Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The most non-memorable of memorable moments...

I think Chw was wishing, going into this past three day weekend, that this is what his trilogy of days off might look like. (With a veggie burger, of course.) I went into it imagining the photo moments with which I could post and share with you all. 
Photos I have to share from 72 hours of togetherness and summer kick off weekend bliss= BIG FAT ZERO! 

We had originally planned to go camping. Nope. Big fat fail there too. 

No picnics. No long bike rides. No barbecuing. 

what did we do, you ask? 

Stayed inside, mostly. Played the wii. Got caught up in watching Dark Shadows on Netflix. {No, I am not kidding... I love that silly show, and now Gen does too. Chw hated it, until this weekend, and now he wants to watch it all of the time.} At one point the girls went roller skating. For an afternoon we all ventured the rain and black clouds accompanied by gross wind to go to lunch and a movie. Over all though, our three days lasted almost forever because we did a whole lot of nothing. Aimlessly sleeping in as long as we needed, no planned meals... (since we were supposed to be camping and stuff.) 

Though I am a planner and am left with the guilt that we wasted our time- secretly I loved it. We aren't the people who let any weekend pass like this- much less an extra long one. So, I guess the hammocked hopes of my husband weren't far from the truth, after all, only he was laying around dry and in the house instead of wet outside... he totally deserved a long weekend of nothing! 

Oh yeah, and (aside from togetherness with my family) the absolute highlight of my weekend was listening to Ellie Goulding. If you aren't familiar, I STRONGLY encourage you to become so. It's been quite awhile since I stumbled across someone, musically, that I really loved almost instantly. 

So, what was the highlight of your three day weekend? 



post signature

Monday, May 30, 2011

What I'm most excited about...

Seasonally speaking, it's the first day of summer... :) (even if it's cold and rainy outside!) 

  1. Sparklers
  2. Read a book in the grass
  3. Visit a waterpark
  4. Road trip
  5. Amusement Park
  6. Blow bubbles
  7. Go to the beach
  8. Evenings under outdoor twinkle lights
  9. chopped salad patio dining
  10. picnics in the park
  11. homemade apple pie with fresh vanilla bean ice cream
  12. Lemonade stand
  13. Water balloon fight
  14. Sun tea
  15. Drive-in theater
  16. watermelon
  17. Farmer's market
  18. camping
  19. outdoor concert
  20. float the river
  21. fireworks
  22. garden
  23. visit a zoo
  24. go fishing
  25. movies, outdoors at the park
  26. family bike ride
  27. feed the ducks
  28. paddle boating
  29. smores
  30. attend a baseball game
  31. sangria
  32. sleep under the stars
  33. meet friends at the pool
  34. homemade strawberry shortcake
  35. fly kites
  36. make snow cones
  37. ice cream cones at the fountain
  38. host a BBQ
  39. learn something new
  40. visit a town we've never been to before
  41. homemade freezer pops
  42. run barefoot in the grass
  43. sink toes in the sand 
  44. mason jar candle lit evenings
  45. can peaches
  46. summer reading
  47. pedicures and flip flops
  48. dandelion wishes
  49. hula hoops
  50. ice cream sandwiched between gooey cookies
  51. hand held walks through the neighborhood
  52. grilled salmon
  53. coco-butter lotion
  54. sprinkler rainbows
  55. clear blue skies
  56. swinging
  57. face painting
  58. nearly midnight sunsets
  59. projected movies in the back yard
  60. patio dinners
  61. limes
  62. downtown dates
  63. summer evening talks
  64. fireflies (not here, but I'll see them somewhere) 
  65. washing the car
  66. outdoor bathing, of the dogs
  67. smell of fresh cut grass
  68. the world in bloom, around me
  69. crystal clear, star-dotted skies
  70. margaritas
  71. an abundance of fruit
  72. fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade
  73. camps
  74. smell of chlorine
  75. sunlight streaks on heads of hair
  76. wine tasting
  77. frozen yogurt runs
  78. grilled flatbread pizzas
  79. laughter making the sunshine brighter
  80. sleeping a little later, in the morning
  81. horse rides
  82. Farmer's Markets
  83. fresh berries, tart on my tongue
  84. cocoa butter
  85. sun drenched photos
What about you????


post signature

Thursday, May 26, 2011

A letter AND an explanation...

Dear Crazy home owners, who also own an un-named appliance and repair business in Nampa Idaho; 

Thanks for sharing your beautiful, though incredibly neglected rental property with us! Truly, we love how readily you allowed us to come in and fall in love with this house that has so much potential- if only it could have just a little bit of love... 
We were even willing to accept that the two of you, husband and wife, had COMPLETELY different ideas of what property was actually for rent, what the rent and deposits actually were, when the property would actually be available- or what was going on in general... 
We were cautious but non-judgemental when it seemed like two of your daughters were beyond terrified of you- their dad. 
The part we absolutely didn't love, however, was how once we proved not to be complete morons- you backed out of the rental deal. Really, did you think we would just hand over almost $2,000 to you- 5 weeks ahead of time- when the house still didn't pass safety regulation due to black mold???? Time and time again, over the 5 entire days that we knew you, you attempted to manipulate and swindle us out of money- and yet we repetitively gave you the benefit of the doubt because you were, after all, just looking out for your family... 

When you finally got the clue that no, we weren't morons who would just trustingly hand over even 5 cents to you until you owned up to your responsibility as property owners- that you just bailed on the whole thing in search of someone else a little more naive and stupid- you only made yourself the fools. Gloatingly you seemed to get off a little on thinking you'd left our family "high and dry" with no where to go. If only we'd bailed you out of your health code issues, slaved away on your house and paid you for it too... right? Stupid, stupid us... EXCEPT that, we had no desire to move, before finding your house. We haven't packed a thing. We are still happily in our lease. Our lives, apparently, only changed for the better because we don't have to deal with you after all. I mean, seriously... You guys are insane, you don't communicate with one another about your manipulative/deceitful tactics so that you at least appear on the same page, and you are going to end up with a massive law suit on your hands if you don't own up to the health hazards in your house and your business practices. 

The point of this thank you letter is two fold: 
One: Thanks for showing us your crazy true colors BEFORE we were renting from you and your greedy, dishonest selves. 
Two: While we are going camping, happily settled into our currently lovely home and planning a great family vacation to California- you still have to deal with the black mold and the condition of that house... looks like you're the fools after all. :)

Sincerely, 
the people you gloated about screwing over who are WAY BETTER off, (and obviously far more intelligent than you are.) 

P.S. 
to further drive home the fact that we aren't complete idiots, we did talk to the BBB and read reviews about your appliance repair business BEFORE doing any professional dealings with you. THAT is the reason we knew you weren't a man of integrity and why we were so adamant not to trust your "word" on anything. Word to the wise, buddy, no matter what your religious beliefs are- karma has a way of balancing things out and you, my friend, are a dirty businessmen. Have fun dealing with the effects of that... Need proof about the whole Karma thing? We are good, honest people and life bailed us out of this mess with you before it was too late... 

P.P.S. 
Everytime you guys didn't seem to have a clue about what your spouse lied about; promised or mentioned- both my husband and I were on the same page. And our kids, they aren't scared of us... Well that's not entirely true. Our daughter's get a little nervous if something spills on the carpet because my husband is super anal about taking care of stuff. {Gosh, it's a good thing you didn't let someone like us rent your abused and totally trashed house... } but otherwise, our kids don't cower in fear of us. 

post signature

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

On Gossip...

Over the weekend a dear family friend spent some time with Genny. During their time together Genny said some things that weren't entirely honest about her sister. Perhaps it was that feeling of power that comes from having information no one else has, but soon Genny started talking about things that weren't true at all. When we spoke with her about it, Genny's bright idea was to begin telling us things about other people. Though there was a shred of a possibility that there was some truth to her words- most of the things spewing from her mouth were just wrong. 

Tonight, for family night, before the dessert and games came out- we had a bit of an object lesson on gossip. 

i had Gen hold her hand out, and I filled it with Elmer's Glue. 
Your mouth is the glue bottle, the glue your gossip and your palm is people you are gossiping to. 

I took her hand and smeared it onto a blank piece of paper. 
The paper is the people you've talked about. 

She looked at me, confused. 
Take it back Genny. What you said. Put the words you gave to others back into your mouth. 

She tried. i will give her credit, but no matter what she did, the glue made a bigger mess. 
Well, at the very least try to take away the damage your gossip did to the people you talked about. 
No matter what she did, the paper was wet, wrinkled and ruined.

It definitely brought the message home more so than just telling her would have...





post signature

Monday, May 23, 2011

Fear of change... Change the fear...

I was chatting with my sister Jennie this morning, about how quickly things change. How quickly her plans to stay home all summer became an entirely different plan involving the east coast, traveling with her kids and Independence Day. To a more tragic tune is how quickly so many in Joplin (and other areas) went from a normal Sunday afternoon to mass devastation. 
My friday trip to buy bread led us to the path of moving. 
After the details were (mostly) ironed out, Chw's greatest affliction- the fear- set in. There is so much pressure heaped upon the shoulders of a man. Thankfully I've been his wife for the better part of seventeen years and I knew this tide of fear would come in. 
The tide always comes rises... 
When he confessed to me, today, his fears- I was ready. 
In complete seriousness he exclaimed that this bad feeling he had was stronger than any bad feeling he's ever had. It's not like any other time before, he assured me. Finally, after he'd exhaled all of his worries and the pressures behind his worries he told me that he just didn't know if it was a good decision. 
"in your bad feeling, do you feel fear?" 
Yes, a lot of fear. he exclaimed, before back tracking a little bit. He knew where I was headed...
"If your bad feeling, this dooming certainty had no traces of fear than I'd be more inclined to trust it as a premonition or sign from God. God doesn't speak to us through fear though, and so I'm pretty sure we're ok to move forward. What do you think? 

And really, in six weeks when we're settled into the house and all of the work is behind us- he'll feel no inkling of that sickening fear. Usually I'm the one who struggles more with the change but not this time. :) Hopefully Chw can say the same too because that's a pretty miserable seat to sit in... 

So, we move forward... I'm excited to take on this new project, and this new journey, complete with pictures. It's NOTHING like we thought our summer would kick off- but we are ok with that... 



post signature

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Signed, Realistically Hopeful...

When we lost our house, in Michigan, back in 2007 and made the very quick decision to stick our hypothetical tail between our legs and move home- we promptly moved into the very first rental we could find that would work for us. Though it  is far too standard/cookie cutter for our tastes, (literally EVERY TIME someone new comes over they tell us of another person they know who has our same exact floor plan.) it's been a good house. We moved into it with a lot of work needing to be done, and a property manager who- once the lease was signed- failed to do any of it. We've repaired and painted, dug up and replanted... Over the past four years this very standard rental has become home. 
We could have moved, with each lease renewal, but we stayed. 
Partly we just didn't want to move, and partly we were fine here... 

Then, in January, people bought the house next door. People who have multiple screaming matches every week. People who fail to supervise their very young children who do things like run around the culdesac with knives, steal our mail, throw their garbage in our yard and pull out the neighbors flowers. The man counterpart of the "new" neighbors is very violent and frankly, we just keep to ourselves. The police are next door at least once per week and since this became our "new normal" we've begun to entertain the thought of moving. Months passed though, and our lease renewal date approached. (July 1) 

On Friday, just like any other day, I drove by this little farm house that I've driven by a million other times. I'd never noticed it until that little "for rent" sign was out front. Sharing it with Chw, we allowed ourselves a twinge of excitement and called to do a walk through. 
We love this house. 
It needs some work. It needs some paint. It needs some major clean up. And, well, like I mentioned- it's old. But we love it. So much character. Genny cried when she saw the yard and the trees, the chicken coop and the "geese". (which are actually ducks, but whatever.) She wants this house more than we do, and that's really saying a lot. Plus, in our cookie cutter neighborhood there are no kids Gen's age, but at the farm house the next door neighbors have a 12 year old girl. Genny nearly fainted...
And honestly, this house couldn't be more perfect for us! And oh, it has SO MUCH character! 

Chw has been there three times now, and met with the owners. Gen and I have been there twice. We've offered to take on the work, (we like that kind of stuff) in exchange for them holding the house through June. They're thinking about it. I guess there is an elderly couple interested in the house and the wife of the owner would rather they have it because they are older and won't be having any drunken raging parties. The husband seems interested in not being responsible for all of the work that needs done so it appears he favors us moving in. 

We find out tomorrow. I'm nervous. While I truly am fine renewing and staying here, where our things are already unpacked and there is only a summer looming ahead of us- with no major renovations and home restoration projects- I really do want that house. 

Cross your fingers for us, please??? 

post signature

Friday, May 20, 2011

When Seasons Change...

I am participating in 5 Minute Friday at the gypsy mama...

START

It's the wet in the air which reminds me that even the cooler mornings are replaceable. Interchangable. 
Between my fingers i grasp the fading tree blossoms, giving way to budding leaves. I want to be sad that our twelve second spring is fleeting- but how can I be? 
Spring paves the way for longer evenings, for neon extended sunsets. 
For growth and beauty, sustainable meals adorning family dinner tables. 
The cycle continues, and inside my own blossoms wither as I change. 
As i grow. 
I feel, on some limbs, myself becoming more of who I'm meant to be. 
Or closer, somehow. 
The world... This world... My world, everyday, reflects more and more of the way God is molding and shaping me. 
Peaceful moments will still give way to hard times, to dark days, to desperately feeling hours- but no matter the season, one thing will forever remain true. The sun always rises. The dark will always flee from the light. Best of all, once that warm sunlight touches my face- I will always see that I am better somehow- not in spite of my life's winter, but because of it.
It always comes back to gratitude... 

STOP

post signature

Journaling {week six}...

.In my life this week…
I finally started to feel well again. What a wonderful feeling... 
I celebrated by playing catch up, in the kitchen, by baking. I wanted to make sure I at least got a few dozen muffins in the freezer before the temps got super hot. Those of you reading this from the Pacific Northwest likely can't imagine that happening anytime soon... 


Me either. 
In our homeschool this week…
As we are in "unschool"/summer mode, we were the epitome of taking it easy. Played some wii, watched some movies (during the rainy days), baked dozens of muffins, Gen made dinner by herself one night (Spring vegetable pot pie), went roller skating, lots of fashion design happened and we read and read and read. Already, summer is divine! 


On Thursday we wrapped up our second year of our Mother/Daughter book club. 
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
this weekend we have the Farmer's market and brunch with friends. We may make a trip to the art museum, (we have a pass) and then on Sunday we have a going away party for dear friends.
My favorite thing this week was…
Genny making a dinner that her family RAVED over... And our muffins. Amazing recipe. YUM! 
What’s working/not working for us…
Sleeping in is definitely working! 
A photo, video, link, or quote to share
ALSO, if you haven't already done it: I'm hosting a summer book club and I'd love for you to join! 



post signature

Thursday, May 19, 2011

I need help filling my jar...

My dear, lovely and amazingly creative Readers, 

I struggled to find a more clever way of titling this post... And then I thought to myself, eh- lets just put it bluntly... 

Back in March I went to this incredible sale of home decor and design proportions... I purchased a few wonderful pieces, for me, one of which is this beautiful oversized apothocary jar. I had no idea what I would do with it, but I didn't care. (Mistake one.) 
Finally, (and I was quite proud of myself, to boot) I decided it should go in my bathroom. 
Where it has sat, for nearly 2 months.
Empty... 

And I need your help... What can I do with it? 

Here are a few shots of the bathroom itself, and the jar. (and please realize that yes, i do know this room is the ONLY room, in our house, not painted. The reason for this is that we actually can't paint it- for explanations too long for this post...)









post signature

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

La Vie En rose...

If I were to pick my favorite meal of the day, I would choose brunch. 

In fact, brunch sort of umbrellas a lot of things: 
- favorite thing for my husband to make. 
- favorite date. 
- favorite thing to make, in the kitchen, with my husband. 
- favorite _______...
- favorite .... 

A few weeks ago my husband and I had the rare opportunity to venture out and try a local brunch place, just the two of us. {That alone was divine...}

We opted for a French-American place in the lower level of the hotel we honeymooned in some seventeen years ago. 

I had their incredible classic french toast and the BEST Chai latte I've ever had... 

Chw had biscuits and gravy (eh...) and the most delectable hash browns on the entire planet. 

Over all, MAJOR brunch success... 

So much so, that I had to share just a couple of shots. Please forgive the fact that i was so enamored with the one on one brunch time with my husband that I forgot to shap photos of the food... 





What is your favorite date thing to do? 

post signature

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Nobody puts Genny in a corner...

When I was twelve, there were some odd transitions happening at home so I spent a lot of time at my best friend  Melanie's house. On one such weekend I remember laying on the floor of her tv room watching Dirty Dancing over and over and over again. I wanted to be Baby. I was swept up in the music, in the magic of it, in the Knight in Shining Armor that was Johnny. Before that weekend, I hadn't known a movie could swoop in and capture the heart of a girl... 
of me... 

Last week I was really sick. Wanting to entertain Gen, one evening, but not do anything but lay around in my virally infested misery, I decided to start cleaning off the Tivo and whatever gems of PG Rated goodness it had waiting for us. Apparently at some point over the past few weeks, ABC Family had aired an edited Dirty Dancing and my smart little Tivo had picked it up. Not being A) a fan of ABC Family, or B) one with any faith in what they call "family appropriate" programming- I was cautious. My mind replayed all of the reasons why I would not want my very impressionable and emotionally immature daughter to see this movie... And then a voice in the back of my head said "you saw this when you were twelve, at an impressionable and difficult time in your life..." And so, snuggled there on the couch, I introduced Genny to Baby and Johnny... 

All specialness aside, she loved this movie way more than I thought she would. 

One major thing I learned was that Genny's knowledge of the word "dirty" exclusively means dirty... like DIRT-y. She had no clue that it meant anything else. She finally asked where the mess would come in, and I had to explain. Which led to my second realization: that movie's "dirty" dancing, is pretty tame compared to a lot of todays typical dancing... 

Anyway. As the beginning credits started, and Patrick Swayze's name appeared, Gen gasped and said "oh my gosh, Patrick Swayze is in this?" I confirmed and she got even more excited. I silently wondered how she even knew who he was, but didn't say anything. About half an hour into the movie she finally asked "When will Patrick Swayze be in the movie?" 

That is him, Gen. 

"Who? Johnny? Oh. Ohhh..." 

Apparently when her Girl Scout troop was working on their Dancing badge, the leaders had talked about him. she had no idea what he looked like, but now she does. She knows EXACTLY what he looked like. EXACTLY what he sounded like. 

She is head over heals in love with him, in fact. 

She listens to the soundtrack, which was "boring" before, religiously. She's Like the Wind, (which he of course sang) is her absolute favorite song. She sits at her vanity, fake microphone in hand, singing it every spare moment she has.



The other day we went out to lunch and to the museum for a girl's day. Over salads, at the Cheesecake Factory, Gen looked at me seriously and said "I think for Christmas I'd like a poster of Patrick Swayze for my room." 

hmmm... 


post signature

Monday, May 16, 2011

May...

I am so happy it's today!
No, seriously... Today is a wonderful day. 
Not only is it a new week... 
It is the day that I kick off the second annual Rainy Day in May summer book club! 

Last year's was so fantastic! We had just under 30 participants, last summer, through this blog, twitter and facebook. Lots of fun!

So- curious? 
Good! 
Here's how it works: 
- On the 3rd Monday of each summer month, {May, June, July, August} I will post that month's summer title. 
- On the Friday BEFORE "announcement Monday" I will put a post up about the book, and we can discuss. {Of course, last summer many discussion happened, in many formats, between those dates- and that is absolutely fine.} 

That's it... One book per month (easy commitment) with the benefit of connecting with other's who are also reading it... Couldn't ask for a better summer goal! 

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your favorite book mark, convince your sister or best friend to join us and head to your local library or book store and start reading today... {And then come back on June 17th...}

On that note- here is our May title: 

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. 

From the Author's website...

When five young mothers—Frankie, Linda, Kath, Ally, and Brett—first meet in a neighborhood park in the late 1960s, their conversations center on marriage, raising children, and a shared love of books. Then one evening, as they gather to watch the Miss America Pageant, Linda admits that she aspires to write a novel herself, and the Wednesday Sisters Writing Society is born. The five women slowly, and often reluctantly, start filling journals, sliding pages into typewriters, and sharing their work. In the process, they explore the changing world around them: the Vietnam War, the race to the moon, and a women's movement that challenges everything they believe about themselves. At the same time, the friends carry one another through more personal changes—ones brought about by infidelity, longing, illness, failure, and success. With one another's support and encouragement, they begin to embrace who they are and what they hope to become, as The Wednesday Sisters welcomes readers to experience, along with its heroines, the power of dreaming big.




post signature

Friday, May 13, 2011

journaling {week five}...

.In my life this week…
{Due to the blogger outage, this is late}
This week I had the priviledge of taking my daughters to see Wicked! It was our second time, and just as good as memories served! It was the best part of a very busy week. The second best thing was that we finished school... Finished is a loose term though because we will carry on, throughout the summer, in more of an un-schooling, "life learning" manner... 
In our homeschool this week…
Well... we finished our book learning... We released over a thousand lady bugs into our roses... We went on a field trip to the Art Museum and did an interactive study on the fashion, art and heart in shoe design. 
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
My oldest had a volleyball game on Monday and a tournament tonight so we'll be busy with that. There is also Girl Scouts, the Farmer's Market, church and such. 
My favorite thing this week was…
Wicked... 
And getting well! Just a hollow, nagging cough remains. 
What’s working/not working for us…
Warm days, patio lunches and no book work! everything feels like it's working these days... 
A photo, video, link, or quote to share
a reminder of our Mother's Day crepes... but only because we've had crepes, in variation, four other times this week. Due to an extra amount of batter and loads of fresh berries... I guess it could be worse! :) 



post signature

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Grab a cookie, sit back and watch the show...

Last weekend Chw turned 37... 
While he was busy having an emotional breakdown, over his aging, we planned a little something quiet that might make him feel a little bit better. Unfortunately I forgot the camera existed at all when it came to photos of the handful of friends involved, or of our kids. 
Or us. 
Or even him, the birthday boy himself... 
Oh well. 
At any rate we grilled Turkey burgers and had chips. (I'm the vegetarian, he's the meat and chip lover... I let it slide, for him...) 
Aubree and Gen baked him those oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies found EVERYWHERE on the internet. General consensus was that they are far too rich to eat more than one (or all of one). For Chw though, who possibly loves cookies and milk more than he loves his wife {just kidding...} it was perfect... 


 See... Milk. Yum... helps with the richness, some...
 And bottled Mexican coke. Which is just awesome. Double YUM! (yes, he loves this too.)
Happy Birthday, husband! 

After the eating of our meaty, followed by rich confections we ventured to the cinema to see Thor. Genny, happy to tag along, decided to make it her next Gem episode... 



post signature

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Why yes, it IS that time again... Almost...

Some of you might remember that we had a humble little book club last summer that was SO much fun... Well, it's getting to be time to launch the book club again! 

I am so happy it's today!
No, seriously... Today is a wonderful day. 
Not only is it a new week... 
It is the day that I kick off the second annual Rainy Day in May summer book club! 

Last year's was so fantastic! We had just under 30 participants, last summer, through this blog, twitter and facebook. Lots of fun!

In case you weren't around last summer, or you've forgotten, here's how it works: 
- On the 3rd Monday of each summer month, {May, June, July, August} I will post that month's summer title. 
- On the Friday BEFORE "announcement Monday" I will put a post up about the book, and we can discuss. {Of course, last summer many discussion happened, in many formats, between those dates- and that is absolutely fine.} 

That's it... One book per month (easy commitment) with the benefit of connecting with other's who are also reading it... Couldn't ask for a better summer goal! 

{Don't panic though, as simple as it may be, I'll repost this info with each of the four announcements.}

I really hope you'll consider joining us. I personally got to know a few of my readers more personally, through the book club, and am so proud to call them friends still today! 

So, be sure to tune in next Monday for May's announcement and- in the mean time- spread the word! 




post signature

Monday, May 9, 2011

It was all about me, after all...

Sometimes I whine too much... Sometimes I can become that horrible woman who complains far too excessively that I fail to see the beautiful blessing before my own face due to the obesity of my self inflicted misery. 
Though not always, sometimes days like holidays where I am "supposed" to be the focus, (i.e. birthdays and Mother's Day) and days where I am miserably sick are days that fit that description. 
I'm not proud. 
When I woke up horribly sick on Thursday morning, (Thank you, broncial flu-like misery who has taken up residence in my body!) I was determined not to let this weekend fall victim to my stupidity. I sucked it up and behaved well (although increasingly sicker) throughout my husband's birthday festivities over the weekend. I spent time genuinely laughing with my beautiful daughters, husband and our friends. 
It was nice... 
By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around though, my fever had spiked and it was clear that I was not doing myself any favors by pretending I was absolutely fine. My pity party train arrived and I was sad that Mother's day would be a total bust... 
But it wasn't! 
Plans were changed to accommodate my homebound state and my family pulled off what may be my most fabuslous Mother's day ever... 

Amazing crepes, for breakfast, with both girls and Chw. It was perfect... 

Genny created an "at home" day spa for me, complete with Ambient spa music, low lighting and gentle speaking. She presented me with a "menu" of services to choose from. Her menu included never ending cups of steaming tea, fruit skewers, yogurt dip and chocolates. 


 I chose a Eucalyptus and Green tea hand soak and manicure, A milk and honey foot soak and pedicure and a half hour peaches and cream facial. Divine...

 I also got the most amazing cards... Being a word girl, i have a soft spot for cards and all three of my kinds managed to find the BEST cards. Each one specifically spoke of things which seemed to be just in reference to our relationships... Very moving and lovely words, both the pre-printed and the hand written. (and they all three picked out blue floral cards, which is pretty funny. The pink one is from my husband...)

Added bonus was, it was Sunday so I got to skype with Lucas! It does my heart so good to see that boy's face. Makes the miles between Idaho and Germany feel somehow smaller.


My husband brought me two dozen roses and also gave me some hair products i've been wanting (to go along with the "pampered" theme, chinese take out for dinner and entertained me with Glee Karaoke, which was super fun. Over all, though i'm not feeling any better- my heart is feeling so full and blessed by my beautiful family. I truly am a "simplicity" and quality time girl, and my family really made me feel loved and appreciated... 

I guess, in a way, I also gave myself that gift by not allowing my miserable moments to overcloud my life vision. 
post signature