persephone33

I have some photographs for your viewing pleasure, this morning. Some of them are hilarious, some are sad, some have me thinking, "Did my parents want a boy?" and some inform the reason that I am the very girly girl I am, today.

The reason for these pictures, that I went digging through old photo albums - you know, the kind with the plastic cellophane sheeting covering a sticky surface, so you have to kind of dig behind the picture before you can get it free - is that my family lost my grandmother last Tuesday morning. She was a vibrant woman, always on the go, always reinventing herself, always changing. And she had a great smile.

She also loved to take pictures of her grandchildren. Or to put it in her words, "You want to have your picture made, honey?"

We'll start with a big bucket full of cute before we get to the tragic.

( Disclaimer: Management is not responsible for anything you snort out of your nose when you see these pictures. )

Current Location: On the back porch, enjoying the 60 degree weather.
Current Music: The boys playing

Tags:

family,
picture

7 lbs. 8 oz. & 20 inches... and I might be biased, but completely adorable.

Both my new niece and my sister are well. Praise God!

Current Mood: cheerful

Tags:

family

It's Aaron's birthday. The baby is NINE. (It's seriously time to lose the weight, right?)

For long time readers of my journal, or you folks that actually know my kiddos personally, you know that there have been more than a few emergency room visits over the years. So this morning, after the blueberry scones, the birthday presents and the sunrise ride of the new scooter (that actually causes SPARKS - Wow, was THAT ever a dubious idea) I asked him what he thought age nine was going to hold for him. The above title holds his answer, and my response was to put my head on the table and weep a little. My admonitions to "Be careful!" just fall on deaf ears. Boys, man. What are ya gonna do?

( Age 7... Age 9 )

There was talk about finally exacting retribution on the tree... my advice was not to provoke it like he did the last time. It obviously didn't work out too well for him.

( Testing the toys... )

Today my main job is to make birthday cake! (Chocolate cake with chocolate icing - excellent choice!) And get ready for a sleepover tonight. And if you're so inclined, would you send up a prayer or two for my little sister and her family? She's expecting her third little bundle of joy, today!

Have a great day, all!

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: the breakfast nook

Tags:

( Wherein I discuss snoring, tans, state of the bed, jam, diets, big thighs, my immense dorkiness and Commercials on TNT )

Now aren't you glad you read all that? Aren't you a better person for knowing it all?

No?

Well, at least you got to see my new layout. :) Goodnight.

Current Mood: quixotic
Current Location: the brick (my bed) ;(
Current Music: the aforementioned snoring

Tags:

( pedicures and petit-fours... )

At some point in the afternoon, Mom and I lost control of the conversation. We were asked somewhere around a thousand questions, some of which were, quite frankly, unanswerable. And some I'm still thinking about. She told us after tea that she had to get home to go to a super secret emergency meeting. When Mom asked what it was about, she answered simply and without any guile, "Granny, it's secret."

We had a conversation about ladylike manners, and at one point she demonstrated the way her little brother might attack a little pink, iced cake.

Me. Oh, Brenna. Heavens to Betsy.

Brenna. (blinks) Aunt Carrie, who's Betsy?

There were a million other exchanges much like this one. She's a very literal girl. And I'm somewhat prone to the dramatic. It makes for an interesting aunt/niece dynamic that involves a lot of me explaining myself and a lot of Brenna looking at me like I'm nuts, which may or may not be true. I love that girl, though. She may have a five year plan to rule the world.

I wouldn't know. I wasn't invited to that super secret, emergency meeting.

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: mom's living room floor
Current Music: Wall-E

Tags:

&hearts Go HERE and read

obrien_blue's recap of the Glee finale. She does fabulous Bones recaps (or squee!caps) and this is the first one she's done for Glee. She's funny and smart and a hell of a writer (warning for language). I always laugh aloud at her entries. Go read. You won't be disappointed.

&hearts If I were in charge of the world, like a High Empress Over All Things, there would be a few changes. Manipulative people? Incarcerated for life. Mean people who insist of ranting about insignificant things and belittling others? Mmmm... the rack, I think. I'd be just and fair. And the bastards of life would need to re-think their positions on being jerks.

&hearts I've been feeling crappy lately. Like a low-grade nausea and intense tiredness. If I didn't know better (and I mean really know better), I'd say I was pregnant. And LHM, if I was pregnant, it would be a baby that would have a purpose, because it would be a freaking miracle. That is, if I didn't jump off a bridge, first.

&hearts I've been trying to write, poking around at a few things, but I'm just not inspired. When the muse takes a vacation, she really hits the road. I have no idea what to write that might spark any sort of even mildly acceptable results. It's sad.

&hearts We leave for Dallas on Friday, and we'll be gone for a week; the boys are going to a golf and tennis camp, and my sister will be there for the weekend. I want to get together with some old friends and family (I'm looking at you,

deedsk_tx and

tadpole_bac) and I think it'll be good to get away for awhile. When I get back, Nolan and I are going to the theatre's awards gala. I've been nominated for best actress, an award I fully do not expect to win. There are too many other great actors up for it, too. That's okay, there's a lot of that being nominated but not winning stuff going on. Luckily, my self esteem is high enough that it doesn't send me into a tailspin. Anyway, as I've been nominated, it's a great excuse to buy a dress. And I'm at -22 pounds, so shopping in the semi-formal departments in the Dallas area might even be pleasurable.

&hearts Nolan brought me 3 charms for my bracelet today for no reason whatsoever. That's nice, huh?

&hearts I love summertime. Seriously, having the boys home and going to the pool and making brownies and waking up whenever we feel like it? Nice. Really, really nice.

See you all on the flip side!

Current Mood: blah
Current Location: bed
Current Music: Bones (If I weren't married, I'd manufacture SA Seeley Booth)

Tags:

It occurs to me that I didn't post about an audition I had earlier this week. The theatre I work for generally has auditions on Monday and Tuesday nights, and as a strategy, the smart thing to do is to wait until Tuesday and since you're already there, maybe they'll just let you stay for callbacks.

Of course I'm a glutton for punishment, so I always go to Monday audition night out of anticipatory giddiness, (I do love me some auditions) and then am in complete agony until noon the next day, waiting for a callback.

As it happens, this time I got one. Also, I also got a part. I'll be playing the role of 'Dinah' in The Dixie Swim Club.

Dinah is a sarcastic alcoholic.

*coughcough*

Erm... I'm not going to go all thinky on you and say that art imitates life, here, but I enjoy a glass of wine or four sometimes. And the sarcasm... well. I might be bent a touch that way. Anyhow, I'm excited. But right now I'm off to play a rousing game of LIFE with my family, who'll be woefully unattended for the next six weeks. :D

Current Mood: satisfied
Current Location: headed to the dining room
Current Music: Ethan yelling at me to "Come on, Mom!"

Tags:

family,
theatre

( More pics under the cut! )

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: the corner of the living room
Current Music: Should I Stay or Should I Go - Rock Band Version

Tags:

My friends, I have had a GREAT couple of days.

My dad (who is one of the greatest friends I have) is in town and we've run around and cooked and hung out with the boys. We've gone shopping (Slowly, sedately - Daddy doesn't so ANYTHING quickly) we've had coffee and talked about everything and nothing, we've had sword fights with the boys (there's an epic battle going on as I type this: Nolan and the boys have turned all the lights off in the house and they're having a Nerf sword and lightsaber war. In the dark) and baked, decorated gingerbread houses and wrapped presents. Nolan's even climbed down from Mt. Crumpit where he usually camps out every Christmas and taken over getting gifts for the kids and his relatives - it's like Bizzaro World over here. I'm not loathing Christmas and everyone associated with it, and not stressed out at all. I'm even ENJOYING MYSELF.

Go figure.

In even better news, my sister and her husband got their first foster child placed with them today. God bless them; it isn't a sure thing that they'll get to keep the three week old that they're foster parenting, but their state is one who fosters to adopt, I think. (It'd break my heart, but Em says God's been preparing them for such an occasion.) They need prayer, though, from those of you so inclined. The baby has to stay in the hospital for five more weeks until he goes through drug withdrawals, and then they'll be able to take him home. I call him "him' and 'the baby' because as of this morning when they got the call that they had a foster child he didn't have a name. :( I'm sure he'll have one soon, though.

Wow. I'm so glad there are people like Em and her husband that have a heart for babies in tough situations. It warms my heart.

Christmas love to the f-list!

P.S. I didn't send Christmas cards this year. But that doesn't mean I don't love all of you. Because I do. And I certainly appreciate those of you that sent one to me. *big smooches*

Current Mood: good
Current Location: the living room
Current Music: giggling and the swish of nerf swords

Tags:

I've cooked and cleaned more in the last four days than I have in the last six months. I've made meals, washed dishes washed sheets and towels and generally was the hostess with the mostest.

It's been fun, but after breakfast in the morning, I'm going to put the kibosh on me in the kitchen for a while. I'd be really good at running a bed and breakfast with the exception that I don't want to. Like, ever.

I got my Christmas decorations up; the boys and my niece and nephew had a great time decorating the tree. I may have to go and move a few up; it's a little bottom heavy because all the short people were putting on the ornaments, but at least I wasn't so type A that I had to do it all myself this year. Yay for a smidge of Christmas spirit! Also, I didn't leave the house on Black Friday (Crowds? Getting up early? People shoving me? No, thank you), but Nolan got Rock Band for the kids (and us, who am I kidding?) for fifty bucks. That's our big bargain for the season.

I'm woefully behind on nanowrimo, but I really haven't had time to write. I'm nearly 4,000 words behind. Maybe I'll still make it. *crosses fingers*

Current Mood: busy
Current Location: bed
Current Music: Bones - gotta have the eye candy while I write. :)

Tags:

Threads of plot, half finished ideas, partially developed characters, lackluster dialogue and holes you can drive a truck through. Thank you, nanowrimo, for giving me accountability for my 36,754 words of mediocrity.

Thanksgiving week begins. Nolan's home safe and sound from his hunting trip, sans any furry creatures, the lawn is mowed, the laundry is done. Tomorrow I grocery shop for the Thanksgiving crowd, get the house clean and ready for guests, and iron. I'm glamorous, let me tell you. For now, I need your help.

[Poll #1489151]

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: bed
Current Music: White Collar - Love that Neil Caffrey

Tags:

Update type post: Done in bullets!

&hearts I'm so deliriously happy to be home and have my shower and my bed. I love traveling; I do, but it takes a toll. And I missed the boys. It was great to just hang out with them today.

&hearts Nolan bought the new Call of Duty game that came out this week while we were away. He stayed up til 7:30 am playing it, meaning he was still up playing when I got up. WHAT a dork. He played intermittently today while I was trying to get my nanowrimo word counts in. So actually, we're both dorks. A matched set, if you will.

&hearts Ethan got the part he wanted in the Fourth Grade Christmas play. I'm so proud of him. He told us right as we were going into the last show we were attending in New York. It was a nice moment.

&hearts I'm having 28 people at the house on Thanksgiving. It's starting to freak me out. I'm taking deep breaths and shots of vodka alternately, to combat the effects.

&hearts I've written 4,065 words today, trying to get caught up from when I was all lazy on my vacation. Most of those will be usable, I hope. I'm sure some of it is crap, and all of it will need editing, but I'm starting to get to the meat of the story and I'm REALLY starting to love my 4 main characters. They seem like good people. Anyway, 900-ish more words to get caught up and get to the plottiness/conflict. Yay.

&hearts I've got 900 metric pounds of laundry to do tomorrow. That ain't hyperbole, folks.

Have a good week everyone!

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: bed, in the master bedroom on basswood, Amascrillo, TX
Current Music: Ivy - Jackopierce

Tags:

I have a LOT to blog about. So much STUFF has happened in the last few weeks, but I've not the inclination to put my fingers to the keyboard or upload the billion pictures that go with it. This week. I will.

For now: I'll just give you these.

( It's kinda funny stuff. )

Current Location: Mom's sewing room, Arlington, TX
Current Music: NCIS in the other room

Tags:

Looks like I'm accompanying the family on a little weekend trip to our cabin in Childress. Frankly, I could used some down time. Yay. I'm gonna read, cook, and pay attention to my family.

Love to all!

Don't start anything without me!

Current Location: my bedroom, next to the gargantuan pile of laundry
Current Music: Ethan and AJ cleaning their room.

Tags:

So I used to have terrible, awful no good headaches. Migraines. Since the age of eight, I remember being nauseous and getting tunnel vision - thinking I was going to die. Back then there was no "Migraine Medicine," the only stuff they gave me knocked me completely out. Once I was in high school, Imitrex came out, and let me tell you, I praised God. It allowed me to function and drive and everything even while having a headache.

About four years ago, God saw fit to take the burden of headaches away from me, and again, I was thankful. I haven't had a true migraine, not like I used to, since May of 2005. A blessing, for sure. This morning, however, I woke up with a killer headache. I wouldn't characterize it as a migraine, but it was still bad, and I was still sick, and slept it off, sort of.

I had a achy head all day long. I tried all the usual tricks, to no avail. Even now as i sit and type this I have a headache - or just the sore place where the headache used to be. Does that make any sense at all?

In non-complaining news, my sons were baptized tonight in church. Nolan got to do it, and it was a very sweet time. My husband Nolan, the bigger than life, boisterous, man's man choked up a little bit in the baptistry as he was talking about them before they were immersed. Several people came up to me afterward and said how moving it was. It was a good night, for sure, headache or not.

Current Mood: awake
Current Location: bed

Tags:

It was great to be home, but the past week was the best vacation ever.

( There's no place like home. )

Current Mood: calm
Current Location: bed
Current Music: A Bridge Too Far - Nolan just finished the book, now he's re-watching the movie.

Tags:

Grandma Ellaene

Meet Carly Kaye!

He's nine. In his estimation, that means he's "going to get hurt more often."

I'm Brain Dead

Girl's Afternoon

"Newton-John, you’re dead to me."

Lazy Sundays...

Happy Christmas!

Life IS Fabulous!

Day 27

Day 22

Day 15

Amusing things I've heard: Divided by category.

A much needed rest!

Happy Saturday, all.

Be it ever so humble...

Profile

Syndicate

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags