how'd ya discover that you ask

If you have someone put a golf ball in their hand and then they roll it on your back as a type of massage. Yeah. That's nice.

a simple prayer

Dear Lord,
Please keep your arm around my shoulders
and your hand over my mouth.
Amen.

haiku for a friend

You probably remember learning how to write haiku poems in grade school. The first line has five syllables, the second has seven, the last line again has five. Laura always writes "bad haiku" on Fridays. Hers always give me a chuckle and I will occasionally contribute.
This morning I awoke thinking about a friend of mine and immediately (why, I don't know?) there was a haiku spilling out of my thoughts. So, here 'tis.

You know who you are.

Beautiful doesn't come close

To describe your looks.

*****************

Peach is your best friend.

Your new haircut is smashing.

I'm happy for you!

concept: spring cleaning

This is sad and embarrassing to admit, but I am getting so tired of my living room and the furniture in it and the color of the walls in my dining room and the way my butler's pantry is wasted space. I want one of those houses from the pages of a magazine where there is only "staged" clutter such as a pair of flip flops near an ottoman or a glass of wine and a half eaten cracker on a table near the couch. My reality is that there are shoes everywhere (admittedly I'm the worst about it), the dining room table is covered with papers, and while there may be half eaten crackers, they are usually near an upside down sippy cup.
I know it's ridiculous to even worry about it. On one hand, I love things that stay the same. Like when I visit my grandparents' home, things rarely change there. The furniture stays in the same arrangement, the pictures hang in their respective places. The guest rooms are painted the same color as always. The sheets on one of the beds, the ones that have always gone with the bed in there, are so dreamy. If you ask me what the softest thing in the world is, I'd take you to their house and let you feel those sheets. It is comforting to be greeted by things that are consistent.
On the other hand, in my own home, I spend so much time within these four walls, looking at the same amount of clutter that seems to accumulate in no time flat, vacuuming the same floors, moving the same furniture around to clean under. Dusting (occasionally) the same surfaces. It's all so UNexciting and I want lotsa change.
I understand that I sound like a spoiled brat and I'll get over it all..., but to do so, I really have to be honest, and see it all written down like this. I guess that's why the concept of "spring cleaning" was invented - to give sad, tired, hausfraus like me a fresh look at her nest.

a little slice of heaven for my sweet middle child

Well, just in case the sun shone a little bit brighter for you today I know why. Number three, my precious girl, who is as tender as baby lettuce, whose shoulders wilt at the drop of a hat, and who used to meet each sunrise with a smile as big as all outdoors but sadly notsomuch anymore (jaded by life as the middle child) began horseback riding lessons this afternoon.
The lesson began this evening at six. It takes about 40 minutes to get out to the stable. She kept counting down the minutes until it was time to leave. She was so adorable in her black t-shirt, jeans, and black cowboy hat (that's "cowgirl hat" for any of you who might be steeped in political correctness). I took a picture of her with my cell phone while I was driving and haven't looked yet to see if it turned out well or not.
She had a BLAST. Her instructor, a friend of mine, did a fabulous job of teaching her each thing, from horse safety to being comfortable atop the horse.
The greatest thing for me though, was the whole way home. On the phone with my mom, who basically lived at the stables when she was this age, she left no detail out, from the hoof cleaning to the final dismount. She held out her hands as if she were still holding the reins and told mom all about how she made the horse go left and then right. She wiggled around in the front seat of the car as she described how she got in and out of the saddle. Just in case mom could see through the phone lines, I suppose. Adorable!
I am so thrilled that we have the opportunity to allow this animal-lovin' girl, whose favorite animal is horse to learn to ride. What scares me is not that she is going to fall head over heels into all-things-equestrian, but that I am going to have to become like Black Bart and hold up a few Wells Fargo wagons to be able to pay for it all!

for moms over forty

Two words:
Always. Infinity.

caution: clean floors ahead

Thanks for recommending a Miele to me, Rachel. This thing is phenomenal on our wood floors. I'm just hoping it will spur on a whole 'lotta cleaning this Spring (and beyond).

ps- Ten year warranties rock!

From their site: Miele is a German manufacturer of high quality domestic appliances and machines for commercial applications. The company was founded more than 108 years ago in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann and has always been a family-owned, family-run company.Miele aims to manufacture the highest-quality domestic appliances and commercial equipment in the world and to be seen by markets worldwide as providing an absolutely top-class household product.In the words of our founding fathers, Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann, "Success is only possible in the long term if one is totally and utterly convinced of the quality of one's products." Therefore, continuous innovation is the foundation of our business success.The customer, for whom we provide first-class products and services, is at the center of attention. Thanks to this company philosophy which focuses on the dynamic development of quality and technology, the Miele brand is now identified with unsurpassed product quality.