The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

First, the bad.

I broke my finger. Ouch. Double ouch. My left, middle finger to be exact.

Now for those of you who need more details..I broke it Thursday morning while I was doing Personal Training. A 18 lb weighted bar dropped about two feet from where it was resting, propped up against a seat. I was doing these torturous exercises called "Burpies", that is a scary mix of a donkey kick-ish move and a basketball jump. When my hands where on the ground for the donkey-kick/jump part, the bar slipped from it's perch instantaneously and rapped across my knuckles. My wedding ring saved my ring finger from more than a good bruise, by my middle finger didn't fair as well. I took myself to urgent care a couple hours later on the advice of a friend. Now I have the x-rays and splint to document my first broken bone.

Next, the ugly. Well, let's face it. My finger is plain old ugly right now. Bruised. The color of a squished spider on a concrete sidewalk. And yes, it does give the image that I am indulging in a not-so-polite American gesture. Oops.

Finally, the good. If I am going to break my finger...it is a clean break. All the way through, but at this point, the bones have remained lined up and in place. So, if all goes well, I will just have to wear some type of splint for a good number of weeks. I have to follow-up with a hand specialist this week to make sure that is the best treatment option, but unless something changes, I won't need surgery. Oh yes...and I am RIGHT-handed. So...a lot less grief to have my left hand not so useful right now.

The Princesses of Egypt

Recently, we have had new residents come live with us. They have introduced themselves as the Princesseses of Egypt. They desire to be addressed as "your Majesty" and have a love for headbands, fancy dresses, and high fashion. They are at the very forefront of the fashion world. Mind you, they are not so snooty as to require their own entourage of hairstylers, dressers, etc. They much prefer to be their own consultants.

Last night, I took these lovely young ladies out to dinner and to the shoe store. At the shoe store, Princess Sparkle would find the most lovely, shiny, colorful shoes possible and present them to me for inspection. She would show me the shoe with a flourish and a low bow to the ground. Then she would cry, "Your shoe, your Majesty." After I tried on the shoe...she would proclaim, "Oh, you look just beuuutiful, your Majesty." Oh course, Princess Sugar had to join in the fun. I was presented with quite a selection of the very fanciest shoes. We were one of only a few customers in the store and the echoes of their little voices carried quite nicely. I think we made just about everyone's day.

We'll see how long these houseguests remain. You never know who will show up around our house.

A Billion Years Later

Ok..maybe it hasn't be a billion years...but at least a good number of months since I posted. I tried...really...but I couldn't get a picture to upload and got distracted...very distracted...for at least 2 months. Oops.

So..here is a summary as best I can manage it.

Much home improvement has been accomplished since Christmastime. Here's a picture of LT installing the pre-finished hardwood floors that have been our amazingly large undertaking this year. This picture is from early April. LT is installing the floors in the eat-in kitchen area. I must say...they look beautiful! The den, front living room, foyer, and kitchen are all done. The only room left is the dining room...it has been the only room left for a couple months now, but we are working on getting our energy mustered up to finish it. Additionally, half walls have been demolished, dry wall repaired, new carpet installed, and good progress has been made.

We have also had a slew of birthdays. LT turned 34 in March, Slugger turned 7 in April, and Sparkle turned 5 in June. Here is a bit of the birthday craziness...

Slugger had a "Lego" party at a local "bounce on jumpy things until you drop" kinda place. The perfect place for a bunch of seven-year-old boys to wrestle and run and generally act like themselves without getting into trouble. The day of his party became a bit more intense than expected when Sparkle woke up early in the morning with a fever and sore throat. It is handy to have a husband in the medical device industry...a quick strep test confirmed the need for a trip to the doctor and some good antibiotics. But...we were left with one very sick kid and a birthday party both LT and I needed to be at...so I desperately sought someone willing to sit and watch movies with my sweet, sick girl. After many a phone call, my wonderful neighbor (who is an RN) volunteered to help. What a major relief and blessing. So, besides missing his sister, Slugger had a fabulous time jumping, "knocking off his friend's heads" (see below), and enjoying his yellow lego cake.

Here is the birthday boy with one of his friends... (the shag hair look (which I love!)). As for Sparkle's birthday....turning five was a big hit. She had been planning this shindig since her fourth birthday...and after many theme changes...she set her heart on a princess party. Although I tried to steer her to something more off the beaten path, her mind was made up and her sight was set on anything resembling a princess. I negotiated including knights in the party for her brother's and one other brave boy's sake, but otherwise it was princess, princess, princess. Here she is blowing out the candle on her castle cake. The cake ended up looking like a page out of a Dr. Suess storybook, but it just added it to its uniqueness. Really. We decorated princess hats and shields, went on a treasure hunt, got chased by the "mean queen" and battled a fire-breathing dragon pinata. (Actually, the dragon looked a lot like a purple triceratops with wings stuck on his back...but thankfully 5-year olds are endowed with great imaginations!) In fact, one of the guests, who spoke english as a second language started to cry when I warned them of the impending duel with the dragon. She thought it was real!

I had to make reassurances that it was a very pretend sort of dragon. Plus...it delivered lots of yummy candy after it was defeated.

Here are my favorite two princesses....Princess Sparkle and Princess Sugar. My apologies to Disney.

Along with birthdays, LT and I celebrated our 12th anniversary with an absolutely fabulous night out at an absolutely wonderful restaurant (Opus for all you Denverites). A grown up night out with unbelievably good food, excellent wine and my favorite company. Couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate 12 years of love and friendship.

Here is a few more moment from our lives over the past few months. Hopefully it won't be another billion years before I blog again.

A successful author...

Sisters...

A dad and his girl.