MY GIRL!

From the moment I found out I was having a daughter, I wondered what I would do when her hair got long enough that it would need to be styled. I am a bit bit handicapped when it comes to hair. I have just never had the skill to style my own hair. So I was a little worried about doing Rachel's. And until recently, that wasn't much of an issue, because her hair wasn't really long enough to style! But I decided a couple of weeks ago to try to put her hair in twin pigtails, so I asked her if she would like that and she agreed.

The first attempt was a challenge. The pigtails weren't even, and her hair is still too short in some spots, so she had a lot of bangs. I ended up buying a new brush for her, as well as a bottle to spray her hair and wet it down before pulling it back.

The latest attempts are pretty impressive! Rachel actually has become quite interested in styling her hair. She tells me, "I look pitty momma." I let her choose one thing at Target last Thursday because she was well-behaved, and she chose headbands. I guess her cousin Caden was fighting over those today.

And speaking of Caden, he is going to have a little sister! My sister-in-law Jen and brother-in-law Phil got confirmation yesterday that their baby is a little girl! We are so excited for Rachel to have a girl close to her age now. I have been teaching her how to say the name, and I am excited to go through all our baby clothes to see if anything will work for them.

This weekend I am looking forward to relaxing and watching football on Saturday. The weather has started to turn toward Fall weather, and I love that! There are good things in store for this Fall -- I can feel it!

Remembering

It was 9 years ago today. I woke up, got my newspaper, prepared some breakfast. I started reading my paper in preparation for my first class of the day. This was a news media class, and the professor would quiz us on the headlines of the day.

I turned on Good Morning America to help cover more bases at once. About 15 minutes into my viewing, they cut over to NYC, as there were reports of a small plane hitting one of the World Trade Centers. Smoke billowed from the tower, and I looked on in amazement. How could a plane hit such a tall skyscraper? And as I sat there, horrified, I watched as another plane entered the picture and hit the other tower. It was then that everyone watching realized that this was no accident. We were under attack. I watched throughout the day as efforts were made to save the people in the towers, as we discovered that the Pentagon had also been hit, and that a plane had crashed in Pennsylvania -- a plane that was later revealed to be heading toward the White House, but fell short because the passengers refused to allow the terrorists to fulfill their plan. I watched with friends as the towers fell to the ground, and we cried together, stunned and filled with sorrow.

I had never been to NYC before 9.11.01. But I found myself living there nearly 2 years later, just on the other side of the river. Duane and I visited the site of the WTC a few times while we lived there, and I could only imagine having been there for the events of that horrible day. On September 11, 2003, we saw the lights they projected upward in remembrance of where the towers used to stand tall, and I was filled with pride of my country.

Even when I looked for some pictures to post to this blog, some of the images brought me such sadness that I had to stop looking. We lost so many wonderful people because of a terrible hatred that exists in others. People who went to work like it was any other day; firefighters, police officers, and EMTs who devoted their lives to saving the lives of others; people who got on planes just trying to get home to loved ones. I remember today all of those people and I am grateful for those who are still here with us. I remember what happened on September 11, 2001, and I pray that this world can find peace so that this never happens to anyone again.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND!!

As soon as I found out the Buckeyes would be playing in a Thursday night game for their season opener, I requested the following Friday off of work. Because this was the Friday before Labor Day, that made for a nice 4-day weekend, but since I have been sandbagging my vacation days (due to my heavy work schedule), I was able to also request Tuesday off and create a nice 5-day weekend!

My friend Lawrene made the mistake of telling me she had never been to a Buckeyes game before. Given my fortunate ticket connections, I was able to work up some tickets for us, and we went tailgating and headed to the first game of the 2010 season together. Unfortunately for Lawrene, she had to sit with me. I am quite...spirited...when it comes to the Buckeyes. We were winning by 4 touchdowns, and I was still screaming at the defense to get their act together, still screaming at the offense to make smarter plays, still screaming at the coaches about the special teams blunders...

I don't feel I am a hindrance to others' enjoyment of the game, but I get my money's worth for sure. And I support my team.

My aunt's seats were quite excellent too, so I am hoping we can get some more tickets throughout the year, but I am always grateful to get those that I get. Duane found a nice tailgate connection too--right outside the stadium--so that is going to pay off. And I swear I saw Kirk Herbstreit and his family walking near the stadium! I don't know if I buy into the hype about the Buckeyes just yet, but they are better than last year!

Friday I actually had to head into work for a few hours, and my boss granted me a half-day of vacation time in return. Then I began painting Rachel's new room (pictures to come). It made me pretty excited for finishing it off and getting her moved over! Saturday we did some more housework and painting. Then Sunday we held our fantasy draft at the house. My team turned out okay, though I didn't get all the players I would have liked because I ended up last.

Monday morning, I headed up to Indian Lake to help celebrate my parents' new house on the water. They invited all of their closest friends to see the new place, and it was a great time. Rachel really takes to the water -- she helped her Hoppa drive the boat!

Then all the men left and we began the kickoff to Women's Week -- a tradition where all the ladies party at the lake for a week, with no men around! Lots of good food, cards, games, laughs, drinks, boating, and more. And it is even better in the new house -- we had some boat malfunctions today, but we just sat on the boat parked in the dock and ate and felt the wind and the water blow us around a bit. The new place is really several steps up from the old one. I had so much fun sharing my childhood retreat with my daughter and seeing it through her eyes as my parents must have seen it through mine once. I spent so many weekends at the lake when I was younger, and I just feel so blessed that my parents were in a position to provide that for us and for our family friends, who are more like family than anything. I just wish I didn't have to come home and go to work tomorrow! This is my last short week scheduled until my friend Kim has her baby -- it will be rough working 5-day weeks again!

But this weekend, I am looking forward to the rematch of the 2003 National Championship game (Buckeyes vs. Hurricanes)! And then next weekend I am throwing a diaper/formula shower for the aforementioned pregnant friend. Since this is her second boy, she doesn't need a ton of stuff, but diapers and formula always help! It is also a chance for her to relax for the evening and just enjoy being around her friends for a few hours, with some good food and some good cake!