lovely

This morning, I went on a mad dash to Nashville for gold sandals. It was wonderfully hot, but a bit muggy as I walked from store to store. Then as I was picking up some nail polish (that unfortunately dried to look kind of yucky), I heard some big claps of thunder. When I walked outside, it was still bright and sunny, and I thought my ears had played tricks on me. Then I turned around and saw the big, black clouds to the west. I drove right into a nasty little rainstorm...the kind that makes everyone drive 50 mph. As the rain slacked off, I noticed that everything was so pretty. It's that great time of year where everything is green because the gods of Southern weather have yet to turn off the water. So, I was driving along the interstate, observing the beautiful green and loving the smell of rain and watching the steam rise out of the trees and off the road. It doesn't seem like something to be inspired by, but it was really nice.

So, here's hoping that something utterly mundane makes you smile today.

one down.

From last week's list, we've accomplished one major milestone. My little Hillary has officially graduated from high school. I was able to hold it together. I guess I got all my little breakdowns out of the way early (taking of senior pictures, arrival of cap and gown, going to graduation practice). Now I've got to get the last couple of spots filled for Firefly, and I've got to get a few more things done for the silent auction before we head to New York this weekend. I am starting to regret booking that 6am flight. Seriously. I don't know what I was thinking.

Here are some recent pictures. Enjoy.

The graduate. Some of you may remember her as the Malibu Barbie Junior Bridesmaid at our wedding. She was not orange then. That might throw you off.
With Mellie.
Letting Drew in on the secret: Hillary just graduated.
My girls.
Hils and Ouiser.
Check out the chicken poop on my little farm girl's shoes. Nice, eh?

round 'em up

Things are crazy around here. My cousin H graduates from high school tomorrow night, so there is a party to throw. Relay for Life is in 22 days, so preparing for the silent auction is a little hectic. Firefly is in 36 days, so the great unknown of throwing a first-year arts festival is looming. Ominously. And the two straight weeks of rain has site preparation two weeks behind. And we're out of town next weekend for the Colgate shendig. And I'm pretty sure I've killed all my garden plants except the sugar snap peas, which I don't even care about. My poor basil and tomatoes. Then again, I don't have a garden to put anything in, so I suppose I'll just hit the farmer's market this year. Or I'll raid Feather Nester's garden in the dark of night and then try to sell her on the idea that it's raccoons.

I'm just feeling a little behind the eight ball, if you know what I mean.

I have nothing exciting to report...just that exhaustive list of excuses for why I haven't been blogging. Now you know we're all alive. Ciao, peeps.

go...go...go...goal

I know it seems silly, but for some reason it makes me super happy that we have a president that goes to his kids' soccer games on Saturdays. It's one of the things that I've always really liked about him. He's a real person...but smarter than a vast majority of real people. In case I haven't mentioned it in awhile, I am super proud that we elected him.

this is love

I jumped on the spring cleaning bandwagon today. I started working on the kitchen. I'm pretty anal retentive about keeping things cleaned out in there, so I was amazed to realize that I had an entire garbage bag of stuff to get rid of...and my plastics recycling container is now overflowing. Of course, the results are wonderful. My cabinets are organized to meet my exacting standards, and all the clutter has been moved to its rightful home (no more vitamin C pills in the kitchen, no more Christmas coffee set in the cupboard). I will now have to go out and replace some expired spices, though I think I'll hold off on replacing the tarragon because, really, who uses tarragon?

I forgot to take any before pictures, but here are a couple of "after" shots. After dinner tonight, I'll give everything a really thorough wipedown, and then my kitchen will be perfect. Just perfect.

Oh, and check out my absolutely fabulous cross-stitch that I found last week in one of our many wonderful antique shops. Woo hoo. It's a keeper. I smile every time I see it.

welcome, fairies

S and I built our first fairy house last evening. She didn't care that much about it at first, but then she got really excited about collecting clumps of freshly cut grass to create the lawn. I am super excited...plus, she wanted to read Fairy Houses when we came inside. Oh, and please note that we made a couch and a little grass pillow inside. No need for the fairies to be uncomfortable, right?

ha.

I just realized, via Feather Nester's comment, that you can't really see what this picture is about.

It was at a golf tournament. The ball landed in the girl's lap...and you know that silly golf rule about having to play it as it lies. Poor girl looks mortified.

niiiice.

I just ran across this picture, and anything else I might have blogged about went right out of my head. This is cracking me up.

Happy weekending, folks.

point A to point B

The bathroom is pretty much done. I say pretty much because I still have to hang a couple of towel hooks and we're still waiting on the hardware for the vanity. Other than that, stick a fork in me. Here it is...before and after.

nurture

As I was cleaning a few minutes ago, my mind wandered. I don't know how I came to this particular thought, or why, but I did. I was thinking about M and our relationship. You've all read that we're MFEO, and I believe that wholeheartedly. Seriously, the man is my other half.

The thoughts went something like this...

M is the kind of guy that people want to take care of. Everyone who knows him, knows that. People just want to cook for him and give him a hug and do his laundry. While he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself (and by that I mean, he can keep himself alive with cheesy rice and Boost shakes), something calls out from him, and says, "nurture me." It works well for us as there are few things that make me happier than taking care of people in that Anna Pascal "I-will-heal-the-world-with-cookies" way.

The interesting part of my thought pattern came when I realized that I need him to take care of me, too. I sincerely need him to keep me sane. Grounded. Like him, I can take care of myself, but I need nurturing, too. Just in a different way. And M does just that. He makes me feel safe and secure and loved. And that's just what I need.

I've always known that he made me feel safe. I've felt that way since we first met, but today I just thought about it differently.

I am smiling all the way to my toes because I am so thankful for my husband. Funny how those thoughts hit you sometimes, isn't it?

Go Team Ouiser.

stop the insanity!

Sometimes, my insanity is so overwhelming that I realize I am thisclose to being locked in a padded room. M and I have had separate closets for awhile, and I made the mistake of buying hangers that didn't match. His are a cherry-ish wood, and mine are blond. Now that we're in the same closet, it's making me a little crazy. Add to that the fact that I need some more skirt/pant hangers, and, "whoa." You see, I'd just buy more to match his and move mine to the coat closet (as I have way fewer hangers than he), but his are from Linens N Things, which is pseudo-out-of-business. You can't get the stupid things anymore.

I know I need to get over it. I know that buying something like a hundred new hangers isn't a viable option, but I'll tell you, it's crossed my mind.

Like I said, stop the insanity. I think they make a pill for that.

a work in progress

I've had it. Stick a fork in me. I'm done. We are waiting on the shower doors. It's the only thing left in this remodel, but it's like waiting for Godot. They were supposed to be in Wednesday, but we haven't heard anything. We're moved into the new bedroom, and things are moved into the new bathroom, but we can't really reclaim normalcy without the shower doors. So, I feel like I'm in limbo, and that's not a happy place for type-A Ouiser. (For the record, there will be no remodel pictures until this sucker is DONE. Now you're all waiting for the shower doors, too.)

With the fairy floss thin patience that I'm exhibiting, coupled with exhaustion from the last few weeks, a toddler, and a little bit of a suspect tummy, I'm really not myself. I can't seem to sit still right now, and not in a good way. I'm suddenly driving myself, my husband, and my daughter nuts trying to get things done. So nuts, in fact, that S's repertoire now includes, "Otis, stop it. You're making me nuts." Lovely.

So, I'm making an effort today to be more lovable. I was reading Parenting in bed last night, and there was an article about mamas needing a day off for themselves, which I already know and I already need. The concept of a day off wasn't the interesting part, though. It was one of the last sentences...something to the effect of, "your child won't remember that your house was spotless, your child will remember that you played games with her."

Hello, wake-up call. For the past couple of days, every other sentence out of my mouth has been, "not now, S, I need to get some work done." For the record, S would prefer that I not get any of my current work done. She loves the new closet empty and the wardrobe empty and no shower doors. She's got new playhouses everywhere. Today, I'm going to try to just be still and enjoy my day with S. Aside from going to the grocery store and a meeting that I have. Other than that, it's fun mom day.

Ugh. Why do things have to seem so difficult all the time?