stage mom.

tonight was little one's first dance recital. as an angel. of course she looked the part - white leotard, tutu and white wings. she even had a halo. she even (after awhile) acted the part. so cute. so fun to see her grow up and do "big girl stuff". she loved the makeup and glitter, but the mascara was a battle.

i'll post a video of the dance. you can judge for yourself whether she has a career ahead of her...

how does your garden grow.

it was time.  today was the day.  dig my hands back into the earth.  start planting my garden for the year.  i was tired of looking at the empty pots, the bare ground where flowers and plants should be.  

so i started.  the annual trek to the garden centers, the nurseries.  i've been plotting it out in my mind for weeks now.  but today it felt right.  it felt like the weather is finally going to hold out and i can safely plant.  i made two trips today to the garden center.  got a lot planted, but still need to plant more.  still on the hunt for those elusive plants i search for every year.  it might sound crazy, but but there's a lot of thought that goes into what i plant.  the color combinations, the scents, the display.  it's artwork to me. 

it seems that i'm into a purple, blue and white theme this year. with one little splash of orange-y red.  i can't wait to get it all bought, home and planted.  there's something so satisfying to get it all planted and see it grow and look beautiful all summer.  something about the birds and bees that they attract, something about knowing that i did it myself.

mother's day.

or just more craziness.

so today was mother's day.  it was a sweet day.  unlike others, i don't think it's a day about getting things.  some people measure the day by what they get.  oh, don't get me wrong, i got some lovely things.  but things.  but really the best parts of the day were laughing with my littles, seeing their crazy happiness and knowing that i'm a part of that and enjoying their smiles, giggles and silliness.  the big hugs and kisses, the flowers that they picked out themselves, the paintings they made me at school.  those are things that i treasure about today.  seeing their shadows on a gorgeous spring day, laughing at delight on our walk over a bridge on the plaza the simple things that that bring wonder and smiles to their faces.  the joy in knowing that i'm their mom.

so really it's not about things.  it's about the things they bring to my life everyday.  smiles, laughs, happiness, wonder, awe, insight and peace.

sale day.

so i've been busy setting up my sale this week with my friends.  i've purged the house and hauled it all out to the garage.  oh how i don't like these sales.  but the purging feels good and the cash is always nice, so i hunkered down and went through everything and got it ready.

it was a good day.  despite the pouring rain this a.m., it was a good day's work.  oh beehive, practically sold out.  people were asking that she go back through her drawers and find more things to bring to the sale.  she should be proud.  i'm just glad to be rid of things.  stuff is so tiring.  it's good to purge. of course, by this time next year, i'll just have filled the house back up again but for now it feels good.  

the thing about these sales that drives me crazy are the people.  someone actually offered me $10 for a item that i had marked $125.  was she serious?  yes.  she was definitely serious.  did i laugh?  pretty much so.  

one more day.  more crazy people.  more purging.  it's all worth it.

people.

well.  did you see the oprah show yesterday with tom cruise?  i mean really.  did you believe it? was that a spin job or what? i watched it whilst talking to my friend on the phone.  hysterical. that man is nuts i tell you, nuts.  and how many times can you use the word amazing in an hour show? i'll give oprah some credit.  she did ask the questions - the fake marriage, the today show debacle, the jumping on her couch.  did he answer them?  well, if you consider a scripted "amazing" answer an answer then I guess, yes he did.  

do celebrities think that us common folk believe the stuff they say?  get a grip folks. most people don't believe it and don't really care.  and when it's so unreal, it's even more unbelievable.  it was an hour of two over-inflated egos sitting on a couch not answering each other's questions.  just your usual oprah celebrity worshipping hour.

weather.

some wicked weather moved in last night.  right during the big kids re-sale sale. big dark billowy clouds.  sirens. rain. hail. time in the basement and wind.  oh my gosh, the wind.  i thought the house was going to blow away.  instead the storm blew over us and hit further east. crazy crazy crazy.  gotta love this kansas weather.  the weather people were besides themselves with excitement.  now the calm after the storm has moved in.  but it's cold.  and it's may. may for goodness sake.  

and it's all the news people can talk about.  the morning shows stayed on the air all morning - interrupting the today show so that they could rehash the same things over and over.  we get it.  it was bad, people's lives were terribly disrupted.  but seriously?  does interviewing the same people over and over and over again, repeating the same story about the damage again and again really help anyone out?  i especially loved the reporter who chuckled when she asked a guy who had lost his house and gotten out only in his pjs and a robe what he was going to do today.  SERIOUSLY?  

free ice cream

so another post today. free ice cream at ben & jerry's day. can't beat it. we headed up this afternoon, waited in line for only 5 minutes and then got a scoop. i had some frozen yogurt with brownies and cookie dough in it - i know defeats the purpose of fat free yogurt...but well, it was ok. just ok.  i was glad it was free because i wouldn't pick it again.  they were out of cookie dough. OUT! can you believe it? OUT!

but i can't complain. it was free, they were super nice and they even came out and told us to come back for more. we didn't, but the kids made a dash for it.  they couldn't believe we had only been in once. there was a kid who was on his 10th cone....

yeah for ben & jerrys! now if only someone like connco would give away free gas all day!

z

z is for...

i really thought this meme challenge would be easier than it ended up being.  it took longer than the anticipated 26 days, due to life and technical problems, but i'm finished.  this is it.  tomorrow on to more interesting topics.

...zinnia.  a perfect flower.  so interesting.  here are some shots from my garden last year.

...zoom.  i like to zoom through things, so 26 days on the same challenge was difficult.  zooming through life.

...zzz.  it's time.  i'm done.

y

y is for...

...yellow. i know it's the latest trendy color in clothing and decorating, but i've always liked yellow. the yellow of daffodils, lemons, classic post-it notes (before they went neon).

...yawn. this meme thing has gotten boring. so yawn, yawn, yawn. only one more to go.

x

x is for...

...xmas. a good family name. for real. actually the name is really spelled out exactly like christmas, but for the sake of the letter x, xmas.

...exasperation.  ok.  i know it doesn't technically start with x, but phonetically it does.  and it sums up how this week has been.  exasperating.  from the outage of my internet and phone to a remodel mess up to the primary to immature people.  exasperating.  that's how i think this week has gone.  i'm glad it's almost over.

w

w is for...

...watermelon. a true sign of summer. icy, cold watermelon. spitting seeds at your friends. fun food.

...wine. a good glass of wine makes a day seem much better. i remember when i first started drinking wine. white zin. we thought we were so sophisticated. then we visited wineries in napa. ah, what a trip. but it awoken me to other varieties. now i enjoy reds and a variety of whites.

...weight. ah, weight. something that i always seem to struggle with.

...why. a question i get asked all the time. but why, mommy? why not? why. why. why. it's good to ask why. not always go with the status quo.

...wonder. my favorite word in the world. if you can have a favorite word, that's mine. to
here's the dictionary explanation...

–verb (used without object)

1.	to think or speculate curiously: to wonder about the origin of the solar system.

2.	to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel (often fol. by at): He wondered at her composure in such a crisis.

3.	to doubt: I wonder if she'll really get here.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to speculate curiously or be curious about; be curious to know: to wonder what happened.

5.	to feel wonder at: I wonder that you went.

–noun

6.	something strange and surprising; a cause of surprise, astonishment, or admiration: That building is a wonder. It is a wonder he declined such an offer.

7.	the emotion excited by what is strange and surprising; a feeling of surprised or puzzled interest, sometimes tinged with admiration: He felt wonder at seeing the Grand Canyon.

8.	miraculous deed or event; remarkable phenomenon.

—Idiom

9.	for a wonder, as the reverse of what might be expected; surprisingly: For a wonder, they worked hard all day. isn't it just a good word?

v

v is for...

...violin. i always wanted to learn how to play the violin, but i guess i thought it was too geeky. my great-grandmother once gave me a toy violin, i loved that thing. it was fun to play. i could be in an orchestra now. wearing a long black skirt and white shirt. well, maybe it worked out for the best.

...vegetables. now that i'm an adult (in years), i willingly eat my vegetables. why i even buy them for my kids to eat, too. as a kid i liked veggies, except for the dreaded pea and that was because it was my sister's favorite vegetable.

...variety. i love variety. in food, clothing, activities. i like to have options of what to do, where to go. i love to change things up and look at things from a different perspective. no variety in my life drives me crazy.

...veins. okay. i think i'm getting old. well, i am, but that's another story. but i've noticed that my hands are veiny. actually i think they always have been, but i just heard that hands are a good indicator of age. which i shouldn't really care about, because i've always thought someone's hands can tell you alot about them. but my hands are just veiny. and i'm sure it's not from weight loss.

u

u is for...

...uninspired. that's how i feel. i've been thinking about this letter all day. actually i even started this last night to get a head start, but all i could come up with was ugly, unanimous, and undecided. how utterly dull. i haven't thought of anything else today, either. while i was shopping, dropping off the littles or even at the gym. i was pondering this darn letter. and pondering it hard. and i can't think of anything. so, i guess uninspired does fit today and does fit me for the day, too. i ran around like a crazy person this a.m. i didn't stop until after i had the littles home at 2:30. walking with a neighbor at 6, errands, shopping, working out, dropping things off, picking things up, the bank, a coffee. go. go. go. but uninspired going i guess. maybe tomorrow will be better in the world of memes for me.

t

t is for...

...tough. this meme thing is tougher than i thought. i'm tired. tired of trying to think of things. tired of doing this, but i'm so close to being done, that i'll hang in there and finish.

...texas. well, austin, texas specifically, but since i'm on t i'll put texas. i just got back from visiting my dear friend jeanne in austin. it was a good weekend. good to get away, have some time to myself, hang out with a friend, go to lake austin spa and be pampered, do some shopping, drink some wine and margaritas, eat some good food, be in warm weather and talk talk talk. austin is just a cool town. while it's got all the hip and trendiness going on, it also has alot of forward-thinking people. green building, environmentalism, new-urbanism, enjoying the outdoors and using what we've been given. this way of thinking doesn't seem to exist in kc. it's all about building it bigger and uglier. if you recycle here it's because your neighbor is and you can't have them get a leg up on you. it's not because you want to reduce your carbon footprint (at least not for most). the mayor canned light rail because people like cars, builders build on any inch of green space they can. and they build the same things over and over with no innovation, no thought. more strip malls, more beige houses. more bigger beige houses. oh, ok i guess i got on my soapbox...

...treasures. i love treasures. trinkets, finding something at an estate sale or flea market that evokes memories - a betsy clark lunchbox, dishes that my grandmother had. treasures. i love to hunt for them and am tickled when i find one.

...taxes. thank goodness ours are done and sent and we already got something back. thank goodness that alex isn't a procrastinator when it comes to taxes. i know people who act surprised every april 15th. come on people. it happens every year.

...tickled. i love this word, especially when paired with pink. tickled pink. it just seems so happy.

s

s is for...

...spring. it's about time. yes. time. now. for. spring. yesterday it was snowing. today it is 60.

...santa fe. a very. special. place. peaceful. calming. hip. cool. exciting. interesting. special. gorgeous. cultural. there's more, but it might take away from this special place. i adore santa fe. the jewelry, the culture, the history, the weather, the architecture, the spiritualality, the people, the food, the shopping. a few days in santa fe and i am calm, relaxed and peaced.

...smart-aleck. i love smart alecks. i consider myself to be one. nobody can be serious all the time. at least i don't think so. and i don't like it when people are.

...soup. i love to cook. one of the things i really love to make is soup. yes. soup. so much intrigue can be in a bowl of soup. but also, so much goodness. soup and sandwiches.

...shopping. yes i love to shop. i can wander a good store for hours. looking at all the goods. buying. carrying a bag of new shoes home...