Ramblings

I just did something I never dreamed I would get to do. I'm in just in shock, so, so amazed.

I helped my son set up his own blog!

A couple of hours ago Will came to me and out of the blue, said, "I want to start a blog - can you help me?" I couldn't get to the computer fast enough! Remember, this is the the child, who 8 months ago, had trouble writing a simple paragraph. Now, he's blogging! His address is http://runningtherace-sportsandlife.blogspot.com. He hasn't actually written his first post yet - says he will work on that tonight while watching the big basketball game. He tells me the blog will be about sports, as well as general things about the Christian life from a teen perspective. His writing teacher has commented to both of us, on a couple of different occasions, that she can really see Will as a sports journalist someday. Maybe!

My mom commented the other day that watching Will at this stage of his life is like watching a flower begin to unfold. Last week we found out that Will can be an official volunteer for the Special Olympics event next week if we get some paperwork filled out. And then if he takes some training offered in May, he can be an actual Sp. Olympics coach. Having him help with Ben was his idea all along. The lady who heads it up told me she is so thankful for Will because her older, college-aged kids used to help, but now they're too busy with school and all.

And then Will casually mentioned last week that he's been asked to run the sound for an upcoming wedding at church. How cool is that?!

Speaking of cool... I am now a newsletter editor. About 10 days ago our mayor called me and asked what I thought about the idea of putting out a Swan newsletter. Of course, I immediately loved the idea. So, I played around with it last week and then last Fri. night sat down with him and we figured out a template and got the thing written. This is going to come out every other month. Right at the top, it says, "Editor: Sarah Heywood" and I will have a column in each one to write whatever I want to. Then, I'm filling the rest of the newsletter with upcoming events, resident interviews, snippets of history, pithy quotes, etc. Our first issue went out tonight. In fact, residents may be reading it even as now type.

While I was at the mayor's house, his big mutt walked right in front of me and I went flying. It's really no surprise since I regularly trip over my own feet. I had no chance with a dog that size. What a blow to my ego and my body! I woke up the next morning, just groaning from the pain. I am still sore, several days later. I hit the floor pretty hard!

I moved into my new office last Wed. That has been pretty exciting! We've got everything set up in here now. I am just waiting for some frames to go on sale and then I'll be able to hang decorative things. And then, that same day, we totally re-arranged the back room since now the computer desk and my desk were no longer in there. I can't believe how much room there is in there now! As soon as Paul gets the basement ready, then we will move the laundry down there and the piano will come in from the garage to the back room. And, eventually, the wood burner will also go downstairs and the dining table will go in its place. But that's probably a year or more away. It is just SO nice to be able to be finally beginning to reap the rewards of all the hard work on this house. It's been so long and such a mess and so it's extra gratifying to be able to finally use the stuff that's gotten done!

Oh, and Paul got the water lines hooked up to the fridge a couple of weeks ago. Wowee, is that nice! I am still getting such a kick out of being able to get crushed ice, cubes, and water out of my freezer door, with just the push of a button. I feel a bit like a pampered princess! Ice will do that to me...

We went to Waterloo last Sat. and had a nice visit with my parents. They are re-doing their bathroom, too (actually turning two back to back bathrooms into one larger room) and some things they didn't need from them so we inherited them. My mom is having eye surgery in May. I've known that for awhile but I didn't realize it was happening in Des Moines. So, I told them I'll plan on sitting with them at the clinic during the surgery.

Last night Sam drove a nail into both my table and one of the matching chairs. He didn't get it all the way through, but he left a definite imprint. Ugh. I couldn't holler at him because he didn't know he was doing anything wrong. He just loves to "work." So, I finally went and got him a piece of firewood and told him he could nail on that. He did, for a good hour. And then this morning he was back at it. Happy boy! Mom - not so happy!

Last week Sam came home with this beautiful stained and varnished wooden cross, about 8" high. A retired gentleman in our church made one for each of the two and three year olds in the church. His wife wrote each child's name on the back, along with theirs. Sam was showing it to me and flipped it over. He said seriously, "This says that Jesus died on the cross and He came back to life." :)

Maybe I can make an early night of it. I am so tired. I just have not totally recovered from the surgery yet. But it's been 4 weeks tomorrow! Maybe once I start working out my energy levels will come back, too. I took some of my birthday money and ordered an mp3 player. I'm thinking that walking will be a lot easier if I'm being entertained at the same time. I hope so. I just hate feeling like a slug and these extra pounds are really weighing me down.

I ran errands for most of today. Last night Ben and I knocked out a good chunk of our Walmarting. But I still had a lot of places to go. Paul didn't have any work today so he ended up going to town with the boys and I. We ran a few errands. Will was at his writing class. After his class, he drove out to W. Des Moines and met me at Target. We were able to buy his suit there for Prom Alternative. We ended up going with a gray one. I got him a black shirt at Penneys. I think I'm going to try to find a yellow pocket kerchief (or whatever they are called) because he needs something to brighten up the whole look. I'm not so crazy about the yellow and black Hawkeye tie with the gray suit, but it doesn't look terrible, so we'll live with it. Then, Paul and all the boys went home in Will's car, so I was blissfully alone for rest of my errands.

I had a big surprise today. I was at Hy-Vee, ready to check out and there was this clerk, standing at the end of his lane, waiting for customers. As he stood there, he bounced up and down on the soles of his feet and I thought, "I know that guy..." I got closer and became more sure of it. I glanced at his name tag to make sure and I was SO right. It was Jeff, an old friend from my CBF days. I used to spend hours up in his dorm room, playing backgammon with him and some of the others. In fact, he sang at our wedding. What fun it was to run into him today! I had not seen or spoken to Jeff since our wedding day. He's the same as always, plus about twenty pounds. He remembered me, which was flattering. He's probably typing tonight, "She's the same, plus a few pounds and lines around the face..." I had forgotten that Jeff was originally from Des Moines. I believe he spent most of the past 18 years out in one of the Carolinas, though. He's moved back and is living with his dad. His mom died a few years ago. So, anyway - that was my treat for the day.

I spent a good deal of time looking for shoes today. I was unsuccessful. I need a pair of strappy navy heels to go with my new summer dress and a pair of simple white flip flops for summer. You would think somebody would have those. And I'm not a super-frugal shopper when it comes to clothing myself, so it's not like I was looking for $10 shoes. I finally gave up and came home ordered some off Zappos. My sister-in-law told me about that site, so I figured I'd give it a try - free shipping either way, so that's a deal. But then, the first pair of navy shoes I wanted were only available in a wide width, so I had to go with my second choice. The hardships of my life - nearly unbearable, I tell you!

But all that running around wore me out. So, I think I'm going to go give Will the air card so he can create his first post. And I'm going to go sink into a bubble bath with People magazine (hey, I had a coupon!). And maybe, just maybe, I'll get to bed early tonight!