Five Question Friday

1. Thunder storms- love them or hate them?

Love them! Need a few around here, actually... 

2. Do your kids get back to school clothes?

I kind of have to.  They wear uniforms and by the end of the school year they are pretty trashed and small to boot.

3. Do you golf? Do you watch it?

Neither. 

4. Showers or baths? 

Showers as a general rule.  Baths are a kind of vacation luxury.  I like staying places where there are Jacuzzi tubs!

5. What's the strangest meal you ever ate?

The all-wing fest at Buffalo Wild Wings is kind of strange when you think about it.  20 wings and about two quarts of sweet tea? Pretty tasty, though. 

Thanks to Five Crooked Halos for hosting the fun!

Five Question Friday

1. What advice would you give a couple getting married? 
Don' t underestimate the power of generosity.  Put yourself and your agenda on the back burner and think of each other first.  When you are irritated or angry give that much more.  God will give you the grace and He will bless your generosity!
2. If you could tell your 16 year old self ONE thing, what would it be?
Dont' take the Triginometry class!  You don't need it and you are just trying to keep up with your friends out of vanity. It won't end well!!(Also, get rid of those  pink and white pinstripe skinny jeans. Seriously)
3. What do you do to keep cool in the summer? (AC, windows, fans, swimming, etc.)
AC, swimming pool, and enormous quantities of iced tea.
4. What did you (or your wife) crave most while pregnant?
Ice.  For instance snowballs: the shaved ice with flavors that are sold at stands all over Maryland. Also crushed ice in 7-Up or ginger ale.  One pregnancy I had an urge to eat snow. Odd.
5. Who is your favorite TV mom? Why? 

I guess I don't watch enough TV because I just can't think of one!  

Thanks to Five Crooked Halos  for hosting this easy way for me to start blogging again!

A May Daybook

JUST FOR TODAY

Outside my window...the sound of the boys on the tennis courts

I am thinking... about our summer plans 


I am hoping... we will visit the East Coast with the kids this summer

I am thankful...for my daughters's softball team: thanks girls for welcoming the "new kid"!

In the kitchen...Linguine with bread crumbs and swiss chard

I am wearing...yoga pants and a Yankees t-shirt

I am creating...crocheted potholders and dish cloths

I am going... to the pool with the kids this weekend 

I am wondering... when the day lilies I ordered online will arrive


I am reading...The Normal Christian Worker by Watchman Nee

I am looking forward to...the end of the school year: May 25th!

I am learning... little by little how to be a better teacher

I am praying for... my older daughter as she finishes Finals Week

A favorite quote for today... Unbeing dead isn't being alive.― e. e. Cummings


One of my favorite things... my vegetable garden.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Activities Banquet, plant the eggplant, Mother's Day


A Peek inside my day...my gardenias are in bloom. 

Thank you Peggy for 

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

A June Daybook

Just for today... The Simple Woman's Daybook


Outside my window... Instant summer!... and the dog enjoying a sunny spot in the driveway.

I am going...to take two of the kids for their learners' permits tomorrow.  

I am thinking... obsessively lately about the sale of the house.  I still have a couple of things I would like to do in the yard before our next open house on Sunday.

I am thankful for...  for our beautiful home of the last nine years...and hey, it has never looked better!

From the kitchen...  lemon bundt cake, grilled pork chops

I am wearing... Jean shorts, black V-neck t-shirt. and pink flip-flops

I am creating...  still the forest green Afghan for Rob.  Done by the end of the summer?? Here's hoping.

From the learning rooms... Summer reading list decisions

I am reading... Dune 

A few plans for the rest of the week... baseball, softball, clean out the garage, and KEEP THAT HOUSE CLEAN!                                           

One of my favorite things... Watermelon season!
And a picture thought... our favorite watermelon eating spot.

So...What's been going on lately?

This was the question posed by an old friend and neighbor who I haven't talked with lately, but who ran into me  last week at the Pinewood Derby.  So, I casually, but inaccurately replied, "Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that." I just couldn't bring myself to shout over the din of 50 Cub Scout families, "We're moving to Arkansas and I have 4 months to sell two houses.  What's up with you?" I thought it might be a bit much for her to process.


It has been a bit much for me to process,.  Now that we are closing in on the deadline for listing our home, the reality of having to pack and transport 8 persons' belongings is becoming a bit too much.  I have been slowly discarding books, unwanted toys and some leftover baby things, but I realized today that  I will need to empty and store entire rooms full of stuff just to get the house listed.  


Rob and I stopped by a neighbor's open house this afternoon just to get a look at something comparable in size and yard. They had the house professionally staged through their realty company and it looked great, in that "pretending-that-no-one-lives-here" way that real estate agents encourage.  We could see that we would need to pack up a number of the boys' toys and give everything a coat of paint, but we already figured on those things.  What really struck me, though, was the kitchen.  It wasn't new, but it was immaculate.  There was nothing on the counter but a bottle of dish soap and a decorative pitcher. Nothing else.  On my counter is the toaster, the blender, the standing mixer, the coffee grinder, the kitchen scale,  the bread machine, the dish drainer (full, of course), the napkin holder, the mug rack, the espresso pot, the St. Martha candle, the St. Joseph candle, the box of clementines, the basket with the bad bananas, the chipped cookie jar, the paper towel holder, the butter bell, three or four bottles of wine and the broken mug holding plastic teaspoons. Those are just the things that are supposed to be on the counter, to say nothing of the stacks of papers, the legos,  the watches, wallets and i-Pods that are left there each day. 


I am supposed to stow all this somewhere? This is the main room that we live in, and these are things that we use every day, so I am not sure how to do this yet.  We need to eat and clean and do homework still. Or, can I put the kids in storage, too? Hmmmmm...

Five Question Friday

Just for fun I am joining in on this with my friend Alicia.

1. Can you drive a stick shift?

2. What are two foods you just can't eat?

3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind?

4. How do you pamper yourself?

5. What is your nickname and how did you get it?

---------------------------------

1. No.  A friend in college tried to teach me with some limited success, but 20 years later nothing has stuck.  She was from Columbia and she said I drove like a real Ace, which she pronounced as from the Spanish something like Ass.  

Too true.

2. Can't? Nothing that I can think of.  I haven't tried insects or brains, though.  One of those may be a future #1 . There are certainly things I don't seek out, though.

3. Yes! Thin Mints are my favorite, although the troops are evenly divided between those and Samoas (or Caramel de-lites or what ever they are calling them).

4. Not much, really.  I will treat myself to coffee while I am out doing errands and  I do like a nice hot bath occasionally.  I especially like them if we are on vacation and I have access to a Jacuzzi tub.  That is a luxury that I enjoy thoroughly knowing that I have both unlimited hot water and someone else to clean it!

5. Aside from Betty already being a nickname, only the further shortening to Bet, which is only used by my husband, brother and a few friends who go back a-ways.  My husband does have a few pet names for me which he has called me since we were dating, but I don't think I will say what those are!

For more Five Question Friday Fun join Sarah at http://fivecrookedhalos.blogspot.com/

A February Daybook

Outside my window... Cold; Eighth-Circle-of-Hell cold. With six inches of fresh snow. 

I am going...to Williamsburg with the family and possibly friends in March. One of our favorite places.

I am thinking... still about Arkansas... and everything I need to do before our move there

I am thankful for...  having my journal mailed back to me by the airline attendant who found it.  Thank you Darlene!! You are a credit to USAir!

Pondering these words...An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.- Chesterton

From the kitchen...  beef stew, and a belated cherry pie for George Washington's B-Day

I am wearing... Inspired by GW, I cannot tell a lie: my nightgown.

I am remembering...  in my prayers our godchild, Grace, who is preparing for her Confirmation.

From the learning rooms... Report due on Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams and our home version of driver's ed

I am reading... Life Lessons from the Monastery by Abbot Jerome Kodell

A few plans for the rest of the week... Pinewood Derby!

I am hoping...  for early spring and fast melting on the ball fields, 

One of my favorite things...The tea cozy I made on our trip to Arkansas
And a picture thought... the tea cozy! Kind of gives you a warm feeling, no?

Thanks to Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook for expanding my world with this simple and wonderful exercise in appreciating all the good little things in my life.