Reflections on the Summer of 2009

As we near Labor Day and the end of summer, I thought I'd reflect on all the fun we had this summer. A brief recap:

Matt and I took an early summer cruise to the caribbean islands.






We celebrated Little M's 1st birthday with all our friends and family.


We celebrated July 4th.


Aunt Candice came for a weekend visit.



I got to see my all time favorite bands, Counting Crows and Augustana with equally favorite people, Jen and Hil.



I went to San Francisco for work and got to see the filming of NBC's new fall drama, Trauma.



I also got to spent countless evenings hanging out with friends and neighbors. Little M went on her first official playdate with Ellie. We've ate lots of BBQ, grilled chicken, chips & salsa, margaritas and cold beer. We took Little M to the pool for the first time and watched as her tentative first steps have become "drunken" walks and almost running.

I was blessed to be at the hospital as good friends welcomed their first baby into the world. I was also blessed to be here to help my grandmother when she was in need and to be the voice on the end of the phone for my brother-in-law.

I laughed as my brother spilled spaghetti down his pants and onto my floor after telling me in a drunken stooper that "he wasn't so drunk that he'd actually spill his spaghetti on the floor". Candice and I laughed equally as hard when we took Little M to Panchos for the first time and we were able to relive our childhood dining experiences there.

We've seen great friends move off our street, we've made new friends with their "replacements". We celebrated the impending marriage of a wonderful, "head over heels" in love couple. And I've had to watch as my best friend and her family moved 3-hours south. Yes, my heart broke to see them go.

All in all, it was a much-to short, yet equally as long summer. I'm looking forward to college football, weekend Cowboy games, the Chili Cook-off, fall leaves, halloween and of course the holiday season!

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the
landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.
Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show."
- Andrew Wyeth

When a new recipe Sucks!

Last night I decided to try a new recipe from the Nigella cookbook I got last christmas. It was the first recipe I tried from the book, and I was super excited to give it a whirl. The recipe was for a marinated rump roast. You cut the roast into 1-inch cubes and then bbq it on skewers.

The marinade was delicious (horseradish sauce, soya, balsalmic vinegar, rosemary...YUM), but that's about all that was good. The meat turned out horribly. Matt grilled it to perfection, but it was still very tough and we couldn't hardly chew it. I was so disappointed. Matt says the marinade would be great on a different cut of meat, but I was pretty sad my much anticipated dinner turned out crappy!

I hate when recipes fail to live up to their pictures in the book. If I screw up a recipe, ok, that's fine, it was my fault. But when I follow a recipe to a tee and it still sucks, I get pissed. Now I question if I should try any of her recipes. I'm sure I will, eventually, but I'm pretty confident it won't be a meat dish. :)

Our first Playgroup is this Tuesday

In an effort to reach out and meet other mom's in our community, I joined a Mom's group about a month ago. It's a new chapter that is rapidly growing. They were just in the process of putting playgroups together, so of course I signed up. Last week they emailed the playgroup assignments out. I was excited to see we were in a group with seven other moms all with kids between 5 months and 1.5 years. I got a call this week asking if I could be the Playgroup Coordinator for our, still to be named, group. I told the lady I had never even been to a playgroup and wasn't sure I was quite qualified to be the coordinator, but she has assured me its an easy job. I couldn't really say no, so yes, I am now our coordinator. Let me just say, when she said it was an easy job and shouldn't take much time, I think she was lying. So far this week, there has been more than 20+ emails between our group.

I'm excited to host the first playgroup this Tuesday. I"m hoping all the kids play nice and the moms all get along. I'll keep you posted on how the morning goes!

Happy weekend everyone!

And then I was born

I love this quote. I found it on a blog I was reading today and just fell in love with it.

"Our lives are so important to us that we tend to think the story begins with our birth. Yet that is not so. We are the continuation of someone else's story."

It's true on so many levels. As a person, you do believe that your important because you are who you are. Does that make sense? I was born, I've lived, I've loved, eventually I will die.

But as a new mother, the quote takes on an entirely different meaning. Little M is important, and yes, she was born and that's where her story begins for her. But, to Matt and I, she is the continuation of our story. She is the person we waited over 12 years to have enter our lives. Her name was chosen years before we even tried to conceive. She was talked about, in an abstract sense of "when we have children" years before we were even married.

She will forever be "US". And she is "the continuation of some else's story".

Picasa

I've used Shutterfly Studios as my quick photo "re-touching" software for about 7 years. I love it! But, while we were on our cruise in May, I started watching an in-room photo tip series on the tv. The "expert" highly recommended Picasa as a great, quick and easy tool for fixing pictures. Today, I decided to download the free program and try it out. I've got to say, "I LOVE IT". It allows me to do so much more than Shutterfly, I can add glow, tints, sharpen, straighten, add text, etc. etc. etc. So, after 7 years, I removed Shutterfly from my computer so I could move on to Picasa. (Picasa lets you upload your pics to about a 12 photo printing website, including Shutterfly)

P.S. The pic above was just a test run on using the "glow" effect.

PPS Picasa lets you upload a pic straight to blogger! Double YEA

I love these frames from Sugarboo Designs in Atlanta, GA. Too bad that they are so darn expensive!

Let's Become Little Old Ladies Together...

Let's Become Little Old Ladies Together...

Let's become little old ladies together - we'll stay up late looking at old pictures,
telling "remember when" stories, and laughing till our sides ache.
Let's become eccentric together - the kind of old ladies who take long walks,
wear silly hats, and get away with acting outrageous in public places.
And if anybody should ask how long we've been friends,
we'll say, "Oh, forever - since before you were even born!"

I'm going to steal this idea in 4 years....

Everyone knows I love to read blogs. It's wonderful to read what other moms are doing, how they are surviving, ideas for discipline and I love finding new recipes.

I've been reading "Six Times the Fun and Chaos" for about a year. I was delighted when I learned the family actually were living in our hometown for about a year. They have since moved back to Utah, but Katie's ideas for family togetherness and raising children are divine! See the link below to her blog entry today.

I am going to steal this idea when Little M starts school! I just love it!

"We Will Remember"

Not Me! Monday

It's Not Me! Monday. Check out Mckmama for all the links and more info, if you don't already know the drill!

This week, I did not hand my child half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and let her eat it by herself, with the result of:



I did not eat 2 donuts for breakfast on Thursday, then proceed to have yummy Thai Food for lunch, when I'm trying to lose weight. I would never ruin my diet in that manner.

I also, did not thoroughly enjoy dancing on a picnic table on Saturday night with my girlfriends as Joe Tucker played a mix of Johnny Cash, Violent Femmes, and Justin Timberlake in one set!

I did not change my morning route to try to miss all the school traffic, only to end up in traffic and then proceed to curse every parent for dropping their kids off this morning. I am a considerate person and know that in four short years I will be one of those said parents.

And finally, I did not commit to being our playgroups coordinator even though I've never been part of an organized playgroup, nor have I ever coordinated anything remotely close to a playgroup. Hmmm, I see alot more "Not Me's" coming on this topic.

Feeling the summer blahs.....

I am feeling the end of summer blahs. It happens every August. It's so hot here, that I"m pretty much done with the heat. I don't really want to be in shorts and I'm yearning for the cool breeze of autumn. I'm ready for Fall but it's still weeks away and so "blah"! I'm making my plans for the fall, and I'm looking forward to tackling some much needed projects (Finishing the baby book, finishing the scrapbook with all the cards we got from Little M's baby shower, birth and 1st birthday, a few sewing projects I want to try, etc. etc. etc. So, as the summer drags on, I'm going to continue to get ready for the fall.

School starts next week. I'm excited about my sisters new teaching opportunities in Houston. I"m looking forward to hearing about 4th grade from the little girls on the street, Little M officially starts the 1-year old program at school. Plus, that means high school football to follow and college ball just around the corner. YEA!

It's Not Me! Monday. Check out Mckmama for all the links and more info, if you don't already know the drill!

This week, I did not allow my child to play with a can of Miller Lite, while at the pool, just so she'd stay entertained and content long enough for me have a few sips of my hubby's beer.

I also most certainly did not harvest my husbands farm on facebook's farmville numerous times throughout the week. I would never take time out of my day for such a silly internet game.

I also did not thoroughly enjoy my day at the hospital with Meme and Papa. While I truly was not happy to see Papa in the hospital, we made the best of the day and told lots of stories and shared memories over coffee and hospital food.

And, I would never, for the second week in a row, have to wash a load of laundry twice because I forgot to put the original load in the dryer. What is wrong with me?

Mowing the Lawn

As a teenager, more than 75% of the time, you would find me mowing our lawn. I did the front (we had a huge hill), the back (another hill) and I always cut the shrubs, planted flowers, and cleaned up after the mess. My dad was raising 3 children and between weekend gymnastic meets, soccer and baseball games, etc., there wasn't much time left for him to do it. Did I mention, we didn't have the cool "push" lawn mowers? So, yea, it was a big workout for me every couple of weeks.

All this to say, I haven't mowed a lawn since I graduated high school. Matt has always done it. It's his "job" to maintain the lawns. Now, I still pull weeks, plant flowers, etc., but I never pushed a lawn mower again after I left home. That is, until yesterday.

Our backyard was quite long and Matt has been working every Sat/Sun for weeks now. For three years I have listened to him brag about how awesome our push lawn mower is, so I decided I needed to step in and get the work done myself.

Let me just say, I loved it! I put my ipod on, had Matt start the mower for me, and off I went. It took less than 15 minutes and I felt quite accomplished after the task was complete.

I'm not planning on adding "mow the lawn" to my week of things to get done. But at least I now know I can do it when I want to! Oh, the little things that make us so happy!

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

– Rumi

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. The idea is to confess all the "NOT ME" things you did this past week. So fun!

I did not drink an entire bottle of wine while enjoying a lovely evening outside with friends. I never drink more than a glass or two on the weekends, I have a baby to get up with! Not me!

I did not have to wash a load of laundry twice because the first time I never put the wet clothes into the dryer and didn't realize it until the next evening. I always immediately dry my clothes, iron them and put them away! I would never be that lazy!

I did not sit on my butt and watch a movie Sunday morning while my child played by herself on the floor. I always play with her and entertain her on the weekends.

I did not secretly wish I was pregnant this weekend when all we talked about was the baby due to arrive on Thursday and our friends trying for their second. I have a 13 month old, logically I know that I want to wait, but emotionally I loved being pregnant and having a baby!

To blog or Not to Blog...

I'm contemplating my desires to "blog" or "not to blog". If you know me, in real life, you know that I love to talk, usually about anything from the latest on Perez's site, to politics, why I hate Fox News, the traffic situation in our area, to why or why not our neighbors may or may not be coming outside. I love to know about my friends lives, to hear stories of their childhoods and the friends they had "way back when." I am typically a social butterfly (probably why I love event planning so much). And I found through my first blog writing about my first pregnancy, that I really loved sharing my life and photos.

If you haven't been reading or know about the drama following Mckmama and her site, you might want to try googling "anti-mckmama" and catch-up. I have loved Mckmama and since I started blogging this second time around, I have done Not Me! Mondays. I found the story of baby Stellan compelling and heart-breaking. And, I even love her photography and photoshop tips. And as a blogger, I understand why should would want to keep some of her personal items hidden from her readers. But, realizing how easily dirt can be spread over the internet about someone has made me second guess my decision to blog again. I'm already on facebook, twitter and keep a password protected site for Little M, so I'm not sure I'm up to the blogging anymore.

Hmmm, I'm gonna have to give it a couple of days to decide. Until then, look for my Not Me! Monday post and have a great week!

On my Soapbox

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=8249454&page=1

I saw this article on ABC news this morning and was horrified. I do not tolerate drinking and driving, not at all. One margarita followed by water, maybe, I've done that many times, but actually have "drinks" and then getting into your car, and with your children, no less, is disturbing. This woman was not only drunk, but had also smoked pot as well. The nerve of doing both and then getting into a car with 5 children, is almost beyond belief for me. I don't say this very often, but I do hope there is a special place in hell for her. Those poor children, three of them her nieces, deserved so much better.

A Shout Out....

A big "You, Go Girl" to my sister. She starts her "first day of school" at her new high school in Houston. She has the pleasure of teaching seniors, sophomores and ESL students this year. I know she's super excited about teaching Jane Austen and I hear there is a Tupac lesson for the sophomores. I can't wait to see how that turns out!

I'm glad the students of Lee High School will get the experience and knowledge CAG will bring to the classroom.

Luv and kisses to you! If you want to check out her blog, click the big pink button to the right.

I'm coming back, I promise...

After a very busy trip to San Francisco last week (I worked 14-16 hours each day), I promise I'll have some fun blog posts later today or tomorrow. I'm still trying to readjust to the time change, catch up with my Baby girl, get the house back in order, and there is still "real" work to be done at the office!

I've missed blogging, but I will be back once I catch my breath.