Seriously, is it really so wrong?

They say that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. And I would. Really. But I don't have one.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this picture.

Yes, they are Post-It Notes. Sorted. Lined up in tidy little columns. And yes, those are more Post-Its, color-coordinated, at the top of each column to label the Post-It columns. What? This isn't how everyone does it?

So this is love

Eleven years. As of Friday, that's how long Steve and I have been married. Somehow, eleven finds me in a more reflective mood than ten did. Maybe because last year I was too busy planning and anticipating a trip to Niagara Falls to think much about why. But eleven. Wow. I told Steve I thought for sure he'd have left me by now. I'm not sure if he thought I was kidding or not. I wasn't. I find it a daily miracle that this man continues to put up with my crap. And sometimes he actually acts like he likes it! Yes, he comes with his own unique blend of crap - things like making up bizarre and inappropriate lyrics to songs he can't sing the tune to. But for every "Awesome Pseudical" (that would be "Pour Some Sugar On Me") of his, there seems to be a "Five Hundred Children" (umm...."five hungry children" - that's from that one Kenny Rogers song) of mine. Maybe we fit together pretty well, after all.

And as further proof of that, it seems we've started a tradition for our anniversary. For the last few years, we have each given the other two cards. One a tender, romantic, sappy, wordy one. And then the real one. This year, I think we've finally reached the pinnacle. We gave each other the mushy cards on Friday - the actual anniversary. We didn't plan it that way, but there were two cards and we each picked that one to give. Saturday we had our official night out (a babysitter, dinner AND a movie - we were living on the edge!). Before bed that night (because we forgot to take them with us when we sprinted from the house screaming "FREEDOM!!!"), we exchanged the other cards. I'm actually a little scared. Because the next step is that we're going to start looking like each other, and I don't think he's going to look good with my boobs.

Mine to him:

And his to me:

The best part? We each bought the card that we should have received. Seriously. Have you SEEN his butt? Okay, but back off. He's mine.

From a Yellow Brick Road to a Red Light

Well, today was Day 3 back to school. I can start to feel the presence of a more normal routine and pace around my house. We actually picked up around the house a little tonight. That alone is a big step forward from the last five or six weeks. Seriously, this summer has been almost overwhelming. I'm glad we did it all, but man, am I wiped out!

And really, we aren't quite done. We're going to Chicago this weekend for a Cubs game - where we will be sitting in a suite with my mom's family. This is the second time we've made this trip, and I think it will be pretty fun. As long as I keep the little ones away from my uncle John, who has turned into the the old guy who comes out on his front porch yelling, "Hey, you kids, get outta my yard!" But he's holding a glass of wine when he does it.

Then the following weekend, we'll be going home to Illinois for my Grandpa Noller's 80th birthday and some family fun with my Dad's family. Hmm...I wonder if my dad will be there. Funny that it only just now occured to me that he might. Oh well, that's a story for another time!

Finally, at the end of the month, we're going to Kings Island. The VP of Org Development takes the entire department and their families every year. The whole family, a chartered bus, entry to the park, and a meal. Free. I have never imagined working in a place that actually liked having me as an employee. It's kind of intoxicating. And you KNOW I like being intoxicated!

Anyway, as fun as all of that will be and all of everything else has been, there will be a couple of top highlights that I will remember about this summer. For one, I got to go to Beef & Boards for the first time way back at the beginning of June to see the Wizard of Oz. Do you know me? Do you know my love for this movie? If not, you should probably count your blessings. The people around me who do know about my thing with the Wizard probably wish that they didn't. I loved the whole thing. It was my birthday present from Steve, and I have to say, one of the best ones ever. I bought myself a couple of souveniers to commemorate the occasion: a wind-up music box that plays 'Over the Rainbow' and a witchy door hanger. The music box has already been claimed by Abby. I sing that song to her as a lullaby and when I had to be in Waco for almost two weeks, I told her that whenever she missed me, she could use my "special music box" to hear our song. So now that's Abby's "special music box." Oh well, it worked and helped my guilt while I was gone. As for the door hanger, that has become one of my favorite decorations on my cube wall at work. One side is pink and says Good Witch. The other side, the side that is showing most often, is green (!) and says Bad Witch. Hee hee. I just love it.

And then there's the other highlight of my summer. Oh, who am I kidding, probably one of the highlights of my life. You know, umm, after marrying Steve and having my kids. Right, that's what I meant. A couple of weeks ago, I took a road trip with some friends to Detroit. Woo hoo! That's it, man! Detroit! Awesome! Oh, and while we were there, we just popped in to the Palace and saw

Yes, with Sting and his little Tantric self. I know I should care a little more about the other two guys, Andy and Stuart, and they were great and all, but they're no Sting. Plus, they are really OLD! My fellow travelers were some of my friends from church. There were two men and two women, we're all married, but none of us to each other.

Here's our one group photo, taken by a guy who really wanted our wine, but didn't have his own glass - seriously, how unprepared is that?!

Weird? You might think so, but it was terrific. And I learned a very important lesson: Much like calling Shotgun early, you must also state clearly before the trip commences that "What Happens on the Road Trip, Stays on the Road Trip." Otherwise you might come home being called Pot Head, and not for the reasons you might think. There were lots of interesting conversations on the way to and from Detroit, but I don't think I can share them all here. Not because the What Happens rule was invoked, but because I would laugh too hard to be able to continue to type. Sting should feel good that the intricacies of Tantra were discussed in such detail, though. And we seriously think he could get a killer endorsement deal with K-Y if he'd push that seven-hour angle.

I leave you with a little Sting: