Did I Mention...

That I've now lost seven pounds.

In two weeks.

That rocks.

I've seen two more cranes.

One more possibly today-but I couldn't tell for sure, so I'm not counting it.

My running buddy is on vacation but I got up anyway and ran by myself.

Dear 'ol Aunt Flo arrived today and this was the first time I haven't cried about it in months, years.

Seven pounds. That means 23 more to go.

In Which I Talk About Numbers

E and I ran to and through on of our local parks today. On the other side of the park is a trail that leads back to town, but along the river on a small dirt trail.

(Photo Courtesy of Google Images)

(Photo Courtesy of Google Images)

(Photo Courtesy of Google Images)

Not too shabby on the eye. This last photo is actually the other side of the trail, if you walk under the bridge, to where the hubs and I were married. Quaint.

Before we headed out this morning we hopped on the scale. I'm down 2 1/2 pounds. Not really as drastic as I thought it may have been...but there seemed to be some scale error. The first

time I got on the scale it told me I was down eight pounds (E too). Then we moved the scale to a more level part of the sidewalk, then I was down 4. We finally propped it up on her porch where I was down 2 1/2.

So I suppose if there was a lot of error, next week might be really good.

After our run then hike through the trail we headed over to the island for a moment.

(Photo Courtesy of Google Images)

Also very quaint and beautiful. Off to the right side of the bridge all the ducks and geese were preening on the water's edge, getting ready for their day. On the other side of the bridge,

I found my number 12.

One More

One more makes eleven. I went to see the hubs at an outdoor gig last night. I happened to look up into the sky to see one crane/heron flying overhead.

At this rate, I'll collect all 1,000 in 3-4 years. (o;

That Makes...Ten?

This morning my running buddy (E) and I decided it was time to get on the scale so we can start tracking our progress (you like that optimism?) so we didn't get started until about 6:05. We had just passed my house when I heard something flying above. A goose? A duck?

You guessed it. But it wasn't just one...there were four cranes flying together. Four. All together. I've never ever seen that many.

Then I let (E) in on my little crane secret complete with excuses of, "I know this sounds funny...I'm not sure why I think this...it's just silly."

And you know what she said? When she was pregnant, she found herself 'protected' by hawks. She'd never seen them much before she was pregnant with her first and now hasn't seen one since she gave birth to her twins.

Then she proceeded to tell me there is a crane festival that happens annually not far from here. That would definitely get me closer to 1,000.

So I'm not crazy.

But according to the math I can concretely remember, that's seven cranes. I know I've seen more but that would be a very loose estimate. Maybe I'll bump it up to ten. Ten's a good number.

Now That's Funny

In school I teach my kids about homophones-two words that sound alike but have different meanings and are usually spelled differently. We talk about noticing the spellings and also using the context clues around the word to help decipher the meaning. We also study homonyms-words that are spelled alike and sound alike but have different meanings. These eight and nine year olds quite get it.

I thought most adults did too. I didn't realize I needed a homonym disclaimer on my last post.

I got a comment on that theory post that baffled me at first and then sent me rolling with laughter, imagining the sight. (Although, it's very possibly spam...)

Now picture this, me talking about the symbolism of seeing these:

(Courtesy of Google Images)

Yep these, flying by me on the highway. Swimming in the river near the ducks.

Really?

So to the 'person' who sent me this comment,

This is a very helpful post, i hope this really helps me to complete my project. There are many different varieties of cranes on the market today, both in terms of size and type. Each type and size serves a different function. In essence, a crane is a machine, which lifts materials up and down as well as horizontally. They are most often used in the construction, manufacturing and transport industries.

I would just like to clarify that I meant these:

(Courtesy of Google Images)

I Have a Theory

I have a theory. It's quite strange and based solely on this idea in my mind. You know how you sometimes don't notice things, even though they're right there? And then someone points it out and all of a sudden it's everywhere? Recently we thought about getting a new car. I saw a Kia I thought was really neat and then, all of a sudden, they were everywhere. (side note, no new car, same 'ol little zippy car I love).

When my brother and sister-in-law (B & Y) got married they had a lot of cranes to symbolize making a wish come true. This is according to Wikipedia: "An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Japan, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true. This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family." (She is Japanese)

B & Y had one of those amazing thousand crane things hanging at the reception. Since then, I've become hyper aware of them. So much so that I feel they symbolize good luck, or *hope*, for me.

I'm quite sure, too, that before their wedding, there were not a lot of cranes, or heron, flying around our area. I remember seeing one as a child, standing in a ditch near an intersection, and hearing my parents make a big deal out of it.

So when I started seeing them more frequently, I took it as a sign. A good luck sign for our family. Even more powerful for me was the fact that I didn't start noticing them until we really decided to start our family. This was two years after B & Y's marriage...

So let's fast forward a bit and add in another quick tidbit-I hope I don't confuse. I see these cranes every so often; usually they are flying across an interstate as I drive. They give me hope. For the Fourth of July weekend we went to the hubs' buddy's cabin. While we were pontoon-ing down a river we had two cranes fly right in front of us. They were still a distance away but the closest I had actually come to them.

They are beautiful and graceful creatures. Quite stunning to watch. They gave me butterflies as I was in the midst of the two week wait.

This past week I was working at a local university teaching at a writing camp. One of our activities is to go feed the ducks along the river (sounds strange, but you get some great duck stories!). Just as I was tucking the bread wrapper back in my bag I noticed something that seemed out of place. There in front of me, about 20 feet was a crane. Never before had I seen one this closely.

I quickly and carefully grabbed my camera and slowly walked nearer to snap a shot. I looked down to turn the camera on, and in that instant, it flew further away.
The only thing I could think was it was telling me we were close, so close, but not yet.
When I got home that night, I learned that we were not pregnant. I did a little begging and pleading but in the end, I knew.

But I really think there's something to this whole crane theory for me. It's probably just a bunch of malarky to anyone else. But I may be secretly starting my own collection. If you see one around, think of me-I bet it counts too.
One down, nine hundred ninety nine to go.