When my girls were little, we had an incredibly fun photo shoot with the talented St Petersburg portrait photographer Sheri of Enchanted Forest Photography. One of the best images she blew up very large to hang in her own studio, and it is still there today (sometimes). I had a not-so-large version made for my mom.
Recently, my now teenaged Wendy had a meeting with Sheri about improving her photography skills for a school project. I snapped a photo of BIG Wendy by the everlasting LITTLE Wendy.
Today I did not work out, but I ran so many errands in the heat with my kids that I may still have sweat just as much.
There was the Target run – for Avery binders (on sale for $2 and of course I had a $1 off coupon), and friends who wanted locker shelves. Next door was Party City, and the kids just wanted to look around there because it’s fun. Then next to that was Bath and Body Works, where the Halloween display made me want to shout – it’s too early for this! (But the little bat hand sanitizer holder is glittery and adorable.)
Then we went to the grocery store for some quick BOGOs. Then we hit Walgreen’s for ORANGE nail polish because that is the hot nail polish color for fall that my daughter must have. (And I admit, I’ll use it a lot too.) And gum, because she chews gum after lunch at school to freshen her breath. Even though gum is not allowed. Anyway, Alice’s friend got one pack of gum for $1.60, and Alice – using our hot new tactics) got 9 packs & a candy cane for $1.75.
We came home and tried on uniforms, filled out forms and went through school supplies and textbooks (still waiting on 3 in the mail… come on…) How do you put your child’s name on a black cloth-covered binder or a black calculator? (Silver Sharpie is Wendy’s answer, which might be the only Sharpie color I don’t own.) Perhaps colorful duct tape with black marker?
Tomorrow is the doctor, dentist, a quick JCPenney run and Alice’s first official Cross Country practice. Many of the kids from her grade are not returning to the team this year. She has a couple girls older than her that she hangs with on the team, and one younger than her. The girl from her grade that used to make up silly songs and wear striped socks with her has quit to be a football cheerleader this year. Ninth grade is an interesting year…
…AND the last 2 coupon finding tips of the weekend:
6. Bank Statements: BillShrink works with banks to analyze consumer spending habits and provide coupons in your bank statements above certain purchases. In essence, this method allows retailers to target coupons specific to your likes and needs, instead of requiring customers do the research.
7. Coupon Trains: Think of these as coupon chain letters. It’s a coupon exchange through the mail, which I had never heard of before and would probably never care to do. An envelope of coupons is mailed from the “conductor” to the first person on the train list. That person removes the coupons they want, replaces them with those of equal value and number, then mails the envelope on to the next member. Many such trains are now sponsored by mommy bloggers. I guess I could get rid of those diaper and dog food coupons easily, but I just throw them away.
There’s not much else to report here… just busy being mommy for the next couple of days. I’m hoping to get in some quick core and upper body stuff in the living room tomorrow AM, and a yoga class on Tues. Someone go run for me 
…I forgot about one other bit of working out the other day. My daughter is going on a 6 day hiking trip in Mt Zion, so I took her and her best friend for a 2 mile walk in their hiking boots to break them in.
And today I am on vacation, and woke up at 8:12 – and just made it to 8:30 power flow class. Ahhhh yum!
So, about that “Taking Turns” thing your eyes just skimmed over up there…
I think Brian and I take turns getting PMS’ed. Now, obviously he wouldn’t have hormonal fluctuations for the same reasons I do, but it seems like every-other month I have moody time, and in between he has moody time (sympathy induced?)
When one of us gets stressed, thoughts and conversations usually come back around to money. Sometimes it’s like Paul Revere (Oh geez, I almost typed Pierre Cardin) is riding down the street swinging a lantern, shouting, “The Future is coming! The Future is coming!” The future with daughters driving and needing money for college. The future with repairs on the house and minivan. The future with medical bills and hopefully kickass vacations.
So we try to balance: Living in the Moment with The Future is Coming. It’s not always easy.
Sadly, in April, we buried a dear friend. A woman I met as a mommy in my daughter’s class who quickly became a neighbor with an open door. Her future came and went all too soon. All those overtime hours away from her daughter… all that savings sitting in a bank… And my grandparents seem to be the same way – saving for The Future when they could be traveling the world or doting on Great Grandchildren who are already entering high school or paying for weddings as their grandchildren seem to be getting married one by one lately.
But we can’t just say F$^& The Future, right?! We have to maintain that balance of being prepared for it. I mean, I guess we could fill out every single one of those credit card apps we get in the mail each day and spend money right and left that we don’t have and not worry about it because we’ll be dead someday, but that doesn’t seem very realistic. It might be fun to make a movie about it though… and Donald Trump would applaud it. (Dude, fire your stylist and get a hairdresser.)
Over the weekend we were watching the Michael Douglas movie that was a sequel to Wall Street and he called us The NINJA Generation. No Income, No Job, No Assets. That was a new one to me! Cute and catchy, but awfully scary. And certainly not true of many of the people I know. Brian and I always seem to be recreating jobs for ourselves, so there is that…
So, what do you think of this ramble? How can one plan for the future and live in the moment? Is the secret simply to find what makes you happy? If I meditate long enough will it all be clear and these questions will just float away? Or is it this exact amount of searching that keeps life from becoming a bore?
While you chew on that, I’m going to take my vacation day and spend it with my husband and children, the 4 of us finding what will keep us happy in the moment, and probably spend some time discussing the future. And all the while, smiling.
Wendy, 13.5 years ago. Thirteen on Thursday!!
I’m going to Chicago. And “we” aren’t going to Chicago. Brian will be home with the kids. I will get on a plane by myself, probably sleep the whole way, share a hotel room with my mom, have room to do Yoga because no little ones will be bunking on the floor, and I will take hot showers and wear cute clothes. I will see cousins and Aunts and go to a rehearsal dinner and a wedding. And I will bless the wine with my mom at the ceremony because we were honored like that – but just in English because a man has to do the Hebrew part. And then I will dance in my purple dress and open toed shoes. Which will make me start to miss Brian and home for possibly the first time during the trip – but then I will fly home the next day after a family brunch, so it all works out fine.
Can I crochet on a plane? Think crochet hooks are banned? I’m guessing they are.
I just heard Avril’s “What the hell” for the first time today. And then I saw that Youtube version with the guys and the dog. I love when the universe randomly circles back around.
Brian’s Wine and Dine half marathon group is growing. And they are all women so far. If you want to run a half at Disney organized by a guy who has done tons of Disney races and with ME as the organizing Mommy machine, join us! Even if you don’t have him build your custom training plan and you just happen to be doing that half because you know the glory of it ending at a private EPCOT food and wine festival party, let me know so you can meet up with us!
Today I missed the gym to do a photoshoot at YogaBlu Studio. Then I joined the 7th grade on their class trip to the new Dali Museum. I love staring at his art, and 2 hours was such a tease! Yesterday I met some moms to go running, but we ended up walk-running because someone hurt her hamstring playing golf the day before. Tomorrow I’ll either hit the gym or run… not sure yet.
Last night I went shopping with my daughters at Forever 21. There are a few stores we can all shop at. Most have family shopping – like TJ Maxx or Old Navy, but Forever 21 lets us all feel like fun girls while trying on items that suit our own figure and level of sophistication. I got 2 cute lightweight dresses to pack for my trip and have for work thereafter. Alice got a pretty shirt, and Wendy got a new skirt. Then she used a Borders gift card and bought a BOOK! Wendy doesn’t often seek out buying books on her own. She’d rather draw on her PC or play Wii. But she wanted to read Kingdom Keepers 3 before #4 comes out.
Thurs night Alice runs the 3200 and 1600 in one of the last track meets of the season. She’s had a really great year and hopes to go to MD State later in the month.
I made spaghetti for dinner. We have it almost once a week, and Brian only wants his mom’s recipe. I get sick of the same spaghetti over and over. So tonight I took a scoop of the sauce and put it in a separate saucepan for me and added garlic, spinach and chopped tomato. It already had tom sauce, tom paste and ground beef. The chunky veggies made it seem like a whole new meal, and I sprinkled Parmesan on top too.
Wendy has some big news coming up about a land far away. More on that soon…