What a day!

It was a truly lovely day, and I thank all of you who sent me wishes and greetings.

I had a quiet morning to myself, geeking on the computer and relaxing.

I went out for a nice lunch with Tracy.

I stopped at the Bookmobile with the kids after school and picked up a book I've been wanting to read.

I baked a red velvet cake from scratch and frosted it with homemade cream cheese frosting.




I ate crab legs sent by my grandma with a loaded baked potato and asparagus for dinner, accompanied by a J. Lohr Bay Mist White Riesling. Delicious.



I received a bookshelf for my bedroom and a belt/waistband clip case for my cell phone/MP3 player/radio so I can use it at the gym.

I was serenaded by 4 of the most handsome gents a girl could want.

I talked to my parents, my grandma, my mother-in-law, and JLo on the phone.

I spoke to my friend Beth on the phone, too, and we reminisced about old times and old friends and how sometimes we don't see the magic that is happening right before us. The magic that sometimes we are a part of that still, somehow, we don't recognize for what it is.

Let me tell you something, people. I am 39 years old today and this I know is true:

These are the good old days.

Today, tonight, this week, this month -- right now. Really. Someday you will look back on today and miss it. It's so hard to see it in the moment, but I see it so clearly right now. This is the time of my life. My husband, my kids, my friends -- they make my life so very rich and abundant.

Thirteen years ago tonight I promised forever, not really knowing or understanding what that promise meant, or the richness of the love that was to grow from that bright, shining, eager love I felt that night.

What gifts I have been given. What love, what miracles, what hope I have today.

If you're reading this, you are one of those blessings. Even if we've never met, even if we never will. The fact that you are part of my life through this silly little log of my life amazes me daily. Even if I know you and our relationship is not what it used to be (yes, I know you are still there...) I am grateful for what you have taught me -- even the painful lessons. Even the ones that make me ache inside for myself and members of my family who have been hurt and betrayed by you. I don't have to like you to realize that you, too, have been my teacher -- though you have taught me more about how NOT to live than the reverse. Everyone who leaves a comment, no matter how small or seemingly innocuous, lets me know that I am part of something greater than myself. Something almost beyond words. Blessings beyond measure.

And I am grateful for all of these blessings.

I leave you with a couple views of my most delicious cake recipe. I will post a link tomorrow; I didn't bookmark the site but I can't search for it now as the wine has gone completely to my head. (Yay!)



And yes, it was THAT good. Seriously.

Sneak peek

Our friends (little Miss Lydia's parents) are expecting a baby this month. (Did you hear me baby? I said THIS month! February! NOT March!) LOL (Lydia was due in May but showed up in June, thereby throwing me off on the scrapbook I made for her mom. I know, babies come on their own schedule. Whatever. Anybody who reads this blog knows that here it's all about ME.)

I went shopping at Archiver's this weekend and got a whole bunch of beautiful goodies and this morning I am beginning work on the book. I love the concept I came up with and I *think* that my friend (who is SO not a soft baby pastel-y kind of girl) will like it a lot too.

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In other news, it's the "Week of Luuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhvvvvv" at our house. LOL My birthday, our anniversary, and Valentine's Day. My hopes for giant diamonds are thus far unrealized, but we've only been married 13 years. There's lots of time (after the kids get out of college, maybe?) lol

No big plans for the week (although I would love a trip to IKEA one evening), but Teresa and her son are coming to visit on Friday and then there will be much celebrating.

Seventeen years ago tonight

I went out with a friend who insisted that I could not sit at home crying for my grandpa forever, and that I should go and try to have some fun.

If you read here regularly you know I am not one who believes in angels, even though I sometimes want to.

But that December 26, I ran into an old friend. Someone that, actually, I had loved for years without even acknowledging it to myself.

Maybe, sometimes, there are angels. Because I believe that I would never have made the choices I made that night on my own. I am too stubborn, too proud, to focused on "the plan" to see what is obvious sometimes. I believe my Grandpa Don knew what I wanted better than I knew what I wanted. I like to think he was out there, somewhere, whispering in my ear or sitting on my shoulder, telling me to trust my instincts and go with my heart.

And, 17 years later, I sit in my cozy house listening to the sounds of my husband and sons talking, playing and relaxing, I couldn't be more grateful for that divine intervention.

A family friend played and sang this song at our wedding. Rob chose it and I agreed, not just because it's a beautiful song, but because I really want to believe it's true.

Out of the photo vault:

Me, at 12.

Bag fetish

I've talked about my love for bags before. I like bags with some personality, bags that are different, bags that express something unique about me. Oh, I have a couple of Coach hand-me-downs, and I have admired the odd D&B bag in my time, but what I really want is something no one else has.

Until this bag. One of the interns in the office has a similar one, and when I saw it I demanded to know where she got it. Turns out it was a friend of her mom's and she said she'd get me the address if I could find the fabric. Fabric was procured that day and mailed a short time later to a small town in central Minnesota.

Today this arrived in a box. Honestly, how cute is that? It's beautifully made, has a ton of pockets inside in addition to the one on the outside, and I love it. Plus I bought an additional piece of fabric, so my bag has 3 patterns on it and Ashley's has only 2. The bags are similar but not exactly alike, which suits me (and her) just fine.



And in other news, I got my wedding ring back today. It's all shined up and polished and the new amethyst is a lovely deep violet. Sorry for the lousy pictures but it's difficult to shoot in supermacro while wearing the ring. LOL I took the second one to show the tension setting of my diamond -- it is just held in by the gold, no prongs. Of course my enginerd husband picked it out, and as I've said before, I love it.

I feel naked

The jeweler called today; the replacement stone was in for my wedding ring. We ordered an amethyst last week but that one turned out to be a tad too small. Today they put the 1.75 mm stone into the spot on the ring and it fit perfectly. Sweet. (And, ummm, tiny? LOL)

Only trouble is, I had to leave the ring there. Until Monday.

It might have been hard to tell from the photo I posted (scroll down) but my ring is HEAVY. And now my hand feels way too light. And weird. And naked.

Sorry. There is really no other reason for this post. I sincerely apologize for wasting your time.

39.

That's Rob on a tractor. Just because I find it amusing.

He rarely checks in here but I have to wish him a happy birthday. We went to the gym today and went through the machines with a trainer (more for me than for him). We teased and needled each other through the session and sort of acted like we were dating, not like an old married couple. Good times.

Then I brought the cake into work. My German Chocolate cake has taken on legendary status there -- people look forward to it every year. It's so much fun to see how much people enjoy it (and how tiny they try to make the piece they take because it's so rich).

Book fair tonight, more volunteering tomorrow, and a weekend at home with the whole family together. I am so looking forward to that.

Blast from the past

For your amusement, prom 1987. Rob and me. For the record, we were not dating. There were no kisses, nothing ... rendering one of Rob's favorite phrases completely useless.

Off like a prom dress. Huh. You wish, buddy.

It would take another 5 years for me to see the light and realize that a relationship that started as a friendship could grow and change and just keep getting better.

Have a good weekend.

Weekend

Oh. My. Goodness. Did we ever have fun on our little getaway, notwithstanding the annoyance I felt at my dear husband because he did his usual freak-out thing right before we left. We've been married almost 12 years -- you would think I would just learn to expect him to freak and that it wouldn't bother me anymore. Oh well.

Here are a few pix from the Waterpark of America.





We got home last night and decided not to do the rock show today. Rain was in the forecast so Rob ran out to at least get the gate put in (we're installing chain-link fencing back there). Lo and behold, the rain held off, he got it all done, and I managed to get over half of the pile of brush that's been sitting out there into the firepit and burned. The yard looks much better. Still some work to do, but progress is good.

And today I got a 27 page Excel document done, complete with pictures of special items in my grandma's home. She wants to send the document to everyone in the family asking what pieces they want -- jewelry, furniture, dishes, collectibles, and the hundreds of oil paintings she has done. I will add descriptions of the pieces as we go along -- for now, the document has been created, there are close to 200 pictures in it, and I feel good about it.

A tree up the street is in its full glory today -- I tried to capture it.



Another busy week ahead. I am hoping the Silestone will be installed, I have 2 full days of volunteering at school (Thursday and Friday), and the pattern for Nancy's sweatshirt is in at the sewing store, so I will be trying to get to that as soon as I can, too.

And while we were at the hotel I got more recipes copied, so I am that much closer to my goal.

Have a good week, all.

I love my husband tremendously.

But sometimes, especially when we are about to go on any family trip overnight, I just don't like him very much.

Argh.

Happy birthday

This time to my husband.

I could not have chosen a better partner to go through life with. You are a great dad, a brilliant engineer, and a terrific husband. I love you. Happy birthday.

Bummer.

Carpet and vinyl guy Mike can't come until Saturday. It actually makes it more convenient for me in terms of the week's schedule, but I am disappointed I have to wait another week.

On the other hand, it gives me time to finish stripping doorways and possibly to paint the hallway, so this is a good thing.

Here is the baking cabinet. Well, a drawer, anyway. The first photo is taken looking straight down. Funny perspective -- sorry. Those are my kitchen cabinets there but they look much prettier and more red than they really are. I do like the molding Rob added, though.


Here is Rob, my intrepid handyman, putting new casters on. Amazing -- the new plastic ones work so much better than the wooden ones that were on there before (I kid you not). This piece is OLD.



Picture #3 shows the trim Rob added to the 2 big drawers and to the sides. Nice, huh? I really like it, and I think it will be great with a little paint and some stain on it to bring out the detail. I may even get the thing primed and painted this week.



In other news, despite my best efforts, some of the spray stripper got on my living room floor and onto my stereo. Not such a good thing. I am bitter and aggravated with myself. Blech. I am sure I'll get over it, but AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!

Anyway. Progress is being made. It will all work out.

Update

Here is the work Rob did on the cabinet last night. He just added this panel with rail and stiles so that it will have a finished look on all sides. That way I can roll it out into the middle of my kitchen when I am baking and it will look nice even on the back.

Tonight is Back to School night at school and the sitter arrives at about 6. We won't be home until after 8, Rob has homework to finish before heading up to school tomorrow morning at O-dark-thirty (what's the O stand for? Oh my god, it's early!). I want him to finish the trim on the cabinet and assemble and hang a shelf for me in the family room before he goes so he has his work cut out for him.

Stuffed baked potatoes for dinner tonight. Not fancy, but I am carb-loading today so it is the perfect meal.

And Springsteen tix go on sale tomorrow morning. My mom and dad are buying them for me as a Christmas present so I have called my mom with the game plan (all very carefully coordinated with cell phone, landline, and computers being used simultaneously). Wish me luck!

That's all for now ... I'll try to update after the weekend of work.

Home improvement (again)

Here is my beautiful basement bathroom with its lovely ceiling. The walls are "Blueberry Popover." Spectacular, no?




And some "befores" on the baking cabinet. Here it is, mostly sanded.



And this is a drawer front before sanding. It really IS nice wood, and the drawers are all beautifully dovetailed. I almost hate to paint it. Almost.




This is the back. Rob is adding some wood to give it a finished look before I prime and paint it this weekend.



Next week the carpet and vinyl will be installed on the main floor and I plan to have those doorways stripped and stained before the floor installation.

It feels so good to get things done. I am still remembering how incapacitated I was last spring. It is nearing time to get out my little light every morning. Funny, though -- I am not dreading winter as much as I usually do, I think because I know I have a secret weapon against the darkness.

This weekend: Rob is at school while I am priming, painting ("Timeless Taupe," if you want to know), pulling up carpet, sanding, staining, and breaking up tile. The kids are looking forward to taking hammers to the awful bathroom tile with me. I am looking forward to not having to bleach grout anymore.

Lovely Monday

Still working on laundry. But my darling, talented, oh-so-overachieving husband finished the basement bathroom ceiling las night. He took the only day he had free in 2 weeks and spent 9+ hours on it. It looks amazing and I am so grateful. He knows how I am when I get on these home improvement kicks.

Today I had an appointment with a woman from Home Depot about residing the house. We'd really like to add some insulation as well as update the siding. The estimate was $15K. And the exterior of our house is not that big. I don't know, I think we will wait. I know it would make the house more energy efficient (which is a very good thing) but WHOA that's a lot of cash. Yikes.

I am going to quick swish out the bathrooms and run the vacuum before the kids get home.

I do love the free time I have gained since Spencer started school but it goes so quickly -- especially when so many projects are calling to me. I must get better about prioritizing.

Weekend update

Sorry, it won't be nearly as funny as SNL. Just so you know.

I went to Rob's MBA dinner Friday night. I looked fab (if I do say so myself) and so did he. He does need a new suit, though. Yikes. It's always something. No pix, though -- there was no one to take one. I will try to get both of us gussied up sometime soon so I can have a photo, though.

The dinner was nice and it was good to meet the other members of Rob's team and their spouses. Nice people. They all asked about my blood clot -- so nice of them to be concerned. After assuring them I was fine, one gal told me Rob is a statistics wiz (or is that whiz?). Anyway, I already knew that LOL, but it was good to know he is as helpful as ever. He helped me through Geometry in 10th grade, so I know he is good.

He got out of class early on Saturday (at noon), so we ended up at the Mall of America. My friend Stacy had ventured out with all 3 of our boys as well as her own 3, ages 6, 4 and not quite 1. They were having a blast at the amusement park and we met them for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe before heading back to the park for a few hours.

Today was quiet -- we hit Home Depot and Menards and ordered a new Silestone countertop for my dresser that I use as a baking cabinet as well as new hall carpet and vinyl flooring for the entryway and main floor bath. The vinyl is the same stuff I have in the kitchen but I love it and I have always hated the very slippery tile and the grout that I can't keep clean. No interest, no payments for a year on all of it, so we will just pay it off over the winter and the house will be awesome.

Rob hung the new wood blind in the egress window in the basement family room today and I washed the tab top valance (whoa, it was dusty!). The kitchen is clean, the baking cupboard is about to be unloaded to be moved outside tomorrow for sanding and refinishing, and the floors will be torn out in the next 10 days or so in preparation for the installation. Once the floors are gone I think I may paint the hallway, too.

I feel so good -- as though I am getting things accomplished and making my home a place we all want to be. It's nice to know that I'm also making changes that make things simply work better for us in our daily lives, too.

Major goal this week? Get some genealogy done to prove Rob's lineage for entrance into a family society in Ohio. Must get on that ....

True love is....

I was thinking about this last night as I ate all 4 corners from the pan of brownies I baked. My husband ate the middle section and left me the yummy crunchy edges, including my favorite pieces, the corners.

He also eats all the orange candy for me. I hate orange. Hate the color, the flavor, eeewwwww, everything. Bless my husband, he will eat all of the orange jellybeans, Gobstoppers, Lifesavers, or whatever candy I happen to be eating. So love is when your significant other saves your favorite parts for you and eats all the yucky ones.

So thanks, Rob. You are an awesome dad and a great husband. And I'll eat the black jellybeans for you anytime.