Archive for April, 2007
My dad is a high school teacher, and he forwarded me some *beautiful* pictures of his school’s courtyard. One of the middle school science teachers and his class planted more than 2,500 tulips! Just gorgeous. If I worked there (or was a student), I’d probably want to eat my lunch in the courtyard every single day! What a *wonderful* way to teach the kids about gardening and taking care of plants and flowers. So springy!
Look at the pretty cafe tables and fountain:
I saw this blog quiz just the other day (can’t remember where!). Name 10 things that you like to do alone. I thought that it looked like fun ~Â considering that I *really* treasure my “alone/me time.” :) Feel free to participate on your own site if you’d like!
1) Taking long, hot, relaxing bubble baths. Although … Lucas does the *cutest* thing. When I take a bath, he goes and gets his bath toys and shares them with me so that I can play, too. :) Here lately, he also enjoys picking up some soap bubbles and dabbing them on my back, LOL! :) But overall, bathtime is my haven … my solace … my bliss … my way to unwind and de-stress … you get the idea. (I *am* the “bathtub junkie,” after all!) :)
2) Grocery shopping. When my husband accompanies me, he never lets me buy anything! LOL! :) I suppose that’s good for our budget. He helps me restrain myself from buying indulgent, impulse things. But still … I feel like we never come home with any food when he grocery shops with me. :) I’m also a *lot* quicker with our grocery shopping because I know exactly what we need and where to find it ~ but it seems like my husband likes to browse the aisles and look at every single item. hehe :) And that’s OK ~ we just have different ways of grocery shopping.
3) Cleaning. I actually enjoy cleaning. It gives me a sense of satisfaction ~ taking something dirty and making it sparkly again. It’s something that I feel like I have control over, I guess. I tend to be a bit OCD about cleaning, too. LOL! :) I need to relax and let go of that stuff more. But I’d much rather just do the cleaning myself because I know how I’d like to get things done. But of course, I’m definitely not opposed to having help! I *really* appreciate everything that my husband does around the house. I just get into a “rhythm” or “zone” when I clean. It’s like a “process” for me. It actually kind of relaxes me, and nothing compares to the awesome feeling of having a clean house when you’re all done!
My husband’s brother (Spencer), his wife (Brandee), and their two children (our nephews, Brockton and Tyson) arrive at our house sometime tomorrow! We’re *really* excited to see them. They’ve only visited our house once ~ and that was back in May 2003, when Brandee was toward the end of her pregnancy with Tyson and Spencer helped us with some wiring before the walls were completed. That seems like *such* a long time ago, in some respects! They’ve never been to New York City (and have always wanted to go ~ they live in Indiana), so our plan is to take them there on Sunday and come back Monday. I can’t *wait* to see the expression on their faces when they see Times Square for the first time! :) It’s definitely something that everyone should see.
Needless to say, we’ve been cleaning like maniacs for the past few weeks, trying to get everything together for when they’re here. I want them to have a great time and to have everything that they need, but I also know that I worry about that too much sometimes. I tend to stress myself out … but are they *really* going to mind if the top of our entertainment center is covered with stuff? LOL! :) I just want them to have a positive impression of where we live ~ so that they’ll want to come back! :)
Our town’s volunteer fire department is hosting another pizza/wings/subs night tomorrow, so if we decide to go that route for dinner, I’m all prepared with a nice accompanying salad. Otherwise, I picked up the ingredients for my mom’s *delicious* fried chicken! I want to do something special for Spence tomorrow night because it’s his birthday. 29th, I believe ~ his last year in his 20s! hehe :)
It’ll be a *lot* of fun hanging out with family this weekend! I just hope that everyone will have a good time!
I wish that I could dial your phone number today, hear your voice say, “Hello?” on the other end of the line, and wish you a big “Happy Birthday.” I wish that you could hear your great-granddaughter squealing in the background and your great-grandson saying, “Yeah!” into the speakerphone. I wish that I could have helped Mom bake a beautiful birthday cake for you with pale purple roses on top. I wish that I could hear you say, “Your mom and dad and Papaw are taking me to Brown County State Park today for a picnic lunch!” I wish that I could have put together a purple, lilac-scented, spring-themed bath and body gift basket for you as a birthday gift (and heard you exclaim, “Oh, but it’s too pretty to use!”). I wish that I could have mailed you a birthday card with lots of pretty stickers on the envelope. I wish that I could have heard you tell me this morning about how *gorgeous* the weather is right now and how much you love springtime. I wish that I could tell you about Meredith’s six-month checkup scheduled for today and about all of the grown-up things that Lucas can do now. I wish that I didn’t have tears today as I put on the shirt that I was wearing the last time that I saw you. That day, before we left, I felt a strong urge to go back and hug you again. “No, that’s silly,” I thought to myself. But now, I *desperately* wish that I had.
I just wish that you could have seen today. I love you, Granny. You’ll be forever in my heart.
Finally. Springtime seems to have arrived here in upstate New York. Ahhh … it’s about time! Yesterday was that magical day that I’d anticipated for *so* long … pushing the curtains aside, opening all of our windows, and letting the crisp, rejuvenating breeze inside. We took Lucas and Meredith to our playground down the road, too. They *really* enjoyed themselves (and I snapped a few pictures, of course!). Meredith hadn’t really been outside like that since she was born (always been too chilly!). I was shocked when Lucas climbed all over the playground equipment by himself and went down the big slides. When did he get so grown-up? The warm sunshine felt *so* good on my shoulders (hmm, that would make *great* song lyrics!). :)
We went back to the playground today. I waved at our town’s postmaster, who was speed-walking down the road during her lunch hour. I met two other moms who live nearby, and their daughters enjoyed playing with Lucas’s bubble-blowing equipment. Funny ~ the girls were *so* excited when they saw our butterfly-shaped wand, and they danced around trying to catch the bubbles. Lucas, however, was *way* more interested in picking up gravel from the playground and dumping it into the bubble tray! LOL! :) I am *so* relieved that warmer weather is finally here. Adios, winter!
So … as you can see, our living room is currently under construction. My husband’s latest home improvement project? Installing a 99-inch (diagonal) high-definition projector television. LOL! :) To be honest, I don’t understand why we need something *so* huge. (The deer and squirrels in our backyard will probably be able to watch Animal Planet any time they’d like, without their glasses.) :) But … I have to admit, I’ll enjoy seeing the Food TV Network easily from our kitchen and cooking along. And “Lost” on the big screen? How fantastic will that be? My husband is quite the electronics/gadget guy, in case you couldn’t tell! :)
My husband is *sooooo* immersed in this project. He’s having the time of his life, and I’m *really* happy to see him so excited. Tons of packages (filled with obscure electronic equipment) have been arriving at our house constantly for the past few weeks. This afternoon, he taped off the rectangle for the “screen” and gave it a coat of primer. Later, he’ll paint the special white/silvery stuff on top and then create a black border around the edges. I bet that it’ll look quite like a movie theater setup. Can’t wait to snuggle on the couch and watch some movies!
But … I just *had* to try it! :) Above is a picture of my Wendy’s new “Vanilla Frosty Float” (enjoyed after a fun trip to Sam’s Club!). Mmm … it was basically like a root beer float but with lots of vanilla taste (and I am a *total* vanilla fiend!). I hope that Wendy’s will offer these for a long time ~ they’ll be *great* for summertime! I should have bought a garden salad instead, though. I shouldn’t have been bad and eaten fast-food for lunch! I know that I’ll be paying for that later. *sigh*
That’s OK … I’m going to try making my own! Now that it has fallen apart, I can see how it’s made. :)
