In Other News

I don't think I ever wrote about the outcome of the scholarship contest that the Man-Cub was a part of; I guess I got busy. Better remedy that, now, I suppose.

So, when we left the Cub, he was in the lead in his pool, and, I'm happy to report: he won. That moved him into the Championship round, where he was pitted against five other athletes for the $1000 scholarship. The Cub's poster for that go-round was also very nice...

...but, alas, not nice enough to secure him the win. Instead, he finished in fourth place, which, isn't as bad as it seems, considering that he was one of forty athletes to compete, eventually making it into the top twenty, then the top six. That's an accomplishment I can get behind, any day.

I also think I failed to provide an update on the Cub's recent football injury, so, I'll remedy that as well: the Cub visited a sports medicine clinic earlier this week; x-rays showed no fractures and he was cleared to play in this week's game on the condition that he limit his participation to punting. The Cub, the coach, and the doctor are all cool with this, so I concur. He will also do some physical therapy on down the road, to strengthen the ligaments and to hopefully prevent future dislocations. In the meantime, he should be back on the field in every capacity by next week's game.

He is still wearing the sling at school, mostly to garner sympathy from the girls (I think).

In yet more news, I am now the proud owner of a professional logo for my photography business.

I love it. It makes a classy watermark and it will look amazing on envelopes, portrait boxes, letterhead, and usb drives (assuming I win the lottery and can afford to special order customized items).

I think that is about it for updates. I won't bore you with the fact that I pulled the last of the root vegetables from the garden last night, although, I did, and, the carrots were amazingly sweet. Also, I have seven butternut squashes on vines that are finally starting to die, which means that I will be making butternut squash soup, ravioli, and risotto any day now.

That's good news in my book.

Countdown to Halloween

I am slowly but surely getting my Halloween decorations in place. Just when I think I'm finished, I discover another decoration or think of another idea for using what I have on hand; I blame Pinterest.

At some point, I will be done.

Of course I will.

I mean, I have to stop somewhere, right?

Don't answer that.

Instead, enjoy the tableau that greeted the Man-Cub a couple of nights ago when he announced that he had to "do the two"...

...he was...not impressed. In fact, his exact words were "Really?" Which, yes, that is only one word, but, he said it with the weight of fifty words, and, yeah, I have no idea; it's like he's never met me or something.

Yes, Cub, really.

And, get used to it pal, it's a while yet before Halloween.

Warning: This Post Contains Massive Amounts of Handsome

Saturday morning, the Man-Cub, Mikey, and I headed out to take our first stab at senior pictures. Following his misadventure on the football field, the Cub was sore and trussed up in a sling, but, he still managed to smile for the camera (don't worry, Coach; we took the sling off for his poses, but it went right back on while I photographed Mikey).

We broke for lunch, during which the Cub kept an appointment at the hairdressers, where he finally unloaded about ten pounds of hair that he had been growing since early this past summer. The haircut was dramatic enough that the pictures we took that afternoon look like there is no way they could have been taken the same day, which makes me laugh.

The afternoon session included Trace, who wasn't available earlier in the day, and, between the three boys, they managed to keep me and Trace's mom quite entertained.

I don't know if we got the "one" for each boy yet, but, we have plenty of time to go out again before photos are due to the yearbook staff (this is one of the benefits of living in a smaller community; the seniors attending Hooterville High are required to submit yearbook photos by the end of this week). In the meanwhile, I'll peruse Pinterest for more pose ideas, as one does in this day and age.

Proof that he wore the sling, Coach!

We Need the Parents

Four scariest words you will ever hear when you are sitting in the stands, hands clasped in silent prayer, willing your child to get up after being waylaid by a cheap shot on the football field.

Such was our  night, last night.

The experience is still somewhat surreal; one second, the Cub was in position to tackle the opposing team's quarterback, who was making for their goal line and the next, he was hit so hard we actually heard it in the stands.

Flags flew, coaches scrambled, the Cub writhed in agony on the field, and, in the stands, total silence. It was less than two minutes before the trainer left the Cub's side and made for the bleachers, waving and screaming those four words; we need the parents.

Hugh and Queen B were out of their seats and on the field well ahead of me (I stumbled in an ill-conceived attempt at vaulting the rail and it took me a second to recover my footing; I'm also a bit bruised and sore this morning, but, in the moment? Didn't feel a thing, such was my focus on getting to my son), and, when I arrived at the Cub's side, the coach had already popped his dislocated shoulder back into place. Really grateful I missed that.

The ambulance, usually on standby at high school football games, was already preparing to pull out on to the field, but, the Cub refused to go out like that; he wanted back in the game and it took Hugh and the Coach to convince him that that wasn't happening. Instead, he spent the final three minutes of the game on the sidelines, shoulder wrapped as tightly as the trainers could manage, given the football pads that we would struggle to remove later.

He's sore, today. And, he got to sleep in the recliner last night, so, probably not as well rested as we might like, but, he walked off that field last night, and, for that, I am forever grateful.

Later this morning, we are planning to take senior pictures. This appointment has been on the calendar for a month, and, with the leaves rapidly falling from the trees, we can't really put it off for another week, so; I envision a lot of poses consisting of the Cub leaning against a tree today. That will be the best way to keep his arm in the position it needs to stay in for the next couple of days, while the ligaments in his shoulder contract back to their normal placement. I mean, I'm good, but I lack the skill necessary to Photoshop a sling out of a picture.

Sorry, Cub.

Friday Favorites, Because it's Been a Coon's Age

Trust me when I say; no one has ever been happier to see Friday than I am this week. Which, is why I am going to post about things that have made me happy this week, rather than dwelling on the craptastic stuff that made me so desperate to see it end.

First of all, it is now officially fall here in Petticoat Junction; the weather has gotten decidedly cooler, the smell of woodstove smoke fills the evening air, plaid scarves and boots have replaced skirts and sandals, and there are pumpkins-and pumpkin spice- everywhere.

I'm a fall girl, so, I can totally get behind this. I also love the scent of fall-themed candles, of which I have a new current favorite, Wicked, from Fragrant Jewels and, my old favorite (Harvest, from Yankee Candle).

The Wicked candle smells like Halloween and goes nicely with my Halloween décor, especially all my witchy accoutrements.

Secondly, my roses appear to think that fall is the perfect time to burst into blooms far showier than anything that I saw this summer, which, is saying a lot.

Then, there is the fact that the birds are back at the feeders, and, while I will miss the hummers, I do love the finches; I wonder if any of the females are from the Mockingbird clan that was born on the front porch earlier this summer?

Another thing that I am love, love, loving is my new housekeeper!

She doesn't do windows, but, the fact that I haven't had to sweep up a cat hair tumbleweed in a week is cause enough for celebration. Without further adieu, meet Rosie Jettson, my new robotic vacuum.

If you've ever considered purchasing one and were put off by the price, please allow me to put your mind at ease, because Rosie? Worth. Every. Penny. In fact, we love her so much, we are actually considering purchasing another one for upstairs.

I would have both an upstairs and a downstairs maid!

I feel like the Jeffersons when they were movin' on up.

Anyway, happy Friday, y'all!

The Things We Do For Our Children

A couple of weeks ago, I received a message on my Facebook account from a man who does sports marketing and merchandising. He and several other sponsors host a contest that determines the recipient of a college scholarship based on the number of shares that an athletes promotional poster gets on Facebook. The Cub had been nominated to compete for the scholarship and all I had to do was send in a collection of photos from which the poster could be made. The Cub had to answer a series of interview questions, and, otherwise, not much else, except, to encourage friends and family to share the poster on Facebook.

His first poster generated 325 shares within the three day time limit set for each contestant; that was enough to earn him a spot in the semi-finals.

So far, his second poster has generated 368 shares and we have until tomorrow at noon to pull out a few more.

The Cub is currently in the lead in his pool, which, will hopefully result in him moving on to the final round next week. The whole process has been a lot of fun-we have friends and family members sharing and challenging their friends to share all across the states. It has also been a little exhausting for someone who isn't used to asking for favors, and, certainly not on social media. Hopefully, next week, if the Cub gets to compete, our folks won't be completely burned out on the process; a $1000 scholarship may not sound like much but experience tells me how much every little bit helps. So, I will continue to beg, bribe, and blackmail people into sharing for the Cub, because, that's what momma bears do for their cubs.

Also? Totally not kidding about the bribery; I already owe cookies to three of Queen B's friends and it's likely that the number will grow. You see how I sacrifice?!

How I Spent My Weekend

Friday morning, I joined my co-worker, Kortni, on a tour of a large medical practice in Neighboring City; the practice is preferred by our insurance, and, should we have decided to switch from our current providers to Preferred Providers, we could save a bundle on our co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses. Or so we have been told.

The practice, as I've said, is huge, and, I'm not entirely certain that it would be worth it for me to switch, given the infrequency of visits that I currently make to my primary, but; Queen B lives in Neighboring City and she has been using the campus clinic as her primary, which, is convenient only during school hours and cost-effective never. So, sending her to the new practice is a no-brainer, plus, they have a docs on call clinic that is open 24-7, which will be a lot more convenient for her.

Later Friday afternoon, Mom and I traveled to the Man-Cub's football game, where we watched the boys go down in flames. Hey, you can't win them all, right? The Man-Cub punted that night, which he hasn't done since his sophomore year, and, he did great! So, there was at least something positive about the game.

Saturday morning, Mom left for Mayberry. We will miss her (Hugh, because she feeds him, the Cub, because she spoils him, and, I'll miss her making coffee in the mornings. I mean, among other things, of course).

I spent the majority of the day cleaning house, working on the books at the store, and bribing the Cub to drag the Halloween boxes out of the attic ($10 got the boxes down, unpacked, and hauled back into the attic; I consider it a bargain). Upon unpacking my Halloween skeletons, I discovered two were missing their heads, due to having become brittle from the extreme temperature variations that occur in the attic. On the one hand, bummer-I'm going to have to replace them. On the other hand, hey, cool! I happen to have a Headless Horseman costume that I picked up on clearance a few years ago; I'm totally going to have to find a horse that will be patient enough to stand around for a month with a skeleton tied to it.

In the meanwhile, I left the skeletons littering the porch like a morbid slumber party.

Saturday afternoon,  I met a family who are relatives of some friends of mine for a photo shoot in a local park; they paid for both family pictures and senior pictures for their son and they were such a pleasure to work with. Their shots turned out pretty good, too. You know, if I do say so, myself.

The money that I made on the photo shoot went toward a new iRobot Roomba and I am almost embarrassed about how excited I am to own a piece of machinery that sucks up the pet hair tumbleweeds without my actually having to push it. How lazy am I?

Anyway, today I spent the day editing those awesome photos, decorating the house and porch for Halloween, and putzing around in what is left of the garden. While I was doing that, the Cub was road-tripping to Aspen for a college fair where, hopefully, he learned how to write a kick-ass application essay and where, exactly, to find the magical money pot that spews forth tuition money at the will of the student.

Because, that has to exist, right?