i would love to have exciting news of my weekend...but here is the very sad truth.  i spent most of it sleeping on the sofa with two handsome boys and one beautiful girl.  too bad they were of the fur children variety or my weekend might have been a bit more... say... stimulating?  hmmmm
i babysat for three adorable dogs - a jack russell (jake), a corgi (lil' man), and an 8-month-old german shepherd (hera).  all were adorable and sweet.

most of the weekend was spent catching up with sleep as i've been in some intense mouth pain over the two weeks - due to the root canal and another issue that has popped up due to my (previously unnoticed) clenching of my jaw while i sleep.  it seems it's been causing headaches and intense pressure on my back molars that have developed into pain!  anyway - it seems to be better now and we are looking at what has to be done to correct that.  ugh.  have i mentioned i have an intense fear of the dentist?  i do - it stems from childhood and a very bad dentist that didn't use numbing swabs...(think steve martin in 'little shop of horrors)

i have some catching up to do...

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today on my ipod - mrs. potters lullaby (the counting crows), the way you move (lucinda williams), drive (the cars), cigarettes and chocolate milk (rufus wainwright), interstate love song (stone temple pilots), three more days (ray lamontagne), bruce springsteen (brilliant disguise), ice cream (sarah mclachlan)

the wayback machine

kudos to anyone that knows where the title of this entry originated....alternate title:  my dad was a dude.

this is my dad and his youngest brother, circa late 1960's to early 1970's.  if anyone remembers me telling about his skiing up the slope of the slew, this is the swimsuit he was wearing that day.  he's holding scott (a cousin) who apparently was unhappy about the tightness of the trunks.  please note my dad is wearing shoes - now i know where my baby brother's always wearing shoes thing comes from.  the yellow lifevest is being rocked by bruce (another cousin) and i'm not sure who is standing beside bruce - it's not me...but there is not enough face to tell who it is.

yesterday was my dad's birthday - it's hard to realize how very young he is in this photograph.  isn't that weird to realize about our parents when we see them frozen in time?  look how much fashion has changed - short trunks/tight trunks, his hair, the lifevests...even his loafers.

so many good times on the shores of this lake - so many good times.

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today on my ipod (daddy special) - the house of the rising sun (the animals), we will rock you (queen), walk, don't run (the ventures), jambalaya (hank williams sr.), delta dawn (tanya tucker), 

liberation

some of you may read ann marie... some may not.  she's one of my daily reads but her post today hit me right between the eyes.  you know of my love of lists.  one of the tasks she completed this weekend in organizing her life was a "liberating list."  this list consisted of things she decided that she did not need to clutter her life.  KER-POW!!  bulleye right?

what could you release right now - what has weighed you down with false guilt, false pressure and other myriad (have you noticed that is a favorite word for me?) things that we put upon ourselves.  let's do it right now - hit me with it.  what will you give up that will "liberate" you today? 

me? you will notice that most of mine deal with larger things rather that small...but it's a good start.

• the presure that i've put on myself about my photography - seriously - i think that is part of why i haven't shot a lot lately is because i have put serious parameters on myself about not repeating the same old themes, copying other ideas, or coming up with completely new ideas.
• false guilt about so many things that were beyond my control.  for example - still, after all of these years i've carried the guilt of living away while my parents were sick.  i know i've talked about it before - and intellectually i know that both parents understood my job and the whatevers ... but .... but... (and i know there is nothing that would have changed anything if i did live here during that time.)
• the pressure to be crafty-er ... and all the things that i want to do ... i just don't always have the time to do.  i will no longer buy craft projects that remain half-done and resolve to finish projects, no matter how long they take, i will not buy new craft stuff.  this applies to the stockings i didn't finish last year and the new journals i want to make.  (this one will be hard)
• i will remind myself that i am human and that i make mistakes.  not to use this as an excuse but to use this as a reminder when i put too much pressure - so much pressure that i become paralyzed into wrong decisions, no decisions or sloppy decisions. 

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today on my ipod - sleeping to dream (jason mraz), hideaway (the weepies), sweet caroline (neil diamond), hard to handle (the black crows), only the young (journey), you get what you give (the new radicals), lie to me (jonny lang), blue car (greg brown), through the floor (edwin mccain), fire and rain (james taylor)

holiday...celebrate...if we took a ....

 it was one of those perfect kind of weekends - perfect weather, perfect company, perfect relaxation.  if only i had not spilled that can of pringles....oh wait.

i house sat for a good friend of mine - she has this darling little house with a small little pool - just the right size for one.  but, before getting there - i shopped with my girls, we ate wonderful food (italian + southern = yum) and tried to go to a new dessert place (they were closing as we got there).  but alas the holiday worked against us on the dessert but i got my fill of my favorite babycakes. i got the most wonderful painting that i can't wait to hang.

sunday was spent entirely by the pool where i lounged reading and not even breaking a sweat.  because yes....yes, indeed - the heat wave broke - giving us highs in the 80s and lows in the high 50s.  perfection.  warm enough still to swim but knowing the promise of autumn is coming. 

i drove around a bit - getting back in touch with my old town.  missing some places that closed - like my favorite jewelry store and finding new places.

ps - who can't fall in love with these wee little hens and chicks?

today on my ipod - i don't want to be (gavin degraw), blurry (puddle of mudd), falling in love at a coffee shop (landon pigg), everyday (dave matthews band), heaven (los lonely boys), everyday i write the book (elvis costello), scarlet begonias (the grateful dead), the way it is (bruce hornsby)

and...who doesn't love bonus butterflies?

it's friday and i love a list

ok - so by now i thought i would have a plan for our book together.  i was inspired by a design i saw and this is what i think - i want to find a recipe card like jpg that everyone can edit with either their favorite recipe, tip, quote or whatever and then everyone can build their page around that card.  what do you all think?  then what we can do then is i will receive all the jpgs and then group them into some type of order and make an index/table of contents and then "covers".  we could then publish it as a series jpgs or pdfs (i don't know which will work best for everyone yet).

i think it will be artistic, fun and a wonderful experience for all comers.  we could work together with a thought to having it done around the holiday season in december.  a gift for us?  *smile*

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now....for a list:  happy thoughts

• as i approach labor day, i am grateful for a job and a job that challenges me and makes me proud of the work that we're doing.  being without a job the previous year reminds me that it all can slip away very quickly, so i'm deeply grateful.
• tomorrow i will see the boys to school for my sister while she handles a work issue - though they will be a bit grumpy, i will be happy to see them.
• i miss my girls...but they've been at disney world and i can't wait to hear how much fun they had while seeing cinderella.
• grilled cheese for lunch
• listening to my ipod while working
• a long weekend by the pool
• shopping with girlfriends
• pretty nails
• new recipes to try
• ruby red grapefruit juice
• jeans on a friday
• rice crispy treats

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today on my ipod - all i want is you (u2), which way does that old pony run? (lyle lovett), crazy love (van morrison), champagne high (sister hazel), walking in memphis (marc cohn), if you could only see (tonic), lovers cross (jim croce), come monday (jimmy buffet), say you love me (fleetwood mac), you found me (the fray), day is done (nick drake), your song (elton john)