See that baby right there? I just ordered her college cap and gown and graduation announcements.
Five minutes, I tell you. Five minutes ago, I was wrapping her in that little lamb blanket.
Two minutes ago, she looked like this:
Monday, March 28, 2011
Aches
See that baby right there? I just ordered her college cap and gown and graduation announcements.
Five minutes, I tell you. Five minutes ago, I was wrapping her in that little lamb blanket.
Two minutes ago, she looked like this:
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Dreaded Blue Screen and the New Stove
There's such a thing as procrastination, and then there are those of us who take it to an art form. Daily, I think of new things to share with you, and daily, I see the clock tick away while I find new ways to let the chores pile up around me. Meanwhile, last night my life and all the photos I've uploaded since June flashed in front of me as I got the most bizarre screen on my laptop - I caught words like "crash dump" and "serious" and "get ready to spend big bucks because we're going down in flames" before everything went blue. I did what I always do in times of crisis; I unplugged, paced, and then turned it all back on. Perhaps I'm livin' on borrowed time, but the computer seems to have recovered for the moment; which led me to realize if you're going to see any of these pictures I've been snapping, I'd better make hay while the sun shines.
Other spine-tingling excitement from my world: it really HASN'T been my fault that the brownies were crunchy on the edges and liquid on the inside, or that the cupcakes looked more like pancakes, or that the chicken pot pie took so long to bake that I could have wrestled a live chicken, plucked him and gathered sticks to build a fire upon which to roast his wiry carcass in less time. Sir finally (and in starving desperation) convinced me to stop lamenting the perimenopausal loss of my cooking skills and call a repairman. Hans (yep, really!) confirmed that my Frigidaire range was as unstable as my laptop appears to be, and will be exchanging it for another tomorrow; which is an incredible relief as we are having dinner guests Saturday and I am all about serving actual fully-cooked food to my company with less than a 5-hour margin of error.
In yet another installment of Creative Ways to Avoid Housework, I'm still having to wear the splint on my right wrist. What an adventure in teaching an old dog new tricks! Sir and I played a very competitive game of Battleship the other night, and I was humbled by how bad I am at manipulating those tiny red and white plastic pegs with my left hand. (In the interest of preserving the man's fragile ego, I will not disclose that I whomped him in Battleship AND in UNO.) It hurts to type on the computer, too; but not nearly as badly as it hurts trying to vacuum, dust or mop. Never let it be said I don't have my priorities straight.
Speaking of priorities, can it BE that my baby, The Girl, is interviewing for teaching jobs this week? I'm positive it was only 30 months and not 30 years ago that I was interviewing for teaching jobs. I remember exactly what I wore (and J & P would tell you it would still be in my closet if it weren't for them) as if it were yesterday. How is it possible that life goes this quickly? If you are The Girl's friend on Facebook, DO NOT MISS the photo of her in her classroom with the leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day. She looks every inch the beautiful teacher. If I knew how to do it, I'd grab that photo and post it here. Wait, I think I did it!
Isn't she gorgeous? How does one even begin to go about thanking God for a blessing like that?
Sir and I, along with another chaplain and Sir's able assistant and his adorable wife, had the adventure of leading a marriage retreat a couple of weekends ago down in Bavaria. We had a great bunch of couples, and though it was a lot of work, we rewarded ourselves with a brief drive through Austria on Sunday afternoon when we were finished. I think when people picture Germany in general, they see the Bavarian area - I described it in more detail back in October when I posted the pics of Oberammergau. It's breathtaking, quaint, and in many instances, so majestic it doesn't even look real. The area where we live (in a city) has its charms, its castles, its rivers and vineyards and cathedrals; but the incredible stark beauty of the Alps is just incomparable. I worked my poor camera phone nearly to death just shooting out of the windows of the car as we drove. I wish I had the knowledge and camera skillz (and yeah, maybe a real camera would help) to show y'all the perspective better - you cannot even imagine how big these mountains are.
Anyway, enjoy these poor non-photoshopped efforts. Upcoming topics: a very, very somber and disturbing visit to Dachau concentration camp; our latest visit from our precious Belgian friends; the BALL; German Chinese food and the lack of German Mexican food; flying home for the super bowl on a cargo plane; the visit to the car and plane museum (lots of photos for my brother R). It's oh-so-yesterday, but the pictures are oh-so-cute.
Oh, and one more thing! In case this, my 4th Gateway computer in 16 years, goes kaput....I'd love advice from you, Bloggys and Blogettes, on a replacement. Please post comments below - I look forward to hearing from YOU!
Other spine-tingling excitement from my world: it really HASN'T been my fault that the brownies were crunchy on the edges and liquid on the inside, or that the cupcakes looked more like pancakes, or that the chicken pot pie took so long to bake that I could have wrestled a live chicken, plucked him and gathered sticks to build a fire upon which to roast his wiry carcass in less time. Sir finally (and in starving desperation) convinced me to stop lamenting the perimenopausal loss of my cooking skills and call a repairman. Hans (yep, really!) confirmed that my Frigidaire range was as unstable as my laptop appears to be, and will be exchanging it for another tomorrow; which is an incredible relief as we are having dinner guests Saturday and I am all about serving actual fully-cooked food to my company with less than a 5-hour margin of error.
In yet another installment of Creative Ways to Avoid Housework, I'm still having to wear the splint on my right wrist. What an adventure in teaching an old dog new tricks! Sir and I played a very competitive game of Battleship the other night, and I was humbled by how bad I am at manipulating those tiny red and white plastic pegs with my left hand. (In the interest of preserving the man's fragile ego, I will not disclose that I whomped him in Battleship AND in UNO.) It hurts to type on the computer, too; but not nearly as badly as it hurts trying to vacuum, dust or mop. Never let it be said I don't have my priorities straight.
Speaking of priorities, can it BE that my baby, The Girl, is interviewing for teaching jobs this week? I'm positive it was only 30 months and not 30 years ago that I was interviewing for teaching jobs. I remember exactly what I wore (and J & P would tell you it would still be in my closet if it weren't for them) as if it were yesterday. How is it possible that life goes this quickly? If you are The Girl's friend on Facebook, DO NOT MISS the photo of her in her classroom with the leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day. She looks every inch the beautiful teacher. If I knew how to do it, I'd grab that photo and post it here. Wait, I think I did it!
Sir and I, along with another chaplain and Sir's able assistant and his adorable wife, had the adventure of leading a marriage retreat a couple of weekends ago down in Bavaria. We had a great bunch of couples, and though it was a lot of work, we rewarded ourselves with a brief drive through Austria on Sunday afternoon when we were finished. I think when people picture Germany in general, they see the Bavarian area - I described it in more detail back in October when I posted the pics of Oberammergau. It's breathtaking, quaint, and in many instances, so majestic it doesn't even look real. The area where we live (in a city) has its charms, its castles, its rivers and vineyards and cathedrals; but the incredible stark beauty of the Alps is just incomparable. I worked my poor camera phone nearly to death just shooting out of the windows of the car as we drove. I wish I had the knowledge and camera skillz (and yeah, maybe a real camera would help) to show y'all the perspective better - you cannot even imagine how big these mountains are.
Anyway, enjoy these poor non-photoshopped efforts. Upcoming topics: a very, very somber and disturbing visit to Dachau concentration camp; our latest visit from our precious Belgian friends; the BALL; German Chinese food and the lack of German Mexican food; flying home for the super bowl on a cargo plane; the visit to the car and plane museum (lots of photos for my brother R). It's oh-so-yesterday, but the pictures are oh-so-cute.
Oh, and one more thing! In case this, my 4th Gateway computer in 16 years, goes kaput....I'd love advice from you, Bloggys and Blogettes, on a replacement. Please post comments below - I look forward to hearing from YOU!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Day 2
It's the second day of sunshine in a row; the second day of Sir being gone to teach a class on the other side of Germany; therefore the second day I vowed not to cook. I'm cooking again.
I've been absent from this spot for over a month. The first week of "silence" was truly because there was absolutely nothing happening worth taxing your eyeballs and brains to read. Then suddenly, life got interesting fast, and I didn't make time to blog, and that pace has pretty much kept up through what I believe will be about March 15th. Then, I'll have the dilemma of deciding whether to go back and catch you up on what will surely be very old news. And you know how I love to make decisions.
For this morning, I can tell you that I'll never again take for granted that feeling you get when the sun is pouring through thevery dirty sparkling windows and you almost have to close your eyes to shield them from the intensity of the rays. Oh, the warmth feels good! I say it doesn't bother me to live in this cold, gray, wet place because I'm such an indoor girl anyway, but apparently even I have the spot in my little soul which longs to be kissed by the sun. Right now I'm sitting with my head thrown back on the sofa, eyes closed against that brightness, feeling even my eyelashes tingle with warmth, typing without looking, feeling like the little girl who soaked up every ray on Surfside Beach all those summers ago. Except for the fact that my neck now looks more like it belongs to a turkey than to me. And I haven't dared own a swimsuit for six years. And I'm pretty sure if I got all the way down on the sand to nap on that beach towel, I wouldn't be able to get back up. But other than that, it's exactly the same.
Off to IKEA in a bit with M - to buy two or four kitchen chairs which are the closest thing I can find to the ones I love at P's house in the Inlet. Actually, they look nothing like hers, but they come with navy and white gingham cushions, and that will vault them into the category of "cozy," which is my goal. I miss home so much.
What are YOUR thoughts on mixing white wood with cherry wood around the same dining room table (until a couple of years from now when we actually have a kitchen again)? What have YOU been up to while I've been on Blog Hiatus? Do you really want to hear about the best Superbowl Party Ever now that its date stamp has long expired? Would tales of a cargo plane flight across the ocean interest you when there are no photos (which would have been AMAZING but were forbidden) to go along with my chattiness? Comments are open below - please leave one and let me know you're still reading..
I've been absent from this spot for over a month. The first week of "silence" was truly because there was absolutely nothing happening worth taxing your eyeballs and brains to read. Then suddenly, life got interesting fast, and I didn't make time to blog, and that pace has pretty much kept up through what I believe will be about March 15th. Then, I'll have the dilemma of deciding whether to go back and catch you up on what will surely be very old news. And you know how I love to make decisions.
For this morning, I can tell you that I'll never again take for granted that feeling you get when the sun is pouring through the
Off to IKEA in a bit with M - to buy two or four kitchen chairs which are the closest thing I can find to the ones I love at P's house in the Inlet. Actually, they look nothing like hers, but they come with navy and white gingham cushions, and that will vault them into the category of "cozy," which is my goal. I miss home so much.
What are YOUR thoughts on mixing white wood with cherry wood around the same dining room table (until a couple of years from now when we actually have a kitchen again)? What have YOU been up to while I've been on Blog Hiatus? Do you really want to hear about the best Superbowl Party Ever now that its date stamp has long expired? Would tales of a cargo plane flight across the ocean interest you when there are no photos (which would have been AMAZING but were forbidden) to go along with my chattiness? Comments are open below - please leave one and let me know you're still reading..
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