Five on Friday

1.  I quit my job this morning.

Actually, I gave thirty days notice but that doesn’t sound as dramatic as “I quit” and I’m technically still going to be on contract through the end of the year but someone else will take over the day-to-day operations at the end of July and I’ll be more of an advisor/consultant/phone-a-friend and I couldn’t be happier.

2.  I almost upset the order of the universe this week by downloading all T’s pictures off his phone.  I didn’t realize that they were that special to him and I was just making room for more (he had over 3,000 – took up a full gigabyte of storage) but when he got home and discovered what I’d done, he let me know in no uncertain terms how unhappy he was with me.

Apparently he was using them to make a movie about going to the hospital (I’ve seen previews – it’s hilarious) and my actions put a crimp in his plans to become the next Steven Spielberg.  I tried to reassure him by showing him that I’d saved them in a folder but because of the way Craig partitioned the computer, I couldn’t transfer the file to a place where T could access it and so it was a tense few days while we waited for Dad to come home from California and undo what I had done.

It’s all fixed now,  and Travis and I are on speaking terms again.

On the way to school this morning he told me the movie’s almost done and asked if he could put it on the blog.  Yes, he’s discovered it (I left the browser open one day and he saw pictures of himself and that’s all it took to get him  excited about reading about his adventures) and I’m not too sure how that impacts what I write about but so far he thinks it’s pretty cool to occasionally see his name in print and so. for now, we’re just going to keep rocking and rolling.

And an editorial note to Tommy and JJ:  One day you’re going to read all of these posts and wonder why I talked about Travis more than the two of you.  It’s because you are both mortified right now that some of your friends come up to you at school and church and catch you unaware by asking you about our family experiences that they read on the Internet.  I  am trying to respect your feelings on the matter and I’ve dialed back on a few things I talk about but am hoping that soon you’ll be okay with it again so when I’m old and have lost my marbles, I can come back to this place that chronicles our lives and remember our beautiful time together.

Your mama loves you so very much.

3. I’m spending the weekend planning and celebrating the boys’ birthday.  I’m having a mini-celebration this afternoon with their closest friend and then we’re having our family party on Sunday since Tommy and JJ are headed to church camp on Monday which is the actual birthday.

We’re in that awkward stage of moving out of themed parties where you invite all the friends from school and have Elmo cupcakes but I’m not sure I know what/how/where to go from here.  We’re taking them to the movies and letting them pick the place for dinner (hello, McDonalds) and then will have cake and ice cream and presents when we get home.

I hope they feel honored and celebrated as we spend time together.  Sometimes it’s easy get to get caught up in agonizing over making everything perfect and I have to stop and remember that simple can be meaningful.

4.  Speaking of meaningful, I am currently tasked with selecting a worship leader for an upcoming women’s conference.

I must admit to listening to more Metallica than Michael W. Smith, so this ought to be interesting.

5.  Have a nice day.

A little of this, a little of that

1.  Only a few more days and the boys finish the 6th grade hopefully for the first and last time and will celebrate the occasion by turning 13. I’m a little misty about that.

2.  I’m not so misty about the fact that there’s a snake loose in the garage and he’s choosing not to reveal himself and I’m a little freaked out that he will do so at an inopportune moment such as when my husband is out of town and I am left to fend him off on my own.

Come to think of it, my husband’s not so fond of them either so I’m on my own whether he’s here or not.

3.  I met a new neighbor this morning.  She was walking her German Shepherd and the dog reminded me of Princess, my childhood companion.  I asked her if she would mind if I could pet him and she was very gracious to let me do so and while I scratched behind his ears, she and I introduced ourselves and chatted for a few minutes (we had some connections through Craig’s work – I love it when that happens).  Before she left she invited me to join the neighborhood book club and I think I’m going to take her up on the offer.  She said it was a good mix of women with ages ranging from 37 to 60 and they meet once a month, so that’s definitely doable.  At the next get-together they’ll be discussing Rules of Civility.

I’ve never been part of a book club before.  Are there rules?  Do I need an opinion?  An original thought?  Or is it just an excuse to get together and eat snacks? 

This could be fun. 

4.  I’ve made a few Pinteresting recipes this past week.  I recommend the avocado and egg breakfast (used a corn tortilla instead of pita bread), the cheesy chicken and rice bake (totally phoned it in and used rotisserie chicken and Uncle Ben’s microwave in the bag rice) and the mocha frappuccino that had the broken link so I can’t direct you to that website.  So here’s the picture that someone took and I borrowed and dear Anonymous Photographer, your photograph is beautiful and please don’t sue me.

5. But for the love of Pete, do not make the oatmeal banana breakfast cookies because they are awful.

And if you repinned them from my page, I am sorry for leading you astray and promise to be more judicious in the future.

Have a nice day.

Five on Friday

1.  When we moved to Raleigh 12 years ago and the boys were in diapers and I didn’t know a soul, our UPS delivery guy was the only person I would see on a regular basis and in my head, he became a friend.  We’ve moved three times since I last saw him which may explain the puzzled look on his face when I perhaps waved a little too enthusiastically when I unexpectedly ran into him this week at a shopping center.

Maybe he would have recognized me if I’d not washed my hair in a week and draped babies on each available hip.

2.  I spent a good five minutes explaining to Craig why I thought he needed a new laptop case because the handles of his weren’t padded enough and it might hurt his hands when he carried it and as I was getting to point #7 about why I worried about it, he walked over to me, drew me into his arms and whispered into my ear “Deep breaths.  Let it go. I got this.”

Good advice to apply to many situations.

Some problems belong to other people.

And some things I perceive as problems really just aren’t.

3.   Speaking of problems, I’ve solved one this past week and have decided to let my hair grow long.  I figure I’m not too far from the age most women start chopping it off so this may be the last chance to play with the length.

And buns.

And French braids.

And a kick-butt ponytail.

Unlike that thing I’m currently sporting that looks like the docked end of a Doberman.

4.  I went back to the Hello Kitty eyebrow waxing place yesterday because my previous eyebrow lady moved and DESPERATE TIMES, my friends.  Fortunately, no third degree burns on the eyelids this time though they took enough off to stuff a Build-A-Bear and now I have a constant surprised look on my face without having to raise my non-existent eyebrows.

5.  Have a nice day.

Random Randomness: Would you like a little cheese with that whine?

1.  I’m working full-time these days and will be for the next three to six months.  It has burned up every available creative cell in my brain and after spending 8-9 hours a day staring at a computer screen, I can’t even pretend to have any love for blogging.

And it’s making me cranky.

So cranky that I complained to someone else at work the other day and now I’m annoyed at myself for becoming THAT person.

2.  I spent an hour at school yesterday cleaning out and sorting the hundreds of papers stuffed at the bottom of my offspring’s locker.  I found ten assignments that hadn’t been turned in.

That would be ten zeros that are currently bringing his grade average down TREMENDOUSLY and I have done everything I know to do to help him get organized and care about his schoolwork and I’m at my wit’s/wits’/wits end.

This year cannot end soon enough and I can only pray we don’t have to repeat it.

3.  And I have anxiety that’s starting to creep in over Travis’ upcoming surgery (July 16).  I’m doing my best to not think about it but it’s getting to the point where I’m having to factor that event in on the calendar and having to schedule meetings with the school system so he can have educational instruction at home (he’ll miss the first few weeks of school), get pre-op appointments booked,  and Tommy and JJ signed up for the morning bus so that they’ll have a way to get to school in August when Craig has to travel and I can’t leave T alone.

I’m going to do my best to keep busy and have as much fun as we can before D-Day.  Tommy and JJ will have sleep-away church camp the last week of the month and we may try to fit in a quick family vacation trip to the beach before we are home for the rest of the summer/year  doing rehab.

4.  BUT I have flowers that I bought for $3 at Kroger on Saturday and they are cheering me up.  I was chatting with the flower lady (big surprise) and was asking her about a mixed bunch and she leaned over the counter and whispered that if I’d wait a few minutes, she would have tulips on clearance.

So wait I did.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited because she couldn’t find the sticker she needed to mark down the flowers to $6.50 so after 10 minutes of searching she grabbed a pre-printed orange tag for $2.99, slapped it on the bouquet, winked, and handed it over.

And they make me happy.

5.  Along with finding a random, unwrapped, partially consumed chocolate bar this morning on a refrigerator shelf that probably hasn’t been cleaned since North Korea had free elections.

Flowers and chocolate – what more could a girl want?

Have a nice day.

Five on Friday: Wedding Edition

I went to Oklahoma last weekend to celebrate my nephew’s wedding.  I can’t believe he’s old enough to get married especially since I just changed his diapers yesterday, but he is and she is and in so doing, they continued my people’s tradition of getting hitched early.  (Lots of 50+ wedding anniversaries on my side of the family – it’s a beautiful thing.)

Without further ado…Sus’ trip to Oklahoma….

.5  Not really part of the Five, but it’s important to note that the tradition of stopping at the nearest Braum’s upon arrival in the Promised Land continued as did the tradition of texting the picture to my husband in order to rub it in.

Now that we have that out of the way…..

1.  Not long after touchdown, I went to my brother’s house to observe rehearsal dinner preparations and stood amazed at the creativity of my sister-in-law when I saw what she’d put together to create the mood in the outdoor pavilion where it would be held.  My new neice-in-law (Sydney) is fond of owls, so the idea was to set up a barn-like, owly feel which was perfect for the setting.

Sybil (my sis-in-law) picked up mason jars and filled them with Spanish moss and set them out on the tables.

And my brother built garden boxes with branches tucked into them with little owls perching on top.

And then to create a festive air and bring in the peacock colors that Sydney chose for the wedding, Sybil made these colorful tissue poms/starbursts/rosettes/big puffy things to hang from the ceiling rafters.

I, of course, was not allowed to touch anything remotely crafty at this point, but I did get to fill take-away goodie bags for the guests and it was fun to contribute to such a special evening.

2.  On Saturday we drove to Ponca City and while everyone else was at the rehearsal, we – my parents, uncle, and brother Paul who was supposed to be at the rehearsal but told everyone he knew how to walk down the hallway when he was told, thank you very much – decorated the pavilion with the crafty things and tried to avoid getting stung by the wasps who were less than pleased that their nests were getting jostled by us tossing puffy things over the rafters.

The dinner was a fun, casual affair with music playing, bubbles flying through the air from a bubble maker discretely tucked away, and older guests played bag toss while the younger tykes went fishing at the pond across the field.  Sybil planned a s’mores buffet for dessert and you haven’t lived until you’ve smeared peanut butter across a freshly burned s’more, my friends.

It was a revelation.

3.  Because of a strong thrifty ethic which runs through in the family except for me for I am adopted, we stayed at a motel that most likely would not pass a health department inspection.

And we will most likely not let my dad live it down for the rest of his days.

4.  The wedding was on a beautiful, sunny, Sunday afternoon at a mansion formerly owned by a man who, when his first wife died, ended up un-adopting his daughter and marrying her.

Really.

Questionable ethics aside, it was a gorgeous venue for the nuptials, almost as beautiful as the bride herself.

The rest of the family cleaned up nice for the event as well.

5.  These two are my favorite pictures from the weekend. The first because not only because I adore my brothers (and is everyone sick of hearing that yet???) but because I won’t forget what made us laugh .6 seconds before the shutter snapped on this picture which may or may not have been a very smart-mouthed retort by one member of my family to kiss a certain part of her lower backside anatomy.

And then this one, which despite the bedraggled hair courtesy of a) leaving my blow dryer and hairbrush at home and b) zero humidity in the deserts of Oklahoma, and c) hard hotel water, shows the quiet and steel-strong love my mother and I share.

Have a nice day.

P.S. Welcome to the family, Sydney.

Anybody home?

I almost am!

Headed back to Raleigh today from my nephew’s wedding in Oklahoma and I’ll tell you all about it later but for today I leave you with one of my favorite pictures from the weekend because being able to slide my feet under my mama and daddy’s dinner table and spending time with these three men makes me the happiest girl in the world.

Have a nice day.