Leaving Town

I am off to visit my family today and to meet my darling new niece who just turned 1 month yesterday!  I am so excited and can't wait to meet her.  I am equally excited to play with my little nephew who is already 9 months old.  Where does the time go?

We are watching the weather like hawks around here.  I'm glad I am flying out today and not tomorrow.  Parts of South Florida are now under a hurricane watch as we head into the weekend.

Bobby will be here holding down the fort.  And even though he has his hurricane kit all prepared, I'm kind of nervous.

We'll see what happens and hope for the best!

Friday's Music Pick

Today's song brings me back a few years.

I remember hearing the song for the first time on a summer afternoon on a drive up the mountains.  I was with my now brother-in-law and twin sister enjoying our last official summer during college.  As we sped along the windy road along the Poudre River the song came on a mixed cd my sister had made.  The song made my toes tap and it was the perfect mountain driving song.  It put a smile on my face and if I know my sister and I, we probably tortured my brother-in-law by listening to it on repeat a million times (I love the repeat button!).  The summer sun warmed our arms and faces and with the windows down and the cool pine air blowing our hair we went in search for a prime picnic spot.

photo courtesy of  http://thecatchandthehatch.com/pages/river-resources/  

Song: See the World

Artist: Gomez

Album: How We Operate

15th Anniversary

Today was the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum's 15th Anniversary.  

In honor of this occasion, the Museum hosted a big celebration for the community.  It was great to see the support of the Tribe and the Chairman, who used to live in a camp where the Museum now stands, told stories about the site years ago and why it was important for the Tribe to create a museum. 

We enjoyed both traditional and non-traditional food.  Gar fish or hot dogs anyone?  And don't forget the fry bread and sofkee, a warm thick drink made from corn.  We even all dressed up for the celebration, which for most of my co-workers is a drastic change from their snake boots and field shirts

It was nice to get out of the office for awhile, even if it 100 degrees outside!

Chairman Billie speaking about the Museum

Some Things

My weekend included the following:

1.  I love coffee more than I love tea.  With all the rain this weekend though, tea sounded like a more appropriate hot beverage to accompany me and my book.  My favorite tea of all time is by Yogi and is called Egyptian Licorice.  I can't find the Yogi teas at my local grocery store in South Florida so I have had to do some tea investigating.  I found a great replacement, TAZO Rest.  It tastes like roses and does wonders to calm my anxiety!

2.  As I was cleaning upstairs I saw a teeny tiny lizard dart into the closet.  I found him huddled inside my hat and rushed downstairs to put him outside.  He was so little and it took a few minutes for him to find his way out of the hat onto the porch.  Hopefully I actually saved his life and he wasn't eaten by a bigger lizard...

3.  If you know me well, you will already know my deep dark secret. Sometimes I watch PBS kids shows.  It reminds me of when I was little, of simpler times, and when the biggest problem in life is that you had to do your homework.

4.  Bobby and I tackled our overflowing laundry basket.  Bobby has 3,000 white socks and none of them ever seem to match.

Now off to prepare for another busy week!

Saturday Mornings

Saturday mornings I have learned to leave my husband asleep for as long as possible to avoid Mr. Grumpy Pants making his appearance. He works at a music venue on Miami Beach and Friday nights are late nights.  He generally comes home around 3:30 in the morning which means he can easily sleep till noon the next day. Those Saturdays when I felt that it was absolutely necessary to wake him from his slumbers (examples: needing him to kill a cockroach, or telling him ALL the chores that needed to get done that day...) resulted in a not so pleasant encounter.  I've learned my lesson and know that he needs his beauty sleep just as much as I do.  

Last weekend, however, I stumbled across the magic potion that will break his grumpy spell and turn him into someone who loves mornings (aka early afternoons) as much as his wife.    

A note left on the counter

After all these years, who knew it was as easy as making toast.

:)

Friday's Music Pick

One of my favorite musicians is George Winston.

He is a solo pianist and writes and plays beautiful music and I've even been lucky enough to see him in concert.  The thing I love most about his music is the way each song creates a picture in my head.  His album Summer was a CD my mom introduced me to when I was in elementary school.  We would play it over and over again.  It became my sleep companion through the years and I would set my cd player to repeat and turn the timer on for a few hours.  As I crawled into bed on those summer evenings with the windows wide open, I would eventually drift off to sleep, dreaming of golden meadows and peaceful countrysides.

Song: Living in the Country

Artist: George Winston

Album: Summer

Computer Love

My Husband loves me.  His mixer told me so.

Bobby has been working everyday for the past 2 weeks.  His co-worker quit and being the nice guy he is, Bobby agreed to cover the extra shifts until they found a replacement. Our schedules sometimes overlap for about 15 minutes each night as I come home from work and he is getting ready to leave.

When Bobby comes home around 11:30, I try to peel my eyes open for a few minutes to say hi and to talk about our day, but it generally ends in my falling asleep during his account of the evening. Sorry!  So I've been spending my evenings alone, trying to occupy my time, which generally means watching something on Netflix.  Because my computer recently went on the fritz I use Bobby's to do my nightly brain mushing.

Its a bit complicated with all of his recording equipment plugged in and I have to turn on this switch and then hit this button and move this slider thingy so I can get the speakers to work.  When I saw my special message pop up on his mixer I smiled.  I guess even though we don't get to spend much time together right now, at least I know he is thinking of me :) ...and that he knows my nightly schedule of catching up on my Instant Queue.

purrr

Cat Sitting

Weekend Plans

This weekend I am clearing my head.

It was a hard week and my brain and heart are exhausted.  

Often times I think about taking up meditation or yoga.  I think I would benefit from gaining such powerful control over my mind and body.  But until then, I continue to visit my special place at work to be alone for a few minutes to re-evaluate, to think, and to listen.  The boardwalk hasn't seen my presence in awhile.  The heat has driven me away and I prefer to keep my hair as straight as possible for as long as possible without any added humidity. 

Yesterday I needed just a few minutes of calm and I headed out to my spot on the mile long boardwalk. As  I hit the halfway mark I felt a raindrop hit my arm and then a few more.  I looked up and could see the dark clouds above through the canopy and realized a storm was coming in fast.  I picked up my pace, knowing that there was no shelter from here to the end of the boardwalk.  And then without any sympathy the sky opened up. I darted under the only semi-dry spot, where a few trees from opposite sides of the walkway touched overhead, creating an umbrella.  The rain came at all angles and my makeshift cover soon began dripping big fat raindrops.  

I could feel my own raindrops forming, coming dangerously close to spilling over onto my cheeks.  It seemed like the cherry on top to an already tough week.  But then I stopped and looked around and laughed to myself.  I realized it can always be worse and that grumbling about my week does absolutely nothing.  What we have control over in this life is limited and the forces of nature generally win.  Its how we prepare and react to situations that will always be the most important. Perspective is a beautiful thing.

I stood there until the rain lightened up, finding that I felt a little more at peace.  Within less than 10 minutes the sun was out and the ground was steaming. I hurried back and ran into the Museum bathroom to look at the devastation that was my hair and clothes. I mopped off what I could and blotted my skin dry.  As I walked back to my office with the accompanying sounds of squashing and squishing from my shoes, I breathed heavily in, appreciating the sweet, clean smell of the rain.

    

  

Friday's Music Pick

Song: With Wings

Artist: Amy Stroup

Album: With Wings

As the wedding party died down and the last piece of chocolate cheese cake was eaten, Bobby and I strolled by the turquoise swimming pool.  The forecast had called for a super moon that night and indeed it had been one.  Moonlight from the giant made the palm trees sparkle in the breeze and the the crash of the waves echoed off the deserted beach. Our families' voices drifted upwards and the sound of Brazilian jazz played in the distance.  I turned to Bobby and said, "Quick, take a picture in your mind of this perfect moment." We stood there, taking it all in, knowing we would remember this night forever.  

One of those days...

Today was one of those days.  I guess it didn't help that I woke up grumpy.  Or that I had to discipline someone at work.  Or that I slammed my finger in the door. 

My sister knew I wasn't having the best of days.  After lunch I checked my e-mail and saw she had e-mailed me.  That alone made me smile.  Our relationship is adjusting to motherhood and I appreciate more than anything that she still makes time amongst the feeding, the crying, the naps, and the diaper changes to talk to me.

The e-mail said:

Hope this makes your day a little better 

It did :)

Mrs. Macuen

You may call me Mrs. Macuen.  

Only a few minor things left to change but getting my driver's license the other day made it pretty official.  Its a bit sad not signing my birth name, a name I have been known as for 27 years.  But this time, the change is good.  I am glad to be someone's wife. a new name for a new chapter!

I have had many years to practice writing my R's.  Now I need a little time to practice perfecting my M's. I like the ring it has: Mrs. Kate Bethany Macuen.  You would think I had red hair and freckles!

Friday's Music Pick

Today I am in the mood for something upbeat.  Everyone needs a good workout song or dance song. 

This is a love song  that makes my feet move! 

Song: Here (In Your Arms)

Artist: Hellogoodbye

Album: Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! and More!

Sawyer

As my sister and brother-in-law tackled the first days of parenthood with late night feedings and a crying baby, Bobby and I also embarked on our first nights as parents to a 5 month old puppy. 

I have to say, it was probably just as hard as having a new born baby.

I'm not much of a dog person and dogs can sense my anxiety making most encounters a bit stressful.  However, my friend recently rescued a puppy from the reservation and when she needed someone to dog-sit for a few days we gladly volunteered to watch little Sawyer. 

He barked through the night, tried to eat everything in site, stole my flip flop, snuck into the "off limit" rooms, nipped at my feet, hands, pants...and escaped off his leash.  I have to say though, by the end I had gotten the hang of it and warmed up a bit to his doggy ways and I'm proud to announce there were no casualties or accidents.  Sawyer did fall in love with Bobby, who unlike me is a natural with dogs, and they bonded over lots of tummy rubs and ear scratching.

When my friend walked through the door to pick him up, he jumped up on his hind legs and wrapped his little paws around her waist (so cute!).  I guess he was just as ready to go home!

Relaxing after a long morning walk