nightmare

Monday night I had the scariest experience ~ First, I woke up from a dead sleep, choking on my own spit.  Seriously?  How does this happen?  So I cough myself to breathing again, and then go back to sleep.  That's where the scary dream started.  I was dreaming that I was sleeping in my bed and a ghost was trying to kill me {suddenly the choking made sense, in a very frightening way}.  In the dream, I was being poked by the ghost and when I'd open my eyes the bathroom light would be on.  Then the next time I'd open my eyes, my closet lights were on.  The next time, cabinet doors were open...and on it went.  Suddenly I was a little kid and the only thing I could think to do was to get to my dad.  I just couldn't get out of bed and run there.  It doesn't sound too freaky as I type this, but I was terrified.
Suddenly I hear my husband say in a very monotone voice, "Hey, you're yelling."
I  was never more relived to be awake.  I yelled, "I'm so scared" and I kinda got the giggles because of his response.

Catching up

Jen & I show off our Ohio Glasses

Well, I haven't blogged in a while...not because stuff hasn't been happening...but I've been pretty lazy with my "free time"
Back in the beginning of March, I accompanied the 7th graders to Columbus ~ for the abbreviated version of the former Ohio Tour.  We left early in the morning & saw some sites in C'bus.  We were so very lucky that it was in the 50's for the day...great weather considering the winter we've had!

<===I'm rather into the selfies ~ as I'm tired of never being in the pictures ~ and I AM that far behind the times.  Lori & I rode the best bus (as always).  Erin and I had a blast on the roller coaster machine!  And I drank a cup of sugar ~ it tasted amazing.

The Ghost was active in the house during the month of March ~ {come to think of it, however, Fonzi has stopped nipping at the air in the family room...} BUT: one night Mike & I were watching TV when we hear an abrupt crash of something from the front room.  We just look at each other...and I make Mike go check it out {certainly checking out strange noises is a blue job}  SOMEHOW the music stand, which is NOT in the least bit loose, had lost its tilt & all the music folders crashed to the floor.  Strange happening, for sure ~ ghostly activity? maybe.

JB over Al's left shoulder

Patrick came home from Cincy on spring break & JB went to NYC with the band on that Wednesday.  He had a great trip, with very little sleep.  But what do you expect from a TV celebrity?

The band made the Today Show ~ with a big blue banner in the window & lots of face time both in the window & during an outdoor segment.  It was great to see my boy on my TV from the Big Apple.
We picked him up Sunday morning & he crashed on the couch...didn't even wake when Fonzi licked his face.

The Monday before the DC trip, we went to the dealership to look at new cars & found this adorably red Chevy Equinox ~ 2013 with 2800 miles on it.  Couldn't pass it up ~ so I bought it.  My lovable 2003 Yukon has 215,000 miles on it ~ and it's hard to give it up ~ but I'm glad I did.  Mike did all the leg work while I was in DC ~ so all I had to do was go sign papers & drive it home on Saturday.  He's the best ever ~ because I know it was a pain and a lot of leg work to get the loan.  Thanks, honey.

 My selfie tour of our nation's capitol.  The White House.  The Capitol Building. The bus.  The Lincoln Memorial.  The Jefferson Memorial.  FRD Memorial.  MLK Memorial {we don't konw what Julie is doing}
This trip is always filled.  Filled with fun, tired, anxiety, annoyance, laughter, yelling, lost kids, found kids, sleepy kids, happy kids, grumpy adults, slap-happy adults, history, rememberance, memories...and a reminder that I really enjoy what I do for a living.  I will not be able to hear Frozen's famous song, "Let It Go" without thinking of this trip.

My most favorite selfie: Me, Dodd & JFK

And that brings us to a week of Spring Break.  Here's the view of our backyard this morning:

I AM TIRED OF WINTER

Ghosting

Since Christmas some interesting things have been going on...all in our living room.
While we were in Colorado, one of the pictures fell from this holder.  Just fell out. I find it odd ~ They are wedged in there and glued.  So how did it just fall out?   & The glass broke when it hit the carpet.  Supernatural causes? maybe?

The second weird thing...  See that yellow and brown pottery piece in the back corner of the hutch?  One day, over break, I dusted {no need to mention that it had been a while since the last dusting...this is not a post about my lack of housekeeping skills}.  I put this piece back in the back corner on the top shelf.  It's hard to note from the picture but those shelves are about a foot deep ~ it's a good 10 inches from the edge.  I came into the living room the next day to this:

The top of that pottery piece ON THE COFFEE TABLE ~ five feet away from the hutch ~ with the handle broken off and in two pieces.  How did it FALL & BREAK when it sits so far from the edge?  How did it get on TOP of the coffee table?  No one in the family claims to have touched it?  The ghost?  maybe?

And last, but not least...Fonzi is seeing things in the living room.  He started just staring up at the ceiling about a month or two ago.  Now he is nipping at whatever is there.  He's not angry...he's just noticing something & biting at it.

The weird thing is...it's really no big deal.  IF it is a ghost, it is friendly in the sense that it doesn't mess with people ~ or do scary things.  I'm fine with sharing the space & maybe looking out for each other, if you can look out for a ghost.  No one, except Julie, who gets a funny feeling in the room.  It's just rather interesting to observe these odd things that happen.  If it's not a ghost, I don't know what else it could be.

a haunting

Here's the honest to God story.
We were sitting around the dinner table last night yappin' our doodles.  Jacob dropped something or made some loud noise and we all turned to look at him and Mike freaked out.  "Did you hear that?"
We were all like, "yeah, we heard Jacob make that crashing noise..."
Mike said, "No the deep sigh.  Right in my ear.  Did you hear the deep sigh?"
None of us had...except Jacob said he did [but he's a teenager, so who knows.what he heard]

Here is a picture of Mike pretty soon after the mysterious deep sigh and the area over his left shoulder, where the sighing took place.  No mysterious orbs or faces or anything...rather disappointed with the lack of photographic evidence, but the freaked out look in Mike's face is scientific proof of the existence of ghosts.  (I'm using the requirements for scientific proof that is used in the acclaimed Big Foot Hunters tv series.)

Intermingling, Marching, Ghosts & Goals

Let's start with the most permanent (because it was actually printed in the paper) news.  Patrick scored his first varsity goal!  Preventing the shut-out.  It was really a 'garbage goal' ~ it bounced around down there & because he didn't give up, he was there to tap it in.  The best news is that he played his best game of the season.  Always there, always challenging for the ball.  It was great to watch him. {and yes, I was an embarrassment when he scored...quietly so I really only embarrassed myself in front of all the 'cool parents'}

Wednesday's News Herald ~ about Tuesday's game (9/18/12)

Ghosts:  My parents were in town this weekend.  I hadn't seen them since New Orleans in April. It was a good weekend...filled with Friday Night Football {for the band} and Saturday Soccer...all afternoon!  But Sunday we went out to Jewel's Dance Hall & rode our bike south on the Greenway Trail.  Dad & Jacob took off ~ leaving Mom & me to leisurely ride and enjoy the beautiful weather and the leaves that are just ready to start changing color.  {My mom LOVES the fall leaves & really misses fall ~ as it snowed that day at their house.}  Mom & I rode 12 miles & turned around to ride slowly until the guys {who went out 15 miles} caught up to us.  We got to the old train trestle and stopped the enjoy the view & wait.  Dad and Jacob show up and get off their bikes to also enjoy the view & have a Cliff Bar.  When, out of nowhere, a "woooooosh" sweeps past us, loud and long and with enough force to rustle the leaves on the trees.  We all paused and looked around, thinking, "What could that have been?"  We all heard it and we all saw the leaves rustle. I think it was a ghost train speeding over the trestle.  very very strange

Marching: Wednesday was also the annual LCMEA Band Festival ~ the Madison Blue Streak Marching Band performed their 50's show in their 50's attire ~ so easy to dress my boys ~ jeans, rolled up & white-T's with candy cigarettes rolled up in the sleeve.  Patrick, once again, has a 'dance role' in the show & it was captured by the News-Herald videographer ~ {Check out that link} Always a fun time!

Intermingling: Back in August (the 31st to be exact) Mike & I drove to Lyndhurst and walked to Brush High School with his mom & Dan to see the Madison Marching Band perform at halftime of the Brush v Madison game.  For some unknown reason I mention to the lady at the ticket booth that we aren't really here for the game; we're here to watch the band, so we'll move on over to the home side at halftime.  She informs me that once you go in, there is no way to get to the home side unless you come back out and pay to get back in on the other side. {strange}  So I say, "We'll just sit on the home side then."  She agrees with me as her daughter was a majorette and she understands just watching the band.  So off to the home side we go.  As halftime approaches we hear an announcement from the PA: "Attention all fans.  It is a Brush High School rule that the visiting fans must remain on the visiting side of the field.  There will be no intermingling of Brush fans and Madison fans."  oops

not talking about it

Last week I came home from school and did all the usual stuff, put my bags away, put my lunch on the counter, hung up my coat, said "Hi" to Patrick, and went into the living room.  The chaise lounge (the one the dogs ate last spring break) was moved, not so much, but just a little forward and a little toward the windows.  I asked Patrick why he'd moved it and he said he hadn't.  Then he said, "I asked Jacob the same thing and he said he didn't move it either."
If I didn't move it, and Mike didn't move it (I asked him later), and Patrick didn't move it, and Jacob didn't move it...
But we're not talking about it.