244/366 In his eyes

Today is my husband's birthday and we are going out to eat with friends and family.  There are so many ways I love that man -- but one of the ways is how he will help me "find" the picture of the day.   I tried to get a self portrait in his eyes -- but that just didn't come out clearly.  He suggested the sunglasses and viola -- there we are!

243/366 I used to think a dog bed was a cushion on the floor

The dog I had before my husband and I got married went to live with a friend because my man just wasn't in love with her.  As soon as the honeymoon was over (or maybe during the honeymoon), I began begging for us to get a dog.  After a few months, we drove over an hour away to pick a puppy from a litter of Dachshunds.

On the drive over, the man said, "The dog can live on the porch and in the yard but I don't want it all over the house."

On the drive home, the man said, "She can come in the house but I don't want her all over the furniture."

A week later, the man said, "She can get on the furniture but I don't want her in our bed."

A month later, as the man returned from the pet supply store, he said, "These steps will help her get into the bed with us."

Since the whole back debacle, she is unable to jump onto furniture -- but we pick her up and hold her with us there.  She has slept in a travel crib for the past 5 years.  The extra towels and blankets are there for the daily changes (which sometimes happen in the middle of the night) as she has accidents.

She is a lot of work but the best thing about that sweet Mili is that she made the man a dog person.  I don't think we'll ever be without a dog in our lives -- and that makes me happy!

242/366 Take me home country roads

I wanted to take a picture of the sunshine today but Hurricane Isaac had other plans.

241/366 Every day is laundry day

With a dog who wets her towel and blanket every single night, we have a lot of laundry.

Can you see the "jazzy" purple wall behind me?  That is the color of the laundry room -- Jazzy!

240/366 Always Reading

I guess there are people who read more in the summer but that isn't really true for me -- I'm one of those people who would rather be reading than just about anything and I am always reading.  I read a lot and I read just about anything.

The pink lady sticking out of the book is my new bookmark from a friend.  She was worried that I only read books on my Kindle and not "real" books anymore.

And yes I came home from work and put on my pajamas.  Is that a problem?

239/366 "Twilight, a timid, fawn, went glimmering by, and Night, the dark-blue hunter, followed fast." ~ George William Russell

My youngest son called today and we had the nicest conversation.  He had just gotten back from being a leader on a college camping excursion on an organic farm.  He was in charge of activities and cooking vegetarian meals.  He had so much to talk about and I love that he will share so many details with me.

A little while later, my youngest step-daughter called from her house at college to talk to her dad about the job she has gotten.  She sounds very excited.

Later in the day, my oldest son hung out with my husband and me and chatted while we cooked and prepared dinner.

Then, my oldest step-daughter came over for dinner and she stayed and talked for a couple of hours hanging out with us in the backyard watching the sun set.

I love that I love the adults the kids have become. Sometimes there is so much depth in the most mundane moments.

There are many times that I miss them being little... but I have to remind myself that them turning into likeable and productive adults really was the goal.

238/366 Reflections

Tonight, we went to an adult prom as part of a fundraiser for a local charity.  I wore the dress I wore when I married my husband 8 years 2 months and 13 days ago.  He wore the tux he wore when when his girls had their bar mitzvah even before the wedding date.  

I think we cleaned up well, eh?

Something made us laugh as we were getting ready for the prom.  I like that we still laugh so much together.

That man just makes me smile.

237/366 "It's innocence when it charms us, ignorance when it doesn't." ~ Mignon McLaughlin

Best kid story of the day:

First thing this morning, I was summoned to one of the buses.

Ms. Bus Driver (fanning herself with a paper fan): "Whew!  I'm glad you could come!  These boys here are about to give me a headache."

Me: "What's going on?"

The bus driver proceeds to explain how the boys (who happen to be brothers) had been slapping and pushing each other around in a loud manner.  As I turned to give the boys my disappointed look, I noticed tears welling up in their eyes.

Me: "Now boys, when you are on this bus, Ms. Bus Driver has to be able to focus on safely driving this bus.  Do you think that you were behaving the way you should have been?"

Both boys shook their head side to side in unison.

Ms. Bus Driver: "That's right.  You have to be quiet and not making all them loud monster noises when I'm driving the bus."

Youngest Boy: "But I wasn't making monster noises.  Those were lion roars!"


Do you wonder how the insides of my cheeks got callused?  I have to bite them so often to not laugh at "inappropriate" comments.

236/366 A ginger ale kind of day

Last night, my mother, sister and I took our sweet Ms. Victoria out to dinner for her birthday.  Her husband died a little over a year ago and she is so lonely now.  We've sort of adopted her as part of the family.  Besides, she is from Germany and has the best accent and verbiage.  How could you not love someone who regularly uses the phrase "pussyfooted about"?

It was a lovely evening and she laughed and cried.

Whether it was food poisoning or just a virus, I can't be sure but I can tell you that it was a rough night last night.  Around 1:30 a.m., I put in for an absence and emailed my boss.  I can't remember the last time I had to take a sick day.

Fortunately, I now feel assured that I will live.  Ginger ale and toast are the best!  The skies have been green-gray (at least when I've been awake) and I find it comforting.

The best part of being sick is that it reminds me to appreciate feeling well.  And oh, how I appreciate feeling well.

235/366 "Let the rain sing you a lullaby." ~ Langston Hughes

We've gotten to hear a lot of rain lullabies this summer.  Steamy, hot and rainy summers remind me of the summers of my childhood.

And I love the summers of my childhood!

234/366 "What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while." ~ Gretchen Rubin

Found a green heart growing in the plant that typically sports purple leaves.  Maybe it is all the rain.  Maybe it just wanted to be noticed.

233/366 Rainy days and Mondays

I'm not complaining... but it has rained all day long.  I wish I could have been home reading the day away.

It was a good day to wear happy shoes.

232/366 A ripple in time

Today, on my Sunday morning long run, I had high hopes of capturing a gorgeous sunrise.  Most Sundays, the orange glow lights up the streets and buildings as we pound out the miles.

This morning, it was gray and cloudy... and grossly humid.  Right before Jaba the Hill (yes, we named the big, fat hill), I stopped to take this picture of the blue skies peeking out between the ripples of clouds.

It started raining right after I got home.  There is nothing better than curling up in a chair and reading while the rain comes down.

231/366 "You are a pest by the very nature of that camera in your hand." ~ Princess Anne

I had planned to take some pictures of some flowers -- but the flowers are all so ragged from the war the heat has waged on them.  As I meandered about the garden, a fly kept flying around me and biting my arm.  After I started seriously swatting, he flew off to hide.

I took a picture of his shadow through the elephant ear plant and ran inside to the AC leaving him to roast in the heat.

Winning!

Biting flies are bigger pests than people with cameras.  At least I think so.

230/366 Pear cobbler

For my birthday, a sweet friend of the family baked a pear cobbler for me today.  Her husband died a little over a year ago and she has been so lonely so I went to visit her after work today.  I love listening to her talk with her thick German accent.

She is a love!

229/366 Lemon skies

Today marks my 45th trip around the sun!  And it just made sense to make a sky yellow.

228/366 Don't it make my green eyes blue...

When I was growing up, I always wanted the cool blue eyes that my sister had.  People just seemed to notice her eyes when we were little.

Once I snuck into my mother's makeup bag and put mascara on my lashes as best my 6 year old self could do.  I just wanted for my eyes to get noticed for a change.  Not a single word was said about the black stuff glopped all over my eyes and face.

I was such a graceful child.

This is me.
Trying out a blue eye.
Now You Workshop
Summer 2012

227/366 "To travel is to take a journey into yourself." ~ Danny Kaye

Best kid story of the day...

As I stood in the hallway, a small girl came walking very slowly out of the lunchroom.

Me: "Is everything ok?"

Sweet little girl: "Yes but my stomach hurts and I am going to go see the nurse."

Me (wondering why she was walking so slow): "Do you know how to get to her office?"

Sweet little girl (animatedly pointing): "I do.  She is right up there."

Me: "Why are you walking so slowly?"

Sweet little girl: "Oh, I don't want to run into my teacher.  She'll kill me if she sees me going to the nurse again."


Sometimes it is so hard not to laugh!

226/366 Big eye

Did you ever have one of those days where you just dropped everything?  That was me today.

Despite breaking the coffee pot this evening (can we say, "Hello, Kohls?)", I dared to take the crystal ball outside to try an idea I had.  I really wanted to get one of my eyes to be magnified and look really, really big.

This was really hard using the timer.  But I did get to roll around in the grass with the pop bugs (you know, those bugs that pop up and fly away when you touch them).  It took about 40 tries to get a picture that was more or less in focus.

This is me.
Not breaking anything else today.
Now You Workshop
Summer 2012
Week 6: Eye contact

225/366 The Waiting

Window light rocks!

The first thing that popped in my head when I saw this picture was a memory from childhood of me waiting for my dad to pick my sister and me up for the weekend.

I wonder if that ever hurt my mother's feelings?  Maybe I should tell her that I was even more excited to come back home.

This me.
Still trying to get comfortable in front of the camera.
Now You Workshop
Summer 2012
Week 5: at arm's length

224/366 Something orange

August is pretty much hell on the flowers in the garden.  There are only a couple who seem to be hanging on -- including this one orange bloom.

223/366 Spaghetti night

For starters, I boiled pasta just because I had this idea of taking a picture of me slurping some noodles (I do LOVE to do that!).  After the noodles were boiled, it bothered me that there was no spaghetti sauce so I remedied that situation.  About 45 minutes later the garlic, onions, peppers, and tomatoes were simmering in a pot with some fresh basil to make some sauce for my now cold noodles.

So, I am pretty pumped that it is a Friday night and I've actually cooked supper.  That doesn't usually happen on Fridays.


This is me.
Eating spaghetti.
On a Friday night.
Ready to enjoy the weekend.
Now You Workshop
Week 5: at arm's length

222/366 Green grass eyes

From this perspective, my eyes look really green.  Maybe it was the grass...  

Taking pictures of myself at arm's length is proving to be more challenging than I thought.  As I try to hold the camera out and press the button, I often get furrowed brows and serious looks that make me look like I am angry.  It is so hard to smile and not feel like you are being a flunky.

Flunky is a word that a 1st grader taught me today.  According to him, "if you don't listen to the teacher you might become a flunky." Sounds like good advice.

This is me.
After a run.
Lying in the grass.
Concentrating on not dropping the camera on my face.
Now You Workshop
Summer 2012
Week 5: at arm's length

221/366 A moment of calm

The first day of school for the students is always a mix of excitement and nervousness.  My 50's style dress and red shoes allowed me to channel my inner June Cleaver.  I love the way she was always poised and calm.  And wore pearls.

The day went swimmingly!   As I drove in the rain to work, the iPod shuffle gods chose the best music - The Eagles, Aerosmith, Stevie Nicks.  It felt like I was in high school driving in to work this morning.  

It was an incredibly busy day (I don't think I sat down more than 20 minutes all day today) but it was a successful day.  It is always a success when all the students make it back home on the first day.

This is me.
Getting ready to walk out the door for the first day of school.
At 6:30 a.m.
Now You Workshop
Summer 2012
Week 5: At arm's length

220/366 Ready or not...

The students will be back tomorrow!

Getting the school ready for the students is a lot of work and has consumed a lot of my time -- but still, I am loving the new position and the new school.  I'm busy but not stressed out.  And I'm ready to focus on the students.

Excited!

This is me.
With tired (but happy) eyes.
Standing by the front window.
Now You Workshop
Summer 2012
Week 5: At Arm's Length

219/366 Caution: Look out for fork lifts

My very creative husband made some art after finding this cool sign at a junkyard.  Yes, that is a stick figure family impaled on a pitchfork.  And yes, the dog is sticking out his tongue at us.

I will always laugh now when I see stick figures on car windows.

I might have a twisted sense of humor -- just like my husband.

218/366 "A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition." ~ William Arthur Ward

It rained all day today -- and it was wonderful!

217/366 Ray is 6!

It seems like just the other day, little Ray was being born.  Happy Birthday to the fun legomaniac!

216/366 Window shopping

I love antique and junk stores.  Especially when they create wonderfully chaotic window displays.

Good news!  My husband bought a Polaroid 250 from out of that window for me tonight.  I've already ordered film.  Excited!

215//366 "Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali." ~ Salvador Dali

This mustache is going to work with me to live in my desk.  How much fun is it going to be to discipline a child while wearing a mustache?

This is me.
Being silly in the backyard.
With my Dali mustache.
Now You workshop
Summer 2012
Week 4: Whimsy

214/366 Sweat, spider, and shrooms

I saw these cool little mushrooms growing out of a tree stump so I just had to plop down on the ground and roll all about to get their picture.  I was already sweaty from my run so all the dirt just stuck to me.

And so did a big spider.

There may have been some screaming like a little girl going on.