Just. Breathe.

We've officially begun the crazy part of the year. I always think April/May is when I can't catch up, but then October hits and I remember those earlier months fondly. Just a sampling of what I've been doing the last three weeks: Volunteering at a cancer fundraiser: First cold Saturday this year - and we're outside all day. Spending a morning with my girl getting her senior pictures made (and spending hours before that picking out clothes for it!): They all turned out so great, but this is my favorite. Prepping for the same senior's 18th birthday party: Thank you, Pinterest, for making me think I HAD to make these! (That's minion duct tape on the left one.) Popcorn bar to go with the pizza -- I refused to cook. Dealing with this, two days before her birthday: She's fine. The car is at the hospital. The other driver's car was toast. This little guy held up surprisingly well. The party itself was a hoot. The photo booth was a hit...

Apparently I have a habit of making lists to clear out my brain when I haven't blogged for a week or more. I've had time to blog, but nothing to say. I know, it shocked me too. The weather cooled off, finally. Saturday morning I hit a new personal best for a run. It was only 59 degrees here when I left the house, and I got a wild hair to run for an hour and see how far I could go. The result:  Not setting any speed records, but LOOK at that distance! I was ridiculously excited about this. Also, sweaty and parched! I didn't start this running thing with any distance ultimately in mind -- not a marathon, or a half-marathon, or anything like that -- but knowing I CAN run almost five miles at once if I want to is huge. And I might survive the zombie apocalypse. RDub was gone for about 5 days on a men-only camping trip. I had grand intentions of having a girls' weekend here, but plans, timing, blah blah, didn't work out. Instead, I did stuff like t...

June ended on a high note -- 80th birthday party for my sweet mother-in-law. It would be the first real birthday party she'd ever had. No pressure. The Players : My sister-in-law Sharon (husband's sister), sister-in-law Kathy (brother-in-law's wife), and me. The guest of honor is Barbara. The Plan: We started planning in April, and I had one condition: I couldn't do the food from three hours away. They both live locally to Barbara, so they were forced convinced that they could do the food part. I'd handle the decorations and serving details. The Menu : After discussion, we decided on cupcakes. There was some thought given to having a chocolate fountain, until we realized how big a mess it can be. So cupcakes, nuts, mints, tea, water and punch was the final menu.  The Decor : Pinterest to the rescue, as usual. I wanted something simple to dress up the church's fellowship hall. Six foot tables, folding chairs, kitchen area right there...this wasn't go...

I KNOW. I can't call myself a blogger if I don't actually BLOG. Stupid rules. My "not in the mood to write" mood continues. Don't really know why -- I think I feel boring right now. It's the end-of-school-year craziness again -- I seem to be surprised every single year when April and May hit and there's something going on all the time. Kinda like being surprised when Christmas shows up and I'm not ready. And last week, I felt the need to do this: At least my pedicure survived the impact. RDub had gone on a business trip, Bug and I were outside by the pool before going on our evening walk/run. Dogs misbehaving, I stand up to break up their fun, and ram that foot into the metal leg of the deck chair. I knew instantly it was more than just stubbing my toe. It's now 6 days later and, while I don't think it was broken, it was definitely jammed. It's been all sorts of pretty colors this week. So rather than getting started on our "s...

Over the weekend, I went through my closet. I have a business conference next week, and I have no idea what I'm going to wear. Since I work from home, my usual wardrobe is shorts or yoga pants (depending on the weather), t-shirts, and flip flops. I dress on the weekends for errands or church, but that's about it. I have good clothes, but there's a serious problem - I'm short and I refuse to pay someone to hem my dress pants. That means all my pants require heels. I love heels. I love shoes, period. What I don't love is hiking around a Disney resort conference center in said heels. Been there, done that, had the blisters to prove it. So on Saturday, I thought I'd better figure out what I even have to choose from in the wardrobe department and then decide if new shoes (or pant alterations) would be necessary. I spent most of the summer in skirts and shorts, so I pulled out pants I haven't worn since spring. None. of. them. fit. And that's in a good ...