pulling rabbits out of hats since 2004

This afternoon I was kind of like a superhero. For reals. I had 75 minutes. 75 minutes to accomplish a list of things so much longer than would fit. In that 75 minutes I accomplished the following: I got Tommy a new suit, 2 shirts, 2 ties, church socks and shoes, all while saving an additional 30%. I outfitted both boys for soccer including new shoes, new socks, shinguards and balls, all in two different sizes. I also stopped by the party store and procured a giant bunch of balloons (not pre-ordered) for Tommy's birthday tomorrow. I picked up the the piano book and was 5 minutes early to get Tommy from school. Not impressed yet? I did it all with my 5 year old in tow. Ta-da! Seriously. Ta. Da.

this is why we can't have nice things

I am pretty careful with social media. I don't often post about religion or politics on facebook or twitter, very seldom do I even mention these things on my personal blog. They are private and personal things. I am happy to discuss them with you if you can play nice, but I don't really want to argue my position with some guy I only know because he was in my tenth grade geography class. He's not interested in why I believe what I do, he just wants to tell me I'm wrong whilst being condescending and that's a very different sort of discussion. I get it. We don't all agree on stuff. Any stuff. And sometimes, we feel really, really strongly about said stuff. I totally get that too. I'm right there with you. I feel really strongly about some stuff. What I don't understand is exactly when our society lost the ability to behave like adults. When did the fact that someone disagrees with you become a personal insult? When did it become acceptable to screech at each other like harpies on national television? When did being hateful and mean become an acceptable way to express your views? I don't understand what happened to civil discourse. Emphasis on the civil. I am embarrassed and appalled by the behavior of almost every single person who supposedly represents me, irregardless of political party. It has become the standard to be proud of the fact that everyone refuses to compromise on anything. Which means absolutely nothing ever gets done. None of us should be expecting to get our way all the time. That's not how democracy is supposed to work and it's why ours isn't working. We have to compromise to move forward. We have to give each other the benefit of the doubt, to assume that even when we disagree about the best way to do things, that what we all want is to create a safe, healthy, prosperous place full of opportunity for everyone. There is no perfect way forward, and we will stumble, but if we don't learn to work together we will stagnate and that, I would argue, is far, far worse.

i am not a pinterest sensation

I'm writing this while waiting for a coat of paint to dry in  the powder room off my kitchen. Painting in that little tiny room is awkward to say the least. Cutting in around all those pipes and whatnot has made me sort of grouchy and resentful (of pipes). Lately I've been running across all of these links to the before and after pictures that people post of their new houses. Houses that they have completely redone, all at once. Floors, walls, cabinets, everything. They make comments like, "It's been a long six weeks but....". How? How are these people doing this?! A. Houses are kind of expensive, how do they have all this left over money to do all this major stuff? B. How do they look at a space that is brand new to them and imagine something completely different and awesome? Obviously the whole 'two houses' thing severely limits the amount of money I can pour into re-doing a new house, but still. Even if I had money coming out of my ears, I can't decide that fast. I wander around gazing at things. I buy so very many of those little jars of sample paint and I spackle my house with different colors trying to decide. I can't commit to hanging anything, even in the rooms in which I have managed to both pick a color and actually get it up on the walls because well, I don't actually know why. I just can't seem to. It's all just sort of overwhelming and I'm having a hard time really getting started, let alone having some fabulous, overarching vision for the whole place. Probably, this is just proof that I am not a designer at heart. I know what I love and I can usually decide what I want to do with one little piece of my world eventually but it takes me a while decide and I often change my mind. I think in pieces and steps, not whole house, whole project. Clearly, I have no vision. Ah well.

Why yes, two of those samples are exactly the same. I bought the same sample twice. 

Can you tell which two match?

lately i've noticed

Lately, I lay in bed in bed at night and think of things I want to blog about so it's probably time to start writing again. I also think about that stupid, dumb house I still own in Kansas, but then I try to think about other things because that is one problem I can't fix.

 I love my new house. Love, love, love it. I love the floor plan, I love the windows, I love the bird that lives in the crepe-myrtle outside my bedroom window that never (not ever) stops singing. I love the park out the back gate the Johnny is constantly disappearing to without permission. I love the mysterious woods and all intrigue that could be happening in there. I love (and agonize over) picking paint colors. I love that the neighborhood is so very quiet at night and I love how bright the stars are from the front yard. I love that feeling of nesting when you are putting together a new home. I love that I don't have to think about moving again anytime soon. I miss my friends. I miss having history and shared memories with people. I miss my children's friends and the tight bonds they have formed with children they have known as long as they can remember. I miss feeling confident about my life and circle and my direction. We are finding our way. We are making friends. We are painting walls and hanging pictures. Someday the to-do list will no longer be multiple pages and life will again slip by without us noticing, a blur of swim lessons, appointments, soccer games and homework. Now I notice all the days, for the happy and the sad, the easy and the hard, and the noticing is not a bad thing.

sometimes, i'm useless

What I am supposed to be doing: getting the house ready to sell, finding an apartment for Ty, ordering a copy of Tommy's birth certificate, mortgage pre- approvals, running, making beds, meeting with realtors. cleaning out closets, laundry, planning dinner, etc., etc., etc.

What I am actually doing: Playing on the internet, because, frankly, I can't even decide where to start. Sigh.

beginners' luck ( if you are my future brother-in-law, you can't read this post)

(sorry about the quality of the pics- we took them inside, at night)

The dress is finished. Michelle came out for final fittings this weekend and I sent it home with her. It turns out I am kind of a perfectionist. I made lots (really lots) of rookie mistakes, most fixable and all hideable but my seamstress friends won't be getting a look at that lining or it's little friend the zipper any time soon. I really wanted it to be perfect, wanted her to love it. I think she's happy, I hope she is. I love that she trusted me enough to let me do it. I think she's beautiful, no matter what she's wearing.