The week is sailing by smoothly. We haven't missed any appointments and nobody's been late for school. I'm a little tired, a little slow-in-the-brain, but that's okay. Things are good.
I love teaching piano. I can't wait for my next photography class (tomorrow) and I finished all my homework from last week's class. The kids are having fun in school.
I wore my cute bluebird dress today with super-tall coral pumps and a baby-blue cardigan. My honey has told me I'm cute no less than four times this evening.
You know, good stuff. Good stuff is happening around here.
I have the most adorable project I'm sewing up in the moments I can grab. It has owls on it. Owls and orange ric-rac, people! It makes me happy.
Oh - and? Figs were buy-one-get-one-free at the grocery store. I really love figs, but they're a little pricey for my everyday budget. But today - today, I had figs for dessert.
Sigh.
Having Lots of Fun,
Me
Daily Bliss: Good conversation in my living room, with good friends, over coffee and cookies
Wake-up Playlist: That Chopin Valse again
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Full Steam Ahead
Drew started 7th grade today. He confidently got ready for school and gathered all his stuff. He’s very self-sufficient at this point. It hardly felt like a big deal. He even wore a pair of his old jeans instead of one of the brand new pairs of shorts I bought him (but he did wear his brand new, shiny sneakers).
One of the things I love about his school is that the same team of teachers takes a group of kids through sixth, seventh and eighth grade. Going back to the same teachers and classrooms this year really brought home the beauty of this set-up to me. Seventh grade is a tough year. I haven’t met anyone yet who has said otherwise. But something about having already been where he is going this year, knowing what to expect from his teachers and knowing exactly where the band room is and how the lunch room works seems to take a small bit of the sting out of seventh grade. I hope that holds true for the rest of the year as well.
I did take a First Day of School photo. It is obvious that I should not take photos before I have had my coffee. What the heck? Now that I’m going taking a photography class, I seem to have lost my photo mojo. I will try again tomorrow, I promise.
We had a little bit of a rush to get out the door on time, but nothing too bad. He has a great schedule – all the electives he wanted and his academics are advanced classes, which is better than what happened last year (he got stuck in remedial classes because they didn't have his test scores yet - on his first day at a new school where he didn't know anybody....it was bad)! And, aside from a 40-minute stint in car line (I don’t know what was going on! It’s a good thing I didn’t have to get Emma until much later, due to an after-school club!), things went smoothly.
But I am a little tired. It’s tough re-adjusting my body to an early-rise schedule. I’m cutting a few corners here and there, some of which I maybe shouldn’t cut.
It came down to time for making dinner this evening and I realized that, due to an unforeseen quesadilla event yesterday, we did not have enough tortillas left for what I’d planned. And, let’s just say, I didn’t have a lot of other options for a quick-fix meal. Crap. That meant I had to go to the grocery store before I could make dinner. So, I set the kids to their afternoon tasks, shed my cardigan in light of the horrifically hot afternoon, thinking that my strappy sundress would be okay on its own, decided against touching up my melted makeup, and pulled out of the driveway. Only after I got to the store did I realize that the corner I’d cut today was shaving the pits.
Ew.
I tried my best to bend delicately at the knees and stretch up high on my tippy toes to reach my items at the store so nobody would know my predicament (isn't it weird how, once we are going to the store, the list of necessary items magically grows?). I smiled awkwardly at people and sincerely hoped I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew. And for once, I didn’t.
By the time I’d reached the checkout, I was devoid of all self-confidence and decided that I needed a candy bar. You know, Mr. Nestle Crunch and I haven’t hung out for a while, and sometimes, crunchy chocolate is just the kind of friend a girl needs. Mr. Crunch didn’t care about my grooming habits and glamour-less visage. He was such a sweetie and I enjoyed his company.
You may have seen a girl driving an old, green Cadillac, licking crunchy chocolate crumbs out of a candy wrapper.
That wasn’t me.
You may also have seen a girl realize that a little bit of chocolate had jumped ship and landed on her dress, melting instantly. She might have licked the chocolate off her dress.
That also wasn’t me.
No, no. I’m sure that by the time you saw that girl, I was already at home, making a decidedly non-chocolate dinner.
Probably.
Daily Bliss: finishing everything on today's to-do list (even the items I wrote on my hand)
Wake-up Playlist: Wheat, I Met a Girl
One of the things I love about his school is that the same team of teachers takes a group of kids through sixth, seventh and eighth grade. Going back to the same teachers and classrooms this year really brought home the beauty of this set-up to me. Seventh grade is a tough year. I haven’t met anyone yet who has said otherwise. But something about having already been where he is going this year, knowing what to expect from his teachers and knowing exactly where the band room is and how the lunch room works seems to take a small bit of the sting out of seventh grade. I hope that holds true for the rest of the year as well.
I did take a First Day of School photo. It is obvious that I should not take photos before I have had my coffee. What the heck? Now that I’m going taking a photography class, I seem to have lost my photo mojo. I will try again tomorrow, I promise.
We had a little bit of a rush to get out the door on time, but nothing too bad. He has a great schedule – all the electives he wanted and his academics are advanced classes, which is better than what happened last year (he got stuck in remedial classes because they didn't have his test scores yet - on his first day at a new school where he didn't know anybody....it was bad)! And, aside from a 40-minute stint in car line (I don’t know what was going on! It’s a good thing I didn’t have to get Emma until much later, due to an after-school club!), things went smoothly.
But I am a little tired. It’s tough re-adjusting my body to an early-rise schedule. I’m cutting a few corners here and there, some of which I maybe shouldn’t cut.
It came down to time for making dinner this evening and I realized that, due to an unforeseen quesadilla event yesterday, we did not have enough tortillas left for what I’d planned. And, let’s just say, I didn’t have a lot of other options for a quick-fix meal. Crap. That meant I had to go to the grocery store before I could make dinner. So, I set the kids to their afternoon tasks, shed my cardigan in light of the horrifically hot afternoon, thinking that my strappy sundress would be okay on its own, decided against touching up my melted makeup, and pulled out of the driveway. Only after I got to the store did I realize that the corner I’d cut today was shaving the pits.
Ew.
I tried my best to bend delicately at the knees and stretch up high on my tippy toes to reach my items at the store so nobody would know my predicament (isn't it weird how, once we are going to the store, the list of necessary items magically grows?). I smiled awkwardly at people and sincerely hoped I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew. And for once, I didn’t.
By the time I’d reached the checkout, I was devoid of all self-confidence and decided that I needed a candy bar. You know, Mr. Nestle Crunch and I haven’t hung out for a while, and sometimes, crunchy chocolate is just the kind of friend a girl needs. Mr. Crunch didn’t care about my grooming habits and glamour-less visage. He was such a sweetie and I enjoyed his company.
You may have seen a girl driving an old, green Cadillac, licking crunchy chocolate crumbs out of a candy wrapper.
That wasn’t me.
You may also have seen a girl realize that a little bit of chocolate had jumped ship and landed on her dress, melting instantly. She might have licked the chocolate off her dress.
That also wasn’t me.
No, no. I’m sure that by the time you saw that girl, I was already at home, making a decidedly non-chocolate dinner.
Probably.
Daily Bliss: finishing everything on today's to-do list (even the items I wrote on my hand)
Wake-up Playlist: Wheat, I Met a Girl
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Sabbath
I must thank Mary today. She suggested a recipe for sweet potato biscuits earlier this week. I knew I'd be making sweet potatoes (in the crock pot! so easy!) this weekend, so I planned ahead to have leftovers just to try out these biscuits and, wow. We all loved them, but Chris sang the praises of Mary all morning long. He lifted his eyes and declared his thanks for Mary to the heavens.
I briefly considered reminding him who, exactly, had cut the butter into the flour and mashed up them taters, but I thought better of it. I was rather thankful to Mary for the recipe too. Plus? We ate them with honey from our neighbor's bees. Oh my. Sunday morning breakfast indeed.
Emma came into the kitchen, still sleepy, and happily joined in the breakfast preparation. I love that she is big enough now to actually be a help to me when we're cooking. I asked her to get out my biscuit cutter and started explaining to her what it looked like. She stopped me and told me she knew already. My biscuit cutter is pretty special. I mean, it isn't beautiful or anything like that. It's yellow and plastic, but it's the same one my mom used when I was a little girl. She had two, I guess, and she gave one to me.
I was so excited about my plans to show you a picture of me using that same biscuit cutter with my mom. I had the picture in my mind...I knew just where to find it. Only, it turns out we weren't actually using the biscuit cutter in this picture. I didn't have a Plan B, though, so this picture is all you get. It's still me and my little brother cooking with my Mama.
Chris and I took the kids on a walk this morning, too. We headed through our neighborhood toward the lake where all the ducks and swans congregate. Emma decided to carry a parasol. Chris was, maybe, a little hesitant about allowing this, but I assured him it would be fine. She sure got smiles from all the ladies driving by in their minivans. I tend to think they were all wishing they could carry parasols too.
We walked through my favorite neighborhood - it's the nice historic district. Our neighborhood is historic, too, but it's not...ahem...as posh. I just love the big, old houses, though, and I love to dream about having coffee on their porches, waving at my neighbors (who all adore their historic homes as much as I do, obviously). Lots of them are for sale right now.
Sigh.
I'd walk out on that second-story balcony in my red polka-dotted satin robe to greet the mornings, if I ever finished sewing my red polka-dotted satin robe, that is. Well, I'm sure I would finish sewing it if I lived in that house. Don't you think so too? A house like that just begs for satin-robed mornings.
Ah, well. I do love my own little cottage to bits.
So we strolled down the cracked sidewalks and just noticed things.
And we talked to the ducks and the swans once we got to the lake. This swan was such a rock star. She looks like a professional model in almost all of the pictures. I think she's seen a camera before.
We have worked very hard to schedule a Sabbath into our weeks. It will require tons of discipline to keep Sunday a day of rest, to be sure. But if the reward is the kind of renewal we found today, I'm sure that will help us keep our word.
I briefly considered reminding him who, exactly, had cut the butter into the flour and mashed up them taters, but I thought better of it. I was rather thankful to Mary for the recipe too. Plus? We ate them with honey from our neighbor's bees. Oh my. Sunday morning breakfast indeed.
Emma came into the kitchen, still sleepy, and happily joined in the breakfast preparation. I love that she is big enough now to actually be a help to me when we're cooking. I asked her to get out my biscuit cutter and started explaining to her what it looked like. She stopped me and told me she knew already. My biscuit cutter is pretty special. I mean, it isn't beautiful or anything like that. It's yellow and plastic, but it's the same one my mom used when I was a little girl. She had two, I guess, and she gave one to me.
I was so excited about my plans to show you a picture of me using that same biscuit cutter with my mom. I had the picture in my mind...I knew just where to find it. Only, it turns out we weren't actually using the biscuit cutter in this picture. I didn't have a Plan B, though, so this picture is all you get. It's still me and my little brother cooking with my Mama.
Chris and I took the kids on a walk this morning, too. We headed through our neighborhood toward the lake where all the ducks and swans congregate. Emma decided to carry a parasol. Chris was, maybe, a little hesitant about allowing this, but I assured him it would be fine. She sure got smiles from all the ladies driving by in their minivans. I tend to think they were all wishing they could carry parasols too.
We walked through my favorite neighborhood - it's the nice historic district. Our neighborhood is historic, too, but it's not...ahem...as posh. I just love the big, old houses, though, and I love to dream about having coffee on their porches, waving at my neighbors (who all adore their historic homes as much as I do, obviously). Lots of them are for sale right now.
Sigh.
I'd walk out on that second-story balcony in my red polka-dotted satin robe to greet the mornings, if I ever finished sewing my red polka-dotted satin robe, that is. Well, I'm sure I would finish sewing it if I lived in that house. Don't you think so too? A house like that just begs for satin-robed mornings.
Ah, well. I do love my own little cottage to bits.
So we strolled down the cracked sidewalks and just noticed things.
And we talked to the ducks and the swans once we got to the lake. This swan was such a rock star. She looks like a professional model in almost all of the pictures. I think she's seen a camera before.
We have worked very hard to schedule a Sabbath into our weeks. It will require tons of discipline to keep Sunday a day of rest, to be sure. But if the reward is the kind of renewal we found today, I'm sure that will help us keep our word.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Ka-pow!
We punched through our first week of school and new schedule stuff!
And now we are all very tired.
Emma pretty much fell asleep in the car at 8:15 this evening, Chris is snoring in his recliner and I am struggling to hold my head up long enough to post something here.
Sleeping in will definitely happen tomorrow.
So, I've got buckets of new music, thanks to a birthday iTunes card. That's always an energizing thing. I spend weeks and weeks picking and choosing and narrowing it down and asking for suggestions (which rather un-narrows the list) and then I finally just spend it all in one fell swoop.
Then I get to listen to it all.
Inevitably, the cream rises to the top within one or two listens. There will be a handful of songs, and sometimes just one, that were worth the whole purchase - the one or two that will get stuck in my head.
I thought I'd share one with you, but I can't find a decent video because this dude is pretty much unheard-of as far as I can tell. There's a music blog that I like to check out now and again - that's where I heard of him. So, if you want to have a little listen, click on that there link and scroll down (because I am so not gonna try and embed some kind of player in my blog while I'm this sleepy). You're looking for a track by The Wheel, the song is Just For Me (But I Thought Of You).
It's just dreamy and singable (who doesn't love to sing "doo doo doos?") and there's an upright bass and marimba and drum brushes...and...and...all sorts of good stuff. Sigh. It helped me stay mellow today.
Hopefully, I can capitalize on that and get right to sleep now, before my head hits the keyboard anzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
Daily Bliss: meeting my old friend's new sweetie - such a fun guy!
Wake-up Playlist: Malajube, Luna
And now we are all very tired.
Emma pretty much fell asleep in the car at 8:15 this evening, Chris is snoring in his recliner and I am struggling to hold my head up long enough to post something here.
Sleeping in will definitely happen tomorrow.
So, I've got buckets of new music, thanks to a birthday iTunes card. That's always an energizing thing. I spend weeks and weeks picking and choosing and narrowing it down and asking for suggestions (which rather un-narrows the list) and then I finally just spend it all in one fell swoop.
Then I get to listen to it all.
Inevitably, the cream rises to the top within one or two listens. There will be a handful of songs, and sometimes just one, that were worth the whole purchase - the one or two that will get stuck in my head.
I thought I'd share one with you, but I can't find a decent video because this dude is pretty much unheard-of as far as I can tell. There's a music blog that I like to check out now and again - that's where I heard of him. So, if you want to have a little listen, click on that there link and scroll down (because I am so not gonna try and embed some kind of player in my blog while I'm this sleepy). You're looking for a track by The Wheel, the song is Just For Me (But I Thought Of You).
It's just dreamy and singable (who doesn't love to sing "doo doo doos?") and there's an upright bass and marimba and drum brushes...and...and...all sorts of good stuff. Sigh. It helped me stay mellow today.
Hopefully, I can capitalize on that and get right to sleep now, before my head hits the keyboard anzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
Daily Bliss: meeting my old friend's new sweetie - such a fun guy!
Wake-up Playlist: Malajube, Luna
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Oriented
I had the day off today, which was thoroughly enjoyable. I don't often have a weekday, or maybe I should just say I don't often have a day, that I get to sleep in a bit and sip on my coffee for a good, long time. It wasn't a purposeless day, though. Andrew had 7th grade orientation today. That, in itself, is a frightening statement. We shouldered our way to his homeroom class amid the throngs of adolescents. My senses were assaulted and I was reminded that middle school stairwells always smell like sweaty armpits. I filled out all sorts of paperwork and set up his lunch account and then...that's it. He's a seventh grader now.
It felt so official. It was a moment of great import. So we went out to lunch. Steak N Shake is always a good idea when you are taking a boy out to lunch. Cheese fries and a heart attack burger with bacon please? Okay. Comin' right up!
This evening, I attended my first photography class. I was a little bit nervous, to be honest. I haven't been in a class for kind of a long time. But by the time I left, I was mostly just excited. I really like my professor - he seems to really love what he's doing and that counts for so much in my book. I can listen to and learn from anyone who genuinely loves what they're talking about. And if it's something I genuinely love, too? Well, that's just icing on the cake. I mean, it's definitely going to be a challenge. This will stretch my creative muscles. This will be all coming from me, you know. It's not like knitting or sewing, where you follow someone else's instructions. Hm. I don't always do that, I guess. But the instructions and the final idea are provided. Here, the final idea will come from me, with a few instructions provided to help me get there. Subtle difference, but a big one to me.
We were let go a little early, since this is the first night. After an intensely hot afternoon, with no rain at all, the evening was dry and almost pleasant. The sun was setting and I decided not to go home. I headed to Starbucks (where else!) and took myself out for some coffee.
My coffee and I pulled out my big notebook and we wrote a little bit. A friend has asked me to contribute an essay to a project she's working on. It's an essay that requires some alone-time for thought and introspection, and alone-time can be a bit hard to come by. So we seized the moment, my coffee and me. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, a pleasant breeze and a big notebook that still has lots of empty pages.
Wake-up Playlist: Gwen Stefani, Keep On Dancin'
It felt so official. It was a moment of great import. So we went out to lunch. Steak N Shake is always a good idea when you are taking a boy out to lunch. Cheese fries and a heart attack burger with bacon please? Okay. Comin' right up!
This evening, I attended my first photography class. I was a little bit nervous, to be honest. I haven't been in a class for kind of a long time. But by the time I left, I was mostly just excited. I really like my professor - he seems to really love what he's doing and that counts for so much in my book. I can listen to and learn from anyone who genuinely loves what they're talking about. And if it's something I genuinely love, too? Well, that's just icing on the cake. I mean, it's definitely going to be a challenge. This will stretch my creative muscles. This will be all coming from me, you know. It's not like knitting or sewing, where you follow someone else's instructions. Hm. I don't always do that, I guess. But the instructions and the final idea are provided. Here, the final idea will come from me, with a few instructions provided to help me get there. Subtle difference, but a big one to me.
We were let go a little early, since this is the first night. After an intensely hot afternoon, with no rain at all, the evening was dry and almost pleasant. The sun was setting and I decided not to go home. I headed to Starbucks (where else!) and took myself out for some coffee.
My coffee and I pulled out my big notebook and we wrote a little bit. A friend has asked me to contribute an essay to a project she's working on. It's an essay that requires some alone-time for thought and introspection, and alone-time can be a bit hard to come by. So we seized the moment, my coffee and me. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, a pleasant breeze and a big notebook that still has lots of empty pages.
Wake-up Playlist: Gwen Stefani, Keep On Dancin'
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Something Finished
It's been a while since I showed you guys anything I've made, huh? I suppose that might be due to the fact that I haven't made much. OK, fine. I made almost nothing all summer long. But I did whip up a birthday present for a friend of mine who lives up in more northerly parts of the country. She knows I made her something, but she doesn't know what it is, and I guess she will after she reads this post. I thought about waiting until I've sent it to post pictures, but I am terrible about getting to the post office, so I got impatient.
Here's a hat, based on one that Emma Watson wore as Hermione in The Half Blood Prince (Harry Potter) movie - this pattern is named Hermione's Cable & Eyelet Hat. I actually knitted on it while we stood in line to see the movie. For this particular friend, that will mean a lot.
In the movie, the hat is gray (or grey? I never know which spelling to use!), but the kids were with me and we all agreed that this blue color was the way to go for our version of the hat.
Here's a close-up of that yummy yarn. It's Malabrigo wool, which is delicious to look at and to knit with. The colors are just so rich.
It didn't take me long to knit up a coffee cup cozy or two out of the leftovers. I just had to keep knitting with it!
There won't be much knitting or sewing going on this fall, I'm afraid. But I am working on a little blog that will be solely my spot for posting about stuff I make. I hope it'll be ready to go soon, but that will largely depend on how much HTML I can learn by Googling and how long it takes me to learn how to make it look like what's in my head. I suspect that could take some time...
Daily Bliss: plowing through my to-do list
Wake-Up Playlist: Chopin, Valse Brilliante (Opus 34, No. 1)
Here's a hat, based on one that Emma Watson wore as Hermione in The Half Blood Prince (Harry Potter) movie - this pattern is named Hermione's Cable & Eyelet Hat. I actually knitted on it while we stood in line to see the movie. For this particular friend, that will mean a lot.
In the movie, the hat is gray (or grey? I never know which spelling to use!), but the kids were with me and we all agreed that this blue color was the way to go for our version of the hat.
Here's a close-up of that yummy yarn. It's Malabrigo wool, which is delicious to look at and to knit with. The colors are just so rich.
It didn't take me long to knit up a coffee cup cozy or two out of the leftovers. I just had to keep knitting with it!
There won't be much knitting or sewing going on this fall, I'm afraid. But I am working on a little blog that will be solely my spot for posting about stuff I make. I hope it'll be ready to go soon, but that will largely depend on how much HTML I can learn by Googling and how long it takes me to learn how to make it look like what's in my head. I suspect that could take some time...
Daily Bliss: plowing through my to-do list
Wake-Up Playlist: Chopin, Valse Brilliante (Opus 34, No. 1)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Hooray!
I had my first piano students today! What's more - it was really fun!
I don't suppose there's a whole lot more to say about that, but I just wanted you to know. I have a couple more students on Friday and my photography class starts Thursday.
It's a big week for starting things around here.
Daily Bliss: decaf vanilla soy latte - yum
Wake-up Playlist: Michael Franti & Spearhead, Say Hey (I Love You)
I don't suppose there's a whole lot more to say about that, but I just wanted you to know. I have a couple more students on Friday and my photography class starts Thursday.
It's a big week for starting things around here.
Daily Bliss: decaf vanilla soy latte - yum
Wake-up Playlist: Michael Franti & Spearhead, Say Hey (I Love You)
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