It is so quiet here today.
Ten days of girls--pizza, zoo, sleepovers, hot tubbing, lots of extra pink and cousins and smiles and giggles and hugs and kisses--
Jr returned from France last weekend amidst a flurry of bridal showers and pancakes and bacon breakfasts, happy to have gone yet quite happy to be back on familiar soil.
And the wedding of the century was yesterday--beautiful bride, handsome groom, lovely maidens, adorable flower girls, well put together groomsmen, smiling grammas and grampa, proud parents, and of course, stylish mother-of-the-groom in dress C, which was my choice as well as that of my readers and friends, and a fine choice at that--
Today it's all done and everybody who doesn't live here has gone home or on honeymoon and it's Jack, Jr, me, and the pets. And the wind chimes out back.
That sound you hear--listen--yes it's the chimes, but also me sighing faintly, a mix of relief, satisfaction, and just a wee touch of melancholy.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
but it turned out surprisingly well
I'm cut.
Not the words you want to hear when your kid comes in from the workshop where he's been using the table saw to make nightstands to match the beautiful mission-style bed he made for his soon-to-be bride...
Better to hear: For a run in with a table saw, you're pretty lucky (as spoken by the emergency room doc who just stitched him up).
Lucky as in didn't cut through any ligaments, nerves or bones. Lucky as in still has all of his fingers. Lucky as in it was his right ring finger and not the one he's supposed to start wearing a ring on next Wednesday. Lucky as in it merely nicked him--a mere flesh wound?--not really such a thing in my mind when we're talking table saw encounters.
Just three hours later, he was the proud owner of four stitches, most of the finger intact but definitely sporting a new fingerprint.
Honestly though, it was the worst 'this definitely needs stitches' moment I've seen yet. Hopefully the last. I thought we were past the visits to the ER for stitches...
Not the words you want to hear when your kid comes in from the workshop where he's been using the table saw to make nightstands to match the beautiful mission-style bed he made for his soon-to-be bride...
Better to hear: For a run in with a table saw, you're pretty lucky (as spoken by the emergency room doc who just stitched him up).
Lucky as in didn't cut through any ligaments, nerves or bones. Lucky as in still has all of his fingers. Lucky as in it was his right ring finger and not the one he's supposed to start wearing a ring on next Wednesday. Lucky as in it merely nicked him--a mere flesh wound?--not really such a thing in my mind when we're talking table saw encounters.
Just three hours later, he was the proud owner of four stitches, most of the finger intact but definitely sporting a new fingerprint.
Honestly though, it was the worst 'this definitely needs stitches' moment I've seen yet. Hopefully the last. I thought we were past the visits to the ER for stitches...
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
a baby situation
Sunday night, Jessie's girls took a bath at my house. All three together, just shortly after they arrived, but before Cailin was really sure she was happy about being here with people besides her mom, dad, and sisters.
I stayed with the girls while Jessie cleaned out their van and organized their belongings in the guest bedroom/toy room.
Cailin was not thrilled about the missing mommy until I helped her remember how fun it is to splash a little bit in the tub, which of course, led to more and more splashing.
Not a problem. I pulled the shower curtain closed a little and said to the girls, "Oh dear, it looks like we have a baby situation here." We giggled and they splashed.
Last night, Janey asked during dinner if she could take a bath after dinner. I said it was fine with me, but we might have another baby incident.
And that's when Janey said, "Gramma, we had a baby situation not a baby incident."
I stayed with the girls while Jessie cleaned out their van and organized their belongings in the guest bedroom/toy room.
Cailin was not thrilled about the missing mommy until I helped her remember how fun it is to splash a little bit in the tub, which of course, led to more and more splashing.
Not a problem. I pulled the shower curtain closed a little and said to the girls, "Oh dear, it looks like we have a baby situation here." We giggled and they splashed.
Last night, Janey asked during dinner if she could take a bath after dinner. I said it was fine with me, but we might have another baby incident.
And that's when Janey said, "Gramma, we had a baby situation not a baby incident."
Sunday, June 19, 2011
what a day
1. Jack's birthday
2. Father's day
3. Flooded basement here in the gardens
4. Dinner with Stu's bunch
5. Sleepovers for the next ten days with the California kids here for the upcoming nuptials.
2. Father's day
3. Flooded basement here in the gardens
4. Dinner with Stu's bunch
5. Sleepovers for the next ten days with the California kids here for the upcoming nuptials.
Monday, June 13, 2011
choices choices
I've thought of a couple of different things to post about today--should it be the stunning deal I scored at Kohl's on Saturday or the interesting conversations with my mom this past weekend?
Okay. I've decided.
You will not believe the deal I scored at Kohl's.
A list. That will help.
1. I had two Kohl's cash dealios--$30 worth
2. I had a 30% off coupon at Kohl's
3. I had a store credit for $67 (from the dress I returned because I didn't know which size would fit best so I ordered two sizes, and returned, sadly, the smaller of the two.)
4. I found six pairs of underpants, two tops, a nightgown, and a pair of sandals that will be excellent for the upcoming wedding parties.
5. I paid, out of pocket, $3.96.
6. I was given, for my excellent shopping skillz, another $10 in Kohl's cash.
See, it's kind of like they paid me $6.04 for shopping there, right?
Perhaps tomorrow, the story of what I'm sure is unique conversation.
Okay. I've decided.
You will not believe the deal I scored at Kohl's.
A list. That will help.
1. I had two Kohl's cash dealios--$30 worth
2. I had a 30% off coupon at Kohl's
3. I had a store credit for $67 (from the dress I returned because I didn't know which size would fit best so I ordered two sizes, and returned, sadly, the smaller of the two.)
4. I found six pairs of underpants, two tops, a nightgown, and a pair of sandals that will be excellent for the upcoming wedding parties.
5. I paid, out of pocket, $3.96.
6. I was given, for my excellent shopping skillz, another $10 in Kohl's cash.
See, it's kind of like they paid me $6.04 for shopping there, right?
Perhaps tomorrow, the story of what I'm sure is unique conversation.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
horn power
For the first few days after the guy on the motorcycle ran into me, I had a hard--HARD--time driving, which made for a complicated life since I spend approximately 50% of my day in my car. Okay, that may be an exaggeration. Probably only 20%. But still, it was difficult.
Everywhere I went, it seemed other drivers were drifting into my lane. Or perhaps my sensory abilities were on high alert--HIGH ALERT--or perhaps a combination of those things. But still. Driving was making me crazy. Or I was making myself crazy whilst driving.
Anyway.
I knew I needed to get over this seemingly unreasonable fear since it was causing me to swerve to avoid the drifters, which is perhaps the reason why I ended up facing the wrong way after getting hit by the motorcycle. The swerving that is. Well, the swerving and the motorcycle slamming the side of my car.
Anyway.
During that first day or two post-gomhme (guy on motorcycle hitting me), while swerving to miss all of the drifters, I realized that I NEVER use my horn. I thought about that and got this idea that maybe if I used my horn, I could have warned the gomhme so he could have stayed in his lane and not hit my car. If I thought about it too much I could convince myself that honking might have startled him into swerving under my car, but I tried really hard to not go there.
I puzzled all of this over, and then one day, developed a new way to hold onto my steering wheel so my hands are close to my lap with both thumbs on the horn, just in case I need to warn someone off, right? I've been driving with my hands in that position for days now. One day I even practiced honking the horn while driving out in the middle of nowhere on the way up north. BEEP! BEEPBEEP!!!! BEEP!
Surprisingly, or maybe not so much, I've felt much safer and more prepared.
And then guess what? Today while driving from school to work, another driver started drifting into my lane, and before I even realized what I was doing, I honked!
Just a little BEEP!
AND THE OTHER DRIVER WENT CALMLY BACK INTO HIS LANE!!!
I broke out into a little bit of a sweat and got a bit trembly. But it was all automatic and after I settled down, I FELT SO POWERFUL!
Driving and horn and me are tight now.
Everywhere I went, it seemed other drivers were drifting into my lane. Or perhaps my sensory abilities were on high alert--HIGH ALERT--or perhaps a combination of those things. But still. Driving was making me crazy. Or I was making myself crazy whilst driving.
Anyway.
I knew I needed to get over this seemingly unreasonable fear since it was causing me to swerve to avoid the drifters, which is perhaps the reason why I ended up facing the wrong way after getting hit by the motorcycle. The swerving that is. Well, the swerving and the motorcycle slamming the side of my car.
Anyway.
During that first day or two post-gomhme (guy on motorcycle hitting me), while swerving to miss all of the drifters, I realized that I NEVER use my horn. I thought about that and got this idea that maybe if I used my horn, I could have warned the gomhme so he could have stayed in his lane and not hit my car. If I thought about it too much I could convince myself that honking might have startled him into swerving under my car, but I tried really hard to not go there.
I puzzled all of this over, and then one day, developed a new way to hold onto my steering wheel so my hands are close to my lap with both thumbs on the horn, just in case I need to warn someone off, right? I've been driving with my hands in that position for days now. One day I even practiced honking the horn while driving out in the middle of nowhere on the way up north. BEEP! BEEPBEEP!!!! BEEP!
Surprisingly, or maybe not so much, I've felt much safer and more prepared.
And then guess what? Today while driving from school to work, another driver started drifting into my lane, and before I even realized what I was doing, I honked!
Just a little BEEP!
AND THE OTHER DRIVER WENT CALMLY BACK INTO HIS LANE!!!
I broke out into a little bit of a sweat and got a bit trembly. But it was all automatic and after I settled down, I FELT SO POWERFUL!
Driving and horn and me are tight now.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
true friends
Twenty-four hours ago, I was all set for a two-night trip to Malibu. My friend, Colleen, had buddy passes for Sugar and me and the plan was to fly to Long Beach, rent a car, and drive to Colleen's mother-in-law's home on the Pacific Coast highway in Malibu and finally put on that outstanding swimsuit I bought last summer and have not yet donned. Willie (the mother-in-law) lives on a cliff that has a pathway directly down to the beach. In Malibu. Cost: flight ($49), rental car ($7/day), other essentials (sunscreen, food, etc.)--and that was the entire cost of the trip.
Sugar and Colleen showed up last night and off we went to the airport. Where our vacation balloon was quickly burst when we learned that yes, Colleen and I were definitely on the plane, but Sugar was almost certainly not getting on that plane. We were 6 & 7 on the wait list and she was 45.
Through some odd quirk, that takes too long to explain, quite simply, that was the situation.
I have to admit that when Sugar said we should just go without her (pointing out that they had already been to Long Beach a couple of months ago for a couple of days when Colleen tried out to be in a commercial for the airline and had only one buddy pass for that trip) well, I have to admit that I was slightly okay with two of us boarding and the other trying to get onboard this morning. But there was really no guarantee that she'd get on that plane either.
The thing that was most amazing to me was that as soon as Colleen realized we couldn't all three go, she immediately--immediately!--said nope, if we don't all go, nobody goes. I'd probably have reached that conclusion as soon as I got on the plane without Sugar, and the fun of the trip would have been lessened, but Colleen didn't hesitate. All or none.
Malibu would have been fun, but I'm just glad I have friends like them. No doubt about it, they've got my back.
Sugar and Colleen showed up last night and off we went to the airport. Where our vacation balloon was quickly burst when we learned that yes, Colleen and I were definitely on the plane, but Sugar was almost certainly not getting on that plane. We were 6 & 7 on the wait list and she was 45.
Through some odd quirk, that takes too long to explain, quite simply, that was the situation.
I have to admit that when Sugar said we should just go without her (pointing out that they had already been to Long Beach a couple of months ago for a couple of days when Colleen tried out to be in a commercial for the airline and had only one buddy pass for that trip) well, I have to admit that I was slightly okay with two of us boarding and the other trying to get onboard this morning. But there was really no guarantee that she'd get on that plane either.
The thing that was most amazing to me was that as soon as Colleen realized we couldn't all three go, she immediately--immediately!--said nope, if we don't all go, nobody goes. I'd probably have reached that conclusion as soon as I got on the plane without Sugar, and the fun of the trip would have been lessened, but Colleen didn't hesitate. All or none.
Malibu would have been fun, but I'm just glad I have friends like them. No doubt about it, they've got my back.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
change of scenery
We moved my desk downstairs a few days ago so now I can sit at the desk and do my homework while Jack sits in the theater watching TV, and I can roll my chair back to watch when I need a break from said homework.
I really like having my desk in this almost corner of the room with a window directly in front of me.
Course, the window looks out into a window well that opens into the deck above, so it isn't much of a view. Some might compare it to looking out a jail cell, but I prefer to think of it as a cozy retreat.
I glanced up last night and saw this:
Upon further inspection, I realized I was looking at this:
Which is undoubtedly caused by this:
I really like having my desk in this almost corner of the room with a window directly in front of me.
Course, the window looks out into a window well that opens into the deck above, so it isn't much of a view. Some might compare it to looking out a jail cell, but I prefer to think of it as a cozy retreat.
I glanced up last night and saw this:
Upon further inspection, I realized I was looking at this:
Which is undoubtedly caused by this:
Thursday, June 2, 2011
i just can't explain this
I feel quite certain that you've all been wondering about my cats. They are all fine.
This one is adorable but she has a weird quirk--well, they all do. But this one has a love for something I try to keep on my dresser...
I really have no idea why she insists on dragging it off the dresser, through the house, and down the stairs.
True it's Waterford. But still...
This one is adorable but she has a weird quirk--well, they all do. But this one has a love for something I try to keep on my dresser...
I really have no idea why she insists on dragging it off the dresser, through the house, and down the stairs.
True it's Waterford. But still...
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