Now you know.

My good friend Lizzie Lou is funny sometimes. And one day she said this funny thing that, actually, might not really be funny "ha ha," but more funny "quite clever." Which, knowing Lizzie Lou, is more accurate. NOT that she's not FUNNY, but she's really quite wise and very insightful. (Am I covering all my bases? Because I really don't want to be in trouble. She runs faster than me by about a MINUTE per mile and I wouldn't want her to chase me in an angry rage over something I said! Because she'd catch me ...)


That's US!! Me and Lizzie Lou. Number 7. Pretty in Pink. In a HALF MARATHON relay! I think there were 43 teams. SHIT!! She says next year "we're gonna win this thing." Sometimes she's insightful. Sometimes she's just FUNNY! And I shoulda been the team member who thought of "The Crab Cakes." Maybe "The Funnel Cakes" next time?
So, she said this thing about blogging and reading blogs and it went something like this. Something about how it's interesting to read the blog of a friend who you THINK you know and then you realize when they post something you DIDN'T know about them that maybe you DON'T every part of them. And then I think she said something like, "or maybe I need to be a better friend and just listen better or dig deeper," or something like that. And that's just stupid because that's just her Evil Twin talking and making her feel all guilty and stuff.

So, I realize from her insight that I need to start talking about myself WAY more. So she doesn't feel guilty and all.

And you're alllll going to listen. And you will never be able to say I didn't tell you about my new hardwood floors, my organized CD collection, sushi and Hannah Montana.

Here goes ... listen up:

1. A great crew of flooring guys ripped out the carpet that was polluting our house and installed our Mannington engineered wood planks last week. This is where we bought them. I love these people. Shop there.

This pic doesn't feature my new lamp OR the rug for which I'm still in the market. Or the dog who has finally regained her perch on the couch. But, at least she's returned to sleeping in HER bed at night and OUT of ours. Which means my lint filter is breathing a sigh of relief. And I AM smarter than my dog, dangit! We also rearranged this room to some degree and moved the computer from the corner by the floor lamp to a bedroom in the back of the house. Meaning, I can't watch my children battle one another w/ sticks in the front yard while I surf the Web, but I do like the arrangement so much more.

2. Because of these clean new floors, I've begun a whole new "period" of my life, if you will. The Clean Period. The Simplistic Period. The Clutter-Free Period. A Period that abhors fake plants and tassels. Really hating the tassels right now. Not sure why. But, the clean floors have inspired a whole Period of clean, clutter-free living. And a portion of that clutter includes CD cases. Because we eliminated one antique dresser (that just so happens to be the FIRST piece of furniture I ever purchased ... that The Tall One and I loaded and moved as part of our FIRST DATE ... during which time we ate our FIRST FUNNEL CAKE together) to make room for the computer in the OFFICE nee GUEST ROOM nee NURSERY, I'm short a very large drawer to store all our CDs. Music lovers and collectors stop reading here. Because it apparently makes you shake and sweat to realize I've condensed all my CDs into a 232- sleeve binder sans CASES and thrown the plastic remnants into the dumpster. So much neater. So much prettier.

3. While I've been away from blogging for far too long, I've learned to love sushi. Well, good sushi. As of TODAY. And I think this WAS good sushi. Because when I told my sushi-loving uncle where I went for lunch today, he said, "Oooooh." And I think that's good. But, since he owns each piece of vinyl and every CD he's ever purchased since he was a CHILD that might just have been him trying to regain his breath from my efforts in #2 above.

4. Oh, Lord. I've been called for jury duty. Not just any old jury. But FEDERAL COURT jury duty. And there's no excuse good enough for them to excuse me. Not that I WANT to be excused, mind you. I can think of nothing more exciting than a good jury trial. As long as it doesn't have anything to do w/ taxes. When my very sweet friend was going to law school it seemed she was always enrolled in "torts." Or "contracts." Where's the BLOOD, I'd always ask? I just don't think I can serve on a jury for a white collar crime. And that's sad. But, maybe they'll pick me now. Or not. I know not how I'll be a mother to my children while I'm away, but they don't care about that.

5. At least I'll get my new cable service and DVR installed before I have to report to the federal court house. I was paying Time Warner WAY too much money for too little service, so I took the plunge and went w/ a competitor in the cable market. I'll be forever able to record the ONE show I watch ... American Idol ... at least until the end of the six-month trial period. Truly, w/o boring you w/ the details, it's FAR more service for the money ... bundled w/ the HIGHEST speed Internet ... so I can blog fast enough to set your hair on fire. Or mine. Look out.

6. Thanks to the aforementioned CD- and sushi-loving uncle who scored tickets at my urging, we took our boys to see this gal last week.


Can't tell who that is? That's because Hannah Montana is exactly the size of a thumbtack. We had rockin' good seats three rows off the floor. And still her little, 15-year-old figure barely made it into my view finder.


So I had to shoot most of the shots off one of the big screens. The boys didn't move throughout the show. The Big One was afraid Miss M would SEE him and POINT to him and make him stand up and DANCE, so he stayed hidden beneath the hood of his jacket the whole time. The Short One, who had performed Hannah dance moves all the way from the restaurant to the Drum was suddenly silent and still ... and mesmerized. They think she's pretty. And they're not ashamed to say it. Just too shy to show it. My first concert was at age 8 to see Shaun Cassidy at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Ft. Worth, TX. I will forever remember the sight of him jumping thru a paper hoop in his opening number dressed all in white to "That's Rock and Roll," and being TERRIFIED he was going to similarly leap out of the elevator in our hotel and TALK to me. So, it was with a great deal of nostalgia that I watched my boys watch Hannah with equal parts awe and FEAR.

That's enough for now. I've thoughts on the presidential primaries and other stuff, but one thought has stayed w/ me throughout the previous week. Ever since a non-profit board meeting where we were asked to reflect on "the grace of living in this time." And whether or not it has to do w/ living in "this time," this is what popped into my head and what came out of my mouth.

"The lemony shortbread Girl Scout cookies are the BEST!!!

No, really ... it was more like this ...

"WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE'RE CAPABLE OF." And I feel this everyday. Whether it's running a half marathon, eating sushi for the first REAL time, scoring Hannah Montana tickets. Looking for a new job, increasing our training schedule, completing a physical therapy session. Sorting our tax papers, getting a new hairdo, learning the alphabet AND its sounds. Memorizing our multiplication tables, balancing our checkbook to the penny or firing our realtor/nail tech/auto mechanic ... we have NO IDEA that we're really able to do these things ... until we do them. And we CAN do them. And once we do them, we feel so good. So complete. So capable.

And so tired ....

Good night ...