Goodbye April

Yesterday, I worked a HopeAustin event bagging up food to slip in students backpacks who might not otherwise eat over the weekend.  It was hard, busy work...but made so much more enjoyable with some awesome friends.

I love these people! 

Then I went on a hunt for something to wear to Harry's graduation.  I had an outfit in mind that I already owned, but then a quick weather check showed temperatures up to a 100 degrees in Phoenix next week.  Nothing I had in mind would be very comfortable in those kinds of temperatures. UGH!  After much searching and god awful horrible time spent in a dressing room, I finally found the last pair of pants in the free world that fit me and also a skirt that didn't look like cats were wrestling under it!  Thank goodness. Hopefully, I can pull off something that looks decent that won't show sweat!  Wish me luck! 

This morning, me and Chip started our Monday morning routine with a 5:20 a.m. wake up call and drop off at football practice at 6:15 a.m.  Then I got to work and put in about 10 hours!  It was a long day!

Calendar is already filling up with meetings and my first proposal in my new position is expected to be released on Friday.  Unfortunately, I am going to be out of town the early part of next week for Harry's graduation.  So, this timing is NOT perfect!  Hopefully, it will slide a little to the right and wait until I get home!  Prayers appreciated. 

Goodbye April.  I can't believe tomorrow is May 1st!  Isn't that crazy?   

Hope you guys have the best week ever!  

Indian Food

Have you ever had Indian food?  I had not, until last night.  Me and a couple of friends, who happen to enjoy Indian food went to a little local spot close to our hood.  I let Ashley and Sheri give me some pointers and we asked some questions of the nice young waiter.  What we ended up with was a table full of food that was so, so, sooooo good!  Where has Indian food been my whole life?

I did not get a picture until we were well on our way to sharing and sampling all the things.  Let me give you a quick tour in case you are an Indian food novice like me.

This is Tandoori Chicken which is cooked in a super hot Tandoor oven and it was spicy and juicy and really, really flavorful.  And that green spicy sauce it is served with was A+.

Garlic Nan.  I love you. 

This right here is Gobi Manchurian - it is some kind of fried cauliflower covered in some kind of magic (you would think after all the FoodTV I have watched I would be able to come up with something more detailed than "some kind of fried cauliflower with some kind of sauce!").  This cauliflower was really, really good and my absolute favorite thing I tried.  I am sure it is terrible for you because it was so dang good.  

If we would have had a drone in the restaurant, this would have been the drone overhead view of our table.  The dishes in the bowls that I haven't mentioned yet are Navratan Korma and Chicken Tikka Masala - both were excellent and had such interesting delicious sauces.  It is all about the sauce and the spice.  I am a fan and will definitely be back!  So much more to try!   

Then we went back to Ashley's and played Yahtzee.  You know I love me some Yahtzee!  Plus, there was pie and ice cream and an excellent cup of coffee in a little white mug.  Happy town.  

Fun nights thrown together at the last minute are the best.  

My Dog is Snoring

Last night, me and Cooper took Martha on a two hour walk.  We walked and walked and talked and talked.  It was a beautiful night.  Weather was perfect.  We had deep, meaningful, heartfelt conversation and plenty of laughs.  Makes me so grateful.  It was 9:00 p.m. by the time we rolled back in to the house and I was headed to bed very shortly after that.

This picture arrived via text of my boy's ASU graduation cap!  ACK!  It is really happening!

Me and TWDITW were up and at'em early to meet Lori and Tibi at the dog park.  It was a solid ninety minutes of racing around and wrestling.  Cooper and Tibi did all the racing and wrestling - not me and Lori.  Me and Lori just visited and met some really nice new people and dogs.  Weather continues to be spectacular!

We came home from the dog park and immediately got to work in the backyard. I borrowed Judy's really tall tree clippers and cut lots and lots of branches off some trees and bushes in the back yard.  Rolled them up into a tight bundle, tied them with twine to put out for the garbage men.  Then I drug a chair out into the middle of the yard and just sat and let the sun beat down on me.  Trying to even up the farmer's tan thing I have going on.  Plus, it just felt amazing!

Now Cooper is pooped and is snoring away!  That's when he is the best dog in the world!

Having dinner with a friend at a new place tonight!  Should round out a beautiful Saturday...a nice mix of chores, errands, fun and relaxing! .

Hope your day is just as lovely.

Neti Pot..Do We Have To?

Hey all!  Another week that is trying to fly by.  Just stop it already.

Chip has a stuffy/runny nose and based on his dramatic reaction to the situation...he may need a nose amputation or at a minimum a nose transplant.  Please pray for him.  Actually, I took him to the doctor today and he does legit have a sinus infection.  Antibiotics and steroids are on board and hopefully he will feel better soon.  SIDE NOTE:  Chip was measured at the doctor and he is officially six feet tall!  WHAT THE HECK!!!

In the meantime, while we wait for the antibiotics to kick in we also have to flush his sinuses with a Neti Pot, spray each nostril with Afrin, wait five minutes and then flush with a Neti Pot again.  GOOD TIMES AHEAD!

In less than two weeks Harry will be a college graduate!  Cap and gown are in hand!  All of his classwork is done for the semester, so he is just coasting until May 8th!  Hooray for him!  He is going to come home after graduation until he lands a job.  I am happy to have him under my roof for a little while.

Work is going gang busters and I am working hard and being challenged.  More changes coming, so just going to keep my head down and keep plugging away.

Cooper's daily adventures have been impacted in a negative way since Momma is working so hard.  He only went to the dog park twice last week.  We are still taking some nice walks in the morning or evening, but it is just not the same as the hard romping he does at the dog park. Thank goodness he is medicated.  He is handling the reduction in his activity very well.

I spent last night on Beth's back porch with some great friends. It was lovely. I cried. A beautiful young person, at the age of 23, passed away this week and that is just hard to comprehend.  Hard to walk through.  Hearts broken.  Love will heal.  Life can be hard. Friends make it easier.

That is all I have for now.  Hope your week has been great and you have felt the sun on your face and felt the love of God all around you.  The best.

Where Did That Week Go?

The week flew by...busy with work and appointments and meetings and chores and life.  Can't believe it is already Friday again!   Let me catch you up on a few things that went down this week.  

Harry had his interview Tuesday with the Red Sox.  Unfortunately, they only had part time summer positions available and those didn't fit into what he wants to do, so he is continuing his search for a job!  I trust he will land exactly where he is supposed to land.  But if he could land in his room upstairs for a hot minute....that would be fine with his momma.

I had two dentist appointments this week!  Two.  Back to back.  Tuesday and Wednesday.  The first one was a regular cleaning appointment and the other was to get my permanent crown put on.  They said most people didn't requiring numbing to put on a permanent crown, but I am special.  My tooth was full of nerves and I couldn't stay in my seat when they touched my tooth with anything!  We opted to hit it with some Novocaine so I wouldn't slug anyone and within a few short minutes all was well in the world.  New crown fit like it has been there forever! 

As the VP of Philanthropy this year for YMSL, I had to address our new class of Freshman moms and their sons on Wednesday night.  My goal was to fill them in on the kinds of philanthropy work we do,  how to sign up, what happens if you cancel, etc.  It wasn't a huge deal, but I was a little nervous.  My friend Kristi was previously VP for Philanthropy and you have NEVER met anyone more comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. That girl is relaxed, articulate, funny, gorgeous, smart and a great presenter.  I was trying to channel her energy on Wednesday night.  Not sure it worked completely, but I didn't fail miserably so we will put that in the win column.  

Work is kicking my butt.  It has been a long while since work has kicked my butt.  I know I am past due, and yet...still hard to take! 

I am bound and determined not to get bogged down in work and forget about finding the joy in the day.  This week I found joy in several things.  

1)  I made time for a couple of trips to the dog park with my boy Coop.  This is a picture of a happy dog.  He loves the dog park.  I love the fresh air, sunshine, gorgeous weather, visiting with friends and the exhausted dog I get to bring home!   

2)  I also made up these darling treat bags for the second grade class I read with.  You would be hard pressed to find something that brings me more joy than putting together some treat bags for an elementary school class!   Love it! 

3) Also, in the joy column...taking small breaks throughout the day to grab my coffee cup and step out into my backyard and check on things.  I check in with God, pick up some sticks and pull a few weeds here and there.  So much is starting to bloom and peek up from the dirt. My rose bush is climbing and blooming and making me happy.  

My herbs are coming back like gang busters....oregano, thyme and parsley. 

4) Also in the out of doors joy column, I feed the blue jays (and sometimes squirrels) these whole shelled peanuts. They empty it so quickly. 

5)  Biggest joy provider and source of entertainment and levity is my Chipster.  Here is what transpired yesterday morning.  He was going through his morning routine and was on the hunt for some short socks.  He only recently started wearing short socks and now won't wear anything else.  He couldn't find any clean socks and I told him he only had like three pair and if they were all upstairs in the dirty clothes I hadn't washed them.  He said "I have at least six new pair that were in my Easter basket."  I corrected him and told him he only got three pair in his Easter basket.  He said six.  I knew it was three.  I checked the my Amazon order and he was right.  It was six.  Dang it! 

The news that he was right, set off a celebration dance in my kitchen, the likes of which I have never seen and hope never to see again.  He was hollering and chanting "FINALLY, I was right!"  "YOU are actually human and were wrong about something!"  "Hallelujah!"  "I WAS RIGHT!"  I eventually said, "That's enough of your showboating, get ready for school."  He kept right on shaking and dancing and said "Haha, and now you are salty about it!"  I just cracked up!  Turd blossom!  Laughter is good for the soul.

Finally, I also hope to keep writing regularly on this blog!  It brings me so much happiness! 

Have a fantastic weekend!  

Walking it Out

Last night I had to run to the ATM to get some cash for the weekend.  Driving home from the bank it was getting dusky and the sky was just incredible.  I know I shouldn't be driving and taking pictures, but I just needed to capture it.  It was stunning.  The clouds off in the distance were rimmed with the most perfect edge of bright light and the ray of sun beaming up  from behind them just made me want to shout Hallelujah!  This picture does not do it justice.

We had a strong line of thunderstorms roll through late last night and me and my girls decided to cancel our hike for this morning.  We haven't ever hiked McKinney Roughs Nature Park before and just were not sure how muddy it would be.  We are not expert hikers and don't have any fancy shoes or boots to traverse super slippery slopes.  As newbie hikers we figured we would wait for a dry weekend where tennis shoes would work on most surfaces.  

So instead of a hike, I spent the morning with my sturdy steed TWDITW and headed out to explore the trails and paths around our own neighborhood.  We are so blessed with lovely places to walk that make you feel very much like you are in a nature park just steps from your own front door.  It was windy and chilly and we hardly saw another soul.  Here are some pictures from our adventures.  

I spent much of my walk talking to God, feeling all my feelings, dreaming of the future, grateful for the present, joyful for the beauty and kindness all around me.  So, before 9:30 a.m. me and Coop got some soul refreshing walking therapy, fresh air, vitamin D and our 10,000 steps in for the day.  Every day should start just like this.  Just walking it out. 

After our walk, I came home, cranked up the coffee maker and whipped up a little vegan breakfast of sautéed veggies and potatoes.  It was pretty and tasty. 

I can hear Cooper snoring on the couch from the kitchen.  He is spent.  For me and the rest of this lovely day, I have to take care of signing Chip up for camp, doing a little yard work, some house work, run a couple of errands and then I am having dinner with a sweet friend.

Speaking of sweet friends, I woke up this morning to such encouraging messages from friends who read my Messiversary post from yesterday.  I hit the jackpot in the friend category.  No joke.  I know the nicest, sweetest, funniest, thoughtful, most beautiful people.  So grateful for that kind of love in my life!

Blessed.

Messiversary

Today would have been my 27th wedding anniversary, except I got divorced in my 26th year of marriage, so there is no celebration.  I have messy feelings about it.  Really messy.  So, I will just leave that messiness here on April 13th and wake up tomorrow and it won't be an anniversary day.  It will be a new day.  A day that I go hiking with some friends.  A day that I navigate some new trails and breathe in some nature and look for God in all the cracks and crevices of the woods. I really can't wait.  I think that is a beautiful thing...that the messy feelings will be replaced with marvelous feelings come sunrise.  I love that thought.

In other waaayyyyy less touchy, feely news...

• Cooper has whined to go outside to take care of his personal business at 1:30 a.m. in the morning.  Two nights in a row.  That is rude and unacceptable. 
• Grey's anatomy is still one of my favorite shows.
• Mosquitoes are back.  Bring on the DEET! 
• Changes are happening at work.  Reorganization kind of changes.  I have learned with age that change can be hard, but it isn't necessarily bad.  I will just keep my head down, keep doing my thing until it all shakes out. 

Let's close with some sweet pictures of my precious children.  

Harry, my darling Harry.  Please rewind the clock and let's play trains for hours. 

Love this picture of my boy.  How is it he is graduating from college? That can't be right.

My little Chipster!  Look at your darling little smile.  Oh, how this makes my heart sing. 

This kid.  He is all the best of all the things.  Makes my heart so full!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Big News

Several items fall into the BIG NEWS category today.  Let's run them down:

• Chip passed the written part of the driver's exam today! We will be heading to the DMV to get his permit next week! YAY! 

• Harry has a phone interview with the Boston Red Sox next Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.  CST.  Your prayers would be appreciated that it goes well! It would be the thrill of a lifetime for him to work for his favorite team. 

• My lab test results from my annual exam already came back and they were all good! Still waiting on the mammogram results, but feeling optimistic.

In other tiny news, that might be interesting only to Lana and Bob:

• Judy invited me over for dinner last night and we visited and cooked one of her Blue Apron meals together. Salmon and Freekeh. Scrumptious. The Freekeh is a grain and the recipe called for us to combine the grain with lemon, garlic, zucchini and dates. So interesting. There was also a fabulous yogurt sauce for the Salmon. I was a fan. 

• I read to my little pumpkins today. We only have a few weeks left to read together and then my Thursdays mornings will be void of snuggling up and reading with little people. 

• I took TWDITW to the dog park today and a black husky was mean to him. Chasing and growling, biting, pinning him by his neck and Coop was scared. I wanted to snatch that husky up and give him a hard talking to. Thankfully another dog owner grabbed the husky before I could get over to them and pulled him off. Poor Coop. No harm other than his feelings. Then Coop found a 4 month old little puppy to romp with and that was a much better fit.  

• Doing the dishes is the worst. 

• I have a hike planned for Saturday morning with some friends at a new park.  Can't wait!

Hope you have some things to celebrate today and great things to look forward to for the weekend! 

Happy Hump Day!

What a gorgeous week it has been so far in Central Texas.  Perfect weather.  Me and TWDITW have gone for several great walks to soak in this spring weather before the Texas heat settles in.  Before long, going outside will feel like walking on the surface of the sun!

Chip is doing great in his Driver's Ed class...he aced the first test on road signs!  He was going over them with me yesterday and I didn't even know them all and I have been driving for a number of years.  I might need a refresher course.

                                         
Yesterday, I went for my annual exam and got blood work and my mammogram done in the same office visit.  If they would add a dermatologist and a gastroenterologist to their suite of services it would be fantastic.  Just go in for one long appointment and get checked out from head to toe.  That really should be a thing. I left a formal suggestion with the receptionist and she assured me she would pass it on!

That is all from me this morning!  Have the most wonderful day!

Wrapping up the Weekend

I am in denial that it is Monday.  I want one more day in my weekend.  Where can I file my request?  

Sunday was both busy and relaxing.  I served down at Lakeside church with my friend Mary, then came home and made lunch and the worst Oatmeal cookies you have ever eaten.  I followed the recipe on the oatmeal box and they were awful. Threw them right in the garbage.  They were super dry.  Like so dry that when you bit into it, the rest of the cookie just crumbled in your hand like dust.  I tried adding some milk, but they were just bad.  Bad cookies don't happen very often.  It was disappointing.

Chip had a serving project at our local area food pantry in the afternoon.  While he was there, I ran Coop over to the dog park to romp for a bit.  The weather was spectacular so the park was packed.  Coop made new friends and played with some old friends for about an hour and then came home and slept the rest of the day.  Exhausted Coop on Prozac is the absolute best kind of dog. 

I did a little yard work in the afternoon.  Nothing too strenuous.  Just pruned some bushes, got some of the old leaves out the flower beds and bagged those up.  I had my music playing softly and I just piddled around out there enjoying the sunshine.  Soaking up some Vitamin D.   It was lovely.

Now, we are charging into the new week.  Chip starts his driving class today!  Should have his driver's permit in the next week or so!  Exciting times.  

Hope you enjoyed your weekend and that Monday is easy on you!

Let's do this! 

Balloon Attack

Right off the bat, let's get the weather conversation out of the way.  It was 84 degrees here on Friday and when I walked Cooper on Saturday it was 39 degrees!  Holy Mackerel!  That is a big drop in temperature.  I had to get my heavy winter coat out again.

For the most part the weather did not bother me much.  Well, there was this horrific scene I made in the grocery store parking lot that did bother me quite a bit.  My next door neighbor, Judy was having a birthday party for her sweet little granddaughter from Chicago.  I offered to pick up some balloons on Saturday morning because the party started at 9:30 a.m. and I knew Judy would be busy.  I rolled into my awesome HEB at about 8:20 this morning and there was a very kind young woman working in the floral department.  She was able to fix me right up with my eight balloons.  She even put them in a giant plastic bag because it was really windy out with the cold front that blew in last night.  I paid for them and arranged them really firmly in my hand to get them out to my car.  I exited the grocery store and the wind was whipping like crazy and the bag was making all kinds of racket. I made it to my car and opened the back seat door to shove them in.  When I tell you I battled that damn bag of balloons for five minutes it is no lie.  I would get one part of the bag into the car and the wind would gust and blow the whole contraption back out and right into my face.  I was flapping and floundering and trying not to let the plastic suffocate me!  Finally, I got them in and slammed the door shut.  I felt like I had been accosted. I wish I could have video taped it.

The precious little nugget had a great time at her purple dinosaur party, so it was totally worth it!

Here are the balloons that tried to kill me. 

All this sweet baby wanted to do was push this grocery cart EVERYWHERE! 

And eat goldfish! 

Grandma's pride and joy! 

In other news....I went shopping this afternoon for something to put on my new coffee table. 

Now, if my dog would only let me put out my throw pillows without tearing them to shreds! 

And last, but not least, I finally hit the button on my tax return.  Happy to have that finished!  

Hope your Saturday was great! 

What's Up?

Wow - It has been a hot minute since I posted!  Lana filed a formal complaint last night while we were talking on the phone....so here you go, Mom.   Let's get caught up!   I will start with the pictures I currently have on my phone.

Puppies.  Seriously.  Adorable.  Beth's family is getting one.  Her name is going to be Presley.  I got to pet them and they were delicious.

I bought a new coffee table for the living room. Chip was a tremendous help in putting it together.  We both remained calm, even though we made a mistake that required us to undo some work. However, I can firmly state for the record that we do not love allen wrenches.  Hand cramp! 

Last weekend, my niece came down from Dallas and we spent some time at Texas State visiting her sweet daughter.  She is working through college as a barista at Starbucks and thinks she always smells like coffee.  I think that is a terrific smell and wouldn't change a thing.

It was a gorgeous day and after enjoying a coffee we all went to a Bearcats softball game.  The Bearcats' pitcher had something like 15 stikeouts in the six inning game.  She was on fire! 

After the game we drove over to the Gristmill in Gruene for a late lunch.  It was a really cool place.  Bob and Lana - remind me to take you here the next time you are in town!  Look at these flowers!  I had the ribs.  They were fantastic.  But, the star of the day was the zucchini and squash side dish that was cooked with bacon.  AMAZING!

The weekend ended with a diagnosed case of lice on the younger head.  You want to talk about some drama. Lice diagnosed at 10:30 p.m. on the head of a fourteen year old girl!  Lord, we sprung into action.  There was an immediate trip to the pharmacy, laundry started, and of course everyone's head started itching.  Ugh.  It was a VERY late night, but because it was caught super early, everyone else seems to have escaped unscathed.  Good times.

On Monday, my neighbor was in a pinch and asked me if I could possibly pick up her Kindergartner from school.  I was happy to help!  Her little guy is the cutest and reminds me so much of when my boys were little.  I LOVE our little elementary school and it brought back so many memories waiting to pick up that little pumpkin. What a great throw back! 

I took Cooper to the dog park on Tuesday and he wrestled with a four month old husky puppy.  Adorable. 

The rose bushes in my backyard are covered in blooms!  They are gorgeous and they smell nice.

Here is my first attempt at some fake color in my front yard flower pots.  I like the yellow flowers a lot, but I think I missed on the green variegated ivy stuff.  Sadly, it looks really fake, especially up close.  However, if you are kind of far away and driving by or looking from the sidewalk they look great!  I may try something else for summer.  Stay tuned for a super exciting update.

And lastly, I finally received the last piece of artwork for Harry's revamped room and got it hung up.  It is a Fenway Park sign that I thought could act as sort of a headboard for the bed.  I also had to move the wall mounted lamp, which I did with no trouble.  Installed it with three wall anchors like a boss!  Proud of my handiwork!  

In other non-picture news:

• I have raked and swept up 7,012 bags of leaves and pollen since we last visited! 
• Chip is passing Pre-AP Chemistry by the skin of his teeth.
• I have started a food journal.  Not really changing much, just trying to write it down.  Step One of getting what goes into my body under control. 
• I am back to occasionally walking with Martha in the morning.  Makes me happy.
• It is going to be 84 degrees here today and 57 degrees tomorrow. 
• I am going to a two year old dinosaur birthday party tomorrow morning!  Can't wait! 
• I went to a Mom's YMSL dinner meeting this week and during dinner we talked about all the places our kids have thrown up.  Only mothers could do that.  I also told the story of when Chip tripped and ripped the gas hose out of our rental car while we were filling up in New York City.  The hose was writhing all over the ground with gas spewing every direction, including into the car and all over me.  It was epic. 

That is all I have for now!  Have a spectacular Friday!