- around the house -

actually, this post should say, everywhere but the house. today was errands errands errands.

first thing was a layout. ah, the dilemma in the morning. work out my body or my creative energy. i must find a way to exercise while scrapping. that would be perfect!!

next up, add some highlights to the hair. yesterday i dialed (poppy and lavender continue to refer to my hair as dialed despite all my best efforts to have them say dyed) some napalm orange in. today was some blonde highlights. finally it is looking like a salon did it. hooray! i also trimmed the front to try to help my bangs not look overgrown, but purposeful. i am a bit excitable when it comes to cutting hair so i tried to show restraint and only do what was necessary. truly necessary, and not just "necessary." you understand.

we hurried out the door to see rango. arrived in time, but who knew the 12:55 showing would be nearly sold out. the theater was kind enough to refund the tickets and the popcorn and drinks as there were not 3 seats together to be found, let alone 5. :(

then off to costco. bought some bulbs, and other unessential items. costco=shopping nirvana. the couches and beds are gone so it is easier to not lose my head when we go in. one day i hope to own a new couch and nigel really does need a new bed, but not until i can come up with some income. i need a job. but don't really want a job, so for now i try to be really frugal as my effort toward "making" money.

we did take the kids to lunch to try to woo them back to kindness from their collectively grumpy state. it worked but they took two hours and 3 efforts to get our meal right. seriously not the day we expected to have.

we ended with a double date with our kind friends megan and jason at panera. it was so very very busy. who knew? panera on a saturday night is the place to be.
we saw two young boys that had that rich air (minus the bodyguards) about them. got us to chatting about the menendez brothers. haven't thought about them in so long. silly kids. killing their parents for $14 million. that case was the talk when i was in law school. that feels like absolute years and years ago. maybe because it was? teehee!!

ate poorly today, and no exercise. hoping to be additionally mindful about drinking lots of water tomorrow. didn't get any reading in. but did spend some good time as a family and then some fun time with rich tonight. and i have no roots, and the house is mostly picked up. so all in all, life is pretty good. and because i have been slacking....

things for which i am grateful today:
1. having little girls with particular style and taste
2. having a son who shares my sense of humor and smiles at my little jokes and who babysits with no notice!!
3. rain. if it has to be grey, at least the rain provides a purpose.

- around the house -

it has been a long month. so much illness. ear infections. ear aches. sore throats. sore bodies. fevers. snuffy (lali's word for stuffy) noses. coughing. or hacking if you are nigel. scratchy voices. watery eyes. pink eye. fatigue. shall i go on?

today is the first day in a long time that the kids appear on the mend. nigel is not necessarily mending, but will be better tomorrow as i will insist he go to school. he is better in public.

finished a layout today. good to be back in a bit of a groove.

it finally warmed up a tiny bit so the ladies and i went outside for a few minutes of fresh air. what a welcome surprise that was. (i say surprise, not as we didn't know that the warmer weather was forecast, but as that forecast turned out to be right!!)

off to rest. fighting a migraine today. have a list a mile long for work tomorrow, so i might just shut down the computer and be a mom for the rest of the day. imagine that.

gratitudes today:
1. miracles - the ss lesson today. glad to know miracles still happen.
2. modern day medicine
3. bright 4 year olds who prefer to call granola gorilla in spite of knowing the real word. ha ha ha!!

- around the house -

today was another quiet snow/ice/wind day. the infirmary was again open with all three occupants returning. two will remain tomorrow, though one will head back to school. and happily so. no one is good when nigel is bored!

today we worked on poppy's ohio animal project. all the kids helped tear and glue tissue paper to create a land and sea for the otter to move on/in. now we just have to figure out the otter. with another sick day approaching it looks like we have one more day to get things together. poppy was doing much better and then i took her out to a friend's house. i shouldn't have. she fell asleep in her clothes the moment her head hit the pillow. all curled up in a little ball. her fever is back, too. makes me sad i took her out.

but we needed to go visit a friend. it was good we went but left me sad as i realized that friends not only come but go. sometimes the hardest part is realizing that they don't need you anymore. and accepting it gracefully. that's a tricky thing for me. i make acquaintances quickly, but love to forge friendships deeply.deep and lasting. not so good at goodbyes. makes my heart hurt a bit. or a lot, really.

finished a layout today. been loving all the hexagons i have been seeing lately. have beehive tile on the brain for the bathroom floor and now i see hexagons all around. so i used some. i like how it turned out.

failed to take the potd. maybe tomorrow i can shoot a pic of poppy's project. that works. guilt free.

speaking of guilt - ate WAY too many choc chip cookies today. yikes. so good. will be better tomorrow.

lastly, sara had the babies today! no names yet but i am very excited to see them. one is bigger than lavender, the other a bit smaller than poppy. hoping my heart doesn't shatter or lurch or respond in any way but with joyful celebration for them. these are my first post-menopausal friend babies. gearing up. praying hard.

three things i am grateful for today:
1. nigel's remarkable piano skill. i love to listen to him play.
2. toddlers who pray for big sisters to get well. so pure. so moving.
3. having the pleasure and blessing of having people cross your path at just the right time.. even if the paths diverge, at least we got to walk together for awhile.

- around the house -

today was a snow day. more exactly, an ice day. the freezing ice fell and caused the whole world to glisten.

the kids had the day off school apparently it was a good thing. nigel slept until 9:38. poppy awoke more sick than she went to bed. lavender began the day, still sick but improved, though took a downward turn early afternoon and now is battling poppy for top sick spot. yikes.

playing infirmary meant the house stayed relatively quiet. nigel hunkered down with a movie upstairs, the girls downstairs. me in between. we ate sporadically. we slept sporadically. we didn't open the door to the outside once.

got caught up on some blogging and was glad to get the new day launched. our team is amazing and their creativity blows me away every time. i truly am in awe.

cha is officially over. though i am disappointed to have not gone, it was a good choice. i am hopeful that we can do what we need to online for this next 6 months and i am already making plans for chicago in the summer so that it won't get displaced in any way.

funniest thing overheard today: why does Poppy get to be more sick than me?

greatest thing accomplished today: got dressed. only halfway, really, as i just put a sweatshirt on over my jammie top. teehee!!

finished a layout. life is good.

project check in:
potd - yes
monthly house project -this month is the biggie for finishing painting the main level. i need to call john (the local goto paint guy) to see if i can schedule him for the stairwell. so this month will be finishing the downstairs painting projects. if there is time, i am hoping for 3 prints for the wall, and to fill two frames with photos.

things for which I am grateful today:
1. having power in spite of an ice storm
2. spending some quiet time with the kids
3. having one computer with all my programs on it for the first time in more than 3 months! whew! love when things go right.