A Tale of Two Mice

Okay, this is a fluff piece, but it's something I wanted to share.
Most of you know that I have a snake named Rex. The other night I went to buy two mice to feed Rex. I put the first mouse in and Rex ate him as normal. I put the second mouse in and Rex didn't seem at all interested in him. After a minute they just started sniffing each other and then that was it. For whatever reason Rex was giving this particular mouse a pardon.
What to do now. I couldn't just kill the poor little mouse. It's one thing to let the snake eat him so he can survive, but it's another thing just to kill the poor little mouse for no reason. Should we let him go? I didn't feel good about the either, he was born in captivity, how would he survive out in the wild?
Okay, I know some of you may not see my conundrum here, it would be pretty simple for most people, I guess, but I'm not most people. So....we now have a pet mouse named Pardon. And you know what? He is so cute, and very entertaining to watch. Dave and I sat for quite a while last night just watching him run around in his little wheel. He's so cool in fact, that this week I'm going to go and get him a friend.
I will post pictures later for those who might be interested in seeing our little rodents. :)

Life is Good....Busy, but Good!

Hi everyone. I know I haven't posted much of anything important lately. Work is super busy right now with Christmas parties, and since I am in charge of them from start to finish, I have been working a lot. When I'm not working I'm just taking care of the kid, making sure he is at school, and on time, so I don't get put in jail....more on that in a future post.
I do have some exciting things to post about, but they will have to wait until I have the time to devote to them that they deserve.
I hope everyone is enjoying this Merry Season and not stressing too much about all the crap that doesn't really matter. Enjoy your family and friends and remember that it's not about how much you can spend, but how much you love them!

Okay, I'll Play!

Ann put up a post several days ago asking us all to play along...okay, what the hell! :)
Leave a comment describing me using one word that starts with the 3rd letter of your name. Then repost this in your blog. Let's see what people come up with! And please.....be nice! ;)

It's Been Way Too Long Baby

It's been awhile since I've had a decent ride. Ever since I re-did my permit several weeks ago, I have ridden around town, to and from work, just little jaunts, all good, but nothing great!
I did have a couple of opportunities, like when we went to the corn maze a couple of weeks ago, but for some reason I just didn't. I can't really explain why, something just didn't feel right. I wanted to ride, but couldn't bring myself to. What's up with that? Maybe because I had been so sick I still didn't really feel like myself? Maybe because I was feeling pressure to ride, when one of the greatest things about riding is supposed to be releasing my pressure?
All I knew was that it really had been too long. It was time, now I just had to find the time. But isn't it nice how sometimes time just finds you?
Sunday I woke up early after being up way too late the night before. The sun was shining outside, it was a beautiful day, but I couldn't get my butt off the couch. I watched a movie with the kid, well he watched the movie while I drifted in and out of sleep. He had been invited over to a friends house for the afternoon so Dave suggested we get out for a ride. He wanted to ride over to Carmel to have lunch at this place he had been telling me about for awhile.
So Dave took Riley over to his friends house while I got ready. By the time I was ready Dave had pulled Patience out of the garage and Willy D. and Carol were waiting outside.
It felt good getting on the bike and knowing that I was going somewhere fun, not just to work.
I was a little bit anxious because the road we were going to take is a bit curvy with some pretty good drop offs to the right side. I actually had never ridden that road on my own, just on the back with Dave. When we first started out on the road I thought to myself, "Well this isn't as bad as I remember." But then we really got into it, and I found myself talking out loud again. Telling myself to keep my head up, look where I wanted to go, pay attention to the signs, all that good stuff.
After awhile I relaxed and realized I had been on curvier roads than this and done just fine. Then I was able to really enjoy being out. I was happy, it had been too long. Why did I do that to myself?
We had a great lunch at the Running Iron, it was just as good as Dave said it was. The only bad part about lunch was a lady sitting behind me downing glass after glass of wine and crying, seriously, crying about how horrible her life was and how nobody understood how good she was at taking care of her family. And how she was such an amazing person. Dave was trying to distract me, but for some reason I just wanted to turn around and punch her in the face. I don't know why it bothered me so bad, it just did.
After lunch I called to check on the kid, his friends dad, who also rides, said he was fine and just go ride and have a good time, pick him up whenever. Cool!
So we were off again, just riding around in the sun enjoying the day. I need to do this more. There is no guarantee how long I have to enjoy this, I need to enjoy it while I can. That's advice I always give to everyone else, but somehow I don't apply it to my own life.
I'm working on making my life better right now, I'm going to stop procrastinating. I'm going to get stuff done. Wow, isn't it amazing what a ride can do!

Expectations

I've been thinking a lot lately about expectations that we have. Expectations for ourselves, for our lives, for those around us.
I've been thinking about how many of these expectations have set me up to be disappointed in myself, in my life, and in those around me.
I've been thinking maybe it would be easier if I didn't have any expectations, no disappointment, no feeling let down.
But what would my life be without expectation? Sure, there would be no disappointment, or would there? But what kind of life would it be to just go without expectation. There is a difference between being able to shrug stuff off when it happens and just being totally indifferent. Indifference is a sad way to live, I've been there. I want to be able to feel the excitement when something goes exactly the way I expected it would, or the surprise when it goes better than I ever could have expected, I guess I even want to be able to feel the disappointment when it just doesn't work out. In the end I guess that's the only way I can truly appreciate the rest of it.
When I really sit back and think about it, expectations have brought me far more joy than disappointment. So I guess I'll go about with my expectations and just work on being able to put things into perspective, things work out the way they are supposed to, whether we like it or not.

How Old Are You....REALLY?

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?"

That is my grandmother's favorite saying. She will be 85 in less than two weeks, but you'd never know it. She has a little trouble getting around because of arthritis, but her mind is young and sharp. There are two things my grams does everyday, and has ever since I can remember.

1. Complete the daily crossword puzzle in the paper

2. Go to the bar to hang with her friends.

She seriously does this everyday, whether she feels like it or not. Now, my grams lives in a very small town, and I think she is the oldest resident there. Her friends range in age from teenagers to senior citizens. Everybody loves her!

I've been thinking a lot about getting older lately. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm "old" by any means. But we all have times in our lives where we take stock. We think about all the things we haven't accomplished that we had hoped to by whatever age. But this got me thinking about the things that I have accomplished that I never even thought about trying. Riding being the most obvious for me.

A couple of weeks ago I put together a party at work. It was a 30 year high school reunion. It was funny to see how the people who showed up right on time were dressed very professionally and seemed rather stuffy. They all looked like they graduated 30 years ago, or more in some cases. Then about an hour after the party started a group of bikers come wandering in. Laughing, full of life, leathers and all. You could tell these guys enjoyed their lives. And they looked young, in fact some of them so young that I actually stopped them to make sure they were supposed to be at this 30 year reunion. They were, and it was a good thing, because I noticed how once they got there the stuffed shirts loosened up a bit. It was like they suddenly realized that just because they were the class of '79 graduates didn't mean they had to act like they were past all the fun.
Doing something you love keeps you young. It can be anything that makes you happy, whatever it is don't let it go. Health, finances, or family can alter how you enjoy it, but no matter what find some way to enjoy it.
So my friends....How old are you, REALLY?

I'm Feeling Better Now

Man, the last few weeks I've been getting really cranky. (Shut up Dave)

My permit expired and stuff kept getting in the way of me and the DMV. There were a few days that I almost rode to work anyway. The rebel in me said, "Go ahead, it's not that far, you'll be fine." But then the responsible mom in me said, "This could be the day that something goes wrong. Think about the consequences of your actions. Do you really want to screw up and then never be able to ride again?"

So I left my girl alone until I could get legal again. She was sad in the garage, especially when Dave would pull Tramp in after a nice little ride. I was sad and getting cranky. I hated even walking into the garage and seeing Patience sitting there with that sad little puppy dog headlight staring at me. Patience, mine was wearing thin.

Finally the end of last week I was able to get into the DMV and make my world right again. I was finally able to get out a bit this weekend. No epic rides, but enough to start boosting the mood meter.

Now I just have to get off my ass and take the ride part of the test so I don't have to deal with this crap again!