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Tag, I’m It

Posted on December 16, 2008 by auburnchick

What fun!  I was perusing the blogs I’m subscribed to in Bloglines, and I discovered that Kelly had tagged me on her blog.

What I’m supposed to do is find the 4th picture folder on my computer.  I’m to put the 4th picture from that folder on my blog and tell 4 facts about it.

Fittingly, my 4th folder is named “Pets.”  Here’s the picture:

Aubie and Pele

Aubie and Pele

  1. This was taken after picking up the dogs from the boarding facility.
  2. We had taken a trip to Virginia Beach for the U.S. Club Nationals (a soccer tournament).
  3. The dogs had been boarded for almost a week, hence the tired looks on their faces.
  4. The boarding place bathed my dogs (for a nice little fee, of course) and put those bandannas on my babies.

So now it’s my turn to tag 4 people.

Cuteknitter, Heather, Deb, and Paula … You’re It!

Filed under: Pets | Tagged: , | 3 Comments »

Christmas Memory #16

Posted on December 16, 2008 by auburnchick

Keeping a secret at Christmas can be hard sometimes, can’t it? Especially when you’ve picked out the perfect present for someone, and you can’t wait for them to open it.

When Mr. AuburnChick and I were dating, I had thought long and hard about what I would buy him. I finally selected, after saving up several months for it, a beautiful watch. I just knew it would look good on him.

One day, probably a couple of weeks before Christmas, we were visiting at my house, and while we sat talking, I somehow told him what his gift was.

Don’t ask me how it happened. It just slipped out.

I’ve been told that I talk too much. This is probably true. Had I been a woman of few words (do such women exist??), I might not have said anything. You know…actually thinking before I speak.

Needless to say, I was devastated! I could not believe that I had ruined the surprise. I remember that I cried.

He laughed and brushed it off, assuring me that it would be okay.

And it was.

Apparently this tendency is hereditary.

One Christmas, when Soccer Chick was a toddler, we were in the living room wrapping presents. It was probably a Sunday…the day of the week when we made phone calls to the grandparents to stay in touch.

Soccer Chick was a blabber (still is), and when it was her turn to talk on the phone, she was asked what she was doing.  She responded:  “Oh Granddaddy, I’m just sitting here wrapping your shirt.”

Then her eyes got wide, and she slapped her hands across her mouth in shock.

Quite the picture, as you can imagine. Simply too precious for words.

To this day, she cannot keep a surprise, which is why she was surprised when Guy Friend opened the hat I made him.  I didn’t dare tell her.  I knew she would spill the beans.

I think this is part of the magic of Christmas…well, perhaps any time of the year.  There’s something about the act of giving that brings fills our hearts to the brim with joy…to the point where we can’t contain it for very long.

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: | 1 Comment »

A Mean Trick

Posted on December 16, 2008 by auburnchick

I think I already mentioned that Soccer Chick went to practice on Sunday.  Mr. AuburnChick drove her (it was two hours away).  Later that afternoon, I called Chicky to see if they were on their way home.  She assured me that they were.

During the course of the conversation, I asked how practice had gone.  Her team had scheduled a scrimmage with a boys’ team.

“Oh it well good, Mama,” she said.  “One of my eyes is swollen shut.  Another boy and I butted heads when we went up for a ball.”

“Oh my!” I exclaimed.  “Do you have a concussion?”

I’ve seen a few kids get concussions when they go up for headers.  I was especially worried because boys don’t always play nice, even if they are playing against girls.

Soccer Chick continued…”Daddy is taking me to the hospital.”

“What??  Oh my!” I shouted into the phone.

Then I heard it.

Laughing.

Actually, it was a howl of hysteria.

She thought she was funny.

I, on the other hand, did not.

You see, I tend to be a worry-wort…especially since she hurt her knee a couple of years ago.

After reprimanding her sternly for almost giving me a heart attack, I hung up.  Then, I did what any mother would do.

I called her father, who of course had heard the entire conversation since he was driving the car.

Ring, ring…

Instead of the customary hello, all I heard was laughing.

“Mr. AuburnChick, if you ever do anything like that, I will personally strangle you.”

So, that was on Sunday.

Last night Soccer Chick had a high school game, and I sat in the bleachers taking pictures like I usually do.

The game was almost over when I spied, through the camera lens, her going up for a header.  She’s real good at these, usually winning them against much taller opponents.

What I saw, however, gave me cause for alarm.  As she came down, she grabbed her head.  So did the other player.  Below is a picture:

I used my camera like a set of binoculars and watched her walk off the field.  A trainer on staff checked her out to ensure that she was okay.

She was.

I wasn’t.

As soon as the final whistle blew (her team won 4-0), I headed to the other side of the field.

She was mad when she saw me coming.

Obviously she was okay.

She told me that the other girl got the worst of the collision.  Her eye was completely swollen.  Soccer Chick has some bruising on her eyelid.

Very fortunate, that girl of mine.

This is a good lesson to take care that you speak good things and never, ever play mean jokes on Mom.

Filed under: soccer | Tagged: , | Leave a comment »