Friday, July 03, 2009
We're attending our nephew's wedding this weekend. I can't wait because we get to see family that we haven't seen in a while, and it will be great. The one thing, however, that does bother me, is traveling over a holiday. More traffic. People in a hurry to get where they're wanting to go.
But maybe that's just me. Then I got to thinking I'd throw that question out there to our cyber buddies. Do you prefer to travel on the holidays, do you prefer to stay home, or do you not care either way? Any special plans for the fourth?
And to our servicemen and women everywhere I just want to say, THANK YOU!
Labels: July 4th, servicemen, travel
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
My house is chaotic. It just is. There are always four kids here, usually more, a hyper doggie and lots of stuff going on. When we move into a neighborhood, we move in big. It's hard to avoid a family with four kids, they create their own weather pattern and it brings people out of their houses. I live in this hillside community, and you would never know there are kids here, but there are tons! The thing is, I like it that way.
So having your house "ready to show" at a moment's notice (okay two hours) is not easy. Tonight, I had burned dinner, and so there was the distinct odor of "she can't cook" in the house, two extra kids here and signs that we actually lived here (a bad thing in real estate). So we all did the mad dash and got lost, but I will be so happy to have my chaotic house back to my own. : )
So having your house "ready to show" at a moment's notice (okay two hours) is not easy. Tonight, I had burned dinner, and so there was the distinct odor of "she can't cook" in the house, two extra kids here and signs that we actually lived here (a bad thing in real estate). So we all did the mad dash and got lost, but I will be so happy to have my chaotic house back to my own. : )
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
NOT A WOW EXPERIENCE
Mike Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson, often talks about making sure customers have a WOW experience. We flew to Phoenix on Friday night on Northwest/Delta and it was NOT a WOW experience. As it was, we were supposed to arrive at 11. We didn't get in until after 2. By the time we got to Kara's and got to bed, we were hitting the pillows about the time we would have gotten up in Indiana. LOL But the experience wasn't without some laughs. Our son-in-law Mark had set the alarm in case they decided to get some sleep before they came to get us in the wee hours. He forgot to reset it yesterday morning. The alarm went off at 1 am and he grabbed the PHONE and was hitting every button possible trying to shut off the alarm. He finally handed it to Kara and asked her to turn it off. She said, uh, honey this isn't the alarm! :-)
One other silver lining was that we were stuck in Minneapolis, land of Caribou Coffee. So I got to have an iced americano. But we're here now with our baby girl. Yesterday we did a little shopping and got some fabulous coffee beans from Echo Espresso, best coffee in the land. We got some new Java blend that is to die for! I'm getting some coffee beans to take home with me on Friday so it's as fresh as possible. If you love good coffee, you should try some. It's absolutely fabulous! http://www.echoespresso.com/
Today I'm meeting with some writer friends for lunch at Mimi's. Should be fun! I've just come through the worst 6 mos I can remember: 2 books in 6 mos all written during the time my father-in-law was getting more and more ill until he finally died in April. I'm SO ready for a break! I'm going to bask in the sunshine and blue skies and enjoy being with our daughter. One bad thing is I'm away from Alexa! I'm used to seeing her every week. I must call so she remembers Grammy's voice!
Labels: Caribou Coffee, Delta, echo espresso, Northwest, Wow experience
Sunday, June 28, 2009
On Wednesday my family will embark on an Alaska cruise--something I've always wanted to do.
In preparation, I've dieted off a couple pounds because here's one thing I know: Cruise=Inevitable Weight Gain. Now there's a mathematical formula I understand. Unfortunately.
Dinnertime will go something like this:
"No dessert, thank you," I'll tell the attentive waiter.
"But it's free!" says the devil on my shoulder. Or maybe it's my skinny 16 year old. I'm not sure.
"Yeah, Mom, it's free!"
"It's not free," I say, "It cost 1000 calories and the receipt is the extra baggage on my thighs."
Or that's what I say in my pre-cruise fantasy. In all likelihood I'll order the triple chocolate molten lava cake and come home with extra baggage. I just hope the airline doesn't charge me extra.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Weird things happen to me.
I was at a coffee shop writing one day and the window washer guy comes over to me and asks me if I'm a writer. I tell him yes. He then wants to know what I write. I tell him Christian women's fiction/romance. Okay, here's where the weird part comes in.
He commences to tell me the significance of colors and how wearing the colors red and black are evil. I'm wondering what all this has to do with me, but I smile and listen, throwing in a "hmm," "uh-huh," in all the appropriate places.
Then it happens. I drop my pen and when I reach down to pick it up, I get a view of what I'm wearing. You guessed it. Black pants and a red top. I thank the man for sharing his opinions with me and tell him, however, that I do not share his view (obviously--my wardrobe consists of mainly red and black). He walks away telling me to beware and that's that.
This all happened a year or so ago.
Then last week I walk into a restaurant and a familiar-looking man approaches me and says, "I see you you're not lying on the beach." I'm like, "Huh?" I have no idea what that means, but figure he has me confused with someone else. I go sit with my daughter and tell her about it and she goes, "Oh, you mean the window washer man?"
Yikes.
I don't know what I was wearing. Probably red and black.
Is there something I'm missing? Please tell me I can keep my wardrobe. And tell me too, do you ever have weird things like this happen to you?
Labels: Red and Black, Wardrobe, Weird
I wanted excitement, right?
I mean, didn't I complain how boring life in the country was?? Well, not anymore. Now that we are without a job and the house is on the market (open to realtors today) and I had a cyst/tumor/neoplasm (they're still deciding that after surgery), I've decided this still beats life in the country. The unexpected, while not the greatest place to stay, is a fun place to visit.
However, I'm all for stability in the housing arena, and after this, I do not want to move again. I mean, peel my cold, dead body from the floor, because it's going to be very hard to get me to move again. I want my cute little Ashley Stockingdale labels, to keep ONE address. Granted, I'd like it to be this one, but God doesn't have that in the cards apparently. I remember reading a biography on Mamie Eisenhower and how she could make a house a home in a day. I've gotten pretty good at that skill, but really, I'll give it up. What is great about my life is that my friends rock and I feel so supported and prayed for, and that's what it's all about. I'll get settled so that I can be the one helping again. That's the way I hope it happens.
There are more kids to meet, I guess. More friendships to be made, but I do hope not to abandon any of the ones we've made here. This neighborhood has been awesome! I'm thankful for the short time I had here. I never tired of coming up through the canopy of trees or seeing my lovely city view (which served as a reminder that I was not in the country!) Care to tell us what you're thankful for in a less-than-idea situation?
I mean, didn't I complain how boring life in the country was?? Well, not anymore. Now that we are without a job and the house is on the market (open to realtors today) and I had a cyst/tumor/neoplasm (they're still deciding that after surgery), I've decided this still beats life in the country. The unexpected, while not the greatest place to stay, is a fun place to visit.
However, I'm all for stability in the housing arena, and after this, I do not want to move again. I mean, peel my cold, dead body from the floor, because it's going to be very hard to get me to move again. I want my cute little Ashley Stockingdale labels, to keep ONE address. Granted, I'd like it to be this one, but God doesn't have that in the cards apparently. I remember reading a biography on Mamie Eisenhower and how she could make a house a home in a day. I've gotten pretty good at that skill, but really, I'll give it up. What is great about my life is that my friends rock and I feel so supported and prayed for, and that's what it's all about. I'll get settled so that I can be the one helping again. That's the way I hope it happens.
There are more kids to meet, I guess. More friendships to be made, but I do hope not to abandon any of the ones we've made here. This neighborhood has been awesome! I'm thankful for the short time I had here. I never tired of coming up through the canopy of trees or seeing my lovely city view (which served as a reminder that I was not in the country!) Care to tell us what you're thankful for in a less-than-idea situation?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
BABY WONDER
You've all heard me raving about my granddaughter Alexa. We adore that baby for sure. She has started squealing when she sees us now. Yesterday was her 9 month birthday. This pictures is at Lowe's shopping for flowers on Sunday. She's getting tubes in her ears any minute now, poor little thing.
I want to start building some memories with her. What is your favorite thing you did with your grandma? My grandma was less than five feet tall and nearly as big around as she was tall. She had an enormous bosom and would throw babies over her chest and rock the daylights out of them with one foot stuck out. I can see her so clearly even now. Every time I went to her house, she tried to feed me something. She peppered the daylights out of food too, which was a shock to my poor husband whose mother never used pepper. LOL But little Alexa loves hot stuff. She eats the hottest salsa and whines for more!
I think my favorite memory of my grandma is the way she liked to lay in bed with me and "tickle" my arm. She'd run her fingertips up and down my arm. Even when I was an adult with kids of my own. My daughter Kara remembers Grandma doing this as well. I might have to start that with Alexa.
So what's your favorite memory?
Labels: memories of Grandma
Sunday, June 21, 2009
It's a scorching day at the Little League diamond and a little girl in a pink bathing suit passes by. I say passes, but really it's more of a sashay. She's a cute little thing, 3 or 4, prancing barefoot, carefree.
I watch her dawdle, oblivious to anyone else, caught up in her own world of play and pretend. I try to remember the last time I felt that carefree in a bathing suit--just a few short nevers ago--and wonder what happens to take us from carefree bathing beauties to self-conscious sarong-wearers.
Is it because of school yard kids pointing out our flaws? The assault of airbrushed images of impossibly beautiful women? Maybe it's the commercials convincing us we need their products to cover our hideous flaws?
Maybe it's a combination of all the above, I'm not sure, but I have a nostalgic moment watching that little girl. I long for that total lack of self-consciousness, wish there were some way to get it back, some way to reverse the cultural damage and see the world through innocent eyes. Until then, I guess I'll buy myself a nice wide sarong for the summer and maybe a cover-up to boot.
