Five Photo & Story Challenge: Raaaawwwwrrrrr! – Photo & Story #5

My buddy, Rob of The V-Pub invited me to a 5 day challenge to join the Five Photos, Five Stories Challenge: “Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge”. 

I’m on the final day of the challenge and enjoyed it a great deal!  I love the idea behind finding random photos and assigning it a story or anything that comes to mind.  I appreciate Rob’s invitation as well as my great blogger buddies that have participated! 

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time.  She-ra has quite a personality and it was evident even as a toddler! That gummy grin always got me. 🙂  But her looking like she was making her war call on Thanksgiving Day is hysterical to me!  I feel like I should make a meme out of it at some point! 

Feel free to let me know what you’d put on it if you were to make a meme!

Happy Friday, y’all!

Today I nominate the incredibly talented, self taught lady of the kitchen, Gen, of Eat, Play, Clove.  Her recipes and humor are equally fabulous!  Check her out!

Five Photo & Story Challenge: Florida Living – Photo/Story #4

My buddy, Rob of The V-Pub invited me to a 5 day challenge to join the Five Photos, Five Stories Challenge: “Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge”. 

Colors.  Blue sky.  Peace. Tranquility. Clouds. Sparkling water.  Brightness.  

A wonderful reminder as to why I live in South Florida.  

Get lost in the ocean with me!

I now nominate my newly minted blonde girlfriend of “Becoming Me.” She is constantly impressing me with her strength during her separation and dedication to her children. Check her out!

Weekend in Rewind – The Keys & Kid Races

It’s been a bit since I’ve done one of these!  Here’s my weekend in rewind!

Friday Night Fun – I drove to Islamorada to see Captain.  He had some friends in town that were renting a mansion in Marathon.  They invited us to stay the night and we gladly agreed!  I won’t even begin to bore you with details on how awesome the place was but we certainly had an amazing time partying and I got on soooo well with his friends.  

Here are some pictures of the place. Felt like paradise.  

 
I love going to the Keys.  It is so wonderfully relaxing and feels like vacation each time I go visit.  And being with Captain is like living a dream I haven’t quite woken up from. (I know, I’m so pathetically sappy these days!)

I will still recovering from my fun by Saturday so it was a simple evening with my kids and family.

And then Sunday was all about family and fitness! My family participates in something called “Healthy Kids Races” which promotes running as a healthy lifestyle activity to combat childhood obesity.  This was the last race of the series and there was a big party and a parents’ race.  This mommy right here got 3rd place in the 1 mile race! 🙂

  

Fun times! 

Five Photos & Stories Challenge: Gyno Visit – Photo/Story #3

My buddy, Rob of The V-Pub invited me to a 5 day challenge to join the Five Photos, Five Stories Challenge: “Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge”.

Yesterday my post was a bit depressing so today I will be silly.
 
I had to go to the gynecologist yesterday for my annual Pap smear/visit.  In which they shared that because I am now 35, I am recommended to get a mammogram. 

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the importance but WHO THE HELL WANTS TO GET THEIR BREASTS PRESSED LIKE A PANINI?! is what my brain screamed at me.  I smiled and took the prescription and cursed my paper outfit and the bright fluorescent lights above.

I love my doctor.  Like, love love love him.  But I’ll be damned if going to the Gyno is not one of the most awkward and uncomfortable experiences ever.

Enjoy my toes that desperately need a pedicure and the rest of the torture tools you see carefully placed around the room taunting me. 

And, yes, because it’s Miami, the doctor has an advertisement in the corner for Colombian style girdles that keep you sucked and tucked without surgery… Sigh.  

Go get your check ups, ladies!

Today I nominate a beautiful human being that is humble, strong and incredibly talented. Go see Anne of The Main Focus. Check her stories and poetry out! 

5 Photos & Story Challenge: Goodbye Dad – Photo/Story #2

My buddy, Rob of The V-Pub invited me to a 5 day challenge to join the Five Photos, Five Stories Challenge: “Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge”.

My father passed away in 2007.  After he was cremated, my uncles, siblings and I all scattered his ashes in the bay where it was done for his parents when they died.  As kids they would all hang out and go fishing in this area.  We tossed white roses in the water and this particular lonely one stood out.

I certainly don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer with this story but this photo feels like it appropriately captured the feeling of the moment.  My father and I were very close and the loss was a big one for our family.  I know he’s resting in peace and protecting us from above. 🙂

Here’s where I now nominate someone to do it.  I nominate the super hilarious and wise Gratuitous Rex!  No offense taken if you don’t do it, buddy, but would love to hear what you got!

Five Photos & Stories Challenge: Road to Hana Mishap – Photo/Story #1

My buddy, Rob of The V-Pub invited me to a 5 day challenge to join the Five Photos, Five Stories Challenge: “Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge”.

Here’s my go at it!

This particular picture cracks me up. Grayheart and I honeymooned in Hawaii and did the Road to Hana in Maui. We rented a Jeep and began our adventure searching for waterfalls. We saw some of the most gorgeous natural pools, waterfalls and vegetation I’d ever seen in my life.

In one of the stops, we dove into a body of water and enjoyed the refreshing swim. We got back into our vehicle only to realize we couldn’t find the keys to start it! (We’d left the doors unlocked, which you think we would’ve been smart enough to just leave the keys hidden in there somewhere….) We finally figured – after an exhaustive search of the area – that the keys fell out of his swim trunks when we went for our swim.

This was back in 2005, so we didn’t have a cell phone that we traveled with so we then took an hour and a half long walk into the next town to find a payphone. This is a pretty remote destination so it’s not like there were restaurants or hangout spots to easily find a phone. We manage to call the rental car company, which advised that the quickest they could get a spare set to us (due to how far into the highway we were) would be about 4-5 hours. That meant we had to walk our honeymooning arses back to the Jeep and wait outside the car (as night would begin to fall) until the rental company arrived.

We must have look like a dejected pathetic mess of a couple walking this desolate road because as we were trekking through our return to the car, a school bus passed us, stopped and reversed to ask if we were ok! The bus driver kindly offered us a ride back to our spot since it was along the way. We were flabbergasted! The bus was filled with 7-8 year old kids! We graciously accepted the offer and the kids were thrilled to have us as passengers with them! We played games and sang along with these kids and truly felt blessed to have been able to have this unique experience. We were dropped off (which looked really funny, I’m sure to the few tourists that were at the waterfall we came back to) and received the greatest hugs and goodbyes ever! We then sat back in the natural setting and laughed the entire time we were there waiting for our relief. We were eaten alive by mosquitoes but,truthfully, the whole thing was so bizarre and fun, we didn’t care.

Hawaii remains one of my favorite destinations. If you are adventurous and ever get an opportunity, the Road to Hana is as close to hidden paradise as you can find. Just make sure you properly care for your keys!

So, now I’m to nominate someone to take on this challenge… I nominate Gary of Skipah’s Realm.  One of the coolest, humble and supportive men/dads around.  Gary, I hope you accept!

Thanks, Rob of the V-Pub, for inviting me to do this!!

Rugged Maniac!

I did the Rugged Maniac race in Dade City, FL on Saturday… and I had a freaking awesome time!!  It’s a 25 obstacle 3.5 mile race that you can do individually or with a team.  I partnered up with a team of friends and went for it!

Here are some of the obstacles from the race! (Pictures are from the site since I didn’t have a camera on me.)

  
      Let me just say that this was my first obstacle race and I rocked it!  I ran, jumped, climbed, grunted, swung, swam, crawled or pushed through each of the obstacles! It was incredibly fun to do with my team and I am soooo amped to do another one in the near future!  (I was a complete wet and dirty mess after the race!)

Here are some random shots before and after the race!  

   

  

   

Overall, the race was fun, it was a great bonding experience with friends and I was really proud of my accomplishment.  I felt strong physically and mentally.  I am currently searching for the next one I can participate in.

Please share your experience with any obstacle/mud races you have done! I’m curious as to the other ones out there (Spartan, Tough Mudder, etc.) so let me know your thoughts!

Saturday’s Mantra:  They don’t call me Athena for nothing! 😉

Mother’s Day Recap

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day! 

My mother’s day was quite nice.  The kids made me breakfast in bed.  Since they’re only 3 and 6, Grayheart came over and helped them in this endeavor.  My little rugrats then presented me with a cute card and necklace that has their names inscribed on it.  (I love it!)  I was surprised to see that Grayheart, also, gave me a card and some chocolates.  

 
I thought it was a sweet gesture and he was thoughtful with what he wrote.  I’m a damn good mom and I’m glad he recognizes it.  

He left shortly after breakfast and we didn’t talk much but he gets a point for effort.  This is actually the second card he’s gotten me this year.  (I don’t think I mentioned that he got me a birthday card in April.  Not much was written but it was a nice move.)  His birthday is now coming up this week…I guess the question is should I get him a birthday card as well?  

The rest of the day was spent with my wonderful mom, grandmother, kids and rest of my family.  We had a lovely homecooked brunch.   I relaxed and did pretty much nothing most of the day.

Captain came to visit after the kids went to sleep that night.  He brought me sushi and we had our own little picnic.  And oooweeee! Did I get a rockin present that night!  Something to do with whipped cream and dessert… 😉

To all my mommy blog friends out there, I hope you were treated like the queens you are!

Mother’s Day Mantra:  I am Wonder Woman.  I deserve a day off from saving the world! 

  

Kids acting out during divorce?

Grayheart and I have had a very amicable separation.  I think we’ve done the best we can to mitigate and diffuse any conflicts during this uncomfortable process.  Not that he doesn’t drive me crazy, of course, but we’ve managed to really share responsibility of our children and co-parent as successfully as possible in a friendly manner.

That all being said, I’ve heard over and over how well my children have adapted to the change.  And I truly feel (felt?) that way.  I think they’ve been used to Daddy traveling frequently and doing things with only one parent their entire existence, which has helped the transition tremendously.  But I’ve been noticing lately that She-ra (my 6 yr old daughter) has been doing some unusual stuff lately.

Here’s an example of what she did at Abuela’s house yesterday while I was working.

She took several tubes of toothpaste from each bathroom and started decorating around the house!  Three bathrooms (she’d say she needed to pee) and just went to town!  Toilet paper, talcum powder, toothpaste, bottles of lotion… anything that was going to create a mess.  She didn’t tell a soul and no one was the wiser until they went to use the bathroom after I’d already picked her and my son up!

My mother called me in a panic worried that this is a call for attention. And I kind of agree.  So I’m calling a child therapist today for a session next week.  I’m not trying to make a bigger deal of the situation than it is but I certainly don’t want to be remiss in tending to her needs.

Sigh… sometimes parenting is such a shot in the dark.

Please share with me anything you’ve found effective or any pearls of wisdom with your kids during a divorce.  I’m welcome to any suggestions y’all have!

Today’s Mantra:  Don’t lose sight of the children.  Spend quality time versus quantity of time.