180. In the park

Saturday.

We spent the day in Manhattan.  Hot sidewalks led us to quite a few air conditioned stores.  And restaurants/bars.  Towards the end of the day, we found some benches in the shade and people watched.  And watched the birds.

179. Moving day

Friday.

Drew got all moved in to his apartment on the 3rd floor in Brooklyn.

178. Taco

My niece's dog.  My son's new roommate.

177. Early to bed

Early to rise, right?

Yesterday, we finished packing for Drew.  Due to a surprise going away party for him (organized by a friend), we skipped out on driving to Jacksonville the night before.  Instead, we simply woke up at 1 a.m. so that we could get to the airport in time for the flight to NYC.

This was the view -- and the only picture I took yesterday -- as I tried to go to sleep early (operative word being tried) last night.  Drew never went to sleep.  Yet, we made it to NYC and we are now waiting on Dalton to come in on the train at Grand Central.

I'll have both my boys for a couple of nights.  And that is good.

Tomorrow, we move Drew into his apartment.  He will be officially living in NYC!

176. Preparing

After a day of training on the curriculum in our state, I came home and worked on laundry and packing.  Today is Drew's last day at the museum and tonight we leave for Jacksonville.  Early in the morning, my sister and I will fly with him to NYC.  We are staying for a few days and then flying home without him.

I'm excited for him and I'm a bit sad that he won't be right down the hall.

175. Aloha

Got to take the girl to her first birthday party.  She told us that she'd gotten an invitation once before but wasn't allowed to go.  Well, all that is changing now!

When we picked her up to go get the gift and to go to the party, she talked about wanting to spend some of her own money for the present for the birthday girl.

That sweet precious girl.  She had a blast!  When I think of how she is almost 9 years old and had never been to a birthday party before, it just overwhelms me.

We are supposed to get her full time the first week of July.  Keeping my fingers crossed...

174. Sunday Slump

The exhaustion from yesterday led me to opt out of my usual Sunday morning long run.  When I woke a few hours later, I immediately felt guilty and improvised my own run.

Afterwards, the man and I decided to just lie about and read.  And nap.  Even Mili joined in on the napping idea.

173. Dinner

Worked all day with the man.  All day and all evening.

Typically, when we work a wedding reception where alcohol is not being served, it is a quick event.  Eat, be merry, and leave.  This reception was the exception.

The wedding party, the guests and even the DJ tore up the dance floor.  It was mildly hysterical.

When I came home (late), I heated up some leftovers and ate with purpose.  Then I went to bed.

172. Vines

A doll face on the ivy covered wall.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  It still seems like a good idea -- though it does look a little creepy.

171. The Giving Tree

She read to us tonight.  My parents are over the moon about her.  And so are we.

Just a little bit longer before she moves in.

170. Happiness is jumping

We may have found a new way to warm up for speed work.  I love meeting my friends at the track but I really don't love speed work -- especially in 90 something degree weather.  Jumping like this was hilarious plus we got some crazy looks from other folks.

Now You
52 of You - Jump
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169. After the rain

It was sunny.  Then it rained.  And then it was sunny again.

168. Breakfast

I wake up hungry.  In fact, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with my stomach growling.  But I don't eat until after my morning run.  And that makes this version of the overnight oatmeal as my favorite one.

Oatmeal, ground flax meal, chia seeds, agave syrup, pumpkin seeds, PB2 chocolate peanut butter powder, mashed banana, and chocolate almond milk.  Oh, and a small handful of dark chocolate chips.

It takes a few minutes to throw it together in the mason jar the night before but it is such a wonderful treat after a morning run.

I only eat this chocolatey version about once a month.  It is always worth the wait.  And worth the calories.

167. Hazy

Humidity and haze.  I think that is the name of the game for the next few months.

Now You
52 of You - Flare
23/52

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

166. Shade

While I worked on pulling weeds, Mili sat in the shade under the Adirondack chair.

I can't help but notice how gray my sweet pup has gotten around her mouth.

165. Bejeweled

I love dragonflies.  They are just so cool and prehistoric looking.  Plus, they always remind me of my mother.

My mother has always been very girly and prim.  My uncle likes to say that she "grew up on a farm but nobody bothered to tell her."  Being outside is just not her thing.

BUT when I was a kid, she did take us to swim at various pools.  While there, she would stick her dainty finger out for the dragonflies to land on -- and they did.  They would sit there together as if they knew they could trust one another.  My sister and I were always amazed.

164. Gills

I helped my husband for just a bit at an outdoor catering job.  It was hot.  It was muggy.

We all felt like we should have gills.

Even the goldfish in the centerpiece were moving slowly.

163. Forever can never be long enough for me

Happy Anniversary to the man of my dreams.

I love him.  I like him.  I want to always be with him.

Forever really isn't long enough.

Now You
52 of You - Flares
23/52

162. This day

What I want to remember about this day are these things:

That it was my first day of summer and I absolutely couldn't stay in bed past 6:30 a.m.  I tried.  I just was awake.  But it was still sleeping late based on my usual 4:30 a.m. wake up time.

That it was my first day off contract from work -- and I still went to work.  The furniture in my office was getting moved back in and I wanted to rearrange a little.

That Kippy got locked out of the house and I ran a key to her.  In my bathrobe.  With hair dye in my hair (no more random strands of gray).  No wonder the neighbors think we are weird.

That it was Avery's birthday and we celebrated even after he had to go into work for a medical emergency.  Being on call was no fun for him.  But he still had an awesome party!

161. Now...

The last home visit before the girl is placed with us.
The last day of work of this school year.

That was reason enough to celebrate by having dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant.

Hello, summertime!

160. A lazy day

Or at least my version of a lazy day.  I wanted to lie around and read but I vacuumed and did laundry while listening to an audiobook instead.

At the end of the day, this hummingbird was right outside my office window.  I thanked her and took her picture.

Tomorrow is my last day of work (other than a few workshop days) for the summer!  I'm ready to get it over.

159. New Toys

She loves the new toys.  I remember this stuff -- lots of little pieces and parts.

We've had a great day of playing.  And then picking up the little pieces.  :)

Just a few more weeks of this visitation stuff.  Just a few more weeks.

158. Raindrops keep falling on my head

During a break in the rain, we went outside to pick peppers and tomatoes (yay summer foods!).  When the rain started falling again, Mili sat down in confusion and began shaking her head before running for the door.

At least she has the sense to come in out of the rain.

I thought the blur of her was crazy and funny!  That girl can shake off like a motor.

157. Rainy

Tropical Storm Andrea has dumped a lot of rain on us for the past couple of days.  While I'm not having to water the garden, I am missing the sunshine.

Tomorrow may be lie around and read day since the rain is predicted to continue.

Late this afternoon, I got an update on the foster child placement. Now it looks like it'll be the beginning of July (instead of the middle of June) before they place the girl with us.

I got frustrated today.  This process has been painful and slow.  I know it will be worth it but I am just ready to have the girl with us already.

156. Happy National Running Day with a little kitty love

Smokey lives next door but sometimes comes to hang out on our cars (kitty paw prints are adorable).  This evening, he gave me an affectionate welcome home.

155. Turning

The tomatoes will be ripe soon.  Time for some summer foods! 

154. Subtle

The prompt was smile and I thought, "No problem.  I smile a lot."  Yet, when I turned the camera on me, all the smiles felt so forced.  And they looked forced, too.  This subtle smile seems to be the one that best sums up the day.

Meeting with the superintendent -- check.
Office boxed up for the custodians to move all the furniture out to strip and wax the floor -- check.
Rush home to meet the lady for the home study -- check.
Celebrate a good report on the home study -- check.
Get ready for bed - delayed but next on the to do list.

It looks like we are about a week or two away from being declared fit to be parents and having that sweet girl move in.

After I typed that last sentence, I smiled really big.  Too bad I didn't have the camera in my hands.

Now You
52 of You - Smile
22/52

153. Our song

It was another wonderful day with the girl.  It had been a full week since she'd been to the house and we all missed her.

She swam like a fish with Ray for hours and then strummed on Kippy's banjo after dinner.  I love that she just seems to fit into our lives so well.

When I was taking her back to her temporary home, we blasted her favorite song -- "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkston.  Seeing her singing and dancing in the backseat through my rearview mirror was happiness.  Pure happiness.  When she got out of the car she said, "That is our song." She pointed to me and then back to herself.

Yes, baby girl.  Our song indeed.

152. Heading home

Late Saturday, we headed back to reality.

151. Mirrors on the ceiling...

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave...

Getting away to St. Pete with the man and some friends was just what I needed.  After four days of no agenda, no real internet service, no cooking, no cleaning, no work emails, I was as relaxed as I knew how to be.

Now You
52 of You - Rest
21/52