and now we pause for a moment of transparency

Some days are perfect.

And then there are days when all I'm doing is treading water, expending crazy amounts of energy just to keep my chin above the surface.

I'd like to be diving, slicing through ocean, propelling toward some unseen destination on the far horizon.

And I can't ever decide if the thing to be gleaned here is contentment in the treading...because I really do recognize that as far as treading water goes, I'm pretty lucky. I'm planted in the most beautiful phase of life. Or is it that I have these driving passions because God intends that I do something with them?

I know, I know. Same old internal struggle, different Tuesday. But it's where I'm at today, so there you go.

backyard carnival

Today we hosted a dual birthday bash for my two youngest boys, a la backyard carnival style.











the party mayhem






(this picture is somehow a little disturbing)






the littlest (and sleepiest) party-er






more merriment






(the best things in life come dusted in powdered sugar)






and the rest of the hullaballoo




My internal battery is officially out of juice, but I think it was well worth it. Off to recharge...

quotables

So I'm figuring that anyone who'd be royally ticked off by a Harry Potter Hallows spoiler has already read, at bare minimum, the first five chapters. Maybe twice, even.

I'm considering them fair game. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from chapters 1-5. Enjoy.


[Dedalus Diggle] tripped forward and wrung Harry's hand with both of his own.

"--good luck. I hope we meet again. The hopes of the Wizarding world rest upon your shoulders."

"Oh," said Harry, "right. Thanks."
(JKR, Hallows, p 41)




Harry's heart seemed to expand and glow at the sight: He felt incredibly fond of all of them, even Mundungus, whom he had tried to strangle the last time they had met.
(JKR, Hallows, p 46)




Following a draught of polyjuice:

"I'm George," said the twin at whom Moody was pointing. "Can't you even tell us apart when we're Harry?"
(JKR, Hallows, p 52)




"Pathetic," [Fred] told George. "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go for holey?"
(JKR, Hallows, p 75)

On seven

My Zee is neither the oldest son, nor the youngest. He's the middlest of the middles, prone to being bypassed and overlooked. Still, he's my most compassionate child, most expressive. And as guileless as they come.



Even now, he bears evidence of strong character: empathetic, honest, loyal, just. Coupled with an infectious laugh and a sizeable dose of theatrics, it's unthinkable to not adore him.



Happy seventh birthday, Zee. You make my heart spill over.

we have a winner

...and I didn't even have to wash out a coffee cup. I borrowed Morgan's link to this handy dandy random number generator, and the lucky haiku writer is...



Melissa, I'll e-mail you today w/a brief questionnaire that will help me find the perfect prize for ya. :)

Thanks, everyone, for participating in my oddities. I appreciate you so.

personal weirdness and whatnot

1. I am losing hair at an alarming rate. Like we're talking hundreds of hairs a day. I couldn't possibly be growing them back that quickly, could I? So I may very well be bald by next week Friday. If you spot me in a fedora, you'll know why.

2. I've recently arrived at the conclusion that I require a lot of sleep. If I'm not in bed by 10, it honestly doesn't matter what time I get up the next morning--6 am, 9:30, I sleepwalk through the entire day.

I think I'm turning into my uncle, who survives on steamed broccoli, EVOO, and reruns of Rachael Ray, and hits the sack each night at nine. And who has no means of retribution to this post since he has yet to navigate the "leave a comment" feature.

On second thought, he might disinherit me. Or worse: he might deliberately read the Harry Potter book really slowly. I take it all back.

3. Speaking of my favorite teenage wizard, I am swimming around in melancholy as I come to terms with this being the end of the series. No more grand adventures. No more sneaking through Hogwarts at night, no more of Peeve's rhyming inanity, no more sharp retorts from Hermione. What ever shall I do?

Besides get a life, I mean. What else ever shall I do?

4. Still speaking of Mr. Potter, I am dying a slow and excruciating death because everyone I know insists on reading the book in the most exasperatingly rational way, which is to say, just a few chapters a day. Could you not just stop working, eating, and sleeping? Priorities, people. I'm hankering for a good debriefing discussion.

5. I really like this picture. It's just so green it makes me happy.



PS Last call for haikus! I'll pop all your names into a hat (or a sock or a coffee cup, whatever's handy) and draw out a winner tomorrow morning.

the artist within

...emerges once again. She looks an awful lot like this.



And when one has this much talent, it's a shame not to be able to wear it once in a while. (Note: purple Sharpie is always an excellent choice.)



So it appears we're still in the baroque period. Note the characteristic exaggerated sense of motion and strong detail, resulting in a tone of exuberance and grandeur.



Soon to be followed by the Rococo and Neoclassical movements. Do stay tuned.

haiku thursday

So Thursday seems like a good day for a haiku. Why not?


(Inspired by Window's error screen:)
Yesterday it worked.
Today it is not working.
Windows is like that.

from Funny Haiku's

Also

Haikus are easy
but sometimes they don’t make sense
Refrigerator

purportedly by Maurizio


Make up a haiku in the comments or an e-mail, and I'll pick a winner and mail you something. It could be a good something. Or it could just be something. One never knows on haiku Thursday.

Chaos theory at work

My house is begging to be cleaned. Don't get me wrong, I mop, scrub, sweep, and disinfect the place like crazy...but still, with six people living here, it seems that everything gets displaced or rearranged faster than you can say "Merry Maids." And when I'm finding Legos in the Tupperware cabinet, or one measly race car (of two thousand) in its designated box, I am not a happy mom.

Odd, isn't it, that I'm the only resident bothered by this? I would like to smile and wave at the clutter as I walk by, really I would. But it gets under my skin and messes with my sanity. Oy.

So once again, it's time to purge, clean, and reorganize. Every basket on every shelf in every closet of every room.

Hmmmn.

Guess I'll see y'all next summer.

I scream, you scream

We all scream for mustaches.

my daughter, the genius

This is my little gal, drawing a series of L's for the first letter of her name. We've never deliberately taught her to do this, but she knows L is "hers" and is overjoyed that she can replicate it. (Note: if your kid could recite the periodic table or some such similar nonsense at age 2, don't tell me about it or we really can't be friends.)

And as you can also see, she is sporting big-girl undies. They're super cute, even if they are two sizes too big and result in the occasional plumber look.

My, but they grow up fast.

hitting the books in style

Get a load of these beauties:



We had the pleasure of modeling these back-to-school bows for Ang, and I just had to spotlight them for a minute here. The vivid primary colors go with nearly every schoolish outfit.

We've purchased bows from Angela in the past, so I can tell you first-hand that the quality is impeccable.

Go on, take a gander.

The OOTP review

Well, it was short.

Or at least it felt that way to me. But I suppose that's what happens when one must cram a vast amount of story into two hours of movie: you end up with the Cliffs Notes version of the novel.

Still (or maybe because of it), the drama/tension level sustained a formidable momentum, the action scenes and special effects were breathtaking, and the few quieter moments felt all the sweeter...like coming up for air in the midst of all that violent chaos.

I do feel like the inherent themes, the inner tension, the character growth of the novel went largely unplumbed. The movie felt skinny, if that makes any sense. Skinny, but beautiful.

Either way, a definite must-see in my book.

bugger

There's a fly in my house. He (yes, he. all insects are apparently male in my book.) insists on buzzing in circular flight patterns around my head.

Honestly, I don't care that there's a fly in my house. He just needs to be in another room.

Secretly, though, I'm fearing that there's actually a small army of flies in my house, and most of them are in other rooms. (Does this scenario ever happen to anyone besides me? I swat a fly. But then another one zooms by, so I nail him. And then another one zooms by. And another. Until I end up with a dead baker's dozen where I thought we only had two flies.)

Hmmmn.

On a completely different note, I'm going to see the Harry Potter movie tonight! Yeeeeeeee! (Cue marching band and stream of baton-twirling girls.) I promise to return with a full report first thing tomorrow.

Um. Not that I'm excited or anything.

Spidey & Co

The day was hot, the water deliciously cold.



{Irresistible side note:

So the directions explicitly warn that this slide may only be used on a lawn that is completely flat and level, free of debris, twigs, rocks, bumps, depressions, etc. Um, yeah.

If you own a lawn like that, either:

a. you are a golf course

and/or

b. you are not in this lifetime letting a Spider Man 3 Web Slinger Water Slide within a 2 mile radius of your aforementioned lawn.

Who writes these things, anyway?}

A few more

(I especially like the "twirling with Daddy" shot.)

Um...hi?

Any closet Harry Potter fans out there? You know, those of us who resemble innocuous, balanced individuals on the outside, but could secretly tell you the remaining time till book 7 arrives (9 days, 14 hours, 22 minutes)? Well, peek on out for a moment and chat with me.

So whaddayathink? Snape: good or evil? Who will die? How will the backstory on James and Lily flesh out?

I'm getting jittery here, so even if you've never heard of veritaserum, post or email me something Harry-ish anyway.

9 days, 14 hours, 20 minutes.

snippets of our week

a little fishing



poptart mornings




rainy day billiards




remnants of the day

home again

More photos soon.

this is the life

It's half past nine,

and dusk is settling in.

The lake is a dance of liquid silver.

My only company:

a treeful of scolding birds

and a smattering of fireflies.