Sunday Art

#1 this is fun, I saw it featured on Bent Objects .

#2 my friend won a mother's day contest and her makeover was in a magazine. You're beautiful!

PS: confidential to the paparazzi, uh, parents at today's First Communion ceremony... sit down. (There were so many up at the front of the aisle that the priest had to ask them to move so that the altar servers would be able to walk up there. Classy. ) You're really choking the religious solemnity right out of the moment with the incessant flash business. Also, do NOT come up to the choir loft to take pictures again, or I may just push you over. We're kind of busy.

Crabby patties

So last night we went to a seafood place I've probably been to 500 times in the last 20 years.

I ordered risotto with mushrooms (and stuff) and a plank grilled piece of salmon on top. It also comes loaded with deep fried shreds of sweet potato.

I stuck my fork into the big pile and took a bite...of crab cake.

There was a giant crab cake tucked in there too. Huh?

I had quite a conversation with myself then. This is good, it isn't mine. If I return it they'll toss it because I ate some; it's. ALMOST what I ordered, but I know there's an extra charge. But I didn't order it but I started to eat it by mistake.

My daughter had ordered a crab cake as her "meal" and I thought maybe the kitchen just plopped it on my plate. I'll just ask for her plate/garnish, if the waiter shows up.

While I was looking for our waiter, who still hadn't brought my daughter's or another one of the plates for our table, I noticed one of the other waitresses walk by, look at my plate and glare at me.

Mr C caught the glare and said "what's wrong?". She caught herself and said "nothing, I was looking at her salmon". Screw you honey, I didn't go into the kitchen and steal it. Don't glare at me. I really didn't notice until I ate some. Go glare at my waiter.

I had visions of a Hell's Kitchen scene going on back there complete with Gordon calling someone Idiot. Because now clearly TWO tables had not gotten their meals all at the same time. (I hate that! I'm always the one saying "no, eat while its hot, really". )

What a mess. I really do wish I'd noticed. It was damn good, at any rate. They didn't charge me.
Carly(via Blackberry)

Patty cake

The other day Suzy made pancakes. This is what she saw when she flipped one over. Kind of cool for a baby nurse, huh? I suppose if she was a forest ranger it would look like a Bigfoot paw print to her, but....

Bonbons not included

This is exactly what I would like. Except that I would prefer the option to purchase it for half the price. And please, get those effing UGLY pillows off it. Okay so I may end up with a plaaaaainer version double chaise from Targettttdotcom. But I do love this one.

I'm hoping the screen house will look a little bit cottage/ garden - ish without being too over the top. I'm already planning to grow some herbs; just a few on a plant stand/ bakers rack; basil, chives, oregano, dill and so on.

The Sirius antenna will be permanently attached on the roof somehow if I can finesse that(Bob the Builder will love that, I'm sure. Hey guys? Um, can you - oh, no, not there, over there. Um, yeah, no, nevermind)

Again, the cart way before the horse. But that's what I do.

Happy(?) Friday

Well I made it through another week. Another rollercoaster of tense school meetings and flurries of phone calls in and around.

Tonight I have to drop my kid off at a "thing" at 7 then I have the house to myself.

I need some peace.

I'm thinking a glass of wine or even just hot tea, and a mini marathon of either cooking shows or whatever episodes of the Office are still on my dvr. (Except last night's finale, which annoyed me on a couple of fronts. It's not ok with me to make fun of "slow" people, and I just hate the "no happy ending for you" finish ONCE AGAIN. So Grey's made me doubly discouraged.)

Carly(via Blackberry)

If I had more money honey

...would you love me, love me, love me like me?

Funny how that song started playing on Sirius right when the Client #9 stuff broke.

Today I will sign lots of papers saying that for the next several decades I will pay back large piles of money. Seriously: sign papers, people give you stacks. Is this country awesome or what?

HOPEFULLY on Monday I will have large construction vehicles tearing up my backyard. Or Tuesday, but wheeeeeee either way. There are spray paint marks all over the street in front of my house. (I have to go photograph those bad boys. For the scrapbook, you know. )

I opened up my lamp last night and was delighted to find it pretty, just the right dimensions for over my kitchen table, and most importantly, NOT BROKEN.

The funniest part is that right now my parents have no idea I'm going to be doing all of this. My hope is to have them over for a cookout on the 4th of July and blow their minds. Hee, hee.

That feeling

...you get, that it's going to be a lonnnnng uphill road?

This is how my beauuuutiful murray feiss boulevard 3 light chandelier arrived. Fuck you, Fed Ex. I'm not even willing to open it tonight. I hear clinking.

This week my longtime friend was finally back at work after being out on disability for weeks. But, she thinks she will be forced to retire in the whole offshoring thing going on now in our company.

I really want cheesecake NOW.
Carly(via Blackberry)

Lame duck

I am now a lame duck, as far as the PTA is concerned.

I can't say that I am sorry to walk away from all of the work, nor all of the bullying, squabbling, and needless drama going on. (And we are supposed to be the grownups and role models?)

I have trouble with people who have a role and define themself so much by that, they become completly difficult about someone else taking it over.

Time changes things. People move on. It is what it is.

I was never suited for the role of perky volunteer. I don't like working, frankly. Also, I don't tend to express myself with multiple exclaimation points. Maybe too many "....." But that's another story.


Speaking of another story, I read an email yesterday that Aggie died.

Some 25 years ago when I started college, I didn't go for the mandatory swim test OR take the freshman swimming class. Funny how being thrown in the deep end of a pool by some drunk morons in high school when you can't swim will make you shy away from water.
Over the course of my college years eventually a boyfriend helped me learn how to "sort of" swim.

My senior year of college Aggie started to hunt me down. My friends were endlessly amused by the thought that I wouldn't be able to walk onstage for graduation if I didn't take that damn test. (I graduated magna cum laude with a math / computer science degree)

Finally in early May she cornered me and said "Today.". Of course by THEN I could pass it.

Aggie was legendary for her school spirit, her long career at my college, and just in general her wonderful personality. NOT for being the woman I drove crazy by being a flake about a swim test.

Sorry, Aggie. R, e, dr, ed, dre, dred -RED!!
Carly(via Blackberry)

Alleluia

Yesterday was our last performance together at mass, now that it's "summer" according to the Stanley calendar (well, to be precise, yesterday was Pentecost, so we are done)

We sing a song for communion called "Alleluia", by Randall Thompson . A harsh critic would point out that we just sing "alleluia" over and over (about 60 times...)

To me, it's like standing in a rainstorm. The first few drops (notes) fall quietly, and then more and more join in as it builds. The notes rise and fall in some amazing harmonies and at the height of the storm we've got parts moving in every direction and you'd better be counting and paying attention to get it right.

Then just as it increased, it begins to settle down; the notes slow and return gradually to only a quiet "Amen".

I always hate it when choir is over for the summer.

(you can get a little snip of the song here if you use Real Player )

Sunday art

...by my new best friend at Lowe's.

I do have upper cabinets over the stove and a pantry to left of the fridge; they are not in this sketch and don't need to be replaced because we put those in 10 years ago when we did the FIRST addition.

So all we had to do was match the existing top cabinets, which probably saved 3,000 hours off of the "select cabinets" task. Too many choices for me!

anyway... happy mother's day to myself... we ordered these yesterday. The countertop will be much wider because the sink "wall" is open to the family room and we have barstools on the backside. Which is where a barstool usually is, badump bump.

Really?

My builder came by yesterday to get blueprints from me so he could go get a building permit. I did the "call before you dig" thing yesterday. Um, there are woods behind my house. And no, there will be no blasting, as far as I know!!!

He said that once he starts, it will be only 3 or 4 weeks. (So, that means 6-8, right? ) This would still come close to my current goal of having this all done by the 4th of July.

I have to go order cabinets and find a new kitchen light and think about countertops. The cabinets thing will be fine because I'm just matching the top cabinets which are only half as old. But the lights.... toooooo many choices. Now I'm worried that not having this stuff done because of the chaos at school will slowwwww the project down.

Waaaaaow

I thought I liked kids. I really did.

...until 50 of them said "why do we have to wait until after we run for a snack?"

Then I wasn't sure.

and when 100 kids came at me (after running said laps around the school track, for a fundraiser), and all saying they wanted "a granola bar AND a pretzel AND some orange pieces and can I have a bananna too but wait no not that kind of granola bar" at the same time and putting their little darling fingers all over everything

I thought

"hmmmm...

I am not crazy about kids."

and when they took drinks of water and dumped them over their heads, (note, it is 52 degrees out here today) I thought... hmmm.... aren't they nice.

No, wait, I said "WHY aren't they nice?"

note to self: elementary education may not be my best plan B career path after all

Rain dance

I took today off from work to help with a field day at school.

I was really hoping the universe would catch my hints, which I have verbalized all week, and it would be raining today, so that I could be on my couch right now starting a Sex & the City DVD marathon to refresh my memory before the movie comes out.

But, no.

Oddly enough

I'd say this is a sign my luck is turning.

I was minding my own business waiting for my son's baseball game to start. Some of the kids started pitching to each other. My daughter and I set up our chairs but she was RIGHT on top of me so I moved left a few feet. Then I started eating this salad I made with fake crab meat (I like it, most people don't), celery, a little tomato and some lowfat mayo. It was good too. Was.

I was eating and checking something on the blackberry and out of nowhere WHABAMMMMM, something exploded in my face with a sick thunk. I let out a not-so nice word that wasn't Mary OR Joseph.

All of a sudden several people were around me and things were reeeeeally quiet. A ball had come over the fence right at me. It took everyone a few seconds to figure out the ball had hit my tupperware container, not my face, and then bounced into my tote bag. I think it barely glanced off my cheek along the way, but not very hard. The thunk was NOT my face. And my dinner? All over the ground.

I believe the coach will have an (extra) beer tonight.

My daughter is happy to point out that if I hadn't moved, it never would have happened. I'm just happy not to be dining via straw.
Carly(via Blackberry)

Change

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.

Alan Cohen


I came across this on another blog and I've been mulling it over in light of everything at work and school.

I'm still stewing, but it helps. I've started to do a few new things in my daily routine to mix it up a little where I can and it seems to help me cope.

This trellis is my spring challenge every year. Those little vines will bloom white and purple clematis. At least, that's the plan.

Sometimes I am busy and don't notice the first shoots appear. They snake along the ground and get tangled in the evergreens. Then it's almost too late to try to tie them and get them to look nice on the trellis. 'Salvage' isn't fun.

This year I thought I had it all set. Got the trellis in. Used cute string to tie everything and show it how I want it all to go.

Now the rabbits are eating it. There is an entire effing woods behind my house and the rabbits are eating THIS. It makes me just throw up my hands and say "Why?"

Sometimes you keep trying, but it's just not going to happen the way you want.

That's how I'm feeling about the house too. Like the work will NEVER start no matter what I do. Waaaaaiting is hard for me. Wondering if we can afford to do what I've envisioned sucks.


Carly(via Blackberry)

No, it wasn't "oops I did it again"

Tonight was confirmation at our church. The Bishop showed up (on time! which we can't say for every member of the choir....including one who pointedly told every one to get there at 5:15 and then walked in at 5:40... not naming names but that same someone forgot to turn off their cellphone. )

Kind of funny since we were in the middle of one of the first songs during the actual confirmation part of the mass, and the phone rang, and we botched a line in what I thought was a really noticeable way. In a "funny but not" sort of way. That horrifying, slow-mo way. Gah.

It was Lord, Listen To Your Children, by Ken Medema, arranged by Jack Schrader. We perform a few pieces that he has arranged; I like the gospel-but-not- too-gospel-for-a-"north"-church sound.

Today's announcements

(edit.... it's so hard to spell korrectly on a blackberry... and I needed to add a photo to this post)

1. Happy birthday, George Clooney. (47) I'd make a joke about birthday suits but I'm off my game this week.

2. Spammers suck. If I want to see "those", I have them. Kinda nice ones, actually. 100% real too. Moron. (Comments will be moderated for a brief while, as a result of this incident.)

3. Only 31 more days of school.

4. Yesterday the orthodontist referred to my younger child as a 'very challenging case'. I asked if he'd do the work for free on account of being grateful for gaining that learning experience. I wonder why he seemed mad after that. I kid, I kid.

5. Friday I will be volunteering at this school at an event that almost guarantees good stories. Stay tuned.

Carly(via Blackberry)

Targets

The beatings will commence until morale improves.

Today at 9 am sharp some of the people in my division were told that the applications they support are being outsourced / offshored. As in, programmers in India. Happy Monday.

Not me, not today. But, some of my friends. Some of my oldest, best friends.

But, "just because your application is going, doesn't mean you are going".... in other words there will be a giant game of musical chairs, and some of us will stay. No committments, no promises.

So at lunch I got to watch one of my coworkers tell another "you're marked now...." and then everyone debated about what will happen.

Nice. I wonder why my stomach ached all afternoon.

Sunday art

Today's artist is Miro Sinovcic . (Don't miss this page.)

He paints NYC, and they're the kind of paintings that you have to lean back and sort of squint at to really appreciate, but I definitely like them. I love the pallette of colors he uses. (And to be honest, this is kind of what the world looks like to me without my glasses....)

Warming trends

How to warm up, a la Carly:

1. Attend a Judo tournament with Suzy. Ask several people about the rules. Make friends. This will thaw you.
2. Judo tournaments are held in rooms that get very warm and start to smell like sweaty judo students, some of whom are not hard on the eyeballs. You will get warmer.
3. Cheer for your friend when he executes a perfect throw (drop, move, whatever, it was a great move!) Jumping up and down and cheering counts as your cardiovascular workout for the day.


Now can someone ACTUALLY explain the rules to me? Mmmokay thanks.