Staycationing

While Abigail and her parents take in Massachusetts, (y'all, I had to look up how to spell that. I think that's a first for me.) I'm at home on staycation. I toyed with the idea of a road trip, of pulling out a map and throwing a dart, tossing a coin, heading off to see some part of the country that I've never seen before... but in the end, the pull of being at home and at rest was too much. Later on this year there will be trips - to conventions and unknown parts and far-away-but-familiar places - but for now, I'm here.

As always, I'm torn between "get-stuff-done" and "relax," between "paint-construct-unpack" and "find-a-new-book-and-maybe-take-a-nap."
 
In the end, it turns out the perfect pace is a little of both.

Painting has gotten done. Unpacking has gotten done. Measuring for new drapes has gotten done.

Napping (lots of napping) had gotten done. Reading (oh, so much reading) has gotten done. Meeting up with friends for impromptu late dinners, trying new things on the menu, going to the indoor pool, it's all gotten done. And I'm telling myself that while it's true, that this week will fly by (and good, because I miss my girly), it's also true that I have enough time. Time to slow down and hang out with my sibs, see friends, do all those little things I sometimes (in less grateful moments) with my life had room for.

And so.

Coolth

Why is "coolth" not a word? I mean, we say "warmth" instead of "warmness," why "coolness" instead of "coolth?" Silly English language.

Aaanyways...

Rehearsal today was hot. My AC never quite fully kicked in on the drive up (gotta get it recharged) so by the time we got there I was sweating. And then all the guys were sweating, too. We turned on the fans (which didn't help much), and then I convinced Nathan to drop the thermostat a few degrees (which did).

And then I came home, and I was thinking how I really should go out and work on my remodel. Because this week is just gonna fly by, and I'm chafing that I'm not gonna have much time tomorrow between babysitting and going contra dancing for the twins birthday. But it was warm outside and I knew painting in my trailer was going to be like being in a tin can in the sun. So I was whining a little bit about how I wish we had the special electrical setup that was needed to run the AC, and my dad (who's been doing research on the electrical systems lately in preparation for wiring it in) looked thoughtful and said, "You know, I'll bet it'd run fine on regular power."

Guess what?

Oh, yeah.

So I was able to turn it on and get it going while I cooked dinner, have a nice meal while relaxing at my kitchen table, and then spend several hours painting in an amazingly cool trailer. Doesn't get much better than this. :)

By the way - there is so. much. painting. Arg. I keep thinking I'm almost done, then I'll discover I need to touch up this, or I never got to the underside of that, and it feels like it's never going to be done. But as of right now, I'm pretty sure that all I have left (knock on wood) is a second coat on the backside of the kitchen counter, the kitchen benches, and tons and tons of cabinet doors.

Wait, and the underside of the cabinets.

See what I mean?

But it's starting to look good. Sleek and modern and soothing, and I love it. It's always felt homey to me, but each coat of paint changes the look and makes it more "me." I'm starting to think now about wall art, and bedding, and furniture, and how it's just thisclose to being done. I can't wait.

Status Update

My week in Facebook status updates


"And I sleep like a baby, every night it seems / I'm having the sweetest of dreams..."
-May 4th

May the fourth be with you! Happy Star Wars day! :)

-May 4th

 

Dear man sitting by himself at Cracker Barrel, enjoying a leisurely breakfast while reading Faust:
I love you. You epitomize all that is right in the world. :)
-May 5th

 

The bright side to a 4yo who thinks that ketchup goes on anything: when the plate tilts and the strawberries slide into the ketchup, she doesn't really care.

-May 5th

 

In an alternate reality, [my best friend] and I have an apartment together, and are spending this dreary, rainy, glecky day watching a Back To The Future marathon and eating mac-n-cheese. 

-May 6th

 

When my seedlings got too big for their peat pods, I moved them to larger pots. At the time, they were still too small (for my admittedly amateur eye) to see any differences between them, but now that they've grown a bit one of them is clearly different. The problem is, is doesn't look like ANY of my other seedlings. I strongly suspect I've been lavishing my care and attention on a weed.

-May 8th

 

I woke in the middle of the night to hear thumping downstairs. As I'm turning on the light and contemplating investigating myself versus waking my dad, I knock my tablet off the nightstand, which wakes my father. I relay the thumping, and he goes downstairs to investigate. When he doesn't return, I get worried and go after him. Turns out he got hungry investigating and decided to fix something to ...eat. I get a glass of water. He hands me another glass of water and asks me to take it to my mom on my way up. I go to do this and frighten my mom, who thought I was a burglar, come to burgle clutching two glasses of water.
We're thinking the original bump in the night was our neighbor's cat on the front porch.
I am going back to bed now...

-May 9th

Just Call Me Mary Poppins

At the end of this summer, my three (almost four!) year adventure of being a nanny will draw to a close when Abby goes off to kindergarden. :( This has truly been one of the most formative, influencial, and happiest experience of my life, and I'm being especially careful to treasure each of these "last days" - the mornings spent snuggling on the couch together, the thrill of picking out a new chapter book or reaching the last page of one, the afternoons at the pool, the braiding of hair, and on and on. I have loved every minute of it, and I've been lucky to have had a great relationship with Abby and her parents.

But as with all careers, I've learned some important lessons along the way - some funny, some serious.

• Always, always carry wet wipes.

• A messenger bag can double as a child-carrier in a pinch.
• You don't really understand something until you can explain it to a child.
• Always start brushing tangled hair from the bottom, not the top.
• Some parents will hate you until they find out you're a nanny; others will love you until they find out you're a nanny (resentment much?).
• Children are almost never as badly behaved as their caretakers.
• Ketchup is the universal condiment.
• If you're a nanny for any reasonable time period, you will learn the theme songs to every children's show in existence...
• ... And you will turn on the subtitles to figure out the lyrics when you can't understand them, or it will drive you nuts (btw, the last line to Martha Speaks is "Martha, to reiterate, Martha speaks!" You're welcome.)...
• ... You will also form critical opinions about them...
• ... And you will look forward to new seasons.
• There is nothing so thrilling as discovering that a child shares your passion, be it for a TV show, book, or hobby. Nothing.
• Playgrounds have unspoken rules of etiquette.
• So does the children's section of the library.
• The Itsy-Bitsy Spider song has at least five verses. True story.
• The true measure of a person is how they treat a child.

Complaining

Yesterday, I wore an if-not-cute-then-at-least-presentable outfit. Applied makeup. Ran my fingers through my hair cuz it felt so soft and clean and nice. Heard Michael Buble's "It's A Beautiful Day" and hummed along ("and I can't stop myself from smiling"). Laughed (albeit a little sleep-deprived-hysterically) at rehearsal when I destroyed my lines and declared that they'd "throw you in the dungeon and lock away the key!"

Today... I'm wearing a worn-out hoodie. Haven't made it to makeup yet (and probably won't). My hair is dirty. "Beautiful Day" sounds different when it's raining so. darn. hard. and everything outside is a dreary sort of glecky grey. If I laughed hysterically, I'm pret-ty sure it would turn into tears of frustration that the sun just won't seem to shine for longer than twenty minutes.

And I need to clean out my chicken coop, and get my kitchen painted (bleh), and clean my room for weekend guests, and put away clean laundry, and who-knows-what-else.

Clearly, I need a cup of coffee. And maybe a nap.

But the truth is, I'm so amazingly blessed to be feeling this way. Grouchy, maybe. Tired, definitely. Antsy, impatient, disappointed in our long, wet spring.

All normal.

I'm Going To The Beach!!!

Have I mentioned what a horrendously long, dreary "spring" it's been? It kinda sorta feels like it's never going to be warm again. I mean really warm, warm enough to wear long flowy dresses (without snuggly sweaters over them), strappy sandals, or rock some henna. *sigh*

But even if it's a little chilly this week, it doesn't matter, cuz next week I'm going to the beach!

Abigail and her parents are heading out for their yearly vacation next week, and while I intend to spend most of the week getting lots of work done on my remodel, on Thursday morning Maggie, my friend Crisy, and I will be jumping into the car and heading up to Ocean City, Maryland for a quick beach getaway.

I can. not. wait.

My mini-bucket list:

• Play some Beach Boys as we go over the bridge
• Read a new book on the beach
• Eat seafood
• Take a walk on the beach at night
• Take pictures
• Dip my toes in the water
• Sit in the hot tub
• Go swimming
• Soak in some sun

Randomizer

Since I won't be home much this weekend, I figured I'd get my randomizer out a little early. :)

- This weekend Maggie and I are watching Abigail while her parents go away overnight. Sleepover!!! :) We have sooo much stuff planned... a swim date to the indoor pool (with slides and stuff), watching "the brave mouses," maybe watching some "nice robot and his friend" (lol), doing nails, reading our new Pippi Longstocking book... and the other 500 fun things that happen when you spend time with a four year old. :)

- A couple of weeks ago, her parents cut off her hair. :(

 

I was brokenhearted, mostly cuz I couldn't figure out what to do with it, but I've been practicing, and this week I managed to pull off double braids. :)

 

 

Be impressed! The trick, I've found, is to run a damp brush through her hair before styling.

 

- At VBS drama rehearsal today, we ran through days 1-4 with almost no stops. It went much better than I'd expected, even though I'm still not really connecting with my character. But costumes are being made, swords are being ordered, makeup is being discussed... it's getting pretty close.

 

- I was going to come home from rehearsal and get a bunch done on my trailer, since I'm not gonna have enough time this weekend to get much done. Instead, I came home, ate dinner, and fell asleep, lol, and now what I want more than anything is to crawl back into my soft bed, with the cool night breezes flowing in my window, and watch a movie. :)