not a good sound

Last week, I was eating my lunch (not at the kitchen table though thank goodness). Suddenly I hear the *****CRASH**** of glass breaking and flying over the tile. I went to check it out. The window right next to the table had been broken by a golf ball. Strangely, only the interior pane was broken. (This same window was broken by a golf ball a couple years ago, but only the outside pane was broken.) And unfortunately, I had broken glass from the window on the floor, table and across the living room. I really dislike picking up broken glass - it is just so time consuming: sweeping, washing, vacuuming, trying to not get cut, making sure the kids stay out of the way.

Moral: sometimes it is good to NOT eat at the table.

Moral#2: Don't live on the edge of a very long fairway with a dogleg because all the golfers are aiming for right behind your house and will usually slice their balls right into your house. (You ought to see the siding on that side of our house - many, many golf ball holes).

Insider information

If you weren't aware, April was Autism Awareness month. I have a son with Asperger's Syndrome, which is an Austistic Spectrum Disorder. Today I was going through Toby's backpack and found this little tidbit. I was amazed. Toby is always surprising me with his unexpected insight into behavior. People with Asperger's tend to have difficulty with social skills, and understanding behavior in general. So, I thought it especially poignant.

Blog Makeover

Due to a current bout of insomnia, I spent the better part of last night redoing my recipe blog. I've neglected it for too long. Anyway, go check it out (I've still got some work to do on it, but I'm sure that I'll have more sleepless nights to work on it uninterrupted!) There are a couple of sweet reminders posted there that you don't want to miss out on!

photo of the day

Since Sundays are usually more relaxed I have started practicing my photography skills. I use my kids as models. Sometimes they aren't excited about that. I don't care what kind of face they make, I just need a body. However, sometimes the faces they make just make me laugh. Here's the best one from yesterday. Hope it makes you smile.

News that's close to home

As I was driving the kids to school this morning, we passed 6 or 7 police cars and a news crew about 1/2 a block from the school. I came home to watch the news and saw this story. Early this morning a police officer was shot at in the neighborhood about 1 mile from our house. The 3 men ran off and still haven't been found. So every officer in Pflugerville is in my neighborhood today looking for the armed men. Both the middle school and elementary school are in the middle of the area the men ran off in. Consequently, the schools are on reverse evacuation: once inside the school they won't be able to leave. I feel that they are safe at school but I hope they catch the gunmen before the end of the school day. They won't be walking home until they do. And our cars and house will be locked until then too. At least every police officer available is within a mile of my house!

UPDATE: They still haven't found the 3 men, but the search in our area has been suspended. The schools lifted the lockdown before school let out. But all walkers and bikers were asked to call home and have parents arrange to escort them home. So there were a lot of parents around after school. They also 3 extra crossing guards along the main roads to help with the extra traffic and keep an eye on all the kids. I'm grateful that everything worked out.

You Break It -- You Buy It

I lent my camera to Hester last year after hers was broken. It was my favorite camera, but we had another so I was okay. Anyway, she brought it back after buying herself a new one and I was stoked. The next week Nate took it hiking. He put it in his backpack. Also in his pack were some water bottles. They were in a different pocket. They spilled. The backpack's seams are not waterproof. Neither was my favorite camera.

So.............Nate bought me a new (and much improved) camera. It is the Olympus Stylus 1010. I love it. It has 10mp and 7X optical zoom (most only have 3or4). It is very user friendly and has a ton more options. It is about the size of my cell phone and fits nicely into my pocket. Mostly though now I carry a camera with me everywhere. There hae been way too many occassions when I have wished I had a camera and didn't. Now I always have one. And it's BLUE! (I also got a blue case.) So, thanks Nate! I love you! If you are in the market for a new camera I highly recommend this one.