Showing you... me!

It's Saturday!

We find ourselves on the last day of Robert's Show Me Photo Challenge. The "me" edition. I've had a wonderful time with this challenge.

But today, he wants a self-portrait? As much as I think the last few days has been a far better illustration of who I am than a picture of me could be (seriously, who wants to see that!), I figured I'd go for the "bit of me" option he alluded to and tell you the story that accompanies it.

I hate my left knee. I also kinda like it.

I was about 10 (I think...) and we were spending some time with my aunt's family at their cottage by the lake. I loved going there.
My aunt had some bicycles and I decided I wanted to ride one around. The road the cottage as on was a dirt and gravel road and it was a safe place to ride around because people cared about each other and didn't speed. On the other side of the road from the cottage was a farm with a large pasture. They had Holsteins. The road that intersected with the cottage road lead up a hill. I was going to conquer that hill.

We do stupid things when we're ten.

I always wanted to fly. You know, like if someone asks you what super power you'd like to have if you could have your pick? Mine... flying. My most vivid dream is one of me flying off my bed, out my door, down the hall and the stairs and out the front door. I soared over my house and circled my backyard before landing in front of my neighbor so we could play.

So... flying. When you're a kid, there are two ways that make you feel like you're flying: going as high as you can on a swing (sometimes leaping off of it to see how far you can go), and going as fast as you can on a bicycle (usually downhill for maximum speed and wind effect).

Can you see where I'm going?

I get on the bike and head for the hill road. This road has bigger rocks. They're almost the size of the ones you find by a railroad track. It's a bumpy ride uphill but I pump my legs and make it all the way up. From the top of the hill I can see the lake, the row of cottage roofs and the pasture. And the cows can see me.

I turn the bike towards the bottom of the hill and assume the take-off position. It starts off ok. It's bumpy and I wish the seat was a bit softer... and then...

I lose control of the bike.

I flew.

Over the handlebars and down the hill. Landing with a thump in front of a cow that stopped chewing on the tall grass, looked up and me and mooed, mocking me. I was mad, and humiliated and I had small rocks sticking out of my bloodied leg. I told the cow to shut up, I grabbed the bike and walked (limped) down the remainder of the hill towards my aunt's cottage.

I was covered in dirt, with light trails on my cheeks where my tears of rage and humiliation had washed away the road dirt. I stood on the deck facing the door and looked at the handle. I grabbed it and turned it.

I walked in and started to cry.

My aunt rushed to the bathroom and grabbed her first aid kit and a facecloth and ran it under the water. She cleaned me up and bandaged my leg while my mother kept hovering over me trying to figure out what had happened.

I hated that cow. I swear it snarfed and grinned.



I still have the scar. It reminds me that I can get myself in trouble when I don't stop to think... but I know I can pick myself up, clean myself up and go back out there.

I rode the bike again the next day. But I stayed away from the hill, and the cow.


Thank you Robert and my fellow participants in the Challenge. I'm grateful to have met you all. And my thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read any of the posts in this series. SMOOCH!

Showing you... my woobie

We're on day 6 of the Show Me photography Challenge hosted by Robert from "Thoughts of a Father". Now, for today's challenge, Robert wants to see what relaxes us.

I'm a mom trying to raise her my daughter up to be a strong, confident and fulfilled woman. She's a joy to be around, my Chicklet. But she has an astounding amount of energy and sometimes keeping up with her is draining. She's the Energizer bunny on Espresso!

So, I do like so many mommies do... I escape to the bathroom for some "me time". Of course, as a mom, the only me time I can manage, even in the bathroom is when Chicklet's sleeping. For some reason, once we give birth, we stop having the right to go to the bathroom by ourselves!

I don't take the time to do this nearly enough. Even relaxing requires too much energy sometimes. But I do enjoy a long hot bubble bath. I turn the bathroom light off and light a scented candle. Do I light a lavender scented candle? Vanilla perhaps? Or is it lily of the valley? Nope. In true mommy fashion, I light a clean linen scented candle so I can trick myself into thinking I've done the good mommy thing and washed the sheets and taken care of drying them in the sun ... on a clothesline that appears in the middle of a beautiful field laden with pastel coloured wildflowers. Because really, nothing says relaxation like the satisfaction of my Domestic Goddess duties fulfilled.



After that hot bath, I step over Dum-Dum, who insists on laying on the floor in front of the bathroom door and head into my bedroom where I've got a nice glass of wine waiting and I light another scented candle (well, of course it's clean linen... I'm about to crash into bed!).



I crawl into bed. And try to clear my head. Sometimes it's by catching up with the folks in the bloggosphere, sometimes it's by reading a good book. Of course last night, watching "So You Think You Can Dance - Canada!" (woooooooooooooooo! Travis did you watch? It's going to be HOT HOT HOT! Toronto set quite the tone!) was exciting and not quite conducive to chilling, but otherwise, after a chat with Honey I settle in early. Gosh, I'm boring!

Bloggosphere, meet Lynyrd. Lynyrd, stop eating bananas in bed!

Lynyrd was a gift from my Honey when we went to the Pittsburgh zoo on our first weekend together. He gets a lot of hugs. When I'm not "home" in my Honey arms, I sleep with my "woobie". Honey and I and looking forward to retiring Lynyrd's snuggle activities and consolidating our two families into one.

I apologize for not visiting many of you yesterday, between work, shopping for clothes for Chicklet (she grows too fast), getting dinner and homework done, settling in to watch "So You Think You Can Dance - Canada!" and relaxing... I was wiped out! I'll catch up tonight, I promise.

Don't forget to visit Robert and the other fine participants as they share their pictures and stories. And remember.. relax! It's Friday!

Showing you - my front door... again

If you've visited this blog in the last two days (if not, where's your tardy slip?) you're aware that Robert over at Thoughts of a Father is hosting a photography challenge all this week. He's asking us to show him something different everyday... so far, we've shared our mailboxes and some kitchen shots.

Today he wants to see our front door... (maybe he's a Master lock-pick... and he's doing research! Hmmmm...)

I wondered what I was going to do with this one since my mailbox/slot/deposit thingy is actually a part of my front door. So, what else is there to show you?

Come on closer, you don't have to hide in the bushes... No seriously, stop that! It's freaking me out! Besides, you'll smoosh the vegetation.



Something else about my front door... I keep doing this all the time. I open the door, dogs are jumping up and down in glee and barking what I could swear is the chorus to "Who let the dogs out", and I rush to get the leashes on so my babies can go water the lawn. And my keys? They get left in the lock. I'm a ditz.



Luckily, since Shark-dog and Dum-Dum always go out for their pre-bedtime potty visit, my keys don't stay up there too long...

What's on the keychain? Well, let's see:
- a remote cardoor opening thingy,
- my car key,
- the key to the shed,
- a heartshaped keychain I got in Cleveland after a glorious weekend with my Honey,
- a keychain my Chicklet picked out for me when she and I took a girls only road trip to Niagara Falls back in 2005,
- a keychain from Alabama that has my Honey pet name for me,
- my house key (duh!) which opens both the front and side door.

That about covers it.

Don't forget to head on over to Robert's to see what his front door looks like and take a few minutes to visit with the other awesome participants in the Show Me Daily Challenge via Mr Linky!

Tomorrow... an object of sentimental value.

Showing you.... my mailbox, um, deposit thingy

I decided to pay Carletta from Round The Bend a visit again this morning because the time I spent on her porch yesterday was so lovely... and I found day one of a fun photography project that Robert from Thoughts of a Father is hosting. The project begins today - can you believe I'm actually getting in on the ground level of a thingy!?! I'm so cool.

OK... so basically, it works like this: Robert assigns a "topic" for a photo everyday for a week. He wants us to show him our stuff-he-wants-to-see. You don't have to post everyday (Robert is loose with his rules - I like and respect that). But I do think he expects everyone that participates to have fun (this is a rule I can get with).

Today's topic is: my mailbox. Well, not "mine" per say... I mean he certainly doesn't expect everyone to trudge up to my front door and take pictures of my mailbox... that would be odd! And creepy! *shudders*

We don't have a classic mailbox like you find by the side of the road. Ours is a slot in the frontdoor. It's just the right size for letters, postcards, a Victoria's Secret catalogue,... what?

Unfortunately I have yet to figure out how to block bills and junk-mail from making it's way through the slot. Maybe I could train the dogs to "deal" with those... if they could stop napping that is. Ahem!



So here it is... my mailbox/slot/deposit thingy.



And you never know what might be peering at you from the other side...


Do stop in and visit Robert and the other participants via Mr Linky. Tell him Anndi sent you via priority mail.