10th Day

Enough already.

I made it 10 days without TV.  That's more than one-fifth of the Lent season.  So maybe I'm four-fifths' failure or maybe I'm one-fifth holier.  But my best friends, Janet & Terry, said I could end it.  And the Bible says, "if two of you on earth agree about anything..."

Okay, I might have taken that a little out of context.

Day 8

Getting lots done today, because #1: It's my day off.  #2:  It's snowing.  #3:  No TV.

Looks like my camera survived the Coke Zero incident.  Yes! (fist pump)


Pretty.

Hope it's gone tomorrow.

Not Even Missing TV...Seriously

Nearing the end of Day 7 of my TV fast.  Thirty-nine to go.  Not even watching the news, so if something historical goes down, will someone please clue me in?

Got home last night after a 4-day weekend in Houston.  Lauren has been "patiently" waiting for her turn to go see Papa.  Let me tell ya--everyone should spend 4 days with a 6-year old.  It is both exhausting AND rejuvenating!  Days of exploring and reading and crafts.  Nights of funky dance moves and Nana & Lauren's rendition of "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me."  I won't be able to listen to the BeeGees or Temptations again without fond memories of Neal, Lauren and Me dancing in an RV in our pj's.

The Dock

Bald eagles are nesting down the road from the RV Resort.  Last year they tracked them from Sand Springs.  Not kidding.

- Photography by Lauren Blevins

This is how Neal had to eat dinner the first night.  No, she's not sleeping, just snuggling.

Houston has an amazing Museum of Natural Science.

The butterfly sanctuary.

The Chocolate Bar

Kemah Boardwalk:

Of course she wants Papa to ride the carousel with her...

And Nana--the Ferris Wheel (how does she know I have a fear of heights?)

In some ways Lauren is so much like me....and in some ways not-so-much.  She is not shy, and talks pretty much non-stop.  Here's the friend she made at the airport in Houston, fresh back from Disneyworld--Lauren's biggest dream second to being a rock star.

Our flight was delayed a little and we didn't arrive in Tulsa until after 8:30 p.m.  The shuttle to the parking garage was packed, but similar to elevators, no one was talking.  Lauren couldn't stand it and said, "It sure is QUIET in here!"  and proceeded to ask the couple next to us all manner of personal questions.  We all knew each other quite well by the time we got to our cars.

We had a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious weekend.  Jacob, however, is still not speaking to me.

2nd Day of Lent

I'm not sure if it's withdrawals, but I've had a headache all day.  But good news!  The internet says that there's no "fasting" on the Christian Sabbath, aka Sunday.  I had to do some major research to find that.  So maybe I won't have to wait til Easter to catch up on my shows. :)  Also read that the Archdiocese of New Orleans says that alligator is seafood.  So if you're giving up meat...things are starting to look up.

I emptied a third of a bottle of Coke Zero in my camera bag tonight.  Shoulda been watching TV.

Not only is today the 2nd day of Lent, it's also Valentine's Day.  Here's a picture of what my Valentine gave me:









That's right.  Nothing.

I got him the same thing.  We must be in love.

Ash Wednesday

I'm giving up TV for Lent.  Therefore, I am blogging.  Sadly, I'm not giving up DVR-ing, so I don't want to see any FB posts about who Sean proposes to, or who's the Biggest Loser.  I'll find out for myself after Easter, thank you very much.

My husband did some calculating and informed me that he puts in more hours of work per week than I do per month.  I think not.  Maybe he gets payed for more hours, but I don't think he's taking all things into consideration.  Today, I got our taxes together, met with the accountant, met with an insurance agent to get a better rate, went to the grocery store, the bank, the post office and the pharmacy.  Did 2 loads of laundry--folded and put away--picked the grandkids up from school, prepared 4 bowls of cereal for them, read two books (I Am a Monster and Spongebob and the Great Snail Race), colored two pages in the Giant Bug Coloring Book, found and printed an airport parking coupon for this weekend, made rental car reservations, and went to church.  I need to start logging my hours.

Speaking of work hours.  I'm gonna have to start working an extra hour a day just to pay for my gas to get there.  $3.49/gallon.  What????

So.  My first day with no TV.  Just 45 days to go.

Granddaughters are Grand

Gymnastics meets have begun.  And although it's not a gender-specific sport, it's one my boys never attempted.  So it's pretty fun to watch Lauren.  And she's really quite good.

Here are a few photos from her first two meets.

Haven't even started and she's practicing her salute.

Ready for the Vault

And there she goes!

So far, her best scores have been in this event.  9.3 both meets.

Unevens 

Floor

Original announcement put her 4th All-Around, but after further calculations, she was actually 5th.

Still...awesome.

Two weeks later.....

 Warm-up splits.  Which she forgot to do in her Floor Routine, resulting in a deduction. :(

Balance Beam

The gym wasn't set up well for spectators/photographers.  So I'll have to have a little talk with them about that.  Able to get a few on the balance beam.  

She fell off the beam once during the first meet.  But this time....

Nailed it! (High C singing voice.)

Fourth place again.  This time for real!

Jacob's pretty bored with the whole thing.

Me:  Hey Jacob, Lauren's getting ready to do her Floor routine.  Ya wanna watch her?

Jacob:  Nah.