It’s dark and it’s late

but today has been a fun day spent with Jack hunting down things for his first apartment that he moves into in 2 days. Yikes, it's a great thing but it's such a how did that happen thing, that he could be our first baby we brought home like one month ago and now he's an adult moving away and into his own home (apartment). 

Here's his very own, new to him, LazyBoy, desk, and kitchen table. 

Letterman

So tonight was the Band Banquet and we were so proud of Grant and all the effort he has put towards becoming an excellent musician over the past eight years. Tonight the high school director told me that music seems to come very easily to Grant; he just gets it. 

I know I want the chance to see and hear him play for years to come.  Fingers crossed they need a tuba played loud and proud at S&T! 

9:42

So it's 9:42 AT NIGHT and this girl just started making Belgian waffles to take to school tomorrow.  She will get extra credit if she cooks, presents the recipe, and shares a European food with her Global Perspectives class. Each waffle takes at least 6 minutes so making 10+ waffles is gonna make this a really long day. 

OOTD

Today's comfy casual with the best shoes ever. I still love my Vionics with all my feet. 

Sunshiney Spring

The best parts of Spring:

Warmth of the sun

Greeness of the green

Scent of the lilac

I have been cutting lilacs daily to keep on my kitchen counter. Their  smell is just intoxicating to me as is lily of the valley, peonies, some roses, honeysuckle, and hyacinth.  I know these smells don't appeal to everyone (none of the kids or Gary have this positive reaction) but it's hard for me to understand that since it's such an incredibly good thing when those chemicals hit my brain. I have loved those flowers my whole life. 

I should have learned my lesson that different people have different sensory responses when Grant said he did not like the taste of watermelon or strawberries.  I would not/could not accept that because omg there isn't much else on Earth as delicious (to me), until I watched his physical reaction when I made him eat them. Not pretty. 

I'd be good with my lilac bush blooming year round.  

Starting with Monday

Sam's shorts collection is looking pretty neutral. He wore a pair to school today so yep, he's got a full week's worth. I think I'd get it if it was a required school uniform but no, purely coincidental that all his shorts are khaki. 

#sevenpairs/sevendays#notevenhisfavecolor

Something I Bought

This screen was a prop for sale from the tv series Nashville.  Taping of its final season was wrapping up so once the scenes were finished, all the things that made up the different households and honky tonks, etc. were being sold at this huge warehouse. It was an amazing opportunity by invitation only at that time—it opened to the public later in April—that I just happened to hit while in Nashville for spring break. 

The furniture and decor offered there was just beautiful; imagine what would be found in the homes of country music stars. And plentiful!  I mean thousands upon thousands of pieces. If I'd had a truck I'd definitely bought more. I really did consider renting a u-haul and now that I'm beginning to shop for new living room furniture, I sure wish I had. 

I bought this backpack, too. Brand new, never used but fully stuffed with paper so it looked like it was, ha. It seemed like something Gary would want me to bring home and he did. I bought some other odd and ends like a silver jewelry box that happened to have my mom's monogram, some wooden letter D's, a lamp, a little bird figurine, and clothing for Caroline including sweats that had the made-up logo of the made-up high school of the fictional daughter of Deacon and Rayna, the show's main characters. 

For years I have been looking for a screen to help cut the sun glare at our dining room table that hits around supper time and when I saw this I was really wanting it, but there was no price on it and the doors were minutes from closing for that day.  I was told they'd come up with a price soon and if I left my number, they would give me a call. In the middle of a WaffleHouse breakfast in the afternoon, I got the call and the price was less than I'd expected but I wasn't sure if I could get it. The tricky thing was we were leaving for home super early the next morning...in a car. 

My friend from forever that was hosting us, Danny, convinced me we could get it into his mini SUV and then his folks were coming through from Florida in their pick-up truck the next day so it could at least get as far as Xenia. I decided to go for it and said I would take it, but explained that  that day was my only opportunity to pick it up. I was told they'd open the door up so I could get it but it had to be by 2:30. It was already almost 2:00! We scarfed the food that we were pretty much finished eating but then had to take the kids back to Danny's house since space was going to be really tight in his vehicle. We managed to get in right at the deadline and then had the fun of loading it which ended up being on the diagonal with the feet at my head where I was *kinda* sitting in the passenger seat. Luckily it was just a few miles' drive. 

I have been so curious to know just where this prop was used—whose house??!—so someday I'll rewatch the series and hopefully spot it. I think this might be my first true conversation piece—once I finally get it home from Xenia. 

Five things I did today

5 Woke up at 4am, stayed up 'til 7am,  slept 'til 8am and then up for the day 

4 Scored some summer shorts for Sam at a yard sale and bought tomato and cilantro plants at a plant sale and picked Sam from a sleepover, all the same trip

3 Pulled grass from the parking pad bricks with help from Caroline 

2 Went to a BBQ with Grant at the home of a very generous man that funded 50+ scholarships this year and has done so since 1998

1 Had a massive headache after two days of no caffeine so drank two Cokes and hoping it goes away soon 

Black n white

Today I was planning to post a black and white picture so I tried snapping a few but didn't really like them. I turned the camera back to regular and took this same shot and wow, no comparison which one makes a happier mood for me.

I'll be sticking to brights.  

Truth: A picture IS worth a thousand words

So for weeks I've had these canvases hanging out by the stair landing, along with the hammer and nails, stalled because I just can't decide how to hang them. I set them up randomly to take this picture and think maybe I figured it out?! Or maybe not. I still can't decide if I want them on one wall or spanning two. 

I think it's fun to figure out the chronological order by the kids' growth. There is always at least one that you can tell made a big jump. 

All these pictures bring back a lot of memories. The bottom left was taken in our garage in the back of the Odyssey the day we went to Grant's  Farm with Aunt Debra and Grandma Barbara.

• Sam's orange hat was a wardrobe requirement so we could spot him when he would dart away in a crowd like he did on every. single. outing. 

•This was the day that Grant angrily refused to get out of the van once we were there because "it's not even a farm!" 

•This was coincidentally the day I tested out the parenting method of pretend-calling the husband at work to "discuss" taking away the privilege of playing Little Tigers football due to uncooperative behavior. 

•This was the day some success was found with that technique because L.S. (Little Stubborn) Grant did end up going into U.S. Grant's So-Called Farm. 

•This day was a prime example of a blasted hot St. Louis summer day where you feel the sweat running a river down your back and if it weren't for the misters, I'm not sure we would have survived.

•This was the day that the tribe of baby goats were way more interested in eating Aunt Debra's shoe laces than the handfuls of purchased goat chow. 

See, that was a fun, memorable day and that was just one of so many. 

And that is why I love pictures. 

Morning + Big Window

The calmest part of my day: Me on the couch at 6am watching the clouds 

New Years Day of the Spring

Ok, it's May 1 which I'm gonna think of as a January 1-kind-of-milestone and vow to return to giving some time each day to sharing pictures and thoughts and happenings. I kept putting it off since I felt like I needed to go back and fill in the large GoGo gap since hitting the dead end last August, but then realized I was missing chances to document lots of cool things daily so it was best to just chuck the overwhelming and forced idea of catching up. So today is the day to start anew and I am planning to post everyday in May. 

It might look like I got my hair cut, but no; it's just a hot/windy May Day ponytail. 

And not bragging but that plant looks so good you might think it's fake. But no; it's totally real. I ignore it and I mean drastically, I don't even water it but a tiny bit once a month, and it grows so full and is the brightest, healthy green. It took me awhile (ok, yes years) to figure that out, but now it's a really nice looking plant sitting in its quiet corner of the dining room just like it likes. 

So now, back to daily pictures just like I like.