Everything's up in the Air

Everything's up in the air...is kind of a strange expression if you really think about it. Nothing stays up in the air...other than clouds...yet we think dealing with unknowns is like being among the clouds--although that seems unfair to the clouds!

My life, ladies and gentlemen, has been resting with the clouds for a month now. Some of that is of my own making and some of that is out of my control. We sit at the cusp of a move. Moving was kind of fun in your 20s when you didn't own very much stuff, called a few friends, rented a truck for the afternoon and made it happen. Moving for me now? Urgh!

This move would be a relocation 1000 miles away. To Austin, TX which I've always considered to be my "home base". A city I adore filled with places I love to go, food I love to eat, and people I enjoy seeing. For me and my husband, it would/will be fantastic. The three munchkins-well that's a whole 'nother enchalada!

I have O in 2nd grade, so that means changing schools after school has started...I have S in a pre-k program which is what kindergarten was for me and I know I won't be able to find that again in Austin...and I have JH who is in a Mothers Morning Out program 3 mornings a week...and finding an opening with something like that is sometimes like asking the mountain to come to Mohammad!

It's interesting to me that as we sit on the edge of one of the most important political votes in US history, I could care less. I know who I will vote for, but am so inwardly focused, I don't seem to care who anyone else votes for!

I'm guessing up in the air means eventually we believe whatever's up there has to obey gravity and come down to earth. There's no way to see how the "cards will fall" (another phrase which calls to mind the air). I'm just hoping they decide to fall soon.

Motion...

This summer will be one for the ages...I've got too many commitments and too many trips!

The first trip, a Mission trip to Juarez, Mexico, was last week. We took 25 Sr. high teenagers into one of the worst reputed border towns. They built two houses--which by American standards were nothing more than mere garden shacks. The kiddos also led Vacation Bible School for the kids of Colonia 30, which I guess is a neighborhood--or maybe it's more compreable to the 'wards' in large urban areas. Some of us came back wind burned, sun burned, and I've got a questionable rash on my bum! Other than that, no intestinal funk--thank you God--and the food was AWEsome. Yumm yumm. We got home around 5 o'clock Saturday...just in time to pack for the next trip.

Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, we leave for San Antonio, Tx. I know, I know, I was just so close being in El Paso--BUT...I had to come home to GA so I could drive my precious darling children 16 hours back. I'll be there at my parents until Sunday when I fly back to the East coast to "chaparone" and Senior trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. This trip I am looking forward to. 10 kids who really are nice kids--not crazy party kids, and all I have to do is help out if insurance is needed. Seriously, I see my sleeping late and reading several books on the beach. The only way it could get better is if Steve could come out for a day or two--but this is his heaviest work time.

The following Saturday I fly back to San Antonio to my parents and my kids! Steve flies out 7/2 and my dad leaves for London 7/3. Steve's family is having a family reunion 7/4 and then Steve's mom's birthday is 7/5! We'll pick up my oldest son Matt on 7/6 at some point and head north to Canton, TX to do 1st Monday trade days. One of the cooooolest flea market/antique/junk stops you've ever seen. Last summer I saw a porch swing which I'm going back to get for my cabin--strapping to the top of my truck? We'll see.

Home to GA around 7/8 or 9 depending on how well we get through our crazy weekend.

Then the fun's just beginning. Olivia has dance company summer camp, my cousin Jordan is flying out for a visit, Matt and I are going on a white water rafting weekend...and then hopefully we'll get a few days of rest in before we slide into the first day of school 8/11.

Summer, we have no summer. We have motion this year. Not that I'm complaining...because we're going to do some really great things. Mexico was a wonderful trip, and I'm sure we'll have lots of fun with all of our other plans. I just need a little rest somewhere along the way!!!

: )

A Time of Transition

Here I sit at the beginning of June wondering where May went. Honestly...we've been full steam ahead so long I'm not sure what rest would feel like?!

Transition. I guess its a word I haven't thought about very often. Maybe we're in a constant state of it but too busy to notice. Or possibly, its only in times of extreme change that we truly feel its expression.

My oldest child, Matt is now a Senior in high school. This August he'll turn 18 years old and vote in the upcoming Presidential election. Oh my but the time has flown. My 2nd child, Olivia is now a 2nd grader...and I keep thinking she's still in Kinder garden. My #3 & #4 the pair of wild boys--well they never cease to amaze me with the crazy antics they think up. I am starting to wonder if they really will be the death of me...?

In May, my 'adopted' son Rusty graduated from High School. In a few months he'll be out of here and off to college, which is great! but it's also strange to think I won't see very much of him. He's been such a blessing to me and my family the last few years--I know we're all going to miss seeing him around.

Elsa, our baby Great Dane is most of time time a great pain in the butt. This dog has a great love of people food which is a HUGE problem with a Giant Breed dog! There's no where to keep food from her. Today she ate my spicy tuna rolls off the kitchen counter when I went upstairs to have a phone conversation. She's right this moment looking for the next "snack" she can devour. Maybe she was a mistake...but nonetheless here she is.

Transition. Time. Two words I rarely take a moment to contemplate. They're both all around us, and yet--how often to we give time or transition the respect they deserve?

Tired...lately I've just been tired. And lately, I've been reminded of my age. Now 35 isn't exactly old, but now I get some of the jokes with 80s-90s commentary which the teenagers I work with just look at me like...???whaaa???

Geez Louise. A few weeks ago I went in for the annual GYN visit, which for me isn't so bad b/c my doc is adorable & tooo cute! So everything went by rote until he said, "and this year you'll go for your first mammogram".

Scrrrrr. stop the presses...he said what? mammogram? That's what my mom has, that's what OLD women do. I'm not old enough for that! I'm still young and vivacious, I shouldn't need to do that! Damn. So tomorrow afternoon I'll join the ranks of the old women who have their breasts photographed.

It's not the test itself that bothers me, good grief I've delivered 4 children into this world and if I ever had any modesty, I sure don't have any after all of that! What bothers me is the feeling of being 'old'. Of crossing some invisible line. When did 35 become the great divide? Didn't The Cult of Oprah declare that 50 is the new 40? Half the women I know don't start having kids until their 30s...

So what is it about this particular test that has made me feel so old? Why do I equate this simple set of photographs with age?

where to start

ok, so maybe I was a little crazy to introduce a four legged baby into our crazy mix. Tonight we ran errands, or should I say most of the day we ran errands. Costco, REI, Container store...geez. Steve leaves on a mission trip to Paraguay in less than 2 weeks... my mom is coming to help with the kids or I think I'd slit my wrists.

Really, how does one answer a spouse who says "I want to go on a mission trip to Paraguay." not to mention the insane Yellow Fever outbreak going on there, no shouldn't be a problem, inoculations have always been fail proof right?

Tonight Elsa has really been, forgive the pun, in the dog house. She's alittle nuts and chewing on everything except what she's been given. Even now I hear Steve calling her down in his office, God only know what she's gotten into in there.

Today I had my first bikini laser session. It's not exactly a new sensation since I've been lasering off my underarms for 5 sessions, today being the 6th, but hey, when you dip below the equator, all bets are off! My groin area has definitely been on the warm side all day, and I'm hoping that I will get some action before the night is through--anyway...

Spring break has sprung here in Ga, the cherry trees are awesome and we're headed up to the cabin tomorrow...rain, planning to watch movies all day w/ popcorn & not clean up too much puppy poop.

more on this later...

Elsa

Ok, so what else could a mother of 4 need? Why not a new puppy? And better yet, it was my idea! Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that I am a dog fanatic. Ok, so not little dogs--and not cats...me hates some cats--but a good sized dog with a bark scary enough to validate me not buying the home security system.

During our first year of marriage, Steve and I had our first baby...a 4-legged Great Dane named Tess. Obviously I forgave Tess all her puppydom because I keep saying, gee I don't remember Tess doing that.

Elsa is a full breed fawn Great Dane. (Think Marmaduke.)She was 7 weeks old when we brought her home from Kentucky. Yes, she's a blue-grass baby. At 8 weeks of age, she's chomping her milk teeth into everything in sight. She's smart as the dickens and a little bit dominant...which will have to be tempered.

So our first Monday together, Steve's out of town, Olivia misses the bus and James Henry is screaming about every little thing. Can I complain, ya I guess so...but it's my own fault. I wanted a dog. So I need to want all the fun that comes with a dog. Poop/pee on the floor, chewed on shoes, and screaming chewed on kids!

High museum wine auction finale

Yum yum yum, wine on a Saturday night. Well, at $1O0 bucks a ticket you'd have thought the wine might have been better! Austin hope/Treana vineyards were the "hosts" of the evening & everything they poured was wonderful. Bravo to them. As for the rest, not much stood out. A lovely reserve from Alexander Valley
Vineyards...and a funky blend from eagle eye (?)I'm not sure about the vineyard--its here somewhere.

How nice to dress like grown ups and go out among peers for a night out. Only, our "peers" seem to have nothing in common with us. We, Steve and I, both felt a little like outsiders at what could have been a great ball. Oh well...nothing new when you're the parents all the time.

I wore black theory jeans with a great looking burberry white blouse. High heeled black patened shoes...opera length pearls hiding just beneath my open necked top...hot baby! Hot pink patened clutch purse to round it out. Steve was dressed pretty casual compared to the crowd, but he was comfortable. It was fun. We're not trendy--we're just us.

The band at the event was great, and a few of the restaurants there were visiting--several proved that not going there would only save me money. The corp. sponsor was Skirt magazine which I keep threatening to send articles in to. It would have been fun to meet some of the folks from that pub tonight, but the cards didn't have it.

All in all, we left the event early...maybe the problem was that we got to the event too early...? who knows. Our sitter was more then happy to get home and "get more sleep". She got a zune out of it...we're bartering baby sitting for an MP3 player...need vs need, everyone wins!

Tucked in early on a Saturday night? I hope not, surely these black hanky pankies will score me something!

This year, Easter Bites

Good grief. First of all, to me, Easter is about family, it's about a big beautiful meal with children in new clothes--pictures, and a smile for all. Well...my Easter turned sour around 12:45pm. This morning, I had everyone's clothes ironned and ready to go--Steve was up and out the door for ushering & money collecting at church. This left me with the task of preparing 4 kids...well, 3 really because Matt can take care of himself...getting myself cleanned up and off to church ON TIME because only the early bird gets a seat at AFUMC on Easter Sunday!


Mission accomplished. Everyone was there w/ their beautiful clothes and smiles and we got our photo. yes! Service went fairly smoothly--okay, as smoothly as any service with a 4 year-old ad 7 year-old in attendance!

We all piled back into 2 cars and headed for the house. Everyone inside, we decided to head out the front door for photos in front of the blooming Magnolia tree. A Jane Magnolia to be exact, and one of the only things in bloom! Steve opened the frot door and--whoops! James Henry somehow slipped and rammed into the opened front door splitting his left ear open.

Yes, of course, it needed stiches. Geez when in our world does it not need stiches!?! So I spent the next 4 hours at Children's healthcare of Atlanta! Between the urgent care visit where I was told it needed to be seen by plastics, to the platics resident at the hospital emergency room saying the first guy should have taken care of this! Who's to say!...

And by the time I got back to our home, it was time to cook the supper I was meant to cook for lunch! So I dutily went to work prepping and planning to slavage the remainder of the day.

At 6:15 or so I had the dinner on the table. Steak, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, steamed asperagus, green bean casserole, with deviled eggs, olives, pickled okra and cocktail shrimp...YUM! About 10 minutes into the meal, James Henry errupted all over Steve (ie emptied stomach at dining room table) due to nausea from his anesthetic at the ER. Steve and I just decided we were through attempting to eat. I cancelled the photographer who was suppossed to come the next day to take family pictures. Wouldn't that have been pretty! We put away the food, jammied up the kids and tried not to kill the woosey yet screaming at the top of his lungs 2 year-old.

I finally turned to Steve and sang, "why don't we get drunk..." and he finished the Jimmy Buffet song!

What a day...No amount of Cadbury eggs is gonna make up for this one!

Last Minute Stitches

For some of us, the joys of parenthood never end. For some of us, we have a child in the family, usually just one, who pushes past all boundaries and takes all risks. In my house, that's Sam.

Sam-I-am is something else. At four years of age, he's 35 pounds of solid muscle. Seemingly indestructible, there are moments when everything goes wrong for him. Tonight was one of those moments.

At 8:00pm , which is 30minutes to an hour too late, Sam, James Henry and Olivia were in my shower in the master bathroom. Sam and his sister were fighting and their father pulled Sam out of the shower until Olivia finished. Instead of staying on the bathmat where his father put him, he ran naked into our bedroom and jumped head first (for the 100th time) into the decor pillows from our bed which were on the floor. Of course, he didn't hit the pillows, he went head first into the table beyond the pillows.

Seeing his head wound gaping open and bleeding, it only took a second to know we had to have it stitched closed. Steve and I loaded up the entire gang in their pajamas and drove as fast as possible to the Children's Hospital Urgent care. They close at 9pm and we signed in at 8:35. From the time we arrived until the time we left at 10:45, I heard two ambulances pull up to the facility. TWO. Crazy. I felt so sorry for the staff--because there's no way this had been a normal night if two ambulances had been called for transfer.

So other than waiting forever and a day, Sam was a real trooper. He laid so still to get his stitches, I've never seen him be so cooperative with ANYthing. He now has 3 stitches along his cheek bone under his right eye.

Good grief. You know there are mothers of boys and there are mothers of girls. All 3 of my boys have proven themselves to be capable of anything. This is Sam's 2nd set of stitches. He's also had his stomach pumped. (that's a story I'd love to forget!) I dare not ask the question, 'What's next'...for fear of the answer!

Body Image...

For women, body image is something we all continue to struggle with. Am I too thick or too thin? Am I too tall or too short? Does my butt look good in these jeans? How thick is my waist?

We see the beauty in everyone else and yet find every single teensy weensy flaw within ourselves.

The honest truth:
I've always hated my nose, my boobs are WAY too big now, the skin on my stomach is disgusting after 4 kids, and I dye my hair to cover the white.

I am lucky enough to work with teenagers at my church and am always reminded of how beautiful they are. Their bodies are strong and lean. They're 16 & 17 years old and really entering the prime of their beauty. I see this because I'm 35 and can look back at how adorable I was in that time frame--how everything was firm and sitting in the right place. But just as I did, they don't see their true selves when they look in the mirror...they look for what they think is missing.

There are truly very few Barbie dolls among us. We're not perfect, and Lord knows after a few kiddos we're no where near the gals we once were! But Psalm 139 says : ...I am fearfully and wonderfully made". How quickly we forget that God knows all our flaws and yet embraces us as beautiful, complete creatures. God craves our focus and wants to give us inner peace.

In God's mirror we are all wonderfully made. How can we look in our mirrors here on Earth and focus in on the beauty HE's created!

James Taylor is cool, baby...

Ok, so how does an old hippie who has lost his hair and lost his love beads still hold the attention of audiences beyond his original fan base? The 70s are gone...although if you look at fashion you know they're gone but not forgotten! I'm watching this PBS special where James Taylor has gone back to his home "area", I'm blanking on the state--but he's back in the region where he's from singing old songs and new songs--and I'm completely drawn in by his music.



Ya, I'm 35...and I really like James Taylor's music. Does that mean I'm completely out dated? I don't think so. I remember the first time I listened to James Taylor's music. I was 23ish, and had gone to the beach with I'm guessing 20-30 other college kids. We'd played and drank our way through the day and were now going to hang out on the beach with a bonfire. Greg Wilson, who had a bitchin jeep, pulled said jeep onto the beach and began playing music. I remember him suggesting James Taylor and me going NO Way. Mainly because I thought he was just boring and out of date and why would any of us way too cool kids want to listen to that. But, I was shushed...and we listened to James Taylor.



For me, it was the first time I'd really heard James Taylor's music. It was soothing. It played against the rhythms of the waves crashing in the distance. It was mellow, and it truly summed up the evening perfectly. It's funny how music ties us to events in our lives.



When I was in delivery for my 4th (and final) child, I still hadn't picked a name. The only reason I mention this is because I had every child previously named far in advance of their arrival on this earth! But this baby was different. I knew it was a boy...but I had no idea what I was going to call him. I had a list of at least 10 names going into labor...and had no idea who would come out on top. During my labor with him, I found myself drawn to the James Taylor's greatest hits album. It's fun, calm, easy...just what I was looking for. My ipod played, Steve did email--a completely different subject for another day--and we waited for the arrival of this baby boy. Over and over again I listened to Sweet Baby James...and knew if he looked like one, his name would be James.



My 4th child, my 3rd son is named James Henry Nash. James Henry Martin was my great-grandfather, the father of my grandmother Nada Lee Martin Wilkins who I look so much like. She passed away before this baby was born. I miss her constantly. But a little of them both lives on in my James Henry.



When I hear Sweet baby James I think of them all, my great-grandfather who was a West Texas Sheriff, my grandmother who grew up in the great depression in West Texas, and my son who will never meet the ones he carries forth from history. WE keep the history alive; each and every day.



James Taylor can keep rockin'....

Hold your breath, and count to 10

I remember back in Elementary school--when I was sent to the office--ya, big surprise--the Principal Mrs. Blair would always say the same thing to me. "Lynne, when you begin to loose your temper, just take a deep breath and count to ten". In some universe holding your breath and counting to ten is going to some how make you not want to kill the person standing in front of you!

OK, so no disrespect to Mrs. Blair, because she's a really lovely woman...but I'm now 35 years old and STILL can't hold my breath and count to ten when I'm angry. My kids drive me crazy. The #1 culprit in my house is the 4 year-old Sam. He could drive the most devout honest living southern baptist to drink!

I've started trying to use a technique where if you hear your voice starting to get louder (ie insert the word yelling here)...you start talking softer until the child realizes they can no longer hear you. Tonight it took over 10 minutes for my little man to catch a clue! He's crazy...and yet, very wily. He seems to have a biological response that when I'm getting ready to kill him he needs to pull out the big guns. "Mommy you're beautiful." "Mommy, I love you." "Mommy you're the best mommy in the world."

And all I want to scream is 'can it kid, I live here and I still know what you just did to your little brother'.

Maybe I'll feel better after writing all of this down, or maybe I'll feel better if I have a nice, big glass of wine and head upstairs to watch the Project Runway finale. Red wine and fashion--now there's a deadly combination.

I'm gettin' too old for this stuff

So I spent the weekend in the North Georgia mountains with a group of 28 Senior High youth. They were great, fun, chatty, all-in-all some great times were had. Paint ball was a new experience for yours truly, and I must say I was glad my husband knew what I was up to.

I have 8 dark beautiful bruises courtesy of those sweet darling children! And by the way, when the paint balls hit you but don't pop...it REALLY hurts. The others just sting...and my two cents on the whole thing is that it's just rather masochistic! I mean, your hiding behind a blow up "X" aiming for another persons head while someone else is shooting you...all the while knowing you spent $$ to experience this fun. Ya, don't know if I'll be going back. I was terrible! The kids all wanted me on their teams to draw fire and take the hit so they could move further through the field! Good strategy if you ask me...But hard on an old lady.

The other item of the weekend which about did me in was the food. Now if you know anything about teenagers, you have to know that they're always hungry. Even when they're not hungry, they're hungry. So to maintain good graces with all I arrived at the retreat with a bag full of junk. M&Ms, full size candy bars, sour patch kids, twizzlers, bag of pretzels, bag of Frito's and bean dip. Mind you--this made the kids very happy--which is what it was intended to do. However, putting this stuff down my throat only made for a sore tummy! And who's to blame for that?...ya, me. I just seem to somehow forget sometimes that my 35 year-old metabolism isn't cut out for junk like that any more.

The one thing I'm always reminded of after a weekend like this is that these kids are right on the verge of independence. Several of them will be in college in just a few months. These kids are the future of our country...and without sounding quite so melodramatic...they're doing great. They have so much to offer and they're thinking about more than just what's coming up the next weekend. (ya, they think about all that stuff too), but it just seems sometimes like this group I've been working with is handling so much more pressure so much earlier than I did. I'm really proud of them.

Youth Weekend

Tonight I'm off to spend the weekend with Alpharetta First United Methodist Church's Senior High Youth. We'll be staying at the Cohutta Lodge and Restaurant:
500 Cochise Trail, Chatsworth, Ga 30705
706-695-9601
www.cohuttalodge.com

It's about 1.5 hours from Alpharetta, so it should be an easy trip. I've never been to this retreat before, but the website looks nice. Let's hope the pictures DO the property justice! I've packed a bag to bursting with candy. Nothing like keeping a bunch of teenagers juiced up on sugar to help a weekend pass s-l-o-w-l-y. : )

On Saturday afternoon, we've been scheduled to go paint balling. I've never been paint balling and my husband said he didn't think I'd like being hit. See how he thought I would like the running around shooting people part. Not sure if I'll do that or not. I've already offered up that if they need adults to stay back at the lodge that I would. I'm thinking some quality downtime with a great book and my ipod might be just what I need...probably what I need a lot more than being banged up by my big kids repeatedly shooting me!

We're due back Sunday afternoon around lunch time, so it's destiny that we'll show up right as 11:00 service is emptying out into the parking lot! Let's hope not. Please pray for dry weather as it's supposed to be YUCKY tonight!

Wacky, Wacky Weather!

Geez Louise! It's 32 degrees outside...yesterday it was 60 and I could run outside! The wind is gusting and several screens have blown off of my house! My friend Karen said yesterday morning the wind blew chairs into her pool and a branch down on glass top table--you guessed it, kaploohey! She said there's shattered glass everywhere. And next to a pool? Can you think of a worse place to have broken glass than pool side?

There were, no lie, snow flurries this morning. Crazy.

Last year Easter showed up with ice and freezing temperatures in April. Would anyone like to wager a guess as to what the weather will be like for an Easter in March? I bought my kids linen blazers at the end of last summer planning for a cold Easter...so it's bound to be 75 and beautiful.

Has anyone started their plantings yet? I've really let the green stuff go over the last two years and would like to get back to it this year. I think I'm going to order some antique roses to fill in the "dead" holes in my rose garden. Maybe get some trees planted in March at the cabin...man, that sounds a lot like work and not so much like fun. My bulbs have started coming up, and I'm hopefully for a great showing...

The drought last year took such a toll on so many plants it will be interesting to see what comes back and what doesn't.

I missed the Oscars!

Ok, so I wasn't planning to watch the Oscars on Sunday night when they aired. That's what Tivo's for, right? I joyfully sat down to watch the glamor parade pre-game count down and that wonderful technology I counted on, tivo, went to the wrong channel. Crazy, frustrating, stressful...I missed the gowns, the jewels, the Hollywood A list being attacked by Gary Busey...nuts! For the first time in I don't know how many years, I didn't get to hear the good, the bad, the strange, and the what were they talking about? recipient speeches. Oh well, I didn't make it to see any of the movies anyway, I guess that was the universe's way of telling me don't stress about something you know nothing about anyway!!!



What is the Academy Awards really about? Is it truly a reflection of movies from the previous year? How many people saw There Will be Blood before Daniel Day Lewis was nominated? And what about No Country for Old Men...a really grabber for the regular Joe.



Let's face it, movies have turned into a crazy expensive endeavor. And have you tried to go to a matinee lately? "Matinees" have to start PRIOR to 3pm. 3 pm!!! It once was any movie before 6...and now--hey, let's face it, there's only 1-2 shows you can pay 1-2 $ less than regular price.



Last week I took my kids to see the Hannah Montana in 3D concert movie. We went to a, you guessed it, 3 o'clock showing and were told that there IS no cheaper pricing for 3D movies, they're $15 a ticket for everyone. So, I paid $15 for a ticket for my 2 year-old to watch a movie in which the package for the 3D glasses said "not for use by children under 3 years-of-age! Geez. They get you coming and going.

musical rant

Ever wonder how someone as young as Norah Jones can deliver such sexy, seductive songs? I mean, is this just an innate ability? Are some people born with a carnal knowledge of what "works" in the areas of men to women or women to men?



Come away with me was not written by Norah, in fact I don't think any of the songs on the album of the same name were written by the artist. So does that mean the producer was really the mastermind of the entire project? Putting the right voice with the right piece of music. Truly, this album is magic. And of course I'm really dating myself by using the word album in the first place!!! The CD is magic, but for we old timers, how great would this album be crackling and popping on an old 45? There's just a little more soul when the sound isn't too perfect.



What would all of those old albums sound like crackling and popping in tiny ear buds being delivered through mp3 players to the 16 year olds of today? Personally my memories almost all revolve around cassette tapes. How many minutes of my life did I give up to recoiling a tape back into the cassette.??? surely an hour of my life which I'll never get back.



Music is just one of those things which makes life worth living. If it's Norah Jones on an MP3 player or John Cougar*(yes, before he was John cougar Mellencamp) on your turn table...music makes the majority of my memories come back to me with such clarity.



Think of your favorite artist, then one of their best songs--did you just go back to one of those magical memories?

To whine, or to wine

To whine or not to wine...that is the question. This afternoon I attended a wine tasting at my favorite wine store, Vino100. The wines were diverse and worth trying, but the people watching was off the charts. First let me say, cougars in pursuit of their prey are not very attractive. Unfortunately, these women WERE attractive, but they were pursuing 2 young men, friends of mine, quite deliberately.

So what is it about wine that encourages people to drop the pretense and go for what they really want? And what is it that we really want? Companionship? Courtship? a great quickie? These gals struck me as two capable competent women who were not sure what they wanted in a romantic social setting.

And does this not beg the question, do I? Do I know what I want out in an adult social setting? Personally I enjoy the banter of conversation with people I may never see again, I enjoy discussing wines I've tried and labels I've heard about but haven't had the opportunity to sample. I'm not trying to be above the crowd...I was in the crowd, one of them. However, being a married woman alone in a situation like this causes one to ponder...

It wasn't just an evening for cougars, there were singles on dates, young newbies trying to learn a thing or two about the grape, older couples who knew TONs about the grape, and married couples who fell somewhere in between. There were single women huddled together, there were college age kids who were with one couples' mom...that was neat to witness. That group in particular had made peace with all of the social garbage surrounding the mom/kid relationship and were actually having a good time. Maybe that means there's hope for the rest of us.

So to whine, or to wine. For me it's the wine. I am a petite Syrah addict. I adore most red wines and only a very few whites. Peter & Tim did a great job, as usual, selecting wines which will appeal to a wide audience. I did enjoy the 2006 Montes Alpha Syrah, Tim's favorite. But my favorite of the evening was the 2005 Mapema Malbec. I happen to like Malbec but have found that most people I know don't really fancy this varietal which is a shame.

Try something new--try something you've never heard of! Wine is to be enjoyed, not studied and snobbied. Drink an amazing Zinfandel with your next steak. Take a bottle of Vino Verde to the first picnic of the spring--people will be amazed at the difference!

Wine is one of my favorite indulgences in life. What's yours?

Its Friday again

I think the phrase, Thank God it's Friday doesn't apply to the stay at home mom. I mean, it's not like the people you woke up this morning and fed breakfast to aren't going to ask for the same kindness tomorrow!

It's rainy here in GA, and it always makes February such a depressing month. Does anyone really LOVE Feb? Really, the grey days just make me sad...and they make it so hard to get out of bed. Maybe it's time to go on a virtual vacation. Haven't you ever sat in front of your computer and scanned vacation hot spots just to feel a little "sun"? I think today I'll look for Greece. There is just nothing as beautiful as the Agean sea. What a fantastic shade of blue...or green...or blue-green! Nothing like it. My dream is to see the Greek islands from a small boat enjoying the view that the original sea-fearing tradesmen must have seen.

OR maybe it's an Australia kind of day...you know Christmas in July logic. It's sunny and beautiful there right now with Shelia's laying all over Bondi beach. Fish on the barbi off some beautiful boat in Sydney harbor. That sounds like a good life.

As for me, I'll just go change another diaper and hit the Y for a fun run on the treadmill. Who wouldn't want to be me?

Wow! I did it. Today is my first posting. And what a day, in the time I've tried to get this posted, I've handed out several punishments, put the cushions back on the couch-twice, cleaned blood up out of the carpet from a 4 year-old's bloody nose, and even now I'm being asked for food. My whole day revolves around feeding these kids. Do they ever get full? Do they ever finish the last item of consumeable product I gave them? Geez.

This blog spot is for me to vent, dream, and most of all challenge myself to write everyday. If there are others out there doing the same thing, let me know!! thanks