Seriously Texas

I wish a vacation high lasted a few days after you get home, actually I would even take a few hours. We had a great time! I highly recommend a trip to Texas. Everything is bigger and better in Texas. I can plan it all for you, even on a budget, I am a queen at budget trip planning because I over-think and over-research everything. I think I must have been a travel agent in a past life.  Seeing our friends that moved away to Dallas was so bitter sweet. We had such an awesome visit and the kids were all amazing together and it just reiterated how much we miss them and how great we had it when they lived 3 blocks away. So, we will be going back to Dallas. We also toured the cities of Austin and San Antonio. So much to see and do, and we only hit a few of the things I would have liked to. Austin has t-shirts and signs all about that say "Keep Austin Weird". I think that about sums up Austin, but weird in a quirky fun kind of way, for sure. After our city tours we visited hub's cousin at his "ranch" outside of Houston. It is a ranch as it has wild animals roaming, but not the kind of ranch you are thinking of, this one is all African mammals like Oryx, Impala, Fallow Deer, Sable, and many more. The house is amazing with these sweeping views of these meadows where the animals live. We drove over to a nearby horse ranch to horseback ride, so the girls got to experience that, as well.

On the trip we took our nephew's Flat Charlie, so he too, could have a Texas adventure. I feel there could be a book just about Flat Charlie and all of his adventures. And I will leave you with a few:

Flat Charlie and our friends where Kennedy 

was shot in Dallas (Lee Harvey Oswald shot from 

rectangle window 2nd down from top on right)

Flat Charlie touring Austin via the DuckBoat

Flat Charlie at a concert at Austin City Limits -
he got into  a scuffle in my purse and broke (off) his arm

Flat Charlie at the Alamo in San Antonio

Flat Charlie with "Whitey"
a sable at the ranch

Flat Charlie horseback riding

 

Flat Charlie and the zebra head pillow
at the ranch - look closely it is an actual zebra's face 

Flat Charlie's appt with the plastic "surgeon" to 

repair his arm on Monday morning

Seriously 30!

Well, today is day 30. I actually did it. 30 blogs in 30 days. Thank you dear readers for humoring me- follow me OK? I will keep blogging but promise to keep it to a few times a month now.

For the most part, it has been a lot of fun to get back into writing, to have an outlet to vent, to share my life, and to remember funny and meaningful (word of the day) events and stories. Every once in a while, I really did not want to blog, but in those moments I really did not want to do anything, so it didn't have anything to do with writing.

At home, I am frantically trying to get the house and the family ready for our trip. We have dog sitters coming to stay, hence getting the house ready and now all you would be robbers now know our house will be occupied, sorry, maybe next time. I have piles of clothes that I hope fit into the two paid checked bags we get. I have been excessively applying tanning lotion to be legs in hopes that my pale, spidery legs don't look as severely out of place in Texas where everyone has a golden tan 365 days a year.

We are all excited about what we are calling our Hee-haw Tour of Texas Spring Break. We will see friends first that moved to Dallas last summer, then a few days in Austin and San Antonio and then off to hubs cousin's ranch west of Houston. He imports African mammals, so that will be interesting and we will go horseback riding, as well. We love a good authentic vacation and I think we are going to get one this time around!

Adios.

Seriously Sentimental

I left work early today because I got a phone call from school that MK had a red, sore throat. We went to the doctor and the rapid strep came back negative, she has no fever, so let's hope this is nothing and some hot tea and sleep will do the trick before we head out for our trip.

When we got home, it felt like the perfect time to watch a movie she got for Christmas, that we had not watched yet, "Stand By Me". You know, the one from 1986 with River Phoenix (Chris), Corey Feldman (Teddy) and Jerry O'Connell (Vern), and...hmmm, I forget who played Gordie. This may have been my favorite movie as a kid (with Goonies close behind) and hence why MK got it under the Christmas tree. I feel it is a sentimental right of passage for her to watch this with me and someday in a few years I hope to watch it with Car also. It is rated R (which I was shocked about and don't remember this being the case when I was twelve) and it does have a lot of bad language but that's it. Anyway, this was my first "Hollywood" crush - River Phoenix.  My first boy poster in my room, I watched the movie over and over with my BFF and could sing all the 1950's songs and remember all the quotes. I was a sophomore in college when he died, and actually cried over my nostalgia (word of the day) and that it was River that died, because when I was twelve I really felt like I loved him and I knew if he ever met me, he would love me too.

Here are some of my favorite quotes that really could just be some of my "life" quotes now, so listen up:

Gordie: Do you think I'm weird?

Chris: Definitely.

Gordie: No man, seriously. Am I weird?

Chris: Yeah, but so what? Everybody's weird.

Teddy: This is my age! I'm in the prime of my youth, and I'll only be young once!

Chris: Yeah, but you're gonna be stupid for the rest of your life.

Seriously Pamper?

Today was my day, yoga then a few errands and the spa - an 80-minute reflexology massage followed by a manicure and pedicure. I was so excited for this day to pamper (word of the day) myself. But, I kind of feel more like an actual pamper full of shit and tossed in the trash.

First, I had to pack lunches and feed and walk the dog in the rain. The cold, wet weather (welcome back!) made me incredibly irritable.  Yoga was great other than those four 45 second dolphin planks she made us hold.  You go try it; here is an image to reference.  They suck.

Once I made it home, I did 3 loads of laundry, packed my clothes for Spring Break, ate lunch and prepared dinner for later. I had to pick the kids up from school early to make it to my spa appointment. Only one kid was ready when I got there. I had to wait 10 minutes, which then directly correlated into a loss of 20 minutes during my massage. So, even though I was in a little part of heaven during the massage, when I saw the clock after, I was just annoyed because I paid for 80 minutes and only got 60. But I didn't have the energy to complain. Also, I am seriously PMSing.

This "joke" pretty much sums it up. On the drive home from my pampering, I find out hubs will not be home this evening as he has a work dinner, which is fine, but I normally like more than 10 minutes notification since I had already prepared the caramelized onion, spinach, bacon and swiss quiche for us to eat for dinner. Then, I attempt to pack clothes with the girls for our Spring Break coming up. So, this resulted in a few, "um, no" and "you need to look presentable" comments by me. I have no idea when I will allow them to just pack themselves, maybe when they go off to college? It was just annoying and the whole thing was just frustrating. I did not want to lose my cool with either of them, this is supposed to be exciting and fun, but damn you PMS, you won again.

Serious(ly) Progress

The painting has begun. I love the color we chose - Benjamin Moore - Booth Bay Gray. It was worth all 8 samples. Because we went with this particular shade on the walls, the little turquoise entry table we have is now getting painted by me in one of the lighter shades so it won't clash. So, only 6 of the samples are going to waste. On the main stretch of wall, I have one of our Andrew Wyeth prints hanging with two hooks on either side. In my mind these hooks are strictly decorative or possibly for a "cool" hat or an artsy scarf. The children know to NEVER hang anything from these hooks, well, maybe not. They never could because hubs used them for his coats.

This picture was obviously from MK's birthday, but you can see how his coats (note the use of a plural noun) are hanging on one of the hooks. He, of course, finds absolutely nothing wrong with this. After 7+ years in this house of me telling him to not hang things there and me moving every coat, every day, to its proper place in the hall closet that is directly.across.from.the.hooks; yeah no, he never heard a word of it.

This evening, he began painting this section of the wall. I went on a run and came home to the hooks still there, when I know we had had a very distinct conversation about how with this facelift, the hooks were going bye, bye, forever. He asked for a veto (anyone watch two week's ago Modern Family?) Nope, not happening. So, after some mumbling under his breath and a few choice words, my hallway now looks like this.

Oh, it's the little things that make me satisfied (word of the day).

Seriously Great

We had a beautiful weekend in the northeast. The first of what I hope is at least three seasons worth of sunny weekend days. Yesterday was yard work, and practices during the day and then we helped host a Community Dinner in our town, which is always humbling and important for our kids to experience. Hubs and I even walked downtown for a late dinner on our own after that. Car played goalie in a lacrosse tournament this morning, she had at least 10 saves in the 4 games, if not more and we all got a little sunburnt, but it felt great (word of the day).  We had ice cream with teammates and after Palm Sunday evening mass we hit golf balls and then went to our local Mexican restaurant for dinner. Really an awesome weekend. Too bad, it's 8:30pm and both girls have to study for tests. Sigh. That is not great.

You know what else is not great? That lady mumbling at the Community Dinner that we had no fried chicken. "Why doesn't anyone ever have fried chicken? It's always spaghetti and meatballs, must be because that's cheap," she says. I looked at her as I was clutching my ladle with plastic gloves over the hot pasta sauce in a very warm room and even though I wanted to punch her in the face, I responded, "Oh, your welcome, enjoy." Then she proceeded to take not one but two to-go containers. That was not humbling, that was truly annoying. 

You know what else is not great? I forgot my epi pen at the lacrosse tournament today, so when a bee landed on my leg, I actually screamed and then thrust forward flailing to get it off of me, which resulted in me nailing my head into the railing and now I have an abrasion on my forehead.

But, you know what is great? Today after mass the same deacon I blogged about yesterday was outside greeting people as they left mass. He saw me, gave me a high five and I said, "Look, it's a miracle, I don't need me wheelchair anymore." 

#greatweekend

Seriously Sacred

Last night after dropping the tween/teens at their first semi-formal, I met one of the other mothers to stuff inserts into this Sunday's church bulletin. She and I do most of the marketing for our kid's school and so every 8 weeks or so we get the fun job of showcasing all the great things the children of the school are doing in a one page newsletter and then we stuff 500 of them into the bulletins. I have no idea how I got signed up for this particular job (i.e. big S on my forehead).

We head over to the church about 7:20pm. We thought it would be empty, we forgot about Lent and the whole Stations of the Cross thing. So we decide to hide in the passageway to the choir loft. There was a folding table so we set it up, took the only two seats available and started stuffing. About halfway through the service, the deacon's voice started getting louder and louder. He was going through each Station down the aisle closest to us. He peeked in and then turned off his mic. He came over to us and blessed us each by doing the sign of the cross on our foreheads. He then asked if we needed any prayers. Meanwhile, he is leaning over me, coaxing my arm and repeatedly doing the sign of the cross on my forehead. My friend is just looking at me funny. I say, "No, I'm good, thank you." he looks at my friend and she says, "Yes, please pray for my father" (who is having some health issues). He looks at me again, as he is still blessing me and consoling me. I say, "Sure, please pray for my brother" (dependency issues). He bestows the sign of the cross on my forehead, for the tenth time, and then re-enters the nave of the church and continues with the Stations.

I look at my friend and I said, "That was a little weird." She said, "I am not sure if he was hitting on you or if he really thought something was wrong with you." I asked if there was anything on my forehead, because he either just accosted it, or was really trying to rub something off of it. She then starts cracking up and says, "Oh my Gosh, he really did think something was wrong with you, you ARE sitting in a wheelchair."

There had only been one folding chair and the wheelchair in the hall, so instead of searching for another chair somewhere during the service, I just sat in it. I swear, it could have been one of the funniest things that have ever happened to me. The deacon did come back in later and asked me, "Are you just sitting in that chair, or do you need that chair?" So, he did pick up on the fact that I was a bit perplexed by all of his attention (word of the day).

#stilllaughing #beyondblessed

Seriously Drama

Having one teen and one tween girl = lots of drama going on over in this house this afternoon. Approximately, 1 hour after school pickup this is what has already gone down.

1. I was giving them their chores for the afternoon before the weekend "begins" and as I explained to Car how exactly she should clean the bathroom sink (as this usually ends in a wipe down of the basin of the sink only, not any space around it, not moving any of the sh%t all over the counter or the nasty toothbrush holder). Meanwhile, MK is growling and rolling her eyes at her sister over this conversation that.she.was.not.a.part.of.
2. I was telling MK that when her friends get here to get ready for their first semi-formal* tonight that they need to be conservative with the make-up- light shadow, light eye-liner, blush and lipgloss only. (They are 12 and 13 years old - 7th graders) I got, "Well, Jessica's mom lets her wear whatever makeup she wants." I said, "Well, I'm not letting any raccoon eyes out the door and her mom is dropping her off, so thanks for the heads up, I will be sure to discuss this with her mother."
3. Car and I were heading back from dropping MK at dance class and she lays into me about the summer dance schedule and which Lyrical class she should take, I told her what I discussed with her TEACHER and she starts yelling that it will be too easy and all "these" girls will be in it (I guess girls that she feels are not worthy of being in class with her). So walking in the front door, I am screaming at her, "I have no idea why this is a problem that you are yelling at ME about. I have no control over the schedule, no control over what the teacher told me and no control over how well you dance in the class, but somehow this is now my problem."** As I unlock the door I notice both my next door neighbors out on their front porches. I just shrugged my shoulders and walked in the door as Car stomped upstairs and slammed her door.

Good times. I am sure adding 5 more tween/teens to the mix in a half hour is going to be smooth sailing. Welcome to the celebration (word of the day) ladies, I mean the nuthouse.

*I have a kid old enough to go to a semi-formal, sigh.
**I have a dance mom bumper sticker on my car, which may explain a lot.

Seriously Singed

I never thought I would be one for product endorsement, but this one has really changed how I feel about my hair every single day. I had longer hair for about 6-7 years and decided to cut it choppy and shorter this fall. Approximately, one week after I had it cut, I was blow drying the top layer with my new round wire brush and as I pulled my hair through I realized I had singed it. I guess the heat on my hair dryer was too high for this particular brush?

I had never done anything like this to my hair (not counting those two perms - in '88 and '90 respectively- not sure why I didn't learn the first time). My stylist was just as shocked, so every 6-7 weeks she trims a bit of it off, but since these are short layers she can't really just chop it off. So, I am still dealing with this 7 months later.

Then, I was at Ulta a few weeks ago and after spending $140 on hairspray and bb cream, they gave me a free sample of this spray called It's a 10 miracle leave-in product.  I love this stuff, it makes my hair so soft and the singed parts don't seem quite so rough.

Not sure if these before and after shots do justice of how bad my hair is, you have to look closely. But essentially without this stuff my hair resembles Beetlejuice after he's been electrocuted. It ain't pretty.

Without It's a 10 - see the singed parts 

With It's a 10 - yes, I know you can still see some of the singed ends but doesn't it look softer in general? 

There you have it. I am being productive (word of the day) today with assisting all you dried out, singed and ratty hair gals and guys out there. I am rarely happy with any product I use anywhere on my body (I blame my parents for the bad genes) so if you are a product person - go out and buy this now.

Serioulsy Pain(t)ed

I think I have mentioned that I really want to get my kitchen redone. But, it is not happening now, so the next best thing is to update a different room. I did a reorg of our front hallway this fall, but didn't paint, and while it looks better than it did, it still needs some work. But, I am not the best about deciding on a color to use.  That photo down there shows 5 different colors. There is another wall with um, I think, 3 more. We have decided, I think, on the one second from the left. It is called Booth Bay Gray. Please don't comment on a different color, as I have no more energy or money for more samples.

And, since our stairwell is a blah taupe with a "country" stencil along the rail from the previous owner (that was probably painted in 1999) it is time to paint that, as well. But painting a stairwell is a different ballgame than just a hallway. Since, we kind of need the ceilings done as well, I figured I would get a quote. Well, that did not go over well with hubs. While he is truly my best friend and who knew at age 20 I would be so intuitive (word of the day) to pick just the right life partner and father for my future children. And, he is really handy around the house. Also, he is not one of those guys who leave projects half done. But, (isn't there always a but) he is never home and when he is home, there are only like 2-3 hour windows to get any work done, so any one given project takes a solid 3 to 4 months to complete. Which can be truly painful. It took him 3 months to power wash, scrape the paint, sand and then paint our front porch last summer. And, we both hate the color now. Ok, back to my estimate on this paint job. So, so, not happening. He says, "When did this $100 job turn into a $1,000 job?" I said, well, "If we are getting the stairwell done, maybe we should get the ceilings done and the job would get done in a week and not 20 weeks."

Next morning, I spot hubs on the Lowes website looking at ladders. "So, you are really going to buy a ladder to paint the stairwell, even though you are a afraid of heights, and we have no idea what an estimate would even be," says me. 3 hours later he brought home the mother of all telescoping ladders (for $189) He sets it up in the stairwell to see how it would work and then got stuck between it and the railing (I was upstairs folding laundry and had no phone or camera on me or I would have taken a picture after I was done cackling at him). He had to carry it all the way up to fold it and carry it back down. Now it rests in.my.dining.room.

For the next 3 months or so, I have this lovely view from my kitchen. I should have just gotten the estimates without him knowing. At least, I would feel better about this situation.

#whycantijusthiresomeone

Seriously What?

So, I was on the phone with my mom the other night. She asked how the weight thing was going. You know, the few extra lbs I have been unsuccessfully shedding. I said, "the same, it's annoying" I was not about to divulge I had in fact gained another pound. Then she goes into a "I remember turning 40 and how everything changed". blah.blah.blah. Then she says to me, "Well since I have lost so much weight in the past few months, we should just ship each other our clothes, you can have mine that are too big for me and I can have yours that are too tight for you." Yup, my mother requesting us to swap clothes. I do love my mother dearly and I sympathize with her current situation at home as it is not an ideal lifestyle (some other day, some other post) I commend (word of the day) her for trying to be humorous. Well, I hope she was trying to be humorous, but I really think she said it to annoy me. My 67 year old mother wants to swap clothes with me.

#seriouslymom

Seriously Cranky

I have been really cranky at home lately. I wish that this wasn't the case, but in fact, I keep finding myself snapping at my kids. I used to be on a med for my auto-immune issues that would help with chronic joint pain. I stopped taking it about 3 weeks ago in conjunction with being gluten-free so I would have a better "base line" for my health. Plus, being gluten-free is supposed to help with inflammation so I was just hoping I actually didn't need it anymore. But, I can't really decide. I do not have as severe joint pain in general, but I threw my back out 1 1/2 weeks ago (again) and that particular joint is terrible (sacral, left side) but the rest of me feels OK (word of the day) joint-wise but emotionally, I am leaving a lot to be desired.

Car and I just keep butting heads. MK and I seem OK for the most part, but that younger one can really push my buttons. Example: Saturday she found an over the shoulder sports bag in the basement. It looks something like this -

She asked if she could use it for school. I think I mentioned that my kids go to a Catholic school and that said school likes to send home several very heavy textbooks for studying and homework at least 4 nights a week. I said, "No way, you have to have a two shoulder bag for school." So, she switched all of her lacrosse equipment to it instead. Fast forward to the next day. She finds another one of these bags in the basement. Hubs gets a lot of freebies at cable events. She brings it up; decoratively duct tapes the front of it, then comes to show us her bag and how excited she is about it. I said it looks great. She shows her dad and then says, "Ok I am going to switch it over to my book bag now." Umm, "What?" This ended in a lot of stomps and door slamming, by me. Did I stifle her creativity, did I overreact to something not that big of a deal, and did I not choose my battle wisely? Yes, yes, yes. But I don't care. I am sick and tired of the blatant disregard for anything I say at all by the 10 year old. It is unraveling me at high speed. And, this is making me realize, I should probably be adding meds to my daily quota, not taking them away.

Seriously Delish

My mouth feels like my taste buds are exploding into fireworks right now, but in a good way. I sometimes make this bean salad referred to as Cowboy Caviar. I hate the name but it sure is tasty. Now that I have been gluten-free for almost 7 weeks*, I have needed to come up with more creative dining choices, especially for lunch. I made this traditional Cowboy Cav a few weeks ago and was in the mood again today. After preparing the dressing, I realized I did not have all of the ingredients, like 2 of the main ingredients, so I improvised and made my own. 

Because I am so thoughtful (word of the day) I am going to share it with you all today. You.must.try.it. Then comment here so you can tell me what you thought.

HK's Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients
2 Tbs red-wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp hot sauce (I used Tabasco - use less if you don't like things hot)
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
1 firm, ripe avocado
1/4 of a fresh lemon juice
1 can black-eyed peas (drained and rinsed)
1 cup sweet corn kernels (defrosted, or drained if canned)
2 tsp diced sweet onion
1/3 cup diced red pepper
1/3 cup diced cilantro
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts drained and diced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix vinegar, hot sauce, oil and garlic. Toss to combine. Peel, pit and cut avocado into 1/2 inch pieces, add to dressing and mix gently. Squeeze juice of a 1/4 lemon over the avocado.
2. Add drained peas and corn to the mix. Add the chopped sweet onion, cilantro and artichoke. Gently mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Serve with gluten-free (or not) corn tortilla chips and/or put over lettuce. Enjoy!

I ate half of it for lunch today

*I weighed myself at week 6 and I have successfully gained an additional pound. I am eating less, more lean and green, exercise 4 days a week and I am up over 5 pounds total in 2 months. I hate being 40. #40seriouslysucks

Seriously Peace

I think I have mentioned that my house is not big, in fact, it is quite small, and I don't really have a problem with that considering I am the one who has to clean it. But, there are moments when I want just one more room, in the back, with a door that locks from the outside so I can just have some peace (word of the day).

Our "office" is one wall of our kitchen. I normally LOVE that our computer space is in our kitchen space as this is where we always are. I know what my kids are doing online, I can help them with homework, or stop them from watching one too many kitten videos on YouTube. But, because I am spending more time on the computer than I normally even do typing this blog, I have realized that sometimes I just want some privacy.  So, I guess I need to add laptop to my list of wants (and $50K to put the addition on the back). I am currently typing day 18 of 30 this morning so that I can check blogging off my list of to do items today. While typing I have had Car over my shoulder, "What you doing mom? Blogging? Is it about me?" Why yes, dear, now it is. Hubs is listening to some country singer on YouTube, he says I can have the computer now, but he still wants to hear the song. But I, of course, just want some peace and quiet to think about what I am going to write. I put my head down on the counter to reiterate this point and when I pick it up, they are each over one of my shoulders reading the screen to mock me.

The song ends, Car and hubs are heading out for errands and finally I can concentrate. Hubs walks back in with the Bona box (hardwood floor mop that I ordered on amazon prime) sticking out of him and says, "Look hon, you still give me a Bona after 17 years of marriage."

#nonsense #dotheyevergrowup

Seriously Singing

MK did the first reading at First Friday mass today. I was not able to stay for all of mass, but I was there for the first half (I'm such a Half-lic). The hymn that was sung by the choir at the start of mass was On Eagles Wings. This is one of those hymns that I know every single word to because I too, went to Catholic grade school.

Once in my early 20's I was out with friends over the summer at a bar in my hometown. I ran into a group of guys that were still all friends with each other from my grade school. They graduated a year ahead of me, but none of them had gone to the same high school as me. So, I had not seen any of them, I don't think, since they were in 8th grade, about 8 years prior. It was a huge bar, one or two of these guys came across the bar to talk to me. We were catching up over a few beers, reminiscing about grade school,  and our shared history (word of the day).  Then, out of nowhere I start singing On Eagles Wings at the top of my lungs (I have a weird feeling I was over served) and these two guys join in. Next thing I know we are singing so loud in what I think was an attempt to get the other group of guys across the bar to hear us and join in. I have no recollection if they did or not. I think we next broke out in the little ditty His Banner Over Me is Love, with motions! My friends had totally abandoned me at this point but I don't think I cared.

Every time I hear either of these hymns I suddenly crave a Natty Light,  and can't help but think of that smoky bar and the camaraderie of those classmates. Probably not the correct intention of a couple of church hymns, but it's a helluva memory!

Seriously Dreading

Today it is beautiful out, finally! I should be so exited to take on today, but nonetheless, not so much. I am working today, which is not a problem, looking forward to that because then I don't even have to really think about all the other stuff going on. I know this is not the case with most working moms. My job is the type that when I am there, we deal with each client and project as it comes in, we set realistic deadlines and we do what we can in between helping customers. I know my boss stresses some about it all, but the rest of the shop girls can just punch out when our day is done and not worry about a thing work related. 

And, on the flip side, while at work, I do not really think about what I have to get done the rest of the day. I am able to put that out of my head because there is nothing I can do about it while at work. That is a lovely thing. I do check my texts at work, but I don't check email until I get home. 

After work today I have to take MK to the orthopedic. She has been having consistent knee pain since last July. I kept thinking it was going to coincide with some sort of growth spurt, but that's not the case. She can no longer go up on pointe at ballet because of the pain. She takes Advil before class and uses a heat pad every day. It's one of those mom-worrying moments. I am sure I am over thinking it like I tend to do, but I am just praying this doesn't turn into anything long term or serious. It brings back so many memories of my ortho appointments throughout my childhood due to gymnastics injuries. 

Then in addition to the appointment this afternoon, hubs and I have an event tonight. The event itself is a positive awards kind of thing, recognizing those in our county that help those that need it. The organization serves the homeless, the hungry, the emotionally and physically handicapped, immigrants, the marginalized and the vulnerable. My husband is on the board of directors and we go to the annual Celebration of Charity event each year. It is a humbling (word of the day) event to attend. But it is also incredibly boring. Tonight they are honoring not just one, but two politicians plus a priest. I am sure the speeches will be short and to the point, right? I am taking bets on two things. How long the event will run and how many people I will catch nodding off. 

Seriously Dairy Fairy

I swear I was born in the wrong decade. I think I should have been a 50's kind of mom. About 9 months ago I started using a dairy delivery service. Yes, I have a milk box on my front porch and yes I do get glass quarts of milk (for the most part). I absolutely love it! And it is not just a milk delivery, they are a full service operation bringing me locally produced foods including meat, pies, breads, eggs, pasta, sauces, pierogis, granola, honey, empanadas, pizza, pickles, cookies, you name it, right to my front door, every week! I have to place my order on Friday's by noon for the next week's Wednesday delivery. So, guess what? Since I have absolutely no short term memory left in my brain, it is like Christmas morning every.single.wednesday. About 7am each week my dog starts barking and I know my milk and goodies have arrived.

Our family favorites - chocolate milk by Ronnybrook Farm,  Peg's Eggs, Noble Pies chocolate bread (for MK) and the gluten-free zucchini muffins are a little taste of heaven. The favorite is the Lowland sweet (word of the day) Italian sausage. Best sausage I have ever put in my mouth. period.

This morning's delivery

Seriously Tuned Out

A friend reminded me of this story tonight. Seamas, our exchange student was very, very excited that we had a piano in the house. The 2nd day she lived with us she asked if she could play. I, being the pleaser that I am said, "Yes, of course". Day 3 we all wake up at 4am to the pounding on the piano. Apparently, I needed to be more specific about when she could play the piano. Day 4 she began at 8am after she ate a hot dog for breakfast. Things were not starting out well.

She had not taken lessons in a few years, and now that she was in America and only went to school for 7 1/2 hours a day versus her normal 12 hours, she had A LOT of free time. But none of this free time was spent with us, she spent her quality (word of the day) time playing Korean video games on her laptop or playing the piano. She had one particular song she played over and over. I later learned it was the theme song to a Chinese soap opera.

We interviewed 3 separate piano instructors and she finally settled on the instructor my MK uses. She paid for a one hour lesson a week, by the month in cash. We never saw where she stored her money in her room, she had no bank account, but in the end we think she brought $5K with her in cash in her suitcase with her sports socks.

Back to the piano, once she started lessons she wanted to practice every.single.day. And, at first, this was either during homework time or during dinner and I was close to combustion. My piano is in my front room, my house is not large, there is a front room and a back room (kitchen) on the main floor. That is it. There was no escaping the pounding of the ivories. And while some of the music was lovely, most of it was scales and more scales over and over. And, she played for 3 hours at a time. Did I mention every.single.day? So, by day 9, I had to devise a plan.

I created her a piano schedule. This piano schedule directly correlated with my kids other activities when we were out of the house. It went something like this - Monday 3-4 (Car basketball), Tuesday 3-4 (MK's piano lesson), Wednesday 5-6 (Car ballet), Thursday 4-5 (MK ballet) Friday 3-4 (to get it over with) Saturday - Off (she had her lesson, isn't that enough) Sunday - when we are at church.  She was not happy that I only gave her one hour a day. So I added in, any time we are out of the house, feel free to play as long as you would like. Then I laminated it and put it on her bulletin board.