In Case You've Been Missing Me . . .

. . . I've been very busy because Mom #2 recently became a grandma.


Notice that Mom #2 became a grandma, I did not. I will not be a grandma for a very long time (well maybe not a very long time, but definitely not this past weekend).


Mom #2's daughter, well, she's my daughter too, and I don't mind being Mom to a grown woman, but I draw the line at being a grandmother well before I'm even 40. *SIGH* Well, this post is headed straight for the ditch, let me get back on track.


Our daughter, who lives out on her own, but is still very much a part of our loving family, had a beautiful baby girl this weekend. So we're spending time oooohhing and aaahhing and giving lots of unsolicited advice.

Mother and Baby, healthy and beautiful.

Until next time . . .

Anatomy Of A Hoarder . . .

For Mother's Day, my family gave me a beautiful brand new handbag with a matching wallet.


It's big, roomy and sturdy because I never leave the house without at least 2 books I'm trying to read, ibuprofen, hand lotion, Febreze, Cortaid spray, hand sanitizer, a deck of playing cards (who knows when you may end up out somewhere and bored to tears?) and other miscellaneous odds and ends. It smells like brand spanking new leather. Take a look for yourself, what's not to like?





Now for my confession, I'm kind of missing my $10 Tinkerbell bag that I've been carrying around for the past two years, every since we went to Disney World.


It is raggedy and the seams are busted; one of the straps is held on with a safety pin; all of Tinkerbell's fairy dust is dull and cracked and her sequins have been gone so long I don't remember what they used to look like. This bag has seen better days, but I just can't trash it.


I think I'm going to gently lay her in a box, wrap her in tissue paper and save her in the back of my closet. Every now and then, when I'm feeling a little nostalgic, I can pull her out and give her a brief hug when no one else is looking, because they've already labeled me certifiably insane and I can't afford to give them any more ammunition.


Rest in Peace, Tinkerbell purse. I'll miss you.

Tinkerbell Novelty Handbag, 2006 - 2008, Beloved Souvenir

*SIGH*



Until next time . . .

Happy Mother's Day - To One & All!

I really don't want to make this long and mushy, I just want to take a moment to honor, lift up, and revere the two most beautiful women in my life: my mother and my mother in law.

Through the good times and especially during the bad, there is nothing like having a Mom who will always listen, never judge, support you (even when you're wrong and you both know it), defend you, protect you, and most importantly - unconditionally love you forever and ever.


Both Mom #2 and I are truly blessed, we have the best Moms in the world!

And to all of you beautiful Moms out there in cyber-blog-land . . .
Happy Mother's Day to you too.

Until next time . . .

Say Something Saturday - Take 7

This weeks assignment, is to make up a story about this picture. The longer the better.

****************************************

Things. Are. Tough.


I'm getting so exhausted with the constant bickering and arguing over absolutely nothing. I am beginning to think that our relationship has run it's course. This is a disaster. The very thought of it is so depressing, I mean we started out so compatible. There has never been another person in the heavens or on earth who can see me, hear me, feel me and just know without having to say a word. I literally thought we were soul mates. It seems that lately the "flow" of our lives has just been "off." We keep trying to reconnect and and regroup and make it fresh, but the stale just stays stale. I just don't think we're going to make it.


What I really need is some time to think this through. Honestly, do I really want to break up my family and home life? Do I really want to give up the secure comfort that home brings and step out into a dark and desperately unknown world? What about the kids? Do I want to be a part time parent? This is seriously the most important decision I have ever had to make.


So I set out on a sabbatical. A nice extended vacation all by myself to clear my head and recharge my mind. I need to put a lot of things into perspective and make a clear and concise decision on the direction I want my life to go. I need to point my future in a positive direction an then follow it all the way through.


So, here I am.


I'm spending the week hiking and walking and reading and thinking. I did some reminiscing: laughing sometimes and crying sometimes over the good and bad times we've had together. I ate fish from the crystal clear stream, did some hiking on the rocks and the mountains, and relaxed in the wildflower laden valley. I've never felt so clear-minded, serene and at one with nature and myself. I did a lot of talking out loud to myself. I'm sure the bunny rabbits thought I was insane! I finished reading some good books that I've been keeping on the back burner. I feel this is really time well spent.


But now I need to get down to business. I need to make that decision, jump that hurdle, get this monkey off my back. Do I stay or do I go? It's an age old question, but can be answered in so very many different ways. I close my eyes and lay on my back savoring the incredible feeling of the sun warming my eyelids. I say a silent prayer, forget it, I'm out in the midst of nature, I say a prayer right out loud.


Do I need to work on my anger? Do I need to start keeping my attitude in check? Am I the problem? Do I want to step out on my own? Do I want to keep my family together, or is it time to start a new life in a different setting? So many questions, but what I'm really praying for is answers. Please, if You're up there, and I know you are, just give me a sign.


I open my eyes and right out here in the middle of nowhere, where I haven't seen a single solitary soul in seven whole days, I see two beautiful hot air balloons, side by side and floating in perfect harmony, almost like they are connected by some unseen but definite invisible gravitational force holding them in tandem for eternity.


So I smile, get up, pack up my knapsack, and go home . . . where I belong.



Hope you enjoyed it.


Until next time . . .

Is The Weekly Wrap-Up Late? Why Yes, Eye Believe It Is.

Not too much in the way of school work to report. Baby Boy has one more module left in his Marine Biology, three or four lessons in Spanish (we do each lesson for 4 days so those are weekly lessons) and a God forsaken 30 more lessons in Geometry. Someone save me! I've got Spring Fever so bad, I'm about to explode. It's so sad, because Baby Boy is working so hard. I really need to get it together. That Geometry is my Achilles' Heel.


We do have some fun photography lessons planned for summer and some "homeschool lite" activities as well, so our brains don't turn to mush, but we are definitely taking a couple of weeks off before we dive into all of that.


We spent the entire day on Saturday hanging out at the pool, so I think I must still have a little water on the brain.


Also, I'm super busy at my part time gig taking flower orders because it's the week before Mother's Day. Let this be a reminder to you, the closer it gets to Sunday, the HIGHER the delivery charges will be. Sometimes more expensive than the flowers you are having delivered. Do yourself and your mom a favor and deliver them to her personally. She'll enjoy the gift and the company.


Baby Boy and I completed our first portrait art lesson and are on our way to personalizing our generic portraits from last week. If you don't remember, you can check out this post.


This week we learned how to draw . . . you guessed it . . . eyes! Actually just the right eye, or the left eye, depending on how you look at it. Well, anyway, here's the photographic evidence.

By Baby Boy

and


By Mom #1

Of course, you probably already saw this coming, but, of course, these eyes turned into none other than . . . The White Board Monster!

OOOOooohhhhhh . . . . Scary!

I hope that put a smile on your face, ;-)


Until next time . . .

Say Something Saturday - Take 6

Sorry I missed last week's assignment, I was sickly, and it could not be helped, but I'm here today and that's what really counts, you know.


This week's assignment is as follows:

Let's see what you can do with this writing assignment.
Make it fun or factual or frantic. You can have as many or as few words as you want.


If only I hadn't ____________________.

If I'd ____________________ instead, then _____________ wouldn't have happened.

*******************************************************

If only I hadn't answered the phone.

If I'd just let the answering machine pick it up instead, then me getting

up early tomorrow to find a "ladies who lunch" appropriate dress to

wear to the Mother / Daughter Banquet at my mother's club, wouldn't

have happened.

This IS her Mother's Day gift.

*SIGH*

The truth shall set you free.



Until next time . . .