where the rubber meets the road

It's 8:15am, girls dropped off at school (except for Laurel Baby), I have 2.5 hours of free time- what do I do next?

A.  Make a beeline to my favorite downtown coffee shop? (very tempting!)

B.  Go back home and do laundry? (not so tempting)

C.  Get real about getting in shape and exercise? (ugghhh)

D.  Kidnap my husband and fly a private jet to some lovely tropical island where we sip fruity drinks all day and sink our toes into the sand. (probably not a realistic option)

Answer: C

It wasn't all that bad.  I had a fun little friend with me.

We chatted (er- maybe it was more like I eeked out a few words between gasps of air) about the trees,

 

and made a pre-season visit to the "secret beach".

All the fruit trees are beginning to bloom and it is so, so pretty around here.

It is amazing what intricate theological discussions one can have with a two year old about The Maker of All Things when surrounded by such beauty. 

Me:  Laurel, who made that pretty tree?

Her: um, God.

Me: Laurel, who made those noisy geese?

Her: um, God.

Me: Laurel, who made the bright sunshine?

Her: um, God.

Me: Laurel, who made you?

Her:...thinks about it... "God did!" (with great enthusiasm)

Me: Why did God make you?

Her: love (spoken in a soft voice with her head tilted to one side)

Isn't that simple?  Just a one word answer summed it all up.  I was blessed.

May I suggest?

This for your next breakfast?

It is a pomegranate smoothie and boy was it yummy (recipe from Every Day Food 4/08 I think).  Here's how you make it:

1 C berries (I used a couple of frozen strawberries and the rest were frozen raspberries)

1/2 C Pomegranate juice (I used Langer's straight from the jug...fresh is not necessary)

1/3 C or 3 oz of silken tofu- yes, tofu...trust me it is really good!

2 T honey

1/4 C ice

Blend, drink, enjoy, feel healthy, wonder if you are really drinking tofu.

Also, there is this for your next afternoon snack:

Roasted Garlic Cheese

Late July Buttery crackers (or Ritz)

Slice, stack, devour, resist the temptation to break out the wine at 4pm.

And for your next movie viewing, please consider this:

North and South (TV series from BBC)

Join Netflix, stream all four episodes in a row, fall in love with Mr. Thornton, watch again and again.

The week is off and running!  I have a huge pile of fabric that I hope to attack sometime in the next few days.  Results coming soon!

**ps thank you for all your sweet comments about my hair.  I am no longer pouting about it- I may even learn to love it!!

Makeover

My dear sweet Tante spent her entire afternoon here yesterday. With just a hammer and some nails, she totally gave my living room a new look- rearranging what I already had.

I wish that we had taken a "before" picture because the difference is amazing.  I couldn't get the whole room in the shot-- I almost fell to my death from my perch on the ledge of the staircase.

Here are a few things that she taught me about decorating.

1. Always use odd numbers to group things (ie. pictures, knick knacks, etc)

2. Hang pictures low, at least down at eye level.

3. Vary heights.  Your eye should go up and down as you look around a room.

4. Keep the room interesting, create opportunities for your guests to discover surprises.

5. Old and out of shape women (I include myself) can move any piece of furniture when they get excited about decorating-- we know because we moved my huge, heavy armoire approximately 6 inches.

I am so grateful to her for coming.  I always enjoy my time with her, and my room looks so much better.  She promised to come back and tackle another one next time.

Also made over was my mop.  I am much less excited about this change.  Almost 8 hard earned inches hacked of my hair.  It is just a whole lot thinner and shorter that I had pictured.  Oh well, it is not like an arm or leg or something...it will grow back.

New shoes too.  Flats are becoming a compulsion for me.  Perhaps it is their resemblance to ballet shoes that makes them so endearing.  Good thing Old Navy makes them cute and CHEAP!  These were $11.70 online.

I must tell you what my husband did for me yesterday.  I left the house in a raging mess as I overslept and scurried to get the girls off to school on time.  After dropping them off and keeping an appt. I was to meet my Aunt back at the house for our afternoon of decorating.  I was feeling pretty overwhelmed and upset because the house was going to be so gross for my company and I wanted to make her a nice lunch too.  With dread I pulled into the driveway with only 30 minutes to attack the house before my Aunt was due.  I was strategizing about hiding dirty dishes and sweeping crumbs into a corner in order for everything to look somewhat presentable. As I walked inside, I couldn't believe what I saw.  A perfectly, PERFECTLY clean house.  My wonderful, handsome, thoughtful, considerate husband had some compassion on my plight and stayed behind us that morning to clean the house.  We're talking vacuuming, dishes and all!  Isn't that just the sweetest thing that you have ever heard?  It was such a treat for me.  Truly, I don't deserve him- well maybe a little.

Have a great weekend!