Author: Suz

Thirty Two Down, Gifts Of Touch, Being Positive Even If Negative.

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz28 Comments

The Coach and I had our 32nd wedding anniversary on Thursday; we enjoyed a nice dinner out on Friday night.

Where It Started And Where It Still Is.

Did I ever mention (I probably did) that my husband is handsy. Touchy. Feely. Not in the Chester Molester way, well, unless it’s ME who’s being Chester Molested.

CASE IN POINT

We were kids and less of me to be manhandled in 1992.

I’m not sure where I was going with this, but thinking about my Handsy guy…this was almost an issue back when he spent so much time Coaching. My husband knows his softball rules. I remember vividly during the time he was coaching High School, about 70% of games he would have an issue with the umpire’s call, and Coach would call a time-out.

Linds and I would cringe because as we saw Coach heading to have a discussion with the umpire, we knew it was about.to.go.down.

A fight? Yelling?

NOPE.

Touching.

Coach would put his arm around the shoulders of, or a hand on the shoulder of the Umpire and have a calm, respectful discussion. It was the touching part that we always worried about. Some people do.not.like to be touched. In the end nothing bad ever happened. I mean, he was thrown out of some of his Travel League games, but not for touching; it was for arguing with the ump.

Still to this day, almost 38 years after our first meeting, he will rarely pass me in the kitchen without some sort of touching happening. My derrière. My shoulder. My back. It’s all fair game as I signed up for this. If my attorney is reading this: I gave full consent.

Many moons ago I did one of those Love Language tests and I believe his was Touch and Gifts. Or the Gift Of Touch. Something like that….

Suzanne, get back on track

Oh, yes, our anniversary. We don’t usually do anything crazy when it comes to gifts, (except for our 25th when he surprised me with a vow renewal and an upgraded diamond) but this year my husband gifted me with the loveliest watch and in return I gave him sausage.

That is not a metaphor for anything, I literally got him a bag of sausage snacks at Costco and he was thrilled. Seems even, right?

Honestly, I’d love to go out and buy him something super special, but the guy literally buys himself whatever he wants and I wouldn’t know where to start, so, Sausage Snacks from Costco it is.

I had a fun time clarifying to my children that we are positively married.

Cue the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s montage

All this to say, if I had to choose again, I’d choose to be molested by with Coach again, in a heartbeat.

Anyone else get felt-up on the regular?

How about gifts? If you currently have or had a significant other, did you do real gifts, like NOT consumables from Costco?

XOXO

Where The Weekend Went: The Big Ears Are Better To Hear You With & Please Define Swimming Lessons. Plus I’m Bragging About Being An Earth Lover. Again.

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz36 Comments

Lolo has a small getaway next week, so we have Max this week. I don’t think I’ve seen him since Christmas which seems like a long time for a Grandma to see her first Grandson. Please don’t judge; we’ve both been busy. (Max and I)

Coach sent this pic to the family chat the other day and Lolo responded: “Between the two of them, they can probably hear smells”.

BTW, Peanut at times can be a complete asshole towards Max who doesn’t do anything to deserve it. She’s resource guarding us and food. I’ve had to be a referee to save poor Max from Peanut. And ten minutes after attacking him, she tries to get him to play with her and he’s all HellToTheNo! The girl is clueless.

We had a very quiet, low key weekend (aside from Dog fights) which is always a nice thing. I sent the Coach for a massage on Saturday morning (he’s been having neck issues which are causing headaches. I mean, his head IS LARGE, so that’s probably part of the issue. But a little self-care might help.)

I did a little garden work, a little house work, a little laundry and made time to dip in the pool on both Saturday and Sunday. SIDE BAR: Have I mentioned how clumsy Peanut is? Well, she’s not graceful at all, and I do worry about her falling in the pool.

(She has no fear, as you can see in this video from a few months ago)

I decided to take her in a few times to let her get accustomed to the feeling of swimming and showing her how to get to the steps. I won’t say she liked it, but she didn’t hate it either. I was wearing a rash guard, so I wasn’t too concerned about getting scratched all to hell. Max watched from the sidelines and I could read his mind: G’ma, I ain’t goin in dat baftub!

Does anyone else compost and love it? I mean, I feel a bit superior over Non-Composters, and I imagine there will be a Special Section in heaven, roped off for me and my kind. 😜

I bought myself the best gift back in 2012: a lovely large, rotatable composter. Ya’ll, that thing is still kicking! When we had the pool and pool deck redone a few years ago, the composter was moved over to the end of our driveway area, and never made it back. So, it’s a bit further away, but I still want to add to it. This year, I broke down and purchased a Countertop Composter, so I could slowly add to it, then when its full move all the contents to the big composter. The Coach and I easily adapted to this ‘countertop compost concept. (it has charcoal filters, so no smell)

My kitchen pig approves.

I was concerned about the countertop bin getting yucky; we add in coffee grounds, egg shells, veggie clippings, fruit rinds, etc…So I figured I would try to use some small bags for cleaning ease; these are amazing as they are COMPOSTABLE themselves. (they work great in our bathroom bins too) When they are full, I simply take a jaunt (Field Trip) with the dog(s) and my bag of goodies to the big composter. It’s a win-win, especially when I need to add in compost to my garden areas.

So, dish: Do you compost? Will you be there with me on the Club Level of Heaven one day? How about dogs with extra large ears who can swim…how do we feel about this?

XOXO

All The Flora With My Fauna And Is This My Prize?

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz32 Comments

I mentioned earlier that while in GA, Peanut and I walked daily and enjoyed our surroundings immensely. I did have a little bit of apprehension because there are a lot of bears in this area with newborn cubs/Mamas on the move. (My Aunt and Uncle had a trio in their yard last week) I kept wondering if I might be able to handle myself like an grown adult if we met up with any. Luckily, I wasn’t tested. I gotta watch out for copperhead snakes & bears. It’s a jungle out there.

I kept finding these lovely flowers on the ground, I looked them up with my Picture This App and they’re from the Tulip Tree. I know nothing about this tree, but dang the flowers are purty. Some other random lovely wildflowers and mountain Laurel. We also saw copious amounts of blueberry blossoms; surely by the time the berries have arrived, they’ll be devoured by bears and deer.

We have a sweet dogwood tree in our front yard. Do you see the dog at the bottom? That’s why they call them Dog Wood Tree’s. DUH.

All that walking can summon a nap from Peanut.

Now for the What The Heck part of my post.

I’m an admitted gum addict. I had a container of gum in my GA car for a while. I was almost at the bottom last week and noticed something odd.

I texted my girls and asked if they knew who it might belong to and neither had a clue. Do you think it’s like the box of Cracker Jacks with the prize at the bottom?

Weird, I thought that gum tasted a bit waxy. I suppose I should check to see if it’s a real diamond or a fake me out.

Raise your hands if you fawn over wildflowers like Peanut and Suz.

Who remembers Cracker Jacks? My Mom loved to get them for my girls when they were little, but I believe they are a thing of the past now. I mean, there are so many other ways to lose a filling these days.

XOXOXO

Stream Of Consciousness: Dirty Floor-plans & Mother’s Day Thoughts.

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz44 Comments

I had nothing in particular to share today, so how about a stream of unconscious post?

***

We’re back home in hawt Florida. I love our time in GA, the weather is generally more pleasant and the house is less work there, but here I have My Butterflies & My Flowers and they both bring me joy.

On one of our walks in GA, Peanut and I were passing by a wooded area and I had a flashback memory from when I was a kid.

I played outside all the time and was alone quite a bit. We had a generously sized back yard that had a chain link fence. Beyond the fenced-in area there was a stretch of woods, then a canal, then a main thoroughfare, then the Palm Beach International Airport. (it was loud)

In the canal, there were often alligators, so I didn’t play on that side of the fence as much, but sometimes. Now that I think about it, I don’t know that I was told NOT to play around the alligators.

In the wooded area near the alligator canal, I would find little clearings of land in-between the trees and with my imagination, I would design my home there. Here is a bedroom space, next would be the kitchen, a bathroom, etc (like this pic above that Peanut asked me to share)

At the back of our property line, against the fence were giant Australian Pine trees.. Under the Australian pines, I would use a rake and sweep the pine needles into living spaces, making little walls/floor plans out of the pine debris and adjusting the size of my rooms when it struck my fancy.

I was six years old and designing my dream home. I mean, it was dirt and pine needles, but you gotta start somewhere.

This memory came to me while walking, but we’re also trying to come up with a floorpan for the New House, so it’s all relative. We’re gonna use a professional, and not me outside with a rake and pine needles, so no need to worry.

We arrived home in time to meet the girls for dinner, which is special. I’ve not mentioned it here, because it’s my blog even though my children might think it’s all about them, (kidding!) but Lolo has moved further north (rude) and is almost two hours away from her beloved Mother. But she made the trek to spend a few hours with us, and I appreciate that. I can’t imagine if my kids didn’t want to spend time with me; how sad would that be? Anyhoo, they went in on a great gift for me, my jaw dropped and I said: My blog friend Kari has one of these. I’m so excited! (I’ll share when it’s put together)

Speaking of Mother’s day. This thought has been in my head and I want you guys to chime in as I appreciate the varied differences in my blog friends. I was checking out of the grocery store last week and the clerk said: Have a Happy Mother’s Day! How did she know I’m a mother? Is it my haircut?

I appreciate the comment, but what happens if I were not a mother; either by choice or I couldn’t but really wanted to? If you fall into that category, what do you think about the sentiment? And how would you respond?

My writing time is up!


XOXO