Ideas, inspiration and a bit of disgruntlement

I'm a bit tired of feeling lousy. One thing that is getting me down is watching very little other than HGTV. When I'm sick, I like to just watch something that doesn't require any emotional investment, and HGTV is good for that. I have a thing for makeovers, and this channel has those in abundance, every half hour. I love seeing the transformations, the character of houses, the incredible ideas that some of the homeowners and designers have. I like the budget makeover shows the best, because I can't quite understand spending tens of thousands of dollars on a bedroom or bathroom. I love to see what they do with very little money (and usually a lot of paint).

I have noticed, however, that watching all these shows does make for a bit of discontentment with what I have. I am sure this is exaserbated by having the house on the market, and thus wanting something more in the first place. Having all these ideas and no money, and this weekend, no energy, to do them is a bit frustrating.

I have a floor lamp that needs some help. My mother-in-law gave it to use when we got married, something she picked up at a yard sale, because we needed a lamp. It's in sad shape, but was probably once a brass type finish. I had a brainstorm one day, and thought painting it too look like one of those wrought iron lamps you see in catalogs might work. I have the paint, but haven't had a chance to get it outside and paint it.

I also see all the little things that should really be done (especially if we get some traffic through the house to go along with the drop in price). Bits of painting outside, a bit of organizing inside. So frustrating to not be up to doing it. But I am committed to taking it easy today so I don't feel worse tomorrow.

So I must watch myself and my feelings of disgruntlement (which are natural, really, considering how we've had so little interest in the house) and discontent, be content with today, and hope I don't dream about dining room chairs again, like I did this morning! :-)

Shop, sniff, shop, sniff

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a lovely day, despite waking up to the news that we had no power. It came back on just as I was leaving the house! Of course. I met my mom in Kittery and we had lunch, chatted for a long time, then shopped. Naturally it was the last store we went into, 20 minutes before they closed, that I found some clothes for myself! It was nice to have the money for Mother's Day so I could spend it on myself without guilt!

The weather was very nice, though quite breezy. Quite a change from the crazy thunderstorm we had last night. Maggie and I went to Kaylyn's dance recital yesterday afternoon, stopped here at home to pick up the boys, then went to the James and Danielle's for pizza, a birthday celebration for DJ, and a piano recital! In the middle of it all, the rain came pouring down, then stopped just as suddenly. It was nice to sit down and eat and talk with friends!

My cold is still hanging around, hence the sniffing while shopping. Hopefully tomorrow it will be better.

You're feeling very relaxed.....

Last year for Mother's Day, hubby gave me a gift certificate for a one hour massage. In turn, for Father's Day, I gave him the same thing. He has had that massage and a few more since, and until today I hadn't had any.

Today I finally redeemed that gift certificate and had the massage. It was lovely. I have had massages before, but the place I used to go to isn't there anymore. This was my first time at this place. The therapist was very nice, and really listened to what I said needed work, etc. She found that my hands were really tight - no doubt all that knitting and crocheting I do, and even gave me suggestions for how to stretch those hands out each day.

When I first got out, I felt kind of lousy (I think because it had ended with me face down, which wasn't ideal with my cold!), thought relaxed. Now I feel pretty darn good!

So last year's Mother's Day gift was finally used, and I hope I feel just as relaxed and refreshed tomorrow as I do today!

Forsythia

My forsythia are just in the middle of blooming, as well as my tulips and daffodils. I also have a ton of violets that have overrun part of the flower garden! It is amazing how Danielle's garden is about two weeks ahead of mine, even though it's just down the road. The front of her house gets so much more sun, since she's on the other side of the road.

The apple tree would be blooming right now. I miss it when I look out the window. It was a casualty of the ice storm, and was just recently taken way. I loved looking out the kitchen window and seeing it's blossoms, hearing the bees investigate it.

The leaves on the trees have really popped in the last few days, and we've had enough rain in the last few days that everything has turned green. I know my husband thinks he'd love living in North or South Carolina, but I would miss seeing all these changes of seasons! And if only the black flies would go away, I'd be able to enjoy my little porch! Gotta love life in New Hampshire! :-)

Bleh

Maggie has a cold, and I think I'm on my way there, too. Very annoying.

FIrst Communion

Our little girl is growing up! She had her First Communion on Sunday! It was a lovely day, and she did very well, despite being a little nervous. We had a lovely brunch here afterward, and I think everyone had a nice time.

The dress was a great deal, bought for a friend's daughter, whom it didn't fit, at a yard sale. So we bought it from her. It included the headpiece. It was a bit more elaborate than I would have bought if I had gone out to shop for one, so she lucked out! I did go buy the little bolero jacket, as the dress itself is sleeveless, and I didn't care for that style for First Communion. It was nice that the three girls in the class had very different styles of dress on (though they all had bolero jackets, oddly enough!).

The funny, but not so funny at the time, thing was that on Saturday night as I was getting things ready, I wanted to gently press the veil a bit to get the wrinkles out. Not a smart move. I melted a hole in the veil. I cried. Then I called Danielle. "Hang on, let me think....hmm....let me go look in my hope chest and I'll call you back in five minutes." Just when I was wondering if it had been five minutes, she knocked on my door, her own First Communion veil in hand. We adjourned to the basement. Surgery ensued. The glue gun came out. The original veil was torn from its moorings. The new-old veil was fiddled with, pressed (without melting), folded, trimmed a tiny bit, and glued into place. I sighed with great relief. I went to bed.

My daughter hardly noticed any difference in the morning and made no comment or complaint (I sighed again). After Mass and pictures and all, we came back to the house where Danielle (and her hubby, it must be said) had started the coffee, taken off plastic wrap, warmed up the oven and various and sundry other preparations I was unable to do. Danielle brought out her album with pictures of her First Communion and we made a startling discovery: her mother had given her the wrong veil to put in her hope chest! We had made free with her sister's veil! Danielle consoled me with the thought that her sister would probably not need it for her own daughter, and I told her that if she should ever want it, she could have the entire (improved) headpiece.

So all in all, a very nice day. We missed Jonathan's sisters (who had evidently written down the wrong day) and my brother (who was at a conference for work) and their families, but it did make for fewer people jammed in our little house! Still, family never minds that kind of thing!

Maybe, not so much....

For the last week I've been thinking about my little guy and realizing that the questions I had are not really all answered by an ADHD diagnosis. Luckily, it seems the team at the child development center felt the same way. Someone will be coming for a classroom observation tomorrow, and after she reports back to the team, we will decide if we need to go see the developmental pediatrician. So that makes me feel better.

The assignments for case managers for next year in my school have been made, and there are no openings. *sigh*. I am disappointed, because it is a great place to work, and I'd love to do special education there, and under that particular supervisor. My current position will be available to me for next year, and it may be that I will have to take it, but getting a teaching position will certainly pay much more!

We are sort of in a Catch-22 situation. We would be able to afford a bigger house if I get a teaching position, but we won't qualify for the loan if I sign the contract for a job before we get the loan! I know all these little things will work themselves out, but I have a hard time waiting. It could all be a moot point if the house doesn't sell.

I never really thought of myself as a control freak until an evening a couple month (maybe more) ago with Danielle and Janabeth. We were talking in the car on the way home from a girls' night out, as we are wont to do (it almost makes we wish we had longer drives home from wherever we go to eat), and started talking about control freaks. Some comment Janabeth made (and it wasn't an accusation or anything like that!) made me think that perhaps, in a way, I am one. I like things done the way I want them done, I sometimes wonder why people don't do things the way that I do them, and I have a hard time delegating (not that I have to do much of that these days, but still). I have to keep my mouth closed a lot in the 6th grade room because there are ways I would do things if I had my druthers, but it isn't my classroom, and I'm not the one with the elementary certification.

Maybe this is why I have such a hard time with the house being on the market and the job hunt I now have to engage in, and so forth. I'm a control freak. Or maybe not a control freak. A control nut, maybe? Is a nut less obsessive than a freak? And if I am, how do I let go of that and let things happen the way they are supposed to happen? lol. I never thought of myself as particularly impatient, but perhaps I've been kinder to myself than I should have been! :-)