruby, who comes and goes. God is in His Heaven and all's right with the world, at least for right now.

Okay, I didn't publish this Friday night like I meant to do. And I spent all day (and I do mean ALL DAY) Saturday deep cleaning the downstairs of my house. I collapsed in a comfy chair in my (super clean) family room a few minutes ago and got an email alert on my phone. It was from none other than the delightful Lisa at The Meaning of Me, just checking on me. I don't know what little voice told her I needed to hear from her right at that moment, but I'm very thankful she listened to it, because hearing from her was exactly what I needed. Thanks, Lisa! 


A little Pic Monkey fun with my Ruby.

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35 comments:

  1. Not dull at all....and besides sometimes dull is good. :)

    ...and...I just really do love Ruby....

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    1. Thanks, Kari! Ruby is such fun, even though she's hardly a kitten anymore. I almost included a picture of her beating the crap out of Fletcher, who outweighs her by about 8 pounds, but it was a little blurry.

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  2. Wow. If tree-exploding thunderstorms are dull in your world, I'm not sure I want to hear exciting. :-)

    Your daughter and her friend did a fabulous job with the national anthem. That is not an easy song. Out of curiosity, did your daughter sing melody or harmony? Both sounded great, I was just wondering.

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    1. It really wasn't that much of a thunderstorm, so the fact that it made a tree explode was weird!

      Emma was the soprano, singing the melody. Her friend is a fantastic alto and had to hold herself back not to drown out Emma's voice!

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  3. I am so glad I listened to my little voice. Dull is OK...dull means not much bad crap is going down.
    First, your daughter and her friend were awesome. Seriously. Because first, the National Anthem. I cry at that all the time except when people sing it terribly and butcher the heck out of it. Just be respectful, dammit! And two, because those young ladies were terrific - two parts and all! And the Hub (who hates all singers because he's a pill about music...such a musician) said to tell you "they did a nice job." That's like ten compliments in one. I got chills...and then I teared up. I am such a mush. Don't tell. I have a reputation to protect.
    Also, that gym looks great - even better given the back story.
    Number ten is perfect. Aaahhhhh.... Sometimes cats are great. Like today when I took my allergies upstairs for a mid-afternoon nap, the Hub and Kidzilla amused themselves with technology, and Cat Three hopped right up on the bed with me and curled up for the entire nap.
    Glad I made you happy! :)

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    1. I will take that compliment from the Fab Hub as a huge compliment! Thank him for me!

      I get teary-eyed when the national anthem is played or sang, too, and I feel like such a dope!

      The gym is awesome! There will be three gyms when they are finished; one is still a shambles and the second one is ready to use. The other two are smaller than the one where the girls played Tuesday night. Unfortunately, they will probably have to play in the smaller gym after this, because it's girls. And volleyball. You know....

      Ruby and Fletcher love an open window!

      THANK YOU for the lovely visit this evening! I will always check to see if the roasted red pepper bisque has a seafood base from now on :)

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  4. Wow those girls can sing!
    And im so surprised to find out that lizards dont respond to "c'mon. You're just not right."

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    1. I was surprised to find that out about lizards, too. I hope he learned the "grass isn't always greener" thing and will stay outside where he belongs.

      And yeah, those girls CAN sing!

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  5. Oops...hit send...just gotta say...RUBY!!!! And eyeglass you for puppy success!

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    1. eyeglass you???? stupid auto correct.... congrats to you for puppy success~!

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    2. You know, half the fun of reading your comments is trying to figure out what you meant when auto correct takes over.

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  6. Whoa! Both adopted!! That's cool, Diane!!!! And it was a sometimes boring, but not too bad of a week for you!

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  7. So glad that tree didn't go through your house. We've been lucky this year with all the storms. I thought for sure we'd lose a tree or two but knock on wood. Have a great week!

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    1. We have a ginormous tree in our yard that would squash our house if it ever went down.

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  8. Love the photos...the kitty looks as if somebody splashed paint upon her face! x

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  9. Wow exploding trees... You tend to think of older trees like that as pillars of the forest so to speak.. like nothing can hurt them because look how long they lasted....but if ever there is a way to go after a 100 years..>I would want to go out with a bang too.

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    1. I'm with you on going out with a bang! (I'm shooting for 104.) Who knew a tree could explode like that?

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  10. The national anthem went well, in spite of the tech issues, but poor Emma for losing everything on her phone! EEEEK! Makes me want to back up all my photos, at least!

    Your week may have felt dull, but you told it well, and I was CRACKING UP at your conversation (and screams) with the lizard. He was a cutie :)

    I hope your next week feels more interesting, though I hope it doesn't feature any more exploding trees.

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    1. BACK UP YOUR PHOTOS! OFTEN! She got a lot of it back, thanks to her brother, because she had synced her phone at one point without realizing it. She still lost quite a few pictures.

      Well, thank you. I thought I did a great job of making a dull week sound duller than possible. And that stupid lizard! I could have left him in there until someone else came along, which could have been the next day, as that door isn't used all that often. And how did he repay me? By playing hard to get!

      I just want some fun, happy things to happen this week.

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  11. …yeah to what Lizzi said, except! be careful what you wish for/the famous 'curse', 'may you live in interesting times'… dull can be good.

    no, I take that back!… dull can be a respite or a break, but god help me if I ever turn into a person who likes dull! ayiiee

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  12. What a great post Dyanne! I won't tell you it wasn't dull 'cuz everyone else did that already!!
    The vid of the lizard. Man, brought back memories of living in FL. I was the expert in the house for getting the geckos out of the house or garage or off the car. If you ever need any tips lol
    I saw on the FB that Audrey and Olivia got adopted. Wonderful news.
    Really nice bit o singing -your daughter and her friend did an awesome job on our National Anthem.

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    1. Thanks, Denise! Lizards are snakes with legs. And there's a bumper crop of them this year!
      I'M SO HAPPY FOR MY PUPPERS!

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  13. My mother drove through Joplin the other day, and I told her to wave to you. That tree story is amazing!

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  14. I was thinking how kind you were talking to that lizard--just the way a pet owner would speak to a beloved cat or dog. Right up to the point where you told it that it was stupid! Too funny!
    What a shame that the wonderful old tree came down. Glad no one was hurt. Though tree parts flying through dorms windows probably made some co-eds nervous!
    The singing of the National Anthem was really, truly awesome. And the gym?! Yeah! Those cleaning ladies were pros because that was one shiny gym!

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    1. I wouldn't have had to call him stupid if he had just WALKED OUT THE DOOR I HELD OPEN FOR HIM!
      That tree made quite a boom! It's not that far away, but I'm still surprised how loud it was! Can't imagine what the students thought!
      Thanks - the girls do such a nice job with the national anthem! Not a bit nervous or anything.
      The athletics director for the district pushed the broom on the gym floor - that was fun to watch!

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  15. Wonderful tens- not dull all - they all mean something to you and that is gratitude....anthem was beautiful ...great job with the lizard- Ruby is a very pretty and thank goodness the storm didn't effect you except to wake you and sleeping beauty up LOL

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    1. Thanks, Marisa! I'm hoping I get my mojo back next weekend!

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  16. I'm happy to hear the good news about the puppies.

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  17. You lizard whisperer, you. The girls sound great and I am so happy the new gym is FINALLY ready. I think there's lots to be thankful for in this list. Not dull at all. I am sure the storms trigger a panic in you that remains from the tornado days. Thankful no one was hurt.

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    1. I wouldn't have been as calm if that lizard had been inside my HOUSE. It's great to be in a real school and a real gym! And yes, storms make everyone pretty edgy around here. The worst days are when they do the monthly test of the tornado sirens.

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