Peter is officially finished with 8th grade. He decided to wear his suit to the ceremony this morning, much to the surprise of his friends and teachers who have only seen him in shorts, t-shirts and hoodies for the past year or so.
I’m relieved. Next year will be the first time both my kids have attended the same school together since 2002. They’ll even have a class together, as both of them wanted to take first year German.
I won’t need to drive anyone to school or pick anyone up. Now, we just need to get through the summer.
So, I’ve been dizzy since Monday night. Not nauseated, just dizzy. I saw the chiropractor yesterday and I think it helped somewhat. Haven’t felt like doing much in the evenings except knit mitered squares and watch TV. (So You Think You Can Dance = awesome.)
I awakened to crashing thunder at 5 a.m. We’re supposed to have rain for the next four days, and it’s going to be in the 80s. It’s still June, right? What’s August going to be like? Pitta is not amused by this sort of weather.
Pete took Moon and three of her friends to see Nightwish in Mokena, IL, so it’s just me and the boy tonight. They’re crashing with Sister #3’s family because it’s only 1/2 hour from the concert as opposed to the 3+ hours it would take to get back here. Right now they’re about 50 minutes into the first act. I can’t wait to hear the stories tomorrow.
This morning, I walked in the Race for the Cure with Patti and her friend Cathy. Both of them are survivors. Patti’s sister Jeannie usually walks with us, but she’s very sick at this point and isn’t expected to live through summer. We each pinned a photo of Jeannie to our t-shirts so she could still be a part of the day. I’m still sorting through the shock of hearing about Jeannie’s condition. I’d like to see her again, so I’m thinking about a drive to Eau Claire with Patti.
We are all so fragile, really.
Right now Peter is happily playing a newly purchased video game. We ordered carry-out from India Darbar for dinner, and we’re settling in for the night. I’m planning to be lazy and decadent in the morning.
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name
We’re starting to move stuff around in preparation for painting. (Three weeks away and counting.) Moon wishes we could get started right away, but I told her she still has school and finals to get through. Kids here won’t be done until June 13.
It’s been a beautiful weekend, and I spent part of the day sitting outside with Foxxi while she rolled in the grass and found icky things to eat. The yard is much more pleasant since we borrowed our neighbors’ lawnmower and chopped down the weeds. No way would our reel mower have done the job. The loan was especially nice of them because the lawnmower is brand new—a corded electric mower. I really like it, and I’m hoping we get one of our own. (They probably are, too.)
We’re going to do some yard work today. Maybe buy some perennials. I’ve been working on my mitered square blanket (started 2 years ago!) and I am almost 3/4 done with the squares.
Tomorrow we’re off to the in-laws’, but otherwise not much going on. Which rocks. Our paint samples arrived, and maybe we’ll experiment. That’s all.
There were so many awesome things tonight about American Idol (I’ll selectively forget the cheesy things, okay?) that I had to write a few of them down.
The SYTYCD dancers. It was almost as fun as seeing the top 12 idols on stage again. How excited are we about the new season? (Answer: A substantial amount.)
Michael Johns and Carly Smithson’s duet. I just wish he had been wearing a cravat.
Getting to see and hear David Hernandez and Amanda Overmyer. I can’t imagine that big group numbers are Amanda’s thing, but I wish she were going to be on the tour anyway.
“You are my brother.” Cheesy, but good. Marching band style.
The dual Guitar Hero commercials, which made me do a double-take. The first time, because it took me a minute to realize Hey! That’s David Cook! The second time, because I expected DC again.
The fact that both Davids are extraordinarily talented, and I would have been cool with either of them winning. Sure, DC was my favorite, but I really thought DA was going to win.
The Cook family. I’ve been thinking for a week that Andrew reminds me of someone. Now I know: Dwight Schrute’s cousin Moze. (David as Dwight, I guess.) Seriously, the Cooks seem pretty cool.
ZZ Top. On American Idol.
On the other hand, The Love Guru? Cringe-inducing. And Paula’s cleavage? Scary.
That’s all. I’m psyched for the tour. I’m such a nerd.
On Saturday, we went to Home Depot and picked up Freshaire paint color chips so we could start experimenting at home. Specifically, Moon and I went around the house and taped the chips to the wall so we could see what they looked like in our lighting conditions. Then last night, I used my pendulum to douse on which colors would be most auspicious in various places.
These three colors are what we’re using in the living room. Even though we’re not starting the project until after school is out, Moon is eager to get started. Maybe we can do the taping the week before.
We’ve also picked out colors for the kitchen, hallway, bathroom and master bedroom, but first things first. After all, I’m only taking a week off.
No, not just because the car turned 88888 and I’m a big enough nerd to capture it on camera. The big day was our 22nd wedding anniversary. Pete and I celebrated by going to the Farmer’s Market (where we bought a hanging flower basket, two tomato plants and a jar of raw honey) and then out for lunch at Maharaja on Odana. We ate way too much, and I fell asleep in the afternoon after we planted our tomatoes.
It was a lovely day. Our wedding day was rainy, but nearly every anniversary has been filled with sunshine. (Like my days with Pete, awww.)
ALF’s birthday was yesterday, too. Which means mine is coming up, and I’m going to be closer to 50 than to 40. Huh.
I didn’t take many pictures at the market, but they’re here.
Here’s one of my Mother’s Day gifts, in its new habitat. (Also known as my cube at work.) Moon picked it out for me to honor my birdlike nature, i.e. my love of shiny things. She found it at A Greater Gift, which is a fair trade store on Monroe Street in Madison. Lots of cool stuff there.
She also gave me some mint chocolate, a stone penguin figurine, and a pair of elephant figurines (mom and baby). Peter gave me a gift certificate to Lakeside Fibers, which is always appreciated. Pete played a role, too, so I feel very blessed that my whole family conspired to honor me.
During our Mother’s Day visit to my parents’ house, the topic of conversation naturally turned to American Idol. Why? Because they know we’re watching, and we’ll be buying tickets to the tour. (So right! I already bought the tickets during the pre-sale! Secret word: POPTARTS.)
“Who’s your favorite?” asked my dad.
“We’ve been David Cook fans pretty much all along,” I said, adding charitably, “although I think all the top 3 are very talented.” I figured they probably really, really liked cute little David Archuleta.
“Oh, David Cook is definitely the best,” Dad answered. “He’s a rock star.”
This, coming from my 80-year-old father, made me smile. Talent is talent.
Last winter, Moon and I agreed that our home, with its stark white walls, needs an infusion of color. Pete said, whatever, as long as he didn’t have to be involved. So… once school is done for the year, I’m taking vacation time for a Paint Adventure with Moon.
I’m starting to realize that it’s only a few weeks away. We’ll have a lot of prep work (dusting, removing clutter, taping) to do. We need to pick out paint.
I’d like to use Home Depot’s Freshaire Choice. Right now I’m leaning toward Rhythm of Red or Evening Peruvian Lily, with Canyon Pebble or Of the Earth. (We want to have one wall in a different color.) We’ll be doing the main part of the house. Bedrooms and basement can wait.
We already ordered a new sectional to replace our two sofas. It’s supposed to come in at the end of June. The store’s photo shows it in the color we ordered.
Anyone want to weigh in on our color choices? Or laugh at the thought of Moon and I tackling this project?
I realize I didn’t post after the wedding, but suffice to say that it was lovely and we are all very happy. The newlyweds are on a cruise to Hawaii (actually, they are in Hawaii right now), and have been emailing updates. I had a bad cold that lasted more than 2 weeks, so during the reception I did my best to hide my many used facial tissues. Yeesh.
But I still had my triumph, as both of my kids were dressed appropriately for the blessed event. Both of them. I mean, I expected Moon would clean up well, because she’s cooperative about things like that. The surprise was that Peter willingly had a haircut and wore a suit and tie for the first time since he was about 3 years old.
In other news, I finished knitting my chevron scarf and just need to weave in the ends and block it. I started some socklets out of leftover sock yarn, and I think they’ll be pretty cute.
April 26, 2008 at 11:53 am · Filed under animals, foxxi
Remember the third-time’s-a-charm vet visit on April 11? Well, Foxxi held quite the grudge against me for an entire two weeks. I had to be careful not to make any sudden movements near her, lest my arm be covered in tooth marks.
Also, she yelped at such innocuous things as a dishrag falling to the floor (several feet away from her) and a dryer ball being tossed gently across the room. Yelped and ran for cover.
So guess what? She’s due for another shot, in less than a month. I was under the impression that we’d covered everything during the morphine visit.
Yeah, this was Foxxi after I carried her to the car, drove her home and placed her on the floor. Where she stayed in the same position for about six hours. We are all very eager to replicate that experience, especially since she’s just now trusting me again. (No bites all week! Knock on wood.)
Even better… she needs her teeth cleaned. She goes under for that, so it should be done within 45 days if we want to avoid having more bloodwork done. Maybe they can do the shot at the same time.
And we can start taking up a collection for all the expenses that are surely coming our way. At least she’s very, very cute.
Remember my IndieFixx prize package? Well, I wanted to be sure and share the rest of my photos of the awesome items I received. (Go see the set close up here.)
April 25, 2008 at 4:16 pm · Filed under moon (rachel)
I’ve been sick for the past two days (longer, if you count when my sore throat actually started, which was Sunday). Yesterday was a blur, but today I’m a bit more coherent. A week ago today, Moon and I were in Minneapolis, visiting the U of M Twin Cities. We drove up the night before, stayed in a Radisson on campus, and spent the whole day looking around, hearing presentations, talking to people, etc.
Oh, and the morning we left, Moon developed a creeping red itchy rash on her legs, torso and arms. She insisted on going to school, so I dosed her with Benadryl and called the doctor as soon as their doors opened. I had left the car at the shop for a quick oil change (and, it turns out, 4 new tires and scheduled maintenance to the tune of $640 total, ugh)—so of course the doctor insisted on seeing Moon ASAP. Fortunately, the office is a very easy walking distance from Moon’s school, so I called and had her paged. She wasn’t thrilled, but she obeyed orders. Diagnosis: viral rash. At least it wasn’t a drug allergy as I had feared.
Long story short, it stayed itchy and red until Sunday, despite Zyrtec and Cortizone cream. I’m glad she had the university visit to distract her. The U of M made her very happy, as you can see.
And yes, we bought merchandise. Two t-shirts and a sweatshirt. Not only is the campus beautiful and (to Moon) the perfect size, the school colors rock. That’s always a good thing.
I’m just relieved that she no longer has her heart set on Washington state, because a 5-hour family car trip beats having to buy plane tickets. Now let’s just see what I do when she studies abroad. My fingers will be fused together from all the crossing.
