Archive for March, 2008

Twenty-one days from today.  I know, I know that seems like a long time but it is not.  It seems like just yesterday I had 3 months not 3 weeks.  I have started to drop things in the luggage that I wont need before then.  I hope some of the items I am taking still fit me by the time I get there.  I have definitely been “stress eating”.  And feeling rumbly in my tumbly.  More excitement I think than stress.

It is very possible that I will not post at all during my trip. Lack of access to the internet and quite frankly, would rather wait until I return and not be fretting over whether I am posting enough or too much.  A blog is not supposed to be a job, right?  Unless you are getting paid, which I am not.  I do enjoy it but the break will be lovely too.  I plan on keeping a very detailed journal and am going to look into getting a camera dock/printer to keep an actual old fashioned journal of this once in a life time trip of ours.

These lovely things are in the mail to the lucky winner!  Enjoy!!

Hannah played Easter Bunny at the Library yesterday for Story Hour.  We made cookies (you can kinda see the basket to the bottom right of the picture) for her to hand out to the children.

I have really really let you all down on the book club.  Maybe it wasnt such a great idea for me to add something to my already completely ridiculous list of things to do.  Maybe, just maybe you all have enjoyed the books and won’t be too upset that I have been, at best, absent.

I would like to encourage you all to finish Persuasion.  Discuss it at will over on the book club page.  Take advantage of the questions if they make you think a bit more about Jane Austen’s point of the writing.

Maybe when I return from my trip I will be in a bit of a better place to play hostess to all of you who have been so eager to join and share with each other and me.  Right now I just cannot seem to even squeeze the reading into my day (or night).

In 3 short weeks my bags should be packed and sitting by the back door waiting for me to finish last minute cleaning and bill paying and tidying up lose ends.   I honestly thought 6 or 8 weeks ago that I had myself all organized and quite frankly I did.  At least compared to what seemed to be a year of disarray and confusion.

As you might can tell from my writing this morning, the magnitude of what is before me for the next three weeks has slapped me in the face.  Not having second thoughts, not dreading it in anyway but the fact is I have to focus on getting all of us ready and my home in order.

So I hope you can all accept my sincere apology.  If anything maybe my efforts here has caused some of us to read something (and enjoy it) we might never have read.

Now your picture of the day.  This is kinda how I feel – wound a little tight! Rachel, of course, took the photo.

As I suspected, a good time was had by all.  The play was adorable.  Of course my brother was the best.  Duh.  And Mrs D…ah Mrs. D. She had a blast and she was a blast!  My kids thoroughly enjoyed every moment we spent with her.  The afternoon started out a bit uneasy with a little tiny mix-up about pickup times.  But after we got that all straightened out it was lovely.  We laughed and talked and reminisced all the way to the play.  We even got a wonderful rendition of Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd from Mrs. D.  No I am not even kidding!  She went into this fairly long tale about a student she just could NOT reach and finally she asked him what he liked.  What he enjoyed.  What interested him.  Music he said.  So she tells him to bring his favorite record the next day and the class would play it and enjoy it and then he could reciprocate by reading what they were reading and participating in the discussion.  She ended this story with a serenade!  She enjoyed the play so very much, as did we all.  Then on the way home she and the girls talked literature and British History for the whole hour and a half.  She told me when I walked her to her door how happy she was and how happy she was to hear what my girls had read and were reading.

This was a fine example of stepping outside our comfort zone enough to give a little time to someone else and reaping HUGE benefit for your efforts.

Now I am back to work today!  So SO much to do!!! Have a wonderful Friday.  And enjoy this picture from Rachel.  Another bit of Spring peaking out – I love the way the flower wrapped itself about the stem of the other plant. 

This picture of me and Husband was taken this past Sunday at Nate’s crawfish boil. Husband and I are getting a little tiny bit grey! We’ve earned them though. Every time I talk about maybe coloring my hair – he is strictly opposed! He swears I will still be 48 no matter what color my hair is!

I guess my brother and I do look a bit alike! And our kids look a lot alike too.

I am so excited – this is the night we venture off to the theater, bringing Mrs. D along!  I talked a good while yesterday with her by phone and she really couldnt be more excited.

My kids have never seen their Uncle Butch in a play so we are all in for a treat! Here is a photo from the press release.  I will give you a report of the evening – it should be a blast!

You can click on the picture if you would like to read more about the play. My brother is in the overalls (back and right).

Don’t forget to post a comment here.

Busy as a bee as usual.  Talk to you soon!

We needed luggage tags and LOTS of them.  And the only really cute ones I found were ridiculously expensive for the little use they will get over time.  So I found some self-sealing laminating pouches at Wal-Mart in size 4×6 (I want to see them from a distance), some little chains and I already had TONS of scrapbooking papers,  grommets and pliers.   Above are the results.  And I am going to wrap the handles of each piece of luggage in bright aqua duct tape (don’t you LOVE all the colors duct tape is available in??) – that should help with the identification at a bit of a distance. I will post a picture when I get one finished.

I did all of this to pass part of the time of husband’s flight across the big blue ocean…11 hours!  I know, I know I could have been cleaning my VERY neglected house or folding the mountain of laundry but I felt more inclined to use my powers for good last night.  I talked to him about 20 minutes ago and he is “in country”.  The next time I see him, if all goes well and as planned, will be in Paris!  I honestly never thought I would say that!  Have a terrific Tuesday, I am going to get some work done both school and house and make a bunch of soap and I will talk to all you happy people a bit later!