WANT!

I want to make one of these. I already have most of the buckets, I think.

Target Dollar Spot, I love you!

Seven Quickies: Hobbity Edition

Thanks, as always, to Jen for hosting! She's away at a retreat this week, but even THAT didn't stop her! What a gal!

Here we go...

~one~

We have been anything BUT Hobbits this summer. I've been running all over, and I have only a week to be ready - no, six days - for our trip to South Dakota. We'll be on the road for HOURS by this time next Friday. Here's a run-down of what we've been doing in June:

1. We went on vacation to Massanutten from June 4-11, except we left early to...
   
   
2. Stay with our friends in Northern Virginia for the IHM Conference on June 11-12. We left on the 12th after Saturday's Vigil Mass so we could...
   
   
3. Drive Little Girl to a vacation with her younger cousins in Tennessee, during which time we played hosts to our God-Daughter, who is only 18 months older than Big Girl. Alas! Travel Man put on his super suit again and I...
   
   
4. Was up early and had him at the airport by 6:20 on Tuesday morning. So, really, it was *me* hosting God-Daughter, as well as the pool party/sleepover on Wednesday (during which the gaggle of 11-13 year olds stayed up until 5 AM!). Then...
   
   
5. I picked up Travel Man at the airport on Friday afternoon, and we left straight from there to Tennessee again where we would switch children and come home on Saturday.

Whew! And we're leaving July 2 for South Dakota and then stopping for Travel Man's business trip in Indy on our way home from that. Two more weeks away.

What was I thinking when I planned all this??

I don't think I want to go anywhere until our trip to DC in October. So let's hope that we can avoid unnecessary travel so I can decompress from my travel-induced stress. I need to be in my Hobbit Hole for certain amounts of time, you know!

~two~

Oh, and to make my two weeks at home more enjoyable, I've been sick - with what I think was that intestinal thing from Christmas 2007 - all week. Yesterday, I was so excited when my stomach growled and I was hungry. It hadn't growled for three days, despite the fact that I had barely eaten all week. Without going into icky details that I know you don't want to hear, let's just say that I seem to be on the mend. Just in time to pack for our next trip. Yay.

~three~

We're going to South Dakota for a really neat thing, though. Travel Man's grandparents - who both turn 92 this year - celebrated their *70th* wedding anniversary in January! Now, we naturally wish to celebrate with them, however, we also did not really want to brave the snow South Dakota tends to have. And, let me tell you, we got SOCKED here in Virginia, and they got it worse by them! So we arranged to go visit them in July, when it's much less likely to snow. It also makes packing easier, since we're pretty sure we don't need anything much heavier than our windbreakers for the trip.

But, think about it ... 70 years. It's so amazing! I hope I live long enough to see 70 years with Travel Man.

~four~

My girls are both getting so grown-up. My family and friends are now saying, "Wow, look at Big Girl - she's a young lady now!" and "She's like a small grown-up!" Part of Big Girl's sudden transformation was her decision to get her hair cut. She went for a heavily-layered shag, sort of like this:

Shocking, I know. I haven't got a single decent picture of her new hairstyle. She's been pretty much in the pool all month. I'll try to remedy that.

Now, the other part is that her clothes, while very modest, are more revealing (being Summer clothes and all). And then there's the moment when she put on her swimsuit this Summer and poor Travel Man had a bit of a shock over what THAT looked like. Yup, young lady.

But she's still my baby. So there. Nyah.

~five~

Little Girl was quite compliant about taking only one dance class last year. Turns out that she was the ONLY girl in her level to have only one class. (One mother said, "Wow. I've never heard of someone in this level getting away with one class. How'd you manage that?" I looked right at her and answered, "I said no." Why don't other people think of that?)

Anyway, at her recital, she was so stunning, and did such a wonderful job, that after the recital was over, Travel Man pulled me aside and said, "She *needs* to be in more dance classes. Let's try to make it happen."

She is currently in a Tap Workshop for Summer to prepare for going back into a tap class this Fall in addition to her ballet. She is beside herself with happiness, and even is thinking about asking if she could do a number in the recital with one or two friends from the studio. She's got her new tap shoes, and she's already happily bopping through the house showing us the new things she picked up in her first workshop.

~six~

Big News for Travel Man! He is going to a workshop tomorrow to learn how to perform his duties as Grand Knight! As of July 1, he will be Grand Knight for his council, and I am so proud of him. The current Grand Knight is going with him to the training, not because he needs to be there, but because he's a nice guy and remembers how lost he felt when he went the first time. I really like our Grand Knight. He's a good guy and has a real servant's heart. Travel Man says he learned a lot from him.

~seven~

Time for some video fun.

Wordless Wednesday: Yumpin' Yimminy!

The girls had a fabulous time swimming on vacation. They now wish we had a diving board for our above-ground pool.

Old Blog Post

Back when I had one blog, I posted this piece for Father's Day. I thought I'd share it again.

Imagine, if you will, a Mother's Day card that talks about mom being a bad housekeeper. "You keep us fed, even if the house is a disaster. Happy Mother's Day!"

Or how about this one? "Moms are great for being sure that we are clothed and fed, even if we have to make our own lunch. Happy Mother's Day!"

That's no good for your mom? How about this? "We always knew right from wrong, Mom, because you were around..." (inside:) "...to nag us to death! Happy Mother's Day!"

Okay, what about mom's cooking? "Happy Mother's Day to a woman who knows how to put dinner on the table..." "...as long as it's takeout! Sorry you burn the water when you boil it! Happy Mother's Day!"

Imagine the uproar over Mother's Day cards like this! 60 Minutes would have an expose about how gender discrimination has creeped into the most innocent of holidays: Mother's Day. We're supposed to be honoring our mothers! What's this garbage?

But gender discrimination has, indeed, creeped into the most innocent of holidays. It's here on Father's Day.

Allow me to give a few examples of some of the cards I found at Hallmark while looking for Father's Day cards.

First, a card with three cartoon panels on the front:

First, a young man asking his father, "Dad, can I borrow the keys to the car?"

Father: "Ask your mother."

Second, same young man asking his father, "What time should I be home tonight?"

Father: "Ask your mother."

Last, same young man asking his father, "Dad, what do you think?"

Father: "Ask your mother."

Inside: "Happy Father's Day to the ultimate authority."

ha. ha. ha.

Stroll on over to my other blog (which has become more the political outlet for me), and then don't forget to call your dad today!

Happy reading, and happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. You are appreciated, and you don't deserve that kind of treatment. And there are a lot of us out here who are trying to help you get the respect you deserve back again. Keep fighting the good fight, men!

Happy Father's Day

For Father's Day this year, the girls made a T-shirt and I purchased an olivewood statue of St. Joseph that was carved by Christians in the Holy Land.

This was followed by a well-deserved nap.

Later tonight, we're going to see Toy Story 3 and then watch Nate cook with fire!

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy I could ever have asked God to give to my children!

IHM, Washington, DC, June 2010

Travel Man and I are blessed to have some very good (and very kind) friends in the DC area who host us annually and then watch our girls while we go to the IHM Conference in Chantilly, VA, each year. I've got copious notes which I MUST transcribe ASAP.

Because I forgot my IHM notebook and they're all written on the back of coupons I printed from MyPoints just before our vacation. So they're very valuable notes in more ways than one. I'll pass on the spiritual value to you, but if you want the monetary value, leave me your email and I'll invite you to MyPoints so you can print off coupons (and earn points towards free gift cards for exciting places like Wal Mart and Home Depot and the iTunes store).

Wordless Wednesday: In Which I Reveal I Can't Sleep Late on Vacation

I was up for the sunrise most mornings on vacation. I don't know why. I can't get up early if I try most days at home, especially if I need to be up.

Ah, well. Here are a couple of sunrise shots, taken from our (screened-in) balcony in our vacation unit. Others can be seen here, at my MobileMe gallery.

In Which I Try a How-To

A nice commenter said that perhaps I'd try my hand at some how-to stuff.

Obviously, a stranger. I sometimes feel like I'm simply stumbling through life. But I do manage to hold on, and I try hard to maintain a positive attitude.

I've been working on an idea for my first how-to, and I'll be updating soon with that post. First, though, I have to get through this week, wherein I am without Little Girl and Travel Man, but am hosting my niece and (for tonight) two other girls. Big Girl wanted to have a pool party/sleepover in honor of her Big Cousin's visit, and so there we are. Only thing we're missing is that we can't go to Mass tonight; it seems Father is out of town and he didn't even okay it with me. Hmph!

So watch this space for a how-to. And have a blessed weekend.