The Source of All My Power

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Honey

I’ve had this particular trait, some may call it a habit, for most of my life. It only shows itself when I’m concentrating or when life demands an intense focus. Most of the time I don’t even notice that I’m doing it. But there it is, whenever I need a little extra boost.

I was making cupcakes tonight for Coach’s Christmas party. There I was, knife in hand, delicately frosting the cupcakes, taking extra care to cover the top and not frost my fingers, when Coach came up behind me to see the progress. And try to sneak one for himself. He watched me, hard at work, and started to laugh. There it was again.

You see, I tend to stick my tongue out when I concentrate. I’ll be working on something difficult and out it comes. Just a little. Not down to the floor like a cartoon where it unrolls and hits the ground with a thud. Just a little. Sometimes to one side or another. Sometimes right down the middle. I’m convinced that it has helped me through some tough times. It’s my secret weapon. The source of all my power. And apparently it’s genetic.

Baby Girl does it, too. She’s done it since birth. It’s her signature move. Just like her momma! I hope it serves her as well in life as it’s served me.

Reality Bites

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Honey

I can remember back a few months ago. I was working, trying to keep my house clean, maybe get a home cooked meal on the table once a month, and figuring out how to raise a baby as well as keeping things warm and fuzzy with the hubby. I had just decided to take the plunge and become a full time mommy and had given my notice at work.

“Someday soon,” I thought. “Someday soon I will have time to keep my house clean, learn to cook, be a super mom and the perfect wife. Oh, and I’ll have plenty of time to write a blog. And write the great American novel. And learn to sew. And knit. And underwater basket weaving. I’ll have plenty of time for all of this once I’m at home full time.”

And then my last day of work came. I said tearful goodbyes to my coworkers, cleaned out my desk and set off on this new adventure.

Fast forward a few months. I can now look back on my former self and laugh my full head off. Not only is my house in a constant state of disarray, but now that I’m home, I get to stare at it all day knowing full well that I won’t be able to get to any cleaning today and tomorrow doesn’t look good either. I continue to cook as much as I did when I was working, and I haven’t channeled the ghost of Julia Child yet. I’m still as much of a rookie mommy as I was a couple of months ago, but I can say that my baby is healthy, happy and most of the time, clean. And as for the perfect wife, lets just say that is a work in progress as well.

I still can’t sew. Or knit. Or weave baskets underwater. No great American novel yet. And as you can tell, I’ve had trouble lately keeping up with the blog.

Most days I crawl into bed, completely exhausted, and wonder where the day went. Where all my time went. All this free time I was going to have at home. And I chuckle a little at the naive person I was just a few months ago.

Out With the Old, In With the New

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Honey

Although it was a brisk 82 degrees today, I know that winter has to be coming soon. And with it will come long pants, long sleeves and fuzzy pajamas. A couple of cold days caused me to haul down the numerous totes at the top of my closet and haphazardly pull out a couple of sweatshirts, but I haven’t officially changed out my wardrobe for the winter clothes.

Ugg. The big mess that is my closet makes me want to curl up in a ball and rock myself to sleep where I’ll wake up in Mariah Carey’s closet, which I’m sure is bigger than my entire house. And perfectly organized, unlike my own.

So to encourage procrastination, I decided to ignore my own closet and focus instead on my daughter’s closet. Her needs were much greater than mine, I rationalized. Not only did she need to have all of her winter clothes in arms reach, but she had outgrown half of the clothes in her closet. It was time for spring cleaning. Or is that winter cleaning?

It wasn’t just her closet that was attacked. Her dresser drawers got a good once over as well. Since she is now a girl on the move and getting into every nook and cranny in the house, I thought it might be a good idea to pull every article of clothing she owns on to her play mat in the living room. Better for me to get some work done and keep and eye on her.

She decided to take pity on her old mom and lend a hand. She helped me sort socks. I’m still finding socks under the couch, tucked neatly beneath her stuffed bear and shoved between the couch cushions. Very helpful.

She helped me arrange her pajamas. Except that her idea of arranging consisted of pulling every pajama out of the box where I had just put them and waving them around her head like a lasso, then dropping them in a pile only to leave a little drool puddle in her wake. I think we had a communication problem. Next time I need to define “arranging” a little better.

And finally, she helped me pack up all of her outgrown clothes. As I was getting all misty-eyed in remembrance of the tiny baby who used to fit in the clothes I now had to retire, she helped brighten the mood by pulling out one particularly fuzzy jacket and crawling along the floor pushing it in front of her. Not only couldn’t I restrain from giggling, I think she helped clean the floor. Mulit-tasking at an early age. I couldn’t be prouder.

I may just have to hire her to help me clean my closet.

I am Thankful

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Honey

Coach helped organize a food drive at school last Friday. There is something about the Thanksgiving holiday spirit that encourages people to give. It was a big success with boxes and boxes of food collected.

Coach and I were tasked to bring the food to the local food pantry. He packed the back of our 4Runner with the boxes, and I swear that our shocks groaned a little. That’s how you know the food drive was successful!

As we got closer to the food bank, we encountered a long line of cars parked on the side of the road, just waiting. But for what? It was too soon for parents to line up to pick up their kids from school. Way too soon for Black Friday mania. But there they were, lined up in their cars for blocks. We felt a little guilty driving around them. Were we cutting in line? In line for what? And then the line stopped. Right in front of the food bank. What was going on?

We pulled into the parking lot, told the volunteer that we had food to drop off and waited to be directed to the right location. The volunteer looked a little frazzled as he explained that it was a distribution day and they had some delays and were running about an hour late. Hence the line of cars. All of those people were waiting for food. Dozens of cars. Dozens of people. Waiting for food. Food that I had always carelessly just dug out of my pantry and dropped off in barrels for the latest cause.

In all that time, I’ve never given much thought as to where my food goes once it leaves my hands. In an abstract way, I know that it goes to people in need. But until I saw that line of people, it never hit me that there are so many people in need and that so many people depended on that food. I had never seen anyone pick up donated food. I had never put a face to the need.

We shopped for our Thanksgiving feast later that day. As we unpacked bag after bag, I realized how lucky I am. I am thankful that I am blessed with good food. I am thankful that I am blessed with a beautiful home and friends and family to fill it. I am thankful that I am able to give back to those less fortunate than me. Next time I give food I know the memory of that long line of cars will make it more than just food in a barrel. It will be food on someone’s table.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all! I’m also thankful for all of you who stop by to read this little blog. I hope you enjoy your day!

Beautiful People

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Honey

Formula 1 racing came to Austin this past weekend. Along with all the drivers, their cars, their pit crews and their entourages, came all the race fans. Now, I’ll admit that I don’t follow F1 racing, though I did watch the race with my sweet friend Chandra who happens to follow the sport and, incidentally, is in love with one of the drivers who shall remain nameless (ahemMarkWebberahem). It was interesting and a nice change from the usual football that invades our television on Sunday afternoon.

But even more fun than watching the race was the opportunity for some fabulous people watching. Chandra and I ventured out on Saturday for a rare baby-free shopping trip (thanks Coach!). After a whirlwind trip to the local outlet mall, where I saved more money than I spent (score!), we braved the crowds and the traffic and ended up at The Domain (a bit of an upscale outdoor mall for all you non-Austinites). Our target was the opening of the new H&M store, but as soon as we saw the line to get in that was wrapped around the building, we changed our course. Now aimless and with no real destination in mind, we wandered in and out of a few shops and up and down the streets.

There was definitely a different crowd than we have encountered in the past. We heard snippets of conversations in English (American, British, and Texan accented), Spanish, French, Italian, and German. And the people. Oh my, were they beautiful! The women were painted, curled and coiffed with an air that screamed European. The pages of Vogue were alive along the streets of the mall. And the men. Equally beautiful and styled. Now I am madly in love with my husband, but I can appreciate a beautiful man when I see one, and I saw more than one that night. And there is just something about a man with an accent. I think it’s the mystery factor. Ooh la la!

We did finally make it into H&M. By the time we headed back to the car, we noticed the line to get in was very short and moving quickly. Once inside, we were greeted by bumping music by a dj and a frenzy that can only be created by an opening day. We looked, we wandered, we saw the line to the dressing room and nearly fainted. Only the children in our lives ended up with any loot. We could buy without braving the dressing room. But I will be back. You can count on that.

I haven’t been out much since that night, but I would imagine that the beautiful people that came with the race have now left with the race. I hope they enjoyed their time in our fair city. We will have to wait until next year to see them all again. I guess we will just have to live with our homegrown beautiful people until they return.

Where I’ve Been

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Honey

You may have noticed that I’ve been missing for the last few days. Then again, maybe you haven’t noticed. But either way, I took a little break. But for a good reason, I promise.

My Grammy and Papa were in town for a week, and I just couldn’t tear myself away long enough to tell you all about the good times we’ve been having. My apologies for the absence, but I’ll make up for it now.

For a week of not really doing anything, we sure were busy. Grammy and Papa are 83 and 86 respectively, so we don’t plan a lot of running around. But we did manage to squeeze in two days of shopping, a trip to our favorite restaurant on the lake and a local hole-in-the-wall for seafood (I ate chicken fried steak), several trips to the grocery store (we had to cook a little while Grammy was here to supervise) and a lot of visiting with my sister and her family. That’s a lot for two people whose social life usually consists of trips to the doctor. Who am I kidding? That’s a lot for me, too!
We did manage to get some good baby bonding time in there as well. Baby Girl ate up the attention. I think it’s going to take me days to get her back to her normal life. She adores her great-grandparents and had the best time entertaining them. I think her cheek muscles got the workout of their life with all the grinning she did.

They had such a good time with her. I think she keeps them young. Papa was thrilled to be able to pick her up from her crib after her naps. He paced in front of her door, waiting for her to wake up so he could hold her.
They both got to feed her. The bottle was a bit easier. The baby food proved a little harder. It’s not easy to get in in the small mouth of a wiggling baby. They sure had fun trying.
We took them to the airport today. I miss them so much already. I wish they lived closer and we could see them as often as we like, but I’ll take every visit we can get. Sadly, Baby Girl knows they are gone. When we got home, she was looking for them in the house. I know she misses them, too. But until we see them again, we have a lot of good memories and a lot of good pictures.

A Very Special Veteran’s Day

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Honey

This Veteran’s Day, I’m fortunate to be able to spend it with my Papa. He proudly served in the Navy in the Seabee Construction Battalion in World War II. He was stationed in Attu and Adak, Alaska and built aircraft runways.

I have grown up listening to his war stories. It was one of the great adventures of his life and his eyes light up a little every time he tells a tale from the war days. Most stories I’ve heard so many times I could probably tell them myself, but he slips a new one in there every now and then. I got to hear a new one this morning about the time he was supposed to be on guard duty, but a blizzard blew in and he went into a hut to keep warm and then got stuck there for two days because the snow piled up so high in front of the door that he couldn’t get out. There was a twinkle in his eye and a little sheepish grin that came along with that story.

He has photo albums filled with pictures of the men he served with and the huts he lived and worked in. He once got me to try on his Navy uniform that is packed neatly in the cedar chest. He claims he was once my size (without the curves) and he must have been because it fit! He sure looked handsome in his uniform and from what I understand, he was quite the ladies man back then. This was before he met my Grammy, of course.

I’m so proud of my Papa and of all the men and women who have served or are serving our country now. We are truly blessed by the brave veterans who protect our freedom.

I Wish I Was

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Honey

I wish I was a cat. My cat in particular. He has quite the enviable life.

I fold the laundry. He gets to nap on it.
I’m lucky if I get to watch 10 consecutive minutes of television. He can channel surf for hours.
I missed my coveted extra hour of sleep this year. No one told the baby about the time change. He reveled in the extra hour and then celebrated with a few hours more.
I really missed my calling. If I ever see a job advertisement for professional house cat, I’ll be all over it. I wonder if it would pay well.

I Love This One Times Two

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Honey

My heart melts every time Baby Girl holds onto one of my fingers. It’s a connection like no other. A tiny hand gasping onto yours.
There’s just nothing like it in the world.

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Honey

I’m tired. Boy am I tired. I got it in my head a couple of days ago to do a little yard work while the weather is still nice. Yes, it’s November. Yes, it was 77 degrees today. That’s fall in Texas for you. Before you get jealous, check in with me in August when it’s 110 degrees for the 54th day in a row.

Anywho, I did yard work. I haven’t really done much landscaping since we moved in our house a year and a half ago. I do have a couple of excuses. First, I was pregnant when we moved in. A few months of morning sickness followed by several months of just being BIG, does not motivate a girl to work in the yard. Then I had a baby. Enough said. Talk about being tired. Then it was summer. See reference to this excuse above. H-O-T. And I keep telling myself that anything I would have planted would have died from heat exhaustion so I was really procrastinating to save the plants. I’m just courteous like that.

But it’s now beautiful outside, I’m no longer pregnant or taking care of a very newborn baby, so I’ve run out of excuses. So out came the shovel, the dirt, the plants, and the mulch. I dug, I weeded, I raked, I planted. For four days straight. Yes, our yard was in sad shape. It still has a long way to go.

I didn’t take any before pictures because, well, I didn’t think about it. I was in my landscape mode. So let me paint a picture for you. A picture is worth a thousand words, but I’ll try to keep my word count down way below a thousand. We lost a few of our bushes to two summers of extreme drought. We did manage to pull their dead carcases out of the flower beds in the front yard last July. This was after we put Christmas lights on the sad skeletons last December. Nothing like decorating dead bushes. Classy. Their absence left big gaping holes in the flower bed next to the house. We also lost most of our grass in the drought as well. That problem will be addressed in the spring (I hope). We had landscape wasteland to say the least.

Fortunately for me, I inherited a few plants from my grandmother. She had a beautiful garden. It was always so full of life and color. I used to love watching her work her magic when she was alive. So when my dad asked if I wanted a few plants out of her garden, I jumped on it. Since she lived in Ohio and I’m down here, transplanting her entire garden was out of the question, but I did adopt a couple of hydrangeas and rose bushes.

I picked out a few more plants to round out the beds and away I went. All in all, I planted 14 new plants. The rose bushes found a home in the back yard and the rest are hugging the front of the house.

Shockingly, I don’t know much about gardening either, but I’m jumping in and giving it a try. I hope they survive. Especially my grandma’s plants. I can’t kill those. My great-grandmother actually planted the rose bushes. No pressure, right? I think I might get a visit from my grandma if I kill those.

Ok, enough talk. Here are a few pictures from my horticultural endeavor.

This is one of Grandma’s hydrangeas.
Here is the other one.
Here they are living side-by-side. I think I’ll name them after her. Meet Valeria and Anna. I hope they like their new home. And their new neighbors.
This is one of the two gardenias I planted. This one had a flower on it already. It smells so heavenly.
I can’t remember the name of this plant. It has no sentimental value. I just thought it was pretty.
There you have it. My new leafy friends. All tucked into their beds. Pun intended.

Anyone else getting their planting groove on?