Felt like a Monday

I had a lousy day. I won't go into details. It's not important. But it really was a lousy day. The drive to work, a couple things that happened at work, going to the doctor. But the really kicker was when I came home ready to relax for a bit....

I went to put on my favorite capris, the ones that are still nice enough to wear to work if it is going to be hot, but comfy enough to just bang around the house. The ones that go with everything, are so easy to just slip on when I want to get comfy in the late spring like today. The ones that actually fit just right and actually look pretty good on me. Yep, those.

Well, I evidently did just what I said I wasn't going to do, which was put them in the dryer. Now, I'm not a complete ignoramus - I do know that if something is 100% cotton, one might not want to put things in the dryer for fear of shrinkage. I try not to dry things that I really love because of just this fear. I swore when I put them in the laundry the other day that I would pull them out and hang dry them, even if it meant I had to iron them, and even though they are not 100% cotton. I'm not going to be taken in by security in whatever percentage of the capris is not cotton. Nope, not me. I'm going to make sure they stay just as comfy as they have been for some time, just as comfy as they were all last summer. I have a hard enough time finding things to fit that I have learned this lesson the hard way. Instead of "No Soup for you!" it was "no dryer for you!"

Fast forward to a weekend where I felt lousy but then found out late on Sunday that we had a showing of the house on Monday. Some scrambling to clean, it must be admitted, did occur. Having felt lousy for several days I had not caught up on the little piles of papers or the larger piles of laundry. I whipped through a couple of loads (or maybe it was the hubby who did that), folded them and put them away so as to neaten the house and make sure the laundry area didn't look like a wreck. Somewhere in there, I put a load in the dryer, brought the load upstairs when it was done, folded it and put it away.

Fast forward to me this afternoon. The legs go into the legs of the capris, they ease up over the hips, but lo, though the button can be buttoned and the zipper can be zipped, they are too tight. Too tight in the waist, too tight in the backside. Not good. I wanted to cry. Coming on the heels of the lousy day, it was just too much. To make it harder, I could not blame this on anyone else. No unfeeling husband or recalcitrant child could be blamed for this blunder. I had no one but myself. Not a good feeling.

I did what one must on occasions like this. I put on something else, I threw the errant capris on the floor, and I called a girlfriend. I explained, complained, and was comforted. Distance from the lousy day was obtained, and entertainment was obtained from a story about her stressful week (with humor involved - don't go thinking I'm completely unfeeling!). Phew.

So the more positive side of my nature rejoices in the fact that tomorrow is, indeed, a new day and it is bound to be better than today! Thank God, indeed, for that!

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!