On the first day of school, my true love gave to me...

Skelly didn't want to be left out of the first day of school excitement.

When I turned on the bat signal, I didn't expect this...

Oh Skelly, you have such an imagination.

Faster! Harder! Go!

He thought he worked hard enough to make the cast of the Biggest Loser but he got voted out before he even began....

Scrubbed a little too hard....

Oh Calgon, take me away....away to the place where people actually bathe using water, and bubbles.....

Slept in a little too long

Clearly Skelly isn't a morning person either...might be the harsh lighting...

Safety comes first

Skelly knows how important it is to protect one's skull when out galivanting on one's tricycle. 

Skelly

Getting a little too comfy in my house....I think its time that I lay down a few ground rules for Skelly since he seems to have made camp here.

Skelly

Decided supper was too long in coming...

We all have skeletons in the closet

Smells like death

Skelly wasn't a big fan of me barging in during his private time...

Fluffing Up

Laying on the couch trying to sleep and turn my brain off, I wisely decided to play candy crush. As I madly began sliding candies  around, I felt a thump beside me and heard an almost  deafening purr start up.

"Hello Tucker" I whispered.

The noisy rumble was punctuated with a happy whirr and he began kneading the blanket beside me.

In the 9 year break between having our old cats and getting Tucker a month ago, there was one thing I missed the most... The kneading. Or fluffing up as I like to call it.

Tucker turned his attentions from the blanket to my stomach, certainly not caring if it was a little soft due to too many potato chips, instead finding it the perfect spot to prepare a little nest for himself. Settling into his preparations with a focus that only cats can have, I paused my candy crush game to enjoy the purring and impromptu massage. His purr reached lawn tractor levels as he ramped up his fluffing up of my stomach before stopping suddenly - perhaps realizing that preparing a nest on my stomach was entirely pointless since I was laying in my side.

With a small sound that I can only assume is disgust, Tucker leapt over me, turned around once and promptly fell asleep on my feet.

I smirked as he began to snore and turned my attention back to my phone only to realize that my mind had grown silent and I was ready to sleep. Defeating the world of candy can wait another day.  

Crickets

Well, frogs actually.

I have the bedroom window wide open and I can hear them. I love it. I loved hearing coyotes more as I went to sleep but there has been too much development around us since we've moved in and the coyotes have found other houses to howl at.

So now it's frogs. I feel like I'm camping or that my wildest fantasy has come true and I now own a lakefront cabin. Either way, I'm feeling pretty content in my alternate reality. 

Content enough to ignore my neighbor two doors down who keeps mooing like a cow. He has a fire pit, the smoke from which is being sucked into my bedroom adding to my camping virtual experience. I'm not sure why he's mooing though. Must be a country boy missing his home.

As for me, if I don't turn off this phone right away I'm going to miss my chance to fall asleep reading as I do each night and that would be a damn shame.

Goodnight loyal but tiny following. Goodnight stars, goodnight air... Goodnight noises everywhere.

2 am

2am thoughts can be skewed.

When my son was a newborn I hated 2 am. He wasn't big on sleeping (and still isn't 8 years later) and I often found myself up with him at that time. I'd sit rocking him in a chair by his bedroom window thinking longingly of my warm bed. I know some people love those middle of the night moments but I've always preferred them during the day after a full night's rest. :) 

I'd sit in that chair gazing out the window at the blackness of night and darkened windows, firmly believing that I was the only one awake in the universe at that time. 

2 am thoughts can be skewed.

8 years later - not much has changed. I still hate 2am. I *am* the only one awake in the universe. :)  This time I don't have a newborn to fuel my irrational night thoughts. This time I have only an over active brain that thinks too much for 2am...

2am thoughts can be skewed.

Nothing rational can come of 2am thoughts. 2am thoughts are usually overly dramatic or sentimental with only a gossamer thread of reality woven through. At least I'm clever? enough to keep my thoughts to myself tonight instead of typing them and feeling silly in the morning when reality shines its harsh light on my fanciful thoughts leaving me feeling somewhat foolish and remorseful...

Because 2am thoughts can be skewed.

Pink13 - ITSM Conference

Had a wonderful time at the conference.  Attended a session in almost every timeslot which meant from 7:15am until 5pm and then the nightly reception from 5-7pm.  I won't talk about what I learned in the sessions here as I'm guessing my whole 10 readers are not into ITIL so instead I'll post some pictures of the food and drinks from the receptions:

This was one of the welcome treats upon registration.  Yum!

One night the evening reception served mashed potato martini's.  There were 3 different kinds to choose from.  They were delicious and now I want some glasses like this so I can make them at home!

Another night there we had mac and cheese martinis.  Again - there was a choice of which one to take. This one was the homestyle one and it was great.

These pink drinks were served each night and were really good...and free.  :)

The highlight of the trip was when our team won the ITSM Project of the year!!  We are on their website here:

http://www.pinkelephant.com/Pink14/ConferenceOverview/IT-Excellence-Awards/

Bellagio

Back in February I was sent to a conference called Pink13 - An IT Service Management conference.

We got to stay in the Bellagio!

Here are some room pics!

and the view from my window

I tried the $20 trick but it failed.  She said the hotel was totally full for the conference.  She looked disappointed as she handed back my $40 (i figured I had to up it for the Bellagio!).  The room was very clean and quiet.  I thought the wallpaper was terrible, but the dresser/closet nice.  The bathtub was deep and the shower spacious.  I ended up with a double queen so switched beds each night.  LOL