My Seussical Life for 2005 October

Oh, I forgot the turkey. Oh well. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving anyway.

I'm sorry I can't seem to keep all the balls up in the air (this blog being one of many). Life is trotting along. Dave returned safe and challenged by his conference in LA (sorry Frances and all Cali cousins that I didn't get anyone connected during this trip), and he returned last night from last week's conference in Little Rock. That means only two conferences left to go until American Thanksgiving. The iBook (also known as computer-who-has-not-been-named) has become Dave's trusty travel companion. The darn computer travels more than I do--I do have some excuse). Anyway, wanted to shout out that "we are here, we are here, we are here. . ." Though silent I may be.

After a summer of therapy and ruminating, I'm finally making peace with the cosmos and I no longer feel like the scum of the earth. Horray! I can finally see the silver lining again!

I absolutely despise shaving my legs, and for many reasons. Why should I bow to some arbitrary construct of "femininity" that costs me time and hassle? Every once-in-a-while I rally my confidence and decide to "quit" shaving. After all, I do live in a town with a strong hippie representation. But I never was one to feel comfortable thumbing my nose at society; I care too much about not sticking out. Nevertheless. . .

I'm in one of my "I'm not shaving" phases right now. I've got about six weeks of growth going on. Today I was with Atticus during physical therapy, sitting beside him (with Sasquatch ankles exposed), while Kyu, our P.T., worked on Atticus' leg. Atticus was describing the pumpkin he had selected from the pumpkin patch earlier in the day when Kyu asked, "Are you going to shave, uh, I mean carve your pumpkin tonight?" *Kyu blushes, avoids eye contact*

Maybe I will shave again after all.

We went to "Late Night in the Phog" last night, the first appearance our 2005-06 basketball teams. KU basketball mania is a phenomenon that must be witnessed, so we took the boys for a night of fun. The "Phog" is named after a legendary KU coach nicknamed "Phog" Allen who won a NCAA national championship. The "Phog" Allen Fieldhouse has a formidable reputation among KU's opposing basketball teams. KU fans are so expressive, and the noise reverberates so long in the arena that it really is distracting for opponents while building morale in Jayhawk players. The home advantage I guess.

I'm not a very good sports spectator. I get easily distracted by all the people-watching-moments in between myself and the court, so I don't keep my "eye on the ball" very successfully (must be why I'm a lousey ball athlete altogether). But there was plenty of entertainment last night. The band was great. And, as always, there are plenty of flippy girls and other performers to keep a person entertained in one way or another.

I took the boys to see Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit and it was great!!! The boys were entertained, and I laughed a great deal! Very intelligent, cheeky, and funny! Go see it! *exclamation point*

My fondness for fall is growing every day. We had a spell of cool, soup-weather days in the early part of the month (I love soup weather), and this week has been so breezy, cool, and sunny that we can hardly stand to be inside. Today was so beautiful that I loaded the boys' bikes into the trunk of our Subaru and we drove to the nearby nature preserve to ride on the bike trails. I walked behind as the boys peddaled the three-quarters mile distance to Mary's Lake. Atticus and Samuel found some sticks, and they played on the dock for a while. Then we retraced our tracks and spent some time at the nature center looking at the animals, reptiles, and birds. What an ideal way to spend a fall afternoon.

The student loan came. . . The student loan went. I am amazed at how quickly we go through money when we aren't keeping track of all our expenditures. We always catch ourselves right before going over the edge into financial disaster, but geez! There are simple ways to stay ahead of the game, and keeping on top of the books is an easy way to keep the lean times at bay.

I must say that Dave works very hard (and always has) juggling several jobs while fulfilling full time graduate school obligations. Right now he is teaching an undergraduate class and acting as an assistant to the Ethics Administrator of Wyandotte County (Kansas City, Kansas) and the Bureau of Public Utilities (also in KC, KS). What a dedicated worker!

'Tis so late, I can't do today's adventure justice tonight, but I must mention that we went to a pecan farm today to gather pecans!! My fingers are stained brown from shelling the nuts from the pods. I love these ten badges of a fabulous morning. This farm is the dreamiest thing I've seen in a long time. I want to grow up and be a farmer!