TRANSFORMATION TUESDAY

[helia]

Hello all. Peeking in. Life has been very full here the last month or so. Not sure what you would like to know and what you wouldn't like to know. . . Without details, this past month has been full of: travels, houseguests, dinner guests (beyond the usual), field hockey has started up for dd13, more than usual moms group business - leadership meetings and outside coordination, 6 medical appts. in a month (no one is sick, just check ups - and a couple fillings at the dentist), my Hebrew final project, the ongoing remodelling project that is taking much longer than anticipated, ds' college decision. . . . And the next month or so is looking pretty full too as we head into the end of the year frenzy: concerts - 5 between dd13 and ds, AP exams for ds and dd16, the beginning of graduation parties and open houses, school banquets for seniors, graduation itself, 8th grade graduation - more minor, my parents' 25th wedding anniversary party - another trip + some coordination in June. They changed the date of the anniversary party so now I'm not sure we can all make it. Then, dd13 is off with the 8th graders to Washington DC for a week - and I may join dh on a work-related trip to Hawaii that same week. . . . .I will be exhausted by mid-June and ready for a break. *phew* On a day to day basis, it has not been unsustainable, though. I just take each day as it comes. When I got going with my Hebrew project, dh stepped up with helping around the house for a couple weeks. He was so supportive!

I do peek in on you all from time to time. It is nice to know life is humming along here.

Transformation. . . I always need transformation in my life on so many different levels. I'm going to transform this gray afternoon into a positive productive one! I've already had lunch, taken care of some moms group business, and reclaimed the kitchen; now, I'm going to do some tidying around the house before taking dd13 to her oboe lesson. I think ds and dh are going on their dinner date tonight. The girls and I will eat leftovers. This morning was taken up with a dental appt. for ds and then a haircut appt. for myself.

[DeeClutter]

I'm back home with gd (have been for nearly an hour. She tore the house apart looking for her computer ("Someone knows where my computer is." -Not me. Her Mom put it away last night when she didn't take care of it.) I'll let dd deal with it. So far she hasn't asked for my phone -she's not getting it anyway. Already talked to dd about that.

Hoping shirts come today for DS-A. Think DD & DSonIL have about 6 dozen to do for him (front & back), 9 shirts for dh and she's doing some Onesie's with DS-A's lawncare logo on them for the new baby. Not much time left.

Texted dd to see if she'd like a nice garden salad with chicken for dinner. So she and I will have salads with everything in them. DSonIL & GD will have grilled chicken and something.

[OKay]

Helia - it is so good to see a CI from you! GREAT job on keeping up with all the family activities so well.

**sniff** **sniff**
We are saying good-bye to the sippy cups. Saying good-bye to 3 years of daily washing & preparing bottles & sippy cups. Saying good-bye to packing sippy cups wherever we go.

YES!! LO has graduated to just using "big" people cups.

[DeeClutter]

Another mile marker, Okay. Sniffing with you. They grow up all to fast.

GD just finally came and asked for my phone to call Mom -I'm sure to ask where her computer is. The answer was no which I'm sure I'll be paying for. Oh well.

[Nancy]

We have a showing sat. @ 11:00 A.M. The realty office called the Realtor is going to call with some "feed back" about the basement tonight. I'm assuming some thing is not good enough for someone. ~sigh~ I"m going to let H. handle that call.

I've swept the drive way it's a bit cool to do much out side today.

Listening to the pres. speak to the troops on his surprise visit.

[Elizabeth]

See you tomorrow. I'm off to Girls' Night Out.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I'm in from my annual over-eating experience. We were at the annual taste of area restaurants fundraiser and each sample is so small, one can eat way too much, way too quickly. But it was all very good.

The special treat for me was running into two of my daycare kids. They are so tall!!! (Both over 6'.) I had them for 7 years, from 3 - 10 for the younger one, and 5 - 12 for the older one. She's now the Sales Manager for the convention centre where the fundraiser was held and her 'little' brother is now doing programming for an electrical company. Their mom was there too. I see the dad more frequently because he lives in the village still.

[Harmony]

Nancy, don't let the real estate people bother you. They have no idea how we live, how we struggle to have everything "perfect". Someone will eventually love your house the way it is.

OKay, all things come around! My getting-bigger-all-the-time grandsons love drinking out of the plastic cups with the attached straws up the side. And the oldest is 12!

Tonight was my meeting at church. Humbling experience. Evidently I was supposed to produce some kind of minutes of the last meeting, even though I wasn't there. I guess I should have called around and got the facts and wrote them up. These ladies are so "together" - or at least they appear so - and I feel so inadequate. Well, it is a learning experience, being part of this, for sure. I did write up tonight's minutes and email to our head lady.

[Nancy]

Harmony thanks SO much for saying that you have no idea how much I needed to read what you wrote!

It's 8:36 no phone call yet from the reator with the feed back about the basement. I'm not going to worry about that. As I can't do anything about it if it is structural. If not then it should be easy enough to fix. But H. is fit to be tied b/c she has waited so late to call that's just rude in my opinion. Probably just the excuse to try to get us to change the price to make it pop up on their listing. The good news it was not about the upstairs so I've been doing okay with that! LOL!

Dd & sil sold the spec. house they just built so at least some one has good news!

Dinner is over I got my walk in went to see the goats with dgd this afternoon. H. and dgson did reading and some of the math home work for the week.

[lucylee]

Harmony! Ditto all that --

These ladies are so "together" - or at least they appear so - and I feel so inadequate.

Are we performing the same task for the same church??? Wow.
We are definitely working on the same "card" tonight! --

I just finished typing minutes from our meeting Sunday and sent them to dsisil to proofread.
Actually, my meeting Sunday was fine. There were only 8 of us there! One was my dsisil, and the other three ladies were all very sweet people, including a former student and a fellow teacher. It was a good group.

Also, worked on a baby shower invite list for dcousin who is trying to get the ball rolling on this. * sigh *
I have about 16 names. We plan to just put an open invitation in the church bulletin for church ladies, so no one feels obligated.
Is it a Southern thing, or are guest lists an impossible task everywhere???
My 16 names include my aunts & first cousins/cousin's wives, daughters & dil's of dh's cousins who are putting this affair on, one of cousin's wife who does not attend our church, and my three friends who helped with ds/ddil's reception we had two years ago. There's a small problem here b/c one of the hostesses does not speak to one of the other family members... but I figure I have to pretend ignorance of this situation and treat all equally.
One of my three friends is also a third cousin, so I am debating sending her mom an invitation. However, her mom is not in good health and probably cannot remember the last time she saw ds! So I am thinking no invitation.
Also -- and here's where it gets tricky -- this third cousin's dad is a first cousin to my late dfil. If I invite her mom, then I have to invite all her dad's sisters/sisters-in-law. I have worried for two years because I left out his sisters * but invited his brothers * to the reception. * Can't possibly explain the brain lapse that caused THAT! * Sooo... I am thinking no invitation to ANY of these people, except my dcousin, who has also been a close friend since birth. As I said, she helped with the reception, sang at my wedding, hosted my lingerie party, and has been a dear, dear friend longer than I can remember.
Same with my one of my other friends, whom I rarely see or talk to, but who is one of those people who is always there -- bridal attendant, she & her mom hosted my bridal tea, she helped w/ds's reception, and was one of the first people bringing food to dmil when dfil passed away. But... no invitation to her mom, who is also in poor health?
Third friend is the only co-worker I am thinking I should invite. Other coworkers are dear friends, and they LOVE ds, but where do you draw the line? The one friend I'm inviting is the only coworker I ever talk to much outside of school, and she and I have been very close for over 20 years. She helped w/reception for ds/ddil, too. Others are very close, too... but I don't know... as I said, where do you draw the line when you start w/coworkers? So I'm thinking no invitation there, except for the one friend.
Dmil says, "If people want to give you a gift, they will; you don't have to have a party and ask for one." But on the other hand, dmil would be VERY upset if church ladies did NOT host a shower. Go figure.
The other names are children of one of the hostesses, whom I will also be buying baby gifts for this summer and who have grown up w/ds, and another dfriend who was mentioned as a possible hostess, so I don't want to omit her.
Does this sound like a logical way of determining who to include/exclude? * sheesh *

And y'all KNOW... the NEXT hurdle to cross is, although I want a good turn out, I certainly do not want so many that I have to worry six months about these people getting thank you notes, which is certain to be my NEXT concern. Y'all remember two years ago, right? * sheesh *

Anyway. This is ALL I have accomplished tonight. I worked 2.5 hours late, which made for a 10 hour day at school, and that was just about plenty, I can tell you. And NOOOO, the school paper is STILL not complete, and I'm not at all certain it will get to the printer tomorrow. But we just do what we can, don't we?

Lots of eye-rolling tonight, I realize. I'm going to go to bed before my eyes roll right out of my head.

Who needs a transformation? Oh my... I definitely need a transformation.

Editing to say: Walked away the pounds 15 minutes. Ta-da!
Now... bedtime.