Sunday, July 30, 2006
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
That's my girl
Tonight, in an effort to finalize the itinerary of our upcoming road-trip to SE Arizona, I pulled out all the guide books and pamphlets I have been using as resources. Ivy took a seat next to me and began perusing her favorite guidebook, the one that has tons of photos. She must've read for half an hour, silently, and once in a while she would point out a picture to me. She pointed out a photo of Kartchner Cavern, and I told her we would be visiting there on our trip. She looked at it with more earnest, and after a few minutes, she closed the book and said, "I love going on adventures. When I am grown up, I am going to travel alllllll over the world!". I told her that sounded wonderful and that I hoped I could go with her once in a while, if I wasn't too old.
I am so thrilled for her, and pleased that she has a sense of adventure and a bit of the wanderlust, but there was also a teeny bit of wistfulness going on inside me. I think it just struck me as precocious, to hear my six year old (okay, she's almost seven!) express such a grown-up desire.
I am so thrilled for her, and pleased that she has a sense of adventure and a bit of the wanderlust, but there was also a teeny bit of wistfulness going on inside me. I think it just struck me as precocious, to hear my six year old (okay, she's almost seven!) express such a grown-up desire.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Construction update
I haven't been updating anyone on the construction project, but I have been taking lots of pictures. Despite the bumpy start (thanks to the City's no-leeway-for-common-sense ordinance which delayed & downsized our project significantly!), it is going extremely well! I am so happy with our contractor. They leave the worksite so incredibly neat and tidy at the end of every day! All of their staff is quite personable, friendly, professional, and articulate. I think they are part Amish, they are working so quickly! We have gone from slab to framing and now have a window and the sliding-glass door installed! The roofers will be adding the shingles to the roof tomorrow. The wall into our home will be broken through in the very near future - - as soon as our new back door arrives and is installed. We've already cleared out the living room and the dining area. I think opening up that space is going to make a huge difference. I am so excited every time I realize that Thanksgiving and Christmas at our home is going to be so different this year! The girls have already checked out the chimney-hole and decided Santa is going to have to use some magic to get through it. I just really hope there will come a day when we don't look at it and wistfully remember the original plan and the missing (denied?) square footage.
Here are some photos:
Here are some photos:
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Decisions, decisions, decisions...
I have a love-hate relationship with times like this! I love that I have so many choices before me, but I hate that I have so many choices before me!
Warped Tour? Nickel Creek? Ticket to Ride? LoveSexy? Montana in the Summer and Tucson in the Winter instead of Tucson in the Summer? or Montana in the distant future? Verde or Ochre (tile in the new room)? Should I paint the kitchen cupboards?
John keeps churning out the lists. Last weekend we picked out the outdoor lights. We didn't completely agree, and I got a bit nippy. Sometimes he thinks he's being funny, and I'm just not very receptive. The construction is on hold this week because the job foreman is having some knee surgery. Bummer. I can't wait until the interior wall is knocked out!
I miss Largo. I miss hanging out with Jenny at Largo. I am looking forward to a weekend at the X-Games (Aug 5/6) with Dylan, my dad, and my sister and her husband. I got the most incredible hotel room rate in Hermosa Beach. I think Orbitz had a boo-boo price on their website. Cha-ching!
I let Dylan go to the Warped Tour without me today. Big step.
That's about it for now. I just needed to ramble for a bit.
~Lisa
Warped Tour? Nickel Creek? Ticket to Ride? LoveSexy? Montana in the Summer and Tucson in the Winter instead of Tucson in the Summer? or Montana in the distant future? Verde or Ochre (tile in the new room)? Should I paint the kitchen cupboards?
John keeps churning out the lists. Last weekend we picked out the outdoor lights. We didn't completely agree, and I got a bit nippy. Sometimes he thinks he's being funny, and I'm just not very receptive. The construction is on hold this week because the job foreman is having some knee surgery. Bummer. I can't wait until the interior wall is knocked out!
I miss Largo. I miss hanging out with Jenny at Largo. I am looking forward to a weekend at the X-Games (Aug 5/6) with Dylan, my dad, and my sister and her husband. I got the most incredible hotel room rate in Hermosa Beach. I think Orbitz had a boo-boo price on their website. Cha-ching!
I let Dylan go to the Warped Tour without me today. Big step.
That's about it for now. I just needed to ramble for a bit.
~Lisa
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Always count your blessings
Happy Independence Day.
It is very early in the morning, and I have a lot on my mind. Dylan has another friend whose father is dying of cancer, and was told he had just one more week. I'm not sure how this is affecting Dylan. He has been much more contemplative about life and death lately. I suppose it is a normal response, and I am very thankful that he will at least instigate conversations about it. He still does those very normal teenage things that can really grate on me, and when he crosses the line I bite his head off. But I'm pretty sure we are normal and good.
One of my supervisors had a tragic day. His foster son, who he has cared for since the boy was three days old, was run over and killed while the family was picnicking at the local lake. Just horrible. They were in the process of adopting the toddler. It is just so very sad. I was a bit surprised by some reactions to this story. A few people expressed anger over someone not properly watching the child. I am intrigued by how people deal with uncomfortable news. Some people actually have to blame someone in order to make sense of it all. Anyone who is a parent knows that these things can happen in the blink of an eye, and you don't have to be particularly neglectful! Sometimes, it really is just the wrong place at the wrong time, but the results are so final and so irreversible that we can't comprehend it.
My mom's uncle is in his final days of fighting lung cancer. I was amazed to hear that the family was still pursuing chemo treatments, and I hate to sound coldhearted and callous, but he has so many other health issues on top of the cancer that it seems futile and cruel to me. But how can you tell someone to stop hoping and just let go?
So death looms around us. I guess it always does, but it is much more noticeable right now. I actually spent time last week making a list of who should be a pallbearer for my casket when I die. Later, I remembered that I want to be cremated, so it is moot. I can be so morbid, but I also want to be involved in how I am remembered.
John and I met for lunch today. The tile place was the original rendezvous point, but they were closed. Bummer. I told him how scared I am to realize that our kids are growing up so fast, and this parenting of the young phase of our lives will be over sooner than we realize.
Our construction project is coming along swimmingly. Now it gets to the hard part - - choosing paint, tile, etc. The stuff we have to surround ourselves with.
Okay, I'd better get some sleep. In just a few hours, it will be time to let freedom ring!
I love July 4th. I love being an American. God bless America.
~L
It is very early in the morning, and I have a lot on my mind. Dylan has another friend whose father is dying of cancer, and was told he had just one more week. I'm not sure how this is affecting Dylan. He has been much more contemplative about life and death lately. I suppose it is a normal response, and I am very thankful that he will at least instigate conversations about it. He still does those very normal teenage things that can really grate on me, and when he crosses the line I bite his head off. But I'm pretty sure we are normal and good.
One of my supervisors had a tragic day. His foster son, who he has cared for since the boy was three days old, was run over and killed while the family was picnicking at the local lake. Just horrible. They were in the process of adopting the toddler. It is just so very sad. I was a bit surprised by some reactions to this story. A few people expressed anger over someone not properly watching the child. I am intrigued by how people deal with uncomfortable news. Some people actually have to blame someone in order to make sense of it all. Anyone who is a parent knows that these things can happen in the blink of an eye, and you don't have to be particularly neglectful! Sometimes, it really is just the wrong place at the wrong time, but the results are so final and so irreversible that we can't comprehend it.
My mom's uncle is in his final days of fighting lung cancer. I was amazed to hear that the family was still pursuing chemo treatments, and I hate to sound coldhearted and callous, but he has so many other health issues on top of the cancer that it seems futile and cruel to me. But how can you tell someone to stop hoping and just let go?
So death looms around us. I guess it always does, but it is much more noticeable right now. I actually spent time last week making a list of who should be a pallbearer for my casket when I die. Later, I remembered that I want to be cremated, so it is moot. I can be so morbid, but I also want to be involved in how I am remembered.
John and I met for lunch today. The tile place was the original rendezvous point, but they were closed. Bummer. I told him how scared I am to realize that our kids are growing up so fast, and this parenting of the young phase of our lives will be over sooner than we realize.
Our construction project is coming along swimmingly. Now it gets to the hard part - - choosing paint, tile, etc. The stuff we have to surround ourselves with.
Okay, I'd better get some sleep. In just a few hours, it will be time to let freedom ring!
I love July 4th. I love being an American. God bless America.
~L
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