Por favor?

I need a favor, friends.

Can you see my Life at 7000 Feet header when you open my blog?

I can't see it, and several of you can't either.

I'm really trying to pinpoint the problem so I can fix it, and I need your help!

Will you leave me a comment and let me know if it's showing up for you? I also need to know what browser you're using. Example: "Hey, Mer, all I see is a bunch of white space, and I'm using Sarari", or "Yep, your very fun design pops up when I visit your blog, and I use Internet Explorer in Windows Vista".

Thanks in advance. I appreciate your help!

I might regret this...

I joined Facebook this morning.

I spent some time cleaning up my email inbox and came across a message about needing to rsvp to my Class of 1988 Reunion, and the email suggested joining a Facebook group as a means to rsvp (and re-connect). Okay, I thought. No big deal.

It's actually a VERY BIG DEAL.

And I'm afraid it could be very, very addictive.

Pride goes before a fall, right? I was feeling all smug about setting good time parameters and staying offline since our recent computer crash...and then I joined Facebook. Nothing like Facebook to suck me back in.

Honestly, I was AMAZED at how many of you are already on Facebook. Man. How do you manage that and blogging? I feel like I'm in WAY over my head.

Snippets...

I thought I'd just give you a few snippets of what's been going on around here...

Democratic National Convention-- Truthfully, I care very little about politics (sorry, Moriah). I wish I cared more, but I just don't. I always know who I want to vote for and why by the time November rolls around, and I DID vote two weeks ago in our state primary, but other than that, I'm not all that interested in politics. It's more than fair to say that I was tired of the DNC before the convention even started. We live about an hour away from downtown Denver, and so every news medium in this area has been covering the DNC ad nauseum for the last month or more. The only positive thing (in my opinion) about all the news coverage is that George Stephanopoulos is getting lots of face time. I love George. I've had a little big crush on him for years now. I told my sister that yesterday and she couldn't quit laughing. John teases me too, but that's okay, because I happen to know he has a little crush on Diane Sawyer. *smile*

School-- Everyone is off to a great start. I'm very proud of Will. He seems to be adjusting to middle school very well. I transistioned to a public school in 7th grade, and I didn't have an easy time of it. Will loves it though, and I'm enjoying picking him up and having some time with him before we have to get the girls. The girls are doing great too. Abbey will tell you her favorite thing is having 3 recesses, and Sarah's favorite thing is getting to see her friends every day. So far, homework seems to be minimal (yay, yay, yay!) and we're getting back in the swing of things. I'm finding ways to fill my days, but I miss my kids like crazy when they're in school.

Hiking-- I have a little over 2 weeks until my Pikes Peak climb, and have been continuing to train. My friends and I did a practice run last weekend and hiked halfway up The Peak to Barr Camp. It was awesome. It was a 14-mile round trip hike (hiking down is painful--my poor toenails!) and we're feeling more confident about our ascent.

Cold-- We've had so much rain lately and things are finally growing again which is great, but as a result my allergies all out of whack. Sadly, things have progressed into a little cold, and I feel pretty yuck. But we all know that moms can't get sick, right? I cleared my calendar on Monday, and I let John go to the kids' back-to-school night last night without me (that was hard for me to do), but I have some things that I can't cancel on tap for today, so I've been trying to rest when I can. Advil Allergy Sinus helps tremendously, but geesh, you have to sign your life away to purchase that stuff.

Date!-- I met John for lunch yesterday. It was the first time we've had a date in the middle of the day in FOREVER! It was great. I think I love alone time with John more than anything else in the world! I learned some pretty big lessons on time management while we were without a computer. I'll be sharing some of that in an upcoming post, but one of the biggest things I realized was how important quality time with your spouse really is. Without a computer to distract us, we spent our evenings together, and it was amazing!

Alright...I've gotta go pack lunches and get everyone off to school before heading to the Springs for a Girl Scout training session. Busy, busy! Enjoy your day!

The Mac is BACK!!!

Well, John walked in the door this evening with our computer in his hands. It was a sight for sore eyes, let me tell you!

Initially, we thought we were going to replace it, but when we found out that we could repair this one fairly inexpensively, we opted for that and are hoping to squeeze a little more life out of it. I never dreamed I'd be without a computer for three weeks, and that was definitely not our intention, but that's the way it worked out and I'm here to tell you that we survived, and I actually enjoyed having a mini-break.

So...anyway, I'm back, and believe me, I have about 10 million posts swirling around in my head. I'm sure you'll get an earful or two in the next few days!

It's a good thing their jeans still fit...

Yesterday it was 80 degrees here. Right now, it's 48.

After buying school supplies, lunch boxes, new shoes, and paying school fees, I decided to let our bank account recover and wait until next month to buy jeans for everyone. It's a good thing their old ones still fit because it is CHILLY today. I'm definitely ready for fall!

Everyone had a great first day yesterday. Will came home SO excited (and chatty) and I was very thankful that his day went so well. He gets home an hour before the girls, so after I picked him up, we went and got a Dr. Pepper and he just about talked my ears off. I loved every minute of it.

When I picked the girls up, they both walked out smiling and talking non-stop. I think this is going to be a great year!

checking in...

Hi everyone! I have SO missed being online and checking in with you all. I'm at the library this morning checking in. We're still computer-less (for now.) We're waiting on a couple of John's freelance checks to use towards a new computer, and hopefully it won't be much longer!

Lots of stuff going on around here...

Our kids started school this morning. John dropped Will off at the middle school on his way to work. I didn't cry when they left the house, but I cried when John called to tell me that he made it okay. Will had middle school orientation on Tuesday, and it was a rough day. He didn't get his locker assignment due to a computer error and he didn't get on the same team (6th graders are divided into two teams for their core classes) as most of his buddies, and he came home from orientation and had a mini-meltdown. I was upset that he was upset, and trust me, it wasn't a pleasant afternoon. Thankfully (after a lot of prayer), he was once again excited to jump in and give things a go this morning.

The girls did great. They were a little apprehensive about their teachers (they didn't get their first choice) but they were excited this morning, and I'm confident that they got the teachers they're supposed to have. John and I have prayed about it all summer...and we've trusted that God put them with the teacher that will best challenge them and help them to become confident in themselves.

So, here I sit ALL BY MYSELF. I'm feeling a little lost, and not sure what to do with the rest of my day. Hmmm...probably laundry. *smile*

This week has been very emotional for me. Sunday was our last day at our church. We LOVE our church, but have really felt led to find a church closer to where we live--in our community. Our decision was heavily influenced by Will starting middle school. We feel that it is so important for him to go to school and church with the same group of kids. Currently, we drive 30+ minutes to our church, and we're hoping instead to find something very, very local.

Saying good-bye is never easy, but I was totally unprepared for the emotional upheaval that was triggered by our leaving. I cried most of Sunday and Monday. We've been at our church for 4 years, and in that time we've made some amazing friends. We shared our decision last week with our pastor, and with our close friends, and they're all very understanding but it's going to be a hard transition for us. We're confident that God has a place for us, but finding a church home is never an easy task. We're praying for lots of wisdom and discernment in this regard.

Also, this week, I learned that a dear friend of mine was involved in a very serious bicycling accident. He survived (PTL!), but sustained some very serious injuries. He and his family need our prayers, so if you'd like to pray for the Johnson family, I know they'd be grateful. You can click here for updates and specific prayer requests.

That's all I can think of for now. I am SO behind on all your posts. My reader tells me that I have 488 unread posts...oh my...how will I ever catch up? Please be patient with me, and know that I miss you guys!

Computer News...

Well, our Mac is officially dead. We can't even turn it on. Actually, we can but it makes a horrid screeching sound when we do, so I'm leaving it off. I'm at the library right now using their computer, and it looks like this may be my lifeline until we decide what/when/where/how to replace Mr. Macintosh.

Honestly, we used the heck out of that machine. It served us well considering that John used it to write 9+ books. We have an old ancient PC that the kids play games on, but I took a new look at it this week and it's pretty worthless. It's old enough to have a floppy drive and doesn't have an ethernet port...sad.

I've actually enjoyed the break from the computer and internet though. My house is quite clean (I've even found more closets to clean), I've finished 1.5 books, and I spent most of today scrapbooking bringing my total pages completed since last Friday to 14. Woohoo! It's been great and SO productive.

The flip side of that is I've realized how heavily I rely on the computer.
...for recipes

...for quick answers (did Friday Night Lights get picked up for a third season? which side is your appendix on again? what other shows has that actor been in?)

...for weather (I actually had to watch the news for the forecast yesterday *gasp*)

...for scrapbooking (I need my blog to help me remember what I was doing two years ago!)

...for news and information

...for charging Sarah's ipod, and keeping my Blockbuster.com queue full

...and for keeping up with friends

Now for a bit of happy news that has nothing to do with our computer--It's been raining here almost all day. It's been a slow, soaking rain that is very rare in Colorado. I LOVE it. We've been in the 60s all day. 60s. I KNOW! I put my fleece on after I got out of the shower this morning. It feels like fall and that makes me so happy. Almost happy enough to forget that our computer is D.E.A.D. and that I'm hopelessly behind on all of your blogs! I hope to catch up soon, but in the meantime, I'll be checking in when I can.

Girls Night Out...

I've been looking forward to last night for over a week. I went with two friends to see Mamma Mia! It was FANTASTIC, even though I did cringe a bit when Pierce Brosnan was singing. Afterwards we went and grabbed something to eat and spent three hours talking. I love Girls Night Out, and I don't go often enough. When my kids were smaller, it was a big priority for me. I still need a night away every so often, but honestly, now that my kids are bigger it's a little lower on the priority list. Thanks, John for letting me go and for taking great care of the kids!

(My computer is working at the moment, but it's been very inconsistent the last several days. I couldn't even turn it on most of yesterday.)

ugh...

Our computer is acting very strange these days. I'm afraid it is on it's very last leg. Scary. Especially since we don't have the money to replace it right now, and paying cash for big ticket items is a must for us.

So...if the blog is quiet, that's why. If I'm not reading and commenting on your blogs, that's why. If I'm not responding to email, that's why. Ugh...that means I might have to rely on the dreaded telephone. Have I ever mentioned that I don't like talking on the phone?

The only positive thing I can think of about all of this is how much more I will be able to get done each day if I'm (temporarily) off-line.

(So far I've been able to post twice today...maybe that's a good sign).

Question of the Week...

For those of you with school-aged children...

Do you buy your kids a new backpack each fall?

Each of my children seems to think that they need a new one this year. And I disagree.

I rounded up SIX backpacks around here last week. Jansport, Eastpack, and REI brands, ALL in perfect condition. I'm just not really cool with spending money on a new one for each of them when we have perfectly good ones they can use. And I'm really not okay with spending money on a cheap backpack that won't last more than one year. That's the reason I bought the above mentioned brands in the first place...they last forever!

So...do you buy a new one each year, or don't you? I'm really curious.

monday...

I probably sound like a broken record, but I'm not a big fan of Mondays. We had a really enjoyable low key weekend together, and Monday just feels so disruptive. Do you feel like that too?

Here's a little taste of of our weekend...

10--The number of times I heard one of my kids say, "I'm starving!"

9--The number of days we have left to enjoy summer. *boo hoo* We're trying to fill these last days with simple and fun things.

8--The number on my clock when I woke up yesterday. Nothing like sleeping in, is there? And yes, 8 o'clock is late for me.

7--Number of scrapbook pages I completed at a crop on Friday night!

6--Early morning cups of coffee/chai.

5--Number of loads of laundry over the weekend. (It just never ends around here.)

4--A beautiful, 4-mile hike.

3--Played 3 board games. Yahtzee, Monopoly, and Life.

2--I got to take two afternoon naps! I *heart* naps.

1--One happy family. I feel so blessed that we all love spending time with each other. That may change one day, but I really hope it doesn't.


The kids and I are going to hike with some friends this morning. That seems like a good way to ease into this week, and it will likely help me get over my Monday morning blues! Happy Monday to you.

The Remains of the Day...

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting on my bed with the computer checking email, reading blogs, and enjoying a few minutes of quiet in my very-full day. I saw Jack, our beagle, wander into Will's room across the hall, and a few seconds later, I overheard this one-sided conversation.

Will: Hey buddy, whatcha got there?

Jack: (tail-wagging silence)

Will: JACK, that's not cool, buddy.

Jack: (more tail-wagging silence)

Will: Uh, mom...can you come see this...

I got up (I may or may not have huffed a little) and Will met me in my room holding about 1/4 a loaf of zucchini bread. Evidently, one of the kids left the pantry door open, and Jack-the-beagle helped himself to a sweet little afternoon snack, plastic wrap and all.

Arghhhh....

I worried about him for about 5 seconds before I realized that the dog has an iron stomach. Jack eats grass, Barbie feet, flies, and all manner of things, so I wasn't too worried about him eating the zucchini bread.

I wasn't surprised to find him like this later. This would be Jack in a SUGAR COMA....

He didn't even move when I tried to take his picture, or after the flash went off.

Stinker.

If you're worried about him, he's fine. Still waggin' that tail and lickin' our faces, and lovin' all over us every minute of the day. And despite yesterday's incident, I still love him too, though it would have been nice to have had another slice of zucchini bread for breakfast. *sigh*