I might be crazy, but I'm in it for the helmet...

3.2 Miles plus 11 Insane Obstacles

So, Jeremy and I are on our way to take down the Warrior Dash and by take down, I mean "scratch and crawl our way across the finish line."  If we do that, there will be pictures, because you know me... pics or it never happened.  And the good news is that there is a viking helmet in it for each of us.  I may or may not have been the one who talked him into this, but I think I'm the one who is scared out of my mind now.This thing is insane!  Take a look at the obstacles:
Junkyard Jam - clamber over the rusted wreckage, and by wreckage they mean, old cars
Warrior Wall - conquer the wooden barricade
Hay Fever - hustle up and over giant straw bales
Walk the Plank - traverse the gully on wooden planks
Rio Run - dash down the stream
Cliff Hanger - rappel down the steep ravine
Chaotic Crossover - crawl across the tangled nets
Arachnophobia - thread through the tangling ropes (retrieving toddlers in play places is good training)
Black Forest - forge your way through uncharted forest
Cargo Climb - manuever over the cargo nets
Warrior Roast - leap over the warrior fires
Muddy Mahem - scramble beneath barbed wire as you near the finish

Yeah, I'm gonna die.  It was really nice knowing each and every one of you!

I Need a Break!

A little venting and a little daydreaming... (you've been warned.)

I do love my job.  I work for a wonderful company with wonderful people!  In case you don't know what I do, I work in Corporate Events and Meetings for a major oil company.  Basically, I manage one of our Conference Centers.  It's really great, believe me!  Lately, I've just been tired from the work I do.  Here's why... all my work is scheduled on someone else's schedule.  It's kinda tough.  You're having a party/meeting/conference?  As long as there's room in our building, you're in and we'll do our best to accommodate you.  (By the way, I have a great team!  This is definitely a "we" effort.)  It's constant interruptions with constant needs constantly all year long.  But add the end of the year to that "normal" and it means deadlines, and pay determination, and holiday parties, etc. etc. etc.  Everyone is wrapping everything up and

DRIVING ME CRAZY!

I love them.  I really do.  It's just a lot all at once right now.  By the time I got to work today, I had four fires that had to be put out within the first 15 minutes.

Which, brings me to the daydreaming... my co-workers lifelong BFF is taking her to Cozumel for Christmas/her birthday.  Sounds perfect!

I could go for a spot like this... 

and a waiter, towel on his arm, ready to bring me anything my little heart desires!

Although, at this moment, I'd settle for a day where no one asked me for anything.  Wouldn't that be great?

Time to get back to preparing for tonight's after-hours party and figuring out where I'll squeeze in those two glorious vacation days I've been holding on to, assuming the phone doesn't ring... ;)

Mi Casa Tour: Volume 1, The Living Room

For those who weren't able to stop by for our Open House, I'm going to try my hand at the virtual tour, starting with our Living Room.

This is a view of the front door from the Living Room.  I'll be excited to show you the foyer, but we'll save that for another day!  One of the things I love in this house is the curved archways.

To the left is the Kitchen and Breakfast Area.  The windows at the back look out to the middle of the backyard.

I adore the wood floors in here.  We get compliments on them all the time.  They are pretty rustic looking and quite unique with the black and brown throughout.  The top of the fireplace came with a channel for all the cables for the TV.  Totally perfect for us!



A view of the Living Room from the Breakfast Area in the Kitchen.  The lanterns above the armoir were a fun find at last year's Senior Mission Auction at church.  They were used in the Joseph and The Technicolor Dream Coat production at our church.



One of the coziest spots in the house.  I plan on snuggling up with Jeremy and watching a funny movie in this exact spot this evening.  That sounds like a pretty amazing ending to this manic Monday!



Count Your Many Blessings, Name Them One By One.

I love the colors of autumn.  I'm loving this season to stop and take time to count our many blessings!  I created this "Subway Art" collage yesterday.  I plan on printing and framing it this week to add to our Thanksgiving decor.

Which brings me back to the Thanksgiving Blessing Tree I told you about...  I wanted a metal tree like the one I linked, but couldn't bear to shell out $150 + shipping for one!  So, Jeremy and I started brainstorming how to make one.  That ended up with a trip through Lowes that ended in the torch aisle.  I was pretty convinced he just needed an excuse to buy a torch, as indicated by my Facebook Places check-in, but in the end had to eat my words, cause he was right.  :)

So, equipped with 25' of copper wire and a shiny new torch, we formed the shape of our autumn tree.  Flame, sparks, and molten metal.  Needless to say, Jeremy was in heaven!

Once the tree was pieced together and cooled, we grabbed the paper scraps leftover from the "Give Thanks" banner and started on the leaves.

 

Justus traced leaves and Jeremy cut them out.

Lexi helped cut ribbons and threaded them through the holes.

Here are a few close ups shots of some of the leaves:

 
The things we are thankful for ranged from:

• The normal:  God, family members, friends, our home, our pets, etc.
• To the thought-provoking: grace, date nights, our First Family, work, rainbow (not a double-rainbow, though I was tempted for humor's sake!), etc.
• To the practical:  clothes, food, transportation, iPhone, trees, sun, TV, DSi, coffee, etc.
• To the simply funny:  Justus was thankful for hair (I wish I could tell you if this is a vanity "I have good hair" thing or just a simple "Hey, I have hair!" thing), Lexi for Tutus, and Jeremy for bacon!

I have some extra leaves and ribbons, so I hope to add to the tree as things come to mind and to save some for Chris and Steph to participate when they arrive next week!

And here is the finished product!  I wish this picture did it justice... the shine of the copper and the discoloration from the heat and the soldered joints make it look so much prettier in real life.  I'm pretty stoked about having this piece and making leaves and hanging them part of our yearly Thanksgiving tradition!