McBlogorkle

Come Away With Me.....

2010-03-11T15:59:00.008-07:00

F - Fabulous
I - Interesting
V & E - Very Entertaining

It's so crazy to think that 5 years ago today Rob & I got married. YAY!
I'll quickly set the stage: Mt. Hood, Oregon, Timberline Lodge, March 12th, 2005...

What a fun day, (better yet) week that was... friends & family arriving in town... snowboarding & celebrating, excitement brewing by the hour!
Honestly, I wouldn't change a single thing about it...
OH wait... I would have my brother-in-law that was in charge of videoing the ceremony push the RECORD button... that I'd probably change..

I can't believe how much we've done in 5 years!

lived & worked in Seattle
lived & worked in Mississippi in the aftermath of Katrina
got pregnant with twins (while in MS in the aftermath of Katrina)
moved to Southern California
successfully brought Adam & Grace into the world
loaded up a big-ol' U-Haul and moved cross country with 2: 4mo. olds, 1: Mother in Law, 1: dog, and 3: plants (2 of which are now dead, I'm referring to the plants in case you wondered)
found a job in Buffalo
Dalton decided to come and live with us
cultivated & grown many new and old friendships
purchased 40 acres to build on & many many other blessings along the way...

It's times like these that I feel especially blessed to have Rob to share all of this with.

I hope we can keep our humor about us, and strive to always remember the fond memories even after the ebbs & flow of life flip us upside down and back right again.

It doesn't seem like too long ago, that I swore I'd never find a husband, children or a life for that matter...now here we are!

I can't wait to see what the next 5, and the 5 after that... and the 5 after that have in store for us.

God is great.

peace out,
mem

"I'll have two eggs scrambled and a side of life smothered with expectations - please..."

2010-03-05T06:26:00.005-07:00

You must get 8 hours of sleep each night.
Be sure to eat 5 servings of leafy green vegetables everyday.
You need to be sure you have your highlights refreshed every 4 to 6 weeks.
Your BMI must be in the range of 18-24.
A complete wardrobe purchase will be necessary every 3 months to keep up with the current fashions.
Kids must know how to count to 20, know their ABC's and how to tie their shoes before preschool.
I could go on and on and on... but I trust you get my point.

Where did all these high expectations come from? How in the world is one person supposed to achieve and more importantly maintain all of these things in one lifetime?

These are the random thoughts that ran through my head at 4:43 a.m. when a child-falling-out-of-bed-sound woke me from my dream-filled slumber...

Why do we have such high expectations for ourselves, and for others for that matter?
Who made these rules?

Are you truly a failure if you don't have your dream home by age 36?
If you don't wear a size 4 jean, should that define your ability?
Isn't life too precious and short to let these societal and self-imposed pressures control the way we live?

(It's no wonder we need meds or some other form of coping mechanism.)

I think we all need to practice a little grace... for others as well as ourselves.

Give yourselves a break... a little wiggle room on all of these ridiculous expectations...
Offer a little understanding for others that might not live up to the expectations you have set for them...

Go ahead... let those clean clothes sit in the laundry basket for one more day! Go outside and sit in the sun for a minute; take that time to refocus on what is truly important in this life...

peace out.
mem

Note to readers: I did not have time to properly proof this, as I am taking a morning to spontaneously drive 33 miles to have a Starbucks with my friend! Life is short... the laundry can wait!

blah blah blah; blah blah, blah, blah...

2010-03-02T18:19:00.002-07:00

Seriously... who stole my energy? Is that what a full moon does? It zaps everyone's energy so it can illuminate the sky?

I sit here tonight, in the chaos of dinnertime, typing. I'm sure Rob is wondering what in the world I think I am doing...
Adam is lifting 2, 3lb. dumbbells (make that dropping dumbbells), Dalton is walking with a book on his head (since someone told him he has great posture at school today) and Grace is wrapping a fake present for Rob's fake birthday!

Rob & I are laughing, rolling our eyes and drinking wine... that's really all we can do!

They say these times will pass, and that we will miss them terribly when they do -

Until then... we'll just continue to laugh, roll our eyes and drink wine....

peace out.
mem

Icy tree at sunset

2010-03-01T23:27:00.001-07:00

Icy tree at sunset
Originally uploaded by themccorkles

Nothing to say tonight, just wanted to put up a pic.

rm

Aurora Bore or Alice?

2010-02-26T08:39:00.005-07:00

So my 12 yr. old and I had quite the interesting conversation on the way home from his Dr.'s appt. yesterday; regarding his aura~ yes, you heard me... his aura.

Wikipedia - Aura (paranormal): ...an aura is a field of subtle, luminous radiation supposedly surrounding a person or object...

Anyone who knows Dalton knows he has a very strong aura about him.. some people love it, others.. not so much.

It becomes very apparent when we are attempting to put the kids down at night. He can simply come into their bedroom during the "rituals" of bedtime, and it is automatically CHARGED up!
"I'm not doing anything mom!" (huffing and puffing)
I know Dalton... that's the thing... you don't have to be doing anything... your presence alone is disruptive/chaotic/electronically charged. (note: this was said in the most gentle loving way possible, definitely no sarcasm involved...)

He's starting to learn social cues... it's only taken 12.5 long long years... I guess I can thank Rose for that (Thanks Rose!). He can now see when he's affecting people in a negative way, and he's learning to tone it down... or he can see if people are receptive to him and carry on.
I then explained that if he can hone his skills in this area, the world will be his oyster! It's all about how that 1st impression affects people...

After contemplating this... the question is:
What's the aura surrounding you?
What do people feel when you walk into a room?
Do you think you are exuding one thing, while in reality people are getting a completely different vibe?

peace out.
mem

I got a feeling...

2010-02-22T10:56:00.002-07:00

...that today's gonna be a good day! Yeah yeah... so maybe my life rolls to the tunes of hit songs, but that's just the way it is... deal with it-

Today is Monday, and it's only 11 a.m. and I am showered, the kids are fed, the laundry is spinnin' and I'm getting a lot of loose ends tied up - I LOVE days like this..

Yesterday Rob was gracious enough to wrangle the kids all day so I could hit the slopes... YAY! We finally had good snow and I've come across a chic boarder that can hang with me (Rob is way better and Dalton is not quite up to my speed yet..so)... very exciting for the only chic knuckle-dragger amongst many skiers~

Food for thought -

Don't forget to feed your relationships... they are living breathing entities that need constant care and attention to continue to blossom & grow...

Winter?

2010-02-20T15:14:00.002-07:00

What happened to winter?

This has been one of the lamest winters I can remember.

No big blizzards...

Hardly any snow up in the mountains...

Ugh. I guess if winter is not going to come I would just as soon have spring and summer make it's way here.

Although, because of this mild weather I was able to get up into Crazy Woman Canyon today. What a treat! I recommend it.

Later,

Political Correctness... when did this crap start?

2010-02-19T22:20:00.002-07:00

After a few happy hour drinks and discussions at the Occidental tonight, I can't help but question... when did society decide that political correctness is the way to better our existence?

I'm really having a problem with this... you're not supposed to talk about money.... you can't talk about religion... heaven forbid you talk about politics... what in the world can you talk about?

What happened to consenting adults having an educated intelligent conversation about any or all of these topics? Can't we debate without having our feelings hurt?
Can't we agree to disagree while attempting to make each other contemplate a different view?

I think it's all horse caca.

If you have a problem with someone or you feel maybe they have made a snap judgment about something, why not enlighten that person? With more information and/or facts they might be able to at least understand an opposing view of the situation.

Instead we tippy-freaking-toe around crap because heaven forbid - bring attention to the fact that they might be missing some key information... we wouldn't want to hurt their delicate little egos.

Sweeping it under the rug (while continuing to hold a grudge) is just perpetuating the problem-

Buck up and be HONEST people... get a THICKER skin - geez....

Okay... Rob just pushed me off my soap box, so I best be moving on...

peace out-

mem

"The Truth Will Set You Free... " - Fred Fine (circa 2003)

The Yellow Truck

2010-02-19T01:42:00.001-07:00

I am a sucker for old trucks... whenever I see a broken down old truck left to rot somewhere; I feel compelled to take 5 million photos of it.

Approximately a lifetime ago, some buddies and I took an impromptu road trip from Vancouver, WA to McDermitt, NV. While aimlessly driving around the desert we happened upon an abandoned old truck... the yellow truck. We all hung out around the truck for at least an hour, taking photos, hypothesizing about the yellow truck's final days, wondering if the new owner, a giant spider, ever wondered about the yellow truck's origins...

good times...

I really have no point to this post, other than to reminisce about the yellow truck.

and to put up some shots of an old truck Mary and I saw on our trip to Chico.

RIP old truck.

Fleas, Trees & Automibles...

2010-02-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

Oh what a day... what a week... what a day...

Took Carl for his bath this a.m.... only to find out he is being eaten out of house and home by fleas! ARGH... WHAT? So off to Walmart we go- home to sprinkle crap on the carpet... spray crap on the furniture (no he is NOT allowed on the furniture, but he does brush up against it) and smear crap down his freshly bathed back.. Poor guy.
I feel bad that we didn't notice!
We are hoping that because we Oreck 19 times a day, that the little rascals are all stuck up in the vacuum bag...
Only time will tell...

On to the Trees! Went to self-hypnosis class tonight - wow... what a trip! I was in a really deep deep state when the teach started speaking again... and all of the sudden, it's like I was flying up through a gazillion aspen trees in winter! So crazy... other than that... I was lost in my thoughts all night and couldn't really remember much- need to practice this week. Lot's of crap to unload out of the psyche.

Automobiles... well, I don't really have anything about automobiles, but I needed to have something following fleas and trees... and thought it would be fitting. Oh wait... I do need to clean out my automobile...maybe tomorrow? Yeah...tomorrow...

peace out-
mem

Get out of my butt...

2010-02-17T21:56:00.001-07:00

The colonoscopy went pretty well... well, in that there is no cancer and no polyps. YAY! I was stressing a bit. So now I have some peace of mind...

However, when they sedate you for this romantic little get away you don't remember anything. So, at some point during the procedure I started to become a bit unruly and told the highly trained medical staff to "get out of my butt". At which time they sedated me further...

Now this info is all second hand from Mary. The nurse didn't really go into detail about what I said, but knowing me and my free flowing tongue when inebriated... I would venture to guess that my request was not quite so polite and most likely littered with expletives.

Like I said; I have no recollection of this at all. In fact I remember watching the nurse put the sedative in my IV and then stumbling into the house several hours later...

Thankfully my lovely wife had the where with all to take a quick snapshot of me just after my date.

Lucky for you I cropped the photo... I may not be shy, but come on this is a family website!!

I don't think I need to say anything further... I'll just let you digest the visual feast I have laid before you.

Enjoy

roberto

Fat Wednesday...

2010-02-17T21:21:00.004-07:00

I decided to go ahead and call today Fat Wednesday... I know I know...it's actually Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, but since I forgot about Fat Tuesday I'm going with Fat Wednesday. (it also perfectly describes how I'm feeling after feasting on Aunty L's Chicken-Pot-Pie delightfully/sinful! (which is good to eat on Ash/Fat Tues/Wed. as that is when we can confess our sins and then burn them)

I'm sitting here, on the old lap top that needs to be plugged in at all times (battery exploded) as my Robbie sits 5.6 inches away from me, using the new lap top that does not need to be plugged in.

Why are we both still up on these silly computers? Heaven only knows..

For me, I think we are both coming down off the "butt carnival" scare and all that it entailed- not knowing something is far worse than just knowing from the get go.
But one thing is for certain... we will both go to bed tonight, once again, thanking God for this near miss.. wait... is that the right term? Oh well.. doesn't matter.

For those of you dealing with a family or personal medical or non-medical tragedy right now, please know that you are being thought of... even if I don't know who you are.

Sleep well...
Peace out-

mem

p.s. so happy I have 51 years of my 56 left with my yin...

WHOA THERE BUDDY!!!

2010-02-08T17:04:00.003-07:00

Flashback to January 2008 – “This year I resolve to work out and eat right and be healthy and, and, and…” not so much.

Flashback to January 2009 - “This year I resolve to work out and eat right and be healthy and, and, and…” again, not so much.

Flashback to January 2010 – “This year I…”, you get the point.

Every year the same old thing, I tell myself I will get healthier, yet throughout the year I continue to inch ever closer to being in the Biggest Loser candidate pool. I am like Homer Simpson when he wants to work from home, but can’t do so until he reaches 300 lbs, then he figures out he can get that dipping bird thing to does his job for him and… crap, The Simpson’s always get me off on a tangent.

Anywho, This year has been no different, until now.

About 6 months ago or so, give or take a fiscal quarter, I started to experience some… uhhhh, symptoms… during my special alone time in the bathroom (don’t go there!). This has nothing to do with ED… No this has to do with the ‘ol #2. Well it started out with #2 now , but the symptoms have drastically increased in quality and quantity; plus I am freaking exhausted… all the time!

So I finally made an appointment to go see the good doctor… a big step indeed for me.

After documenting my rather unpleasant and slightly embarrassing symptoms and my protracted family history of cancer his face became a little more serious. He tells me he is “concerned” and wants to do a colonoscopy.
So at this point my brain goes into ludicrous speed… what if… what about my kids, my wife, my dog…

Then the good doc tells me to drop my drawers and puts a rubber glove on… my head is still kind of spinning at this point as he tries to tell me about some old guy who came in for a routine exam and it was when the doc was fresh out of med school and he found testicular cancer and saved this guys life and he was embarrassed to do the testicular exam, blah, blah, blah…

No big deal, I have had plenty of physicals, and having the doc manipulate my junk is the least of my worries at this point…

But then…

The good doc asks me to turn around as he is slathering his now seemingly gigantic digit with what is surely not Karo syrup…

Then BAM!

I may have been a wee bit tense and was bent over looking at my white Costco socks peaking up through my pants, but I am pretty certain he got a running start at me. Well, this certainly brought me back to the present, albeit unpleasantly. After some painfully awkward small talk, he is done with me…

as I am… gathering myself, he is telling me about how we need to schedule this and that and drink this, and the toilet, and whatnot…

So as I gingerly sat down in the truck it hits me again… and I freak out.
“WTF is that?!” is my initial response. Then my family enters my mind and I start crying like a little school girl who just had her Dolly’s head torn off by her sadistic older brother.

I hate not knowing, and the initial what if scared the crap out of me… no pun intended. Now that I have had about a week or so to process this information I am quite at ease. I am pretty sure there are logical non cancerous reasons for each of my symptoms – poor diet, not enough exercise, copious amounts of stress, not enough sleep… the list goes on. Not to mention that nearly all of my family history of cancer is environmental in nature.

So, this year I am giving myself the Valentines gift of a colonoscopy… maybe not the most romantic Valentines in history, but(t) man what a party!

I am hoping that I will quit hitting the snooze button on my health alarm clock and get my fat ass out of bed and take action. I’m pretty sure my kids and wife and even my dog would agree…

rm

coffee condom

2010-01-28T08:33:00.016-07:00

Good morning friends... as I ponder why I have yet to post on this blog that I've been so graciously invited, I've come to a conclusion. I feel blogging can only be accompanied by a good cup of joe...

So what's the problem Mary? Just make yourself a hot cup of french press and hop to it..
NOT so fast people..
open coffee containers + brand spanking new Mac + shared surface = potential for huge disaster.

For whatever reason, I am unable to successfully drink a cup of coffee near the Mac without splashing, spilling, or dribbling on the machine.

Therefore, I've created the Coffee Condom. I know what you are thinking.... that a coffee condom keeps you from burning your hand, but I beg to differ.
Condom's are used specifically to keep liquids from permeating a specific membrane. Hence a cardboard Koozie (often times called a coffee condom) will do very little to keep your coffee from permeating your computer, it simply keeps your hand from burning. (p.s. I have NO earthly idea why the font is changing...but I'm too annoyed to try and figure it out any longer... peace out.)

A new day.

2010-01-21T20:19:00.001-07:00

Here is how my day started off...

A few days ago I decided to take the plunge and invest in a new camera... well a used camera, but new to me. I scored a sweet deal off of ebay and absolutely love it... LOVE IT!!!

So I made a pseudo new years resolution to take my camera with me everywhere, so I never miss all those shots that I have been missing and then bitching about missing.

On my way out the door the sun started painting the sky as it does in Wyoming. I pulled over, waited patiently and just watched the scene unfold; a wonderful reminder of why we moved here. I snapped a few shots, packed the camera back up and went off to work. What a great start to the day!

Enjoy the scene.

rm

New and Improved, Longer Lasting, Better Tasting and Less Filling

2010-01-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

Holy cow 2 posts in one week!! This must be some kind of a record.

So I have invited my lovely wife Mary aboard the USS McBlogorkle to be my first mate. We will be sharing the blog workload, hopefully providing you with a Fair and Balanced view of the world... kinda like Fox news...

except Fair...

...and Balanced...

...and pretty... well 50% of us anyhow.

For those of you that don't know Mary, I think you will enjoy her unique view on the world. We should have her up and running in a day or two... or 6, so stay tuned.

Inspiration?

2010-01-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

Ok... I am feeling inspired.

I'm getting tired of Facebook and Tweeting sounds like it should be dirty... being so pure of heart I will forgo the Twitter.

I am going to seriously get back at this. No seriously.

So let me get home and gather some thoughts and photos and whatnot and I promise to get McBlogorkle updated. No seriously...

Stay tuned.

Fall?

2009-10-06T10:47:00.003-06:00

Ahhhh Fall... wait a minute... where did my beutiful fall colors go? I don't know why we are always so shocked when the first week of October rolls around and it starts snowing. I was looking through the past couple years of this blog and for the past 2 years I spit out some drivel about the first snow of the year blah blah blah...

Next year when the snow comes for the first time I will write about my socks... stay tuned.

Grandma lives in the toilet

2008-12-21T19:59:00.001-07:00

We had a banner day at the McCorkle household...

Mary and I were lying in bed discussing the finer points of parenthood this morning, while the little kids were running in and out of our room playing... then silence...

...then a flush...

...a long flush...

...then an "uh-oh" accompanied by the trickling sounds of water. I was pretty sure I knew what that was.

I jumped up and quickly walked to the bathroom where I saw Adam & Grace staring at the oval waterfall splashing down around their feet. Then a synchronized glance up to my disapproving face followed by another innocent "uh-oh".

Luckily the water creeping toward my feet was sans #2... in fact there was no indication that anything but water was now soaking my socks.

I gave them both a quick scolding that caused Grace to cry and Adam to give me a blank stare and another "uh-oh".

A few plunges and the remaining water went down.

While cleaning up Mary and I hypothesized about what was now living in the septic tank...

a fruitbar - too small
lots of toilet paper - no, there would have been residual tp

hmmm...

Fast forward to this evening, while Mary and I were preoccupied with household duties; Adam & Grace again found themselves with their new porcelain toy. This time however, Mary happened to be in the bathroom.

All of a sudden bloop went "Papa Ron" into the toilet.

Note: Adam & Grace have a bus and toy plane, respectively, that have little people that fit inside them. They have named all of the little people after family members...

So little toy Papa Ron is now going all Michael Phelps in the toilet... going for the yellow, er gold.

*DING* goes the light bulb

After the second potty lesson of what will and will not and should and should not go into and down the toilet, Mary and I began to take a mental inventory of all the little plastic family members and their possible locations.

Papa Ron - check
Nanny - check
Daddy - check
Grandma... Grandma... Grandma... hmmmmmm

So it is my deepest sympathy that I have to report that Grandma now lives in the septic tank. Unfortunately we have no concrete proof of her missing status. But, as of this writing her where-abouts are unknown and she is presumed... well swimming with the brown trout... (sorry)

Hopefully the two scoldings taught them a valuable lesson... don't get caught flushing little plastic family members down the toilet.

First snow of the year

2008-10-10T16:39:00.001-06:00

Brrrrr the first snowstorm of the year is here...

CHEEEEEZZZZEEEEE!!!!

2008-08-29T20:52:00.000-06:00

Aren't they so sweet. Actually she was strangling him...

Raiders 25 - Vikings 7

2008-08-27T13:17:00.001-06:00

Football season is upon us once again. The boys had their first game last night and breezed through without a hitch. Little Guy football has a mercy rule - if a team is up by 17 or more they must remain on defense until the other team scores and reduces the gap to less than 17 pts.

Needless to say we were on defense most of the game.

Next week we play the Jaguars.

Playing with Grandpa

2008-04-20T09:26:00.001-06:00

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My knucklehead

2008-04-15T18:07:00.000-06:00

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Lil sickies

2008-04-11T13:43:00.001-06:00

Well both kids all 3 sick now, although Dalton managed to muster up the energy to make the trip to Elitch Gardens with his classmates. Meanwhile, Mary is stuck at home with two 25 lb leaches stuck to her. Back to work I go...

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