Wednesday, January 30, 2008
love is a rock
love is an island.a simon and garfunkel song. do you know it? i used to play it over and over again on my dad's jukebox when i was about ten years old. and a rock feels no pain. and an island never dies. i think it is a funny song to love so much.
we live in a farmhouse style home. this picture is a glimpse of the back. see, that is why i have always thought we needed a farmhouse kitchen. i never thought the kitchen was farmhouse enough. i like when a home's interior and exterior make sense together. so as we plan some changes in the kitchen, i am trying to make as many farmhouse additions as i can. right now we are picking out a center island. and it isn't easy. if you know of a great island, please share it with me. or if you have an island, what do you like/not like about it? i would really appreciate your help!
merci, merci!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
momma said
my parents visited in december. while they were here my mother asked me if i had one of those big exercise balls. i told her that i did not, and that i wasn't going to get one despite them being a big trend. i imagined i would get it and it would just sit in a corner and take up space. she said people say it is good for your back. she sold me. i got one. i thought, maybe i would sit on it while i worked on the computer. maybe i would even do some crunches. maybe this ball would be the very trick to getting me into the best shape of my life. so far, i have used it once. i sat on it while i ate this:
and i really enjoyed it! thanks, mom. the ball is great.
and here is that tag i was talking about...
4 jobs i have had
1. mcdonalds. i was 16. i lived at the beach that summer and i walked to work. i made $5.50 an hour plus time and a half when i stayed through the night to make the morning biscuits. i was amazed at how clean it was. i had heard too many fast food horror stories. my best friend and i were in charge of the drive-thru. we used to talk to each other through our head sets. it is so funny to me now, but i really loved it!
2. barbizon. go ahead, you can laugh, i can handle it. it was my first job ever. i was 13. i taught four year olds how to stand for pictures and how to speak to people. i think i made $3.35 an hour and worked two hours a week. how silly is that?
3. ymca camp counselor. i was 17 and it was a day camp for underprivileged children in annapolis. i was given a lot of responsibility, so i really grew up with this job and learned a lot. there were so many sad stories. i still remember the children's names and faces.
4. yacht club waitress. did i learn a lot with this one too. a lot about service, people and food, but even more about myself. i realized i did a better job with one 20top than with five 2tops. this has proven to be a great analogy for me in life and it has helped me make my choices. it all has to fit under one umbrella for me. i might not be making any sense here... so how about this... i also learned that you should never take a person's wine glass away without asking them first, even if it looks empty. that really makes some people mad.
4 movies i would watch over and over again2. barbizon. go ahead, you can laugh, i can handle it. it was my first job ever. i was 13. i taught four year olds how to stand for pictures and how to speak to people. i think i made $3.35 an hour and worked two hours a week. how silly is that?
3. ymca camp counselor. i was 17 and it was a day camp for underprivileged children in annapolis. i was given a lot of responsibility, so i really grew up with this job and learned a lot. there were so many sad stories. i still remember the children's names and faces.
4. yacht club waitress. did i learn a lot with this one too. a lot about service, people and food, but even more about myself. i realized i did a better job with one 20top than with five 2tops. this has proven to be a great analogy for me in life and it has helped me make my choices. it all has to fit under one umbrella for me. i might not be making any sense here... so how about this... i also learned that you should never take a person's wine glass away without asking them first, even if it looks empty. that really makes some people mad.
pollyanna
you've got mail
miracle on 34th street
pretty woman
4 places i have lived
cheverly, md
annapolis, mdcheverly, md
blacksburg, va
here
4 people i email or text or call almost daily
my grandmamy mom
pam
jen
4 favorite things to eat
cookies
bagels
brownies
burritos
4 places i would rather be
brownies
burritos
4 places i would rather be
right here is perfect.
i love being home with my family
4 things I look forward to this year
designing my new kitchen and having more space herei love being home with my family
4 things I look forward to this year
(yes, a new farmhouse sink, meg!)
going to pennsylvania in the summer
watching my son begin kindergarten - he is soo excited.
getting another dog
watching my son begin kindergarten - he is soo excited.
getting another dog
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
offspring
my daughter took this picture. she loved this teeny tiny baby grape. she is feeling better. i think she will be back at school tomorrow. thank you all for your kind, supportive comments. i know so many of you understand and i am so lucky to work at a place that does too.
i made something. and it isn't a sham. i will have to take a picture. i keep staring at it in disbelief. sewing is an amazing thing. i really made it all by myself. wow.
i saw a tag on meg's blog. i think i might do it. so maybe i'll be back.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
oh, my heart
i was running late to work today because my daughter is sick again and staying home from school. as i left, she gave me a hug with tears in her pitiful eyes. i called home to check on her from the road to hear she was still crying for me.
the dilemma. i made a commitment to my school when i took this job and they rely on me. i don't want to let them down.
but months ago, while shopping at costco, i told my daughter that i would be working this year. always ten steps ahead of the game, she said, "mom, what if i get sick?" i said, "i only work two days a week." she said, "well, what if i get sick on one of those days?" i stopped pushing my cart. i knelt down and looked her square in the eye and i said, "you will always come first."
so, today, i turned my car around. i didn't want to do it. but she needed me and i promised her. i talked to my principal and i apologized. ugh. you can't win.
i know there are working mothers everywhere with hearts being tugged in all different directions. i just want to say, "hey, i felt your pain today."
bless you.
Friday, January 18, 2008
under construction
i love to decorate and redecorate. you see, up there, where i tell about myself/my blog, it says that. and that is what i intended to talk about most of the time on this blog since it is my passion. but maybe you have noticed a decline in that area. ?? well, maybe you haven't. but i have. and the truth is, there really has been a decline in that area around here. because since august we have been preparing to do some major changes around here. like scaffolding and plastic walls and moving out for a week kind of changes. so i guess i have had to put a lot of my tinkering on hold. why paint a wall when you know it could very well be torn down? why make a curtain when you aren't sure the lighting will be the same in the room after the remodeling? so i have been patient. this kind of stuff takes a lot longer than i thought. and i continue to be patient, because we are still three weeks away from demolition day. i am very excited and i will try to let you in on some of our plans as soon as we get more sure about them (the fun ones, we are pretty sure about the boring ones). so...i look forward to filling you in on our progress. i have a feeling it will get pretty interesting. :)
Sunday, January 13, 2008
cool club benefits
remember the cool club drawing i had? katherine wrote to tell me she received her gift. here is what she got:
how cool is the cool club?
:)
how cool is the cool club?
:)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
gift grace
have you ever read that you get a year to give a couple their wedding gift? if you go to a birthday party do you get a nice extension like that too? i think it is kind of a weird rule, but i need it. i am always late with such things. and i believe the grace period was invented for people like me. i made the card above for my friend. she celebrated her 40th in september. i just took this picture a few minutes ago. yup, the card is here. i'm thinking the birthday party rule might be less than the wedding rule, say, by maybe six months? so by my calculations, i have one month and 24 days to get it into her hands. hmmm, if i can get it to her in a week or so, well then that would be kind of like its early! :)
(oh, and i know you can't tell from the picture, but the little slips of paper in the pocket tell her 40 reasons why i love her.)
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
friends
kennedy has a new buddy. and he has a big head.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
paper girls
it is a new year! and we are finally out of our jammies and ready to crack into 2008! but i am not one to make a big resolution list. nope. i have some ideas in my head, but nothing too specific. i just want to be a better person and be happy. i also want to surround myself with more art. not like the expensive kind. just the kind i like. which is usually very affordable, thank goodness. so to begin...over the long holiday, my daughter and i hung our favorite christmas ornaments in the hall. we just could not put them away. so she applied the tape and i stuck them up. see? art. because it makes us happy. :)
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
not yet!
i see you. yes, you. all you bloggers. i see you coming back into the blog world. well, i'm just not ready yet. i have enjoyed my slow holiday life way too much. i'm just not ready to start the fast-paced real world stuff again. just give me a few more days. and a few more cookies...
