being 30something

new loves from October Afternoon...

mini market stickers...

 

flashcard books...

 

makes me want to stay home & scrapbook. 

these three girls...

made me love my camera again. 

A couple of months ago, Hope and I headed downtown with her bff, Sarah, for our first senior photo session. I captured photos like this...

 

and this...

 

and we were all pretty pleased. Then one night, a week or two later, I was at yoga. I looked around the studio and thought that it would be a great place for a photo shoot. My yoga instructor gave me the owners name & number, and suggested that I give her a call. I did...and she was more than happy to let us use the studio. We spent a few hours there, and came away with...

 

and...

 

again...pretty darn pleased! A few days after, I was talking to another mom at a soccer game. She mentioned that her daughter was less than thrilled with the studio photos that they had done. I offered to help, so we connected that weekend...

 

 

I have to admit...having such beautiful subjects makes it easier to get good portraits! 

(if you're on facebook, you can see additional shots of each...)

inspiration (& motivation)

Looking for some inspiration for indoor activities as the weather turns cooler? (settle down...I mean crafty activities) Be sure to check out...

Write.Click.Scrapbook - the November Gallery is all about family stories. Serious, funny...stories. My layout will surely make my Mom chuckle...the Cat Fork. 

ella publishing - the November e-zine Scrapbook Ellaments is up! (thanks for the reminder Lain!)

Shutter Sisters - I forget, sometimes, that photography can be so intoxicating. This site reminds me.

Fiskars Crafts - It's a Project-a-Day month - inspiration every single day. The best part? It's free!

and, if you need a little motivation, head over to Big Picture Scrapbooking and sign up for May's newest class...Adventures in Scrapbooking: Using Kits

greeting november...

with open arms. This is new for me. November is the start of winter in these parts. Normally, it summons a sense of dread, and panic about the coming months of cold, snow, and darkness. I'm not a fan. I am forever a Cali girl.

So, I decided to make a choice yesterday, on the first day of this dreaded month. I chose to acknowledge the panic & fear (of cold/ice/snow) rather than be consumed with it. I was reading Radical Acceptance on my flight Friday. A section of the book talks about inviting fear to sit with you for a while - acknowledging that it's there, but not allowing it to overwhelm. It's worth a shot, right? 

I made two other decisions yesterday that are helping me greet this month...

*I devoted yesterday to crafting. The entire day. I didn't grocery shop, clean house, run errands...or even take a shower. I worked on assignments, edited photos, and marked things off my crafty to-do list. It may not sound relaxing...but it was so much better than trying to juggle cardstock & menu planning. 

*I ordered a light therapy box. I've been thinking about buying one for a couple of years, and never got around to it. I've been comparing reviews & checking prices for a couple of weeks, and found a great deal at Costco.com on the Philips BriteLITE. I am really excited to see what a difference it makes in my day.

Small steps...long journey. 

be good.   

uncharted territory.

In case you haven't noticed, this is the year of posts related to having a senior in high school. I make no apologies. 

We visited a college on Saturday. It's a small, VT college about 2 hours from here. As we drove into the town, I concentrated on not blinking...it's very, very small. The college itself is a state college. It's smaller than my high school. Seriously. I'm not exaggerating. 

As we toured & listened & toured some more, I was hit with a now-familiar sense of panic. I don't know how to do this. I don't have my own experience to fall back on - I moved out @ 18 into an appt with the frat boy that I later (really sooner...not later enough) married. We were both in college, but we weren't "typical" college students. I haven't done the dorm thing. I wasn't the sorority type. I didn't deal with dining halls - I had my very own stove on which to cook hamburger helper. 

So. Here I am, trying to keep an open mind. Trying not to let my own opinions (it's smaller than my high school!!!) influence Hope's opinions. I do have fellow parents of seniors (& juniors, & college aged kids) that I can turn to for advice. But really? Most of those in my "support system" have children who still can't sit in the front seat of the car. I'm alone in this one....and that sucks.

For those of you who did do the "typical" college thing - fill me in. Don't mince words. I want to know. Tell me what you loved & hated. Tell me what really happens in the dorms. Tell me about the sex, drugs, and rock & roll. 

(and then hand me a paper bag...I'm already hyperventilating)

superlatives.

Hope's senior class just finished up their yearbook voting for the superlative awards...you know, the "most" and "best" awards. Hopey was voted "most gullible" (lol)...and was in the running for "best hair" and "best smile." I emailed two of my friends with the results, and asked if they had been voted "best" or "most"...both had...and both asked the same question back. I answered..."Nope. I was invisible." 

It's probably not entirely true...the invisible part....but I was certainly invisible to the yearbook-voting committee. I suppose that we all felt invisible in some very pretty-in-pink sort of way. For me, it was a combination of things...

*I lived out of district for most of high school. I didn't hang out with friends all the time b/c I had to get back across town (either direction) for homework or dinner or work. It's the main reason that I've been determined to keep my kids in the same district from K-12. 

*I didn't discover decent hair products until at least my early 20s. Seriously...I soooo should have been a contender for best hair! 

*I never dated anyone from my high school. Clearly those fresno-high guys were my downfall...when it came to the lack of superlatives and so much more!

*I was very, very focused on Debate. As a general rule, speech geeks don't get voted for "most daring" or "most fun"...

I'd love to hear your superlative stories (and yes, I will do a "most gullible" layout for Hopey)...

senior game

Yes, I cried. And Hope said that she got teary-eyed as the audio started to play during warm-ups. (warning - this audio file is crazy long - but fortunately, we're first!)...edited to add - for some reason, this isn't starting at the beginning. Click "play full song here" to hear it from the start! 

catamount football

Even though they lost their playoff game yesterday...our Catamounts played with all their heart....and I still think that #84 is rather cute...

a general state of disarray...

There are dishes piled in the sink...because the clean dishes in the dishwasher need to be put away. There are clean clothes on the couch in the living room (HUGE PET PEEVE). All three bedrooms have random articles of clothing strewn about, courtesy of sudden cold weather. The mudroom? Don't get me started. My office has piles of stuff everywhere. The family room has blankets (again with the cold) and college booklets and magazines...all on the floor. 

I am not a neat freak...my sister & brother got the OCD gene, but it skipped me. However, my house is normally "drop by clean"...if someone were to drop by, I wouldn't be totally embarassed, and I wouldn't have to offer them a glass of wine in a semi-clean glass. Right now? Please don't drop by. My house is in a state of disarray, which is really a theme for the week. ::sigh:: Random... 

*We're winding down the football & soccer seasons...which sometimes requires me to be in two places at once, and usually I wind up in neither. I made it to one of Hope's soccer games this week, but not the one where she went in at the last minute, and saved a goal to secure a shut out. I'm headed out to a football game in a few minutes, where I'll spend most of the time holding my breath b/c a) it's freezing and b) Austin has a shoulder injury that doesn't prevent him from playing, but does make me worry about him getting hurt (again). 

*I still don't have fall decorations put up. Which I suppose is okay b/c you wouldn't be able to see them over the pile of clothes on the couch. But still. I like fall decorations. Maybe tomorrow?

*Hope's homecoming dance is tonight. Her last high school homecoming dance. ::sniffle::

*I need to order a new phone...contemplating finally getting a Blackberry. Just wish Verizon offered it in orange. Also need to order Austin's phone (13=cell phone in our house). 

*Seriously underwhelmed with Grey's this season. Seriously. 

That's about it for now....need to get to the game. Has anyone seen my brown fleece? 

be good.

is everything going to be this hard?

I've had a task on my to-do list for the past few days....choose a song & write a dedication for Hope's senior soccer game. How hard can that be, right?  

Wrong. It's very, very hard. As evidenced by crying through the songs on my ipod. Here's the recommendation that I have for all of you with younger kids....start now. Create a playlist right this very minute, and start putting songs on it. You'll thank me later. 

Choosing this song has been ridiculously hard. And that was before I started overthinking! I'll share a little of the process with you, as long as you promise not to ridicule me until the end of time (MB, I'm talking to you. Don't try to look innocent.)

I started with sentimental songs. Wind Beneath My Wings? Gag...totally predictable. Anything by Celine Dion? Eliminated on principle. I thought possibly My Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride...but I couldn't even get through a Youtube video of it w/o falling apart. Plus, the song will be played before the game...and if they lost b/c all the Mom's were crying? Well, it would be all my fault. Moving on...

It's My Life - Bon Jovi - a little too rebellious, no? 

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith - needs to broad of an interpretation to make it a parent-kid song

Always Be My Baby - Mariah Carey - uhm...a little controlling

Beautiful Day - U2 - 1) too sexy 2) Hope doesn't like U2 (gasp!)

Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes - just b/c I'm a rebel like that

The Best Day - Taylor Swift - more of a kid -to-mom song than vice versa

Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus - don't judge. it's perky.

The Barney Song - Barney, of course - I threatened this one as revenge for all the years that I had to endure that damn purple dinosaur.

Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds - b/c everything old is new again?

Unwritten - Natasha Beddingfield - not quite 

My Wish - Rascal Flatts - Hope is enforcing a "no country" rule

These Are the Days - Natalie Merchant - I'm a fan...Hope not so much

Lenny, Joss, Christina, Kelly...all eliminated for lack of proper song choice and/or the fact that Hope thinks my ipod sucks.

At the end of the day, I had to make a choice. So I did. Austin approved it. I'm not telling you what it is b/c Hope might think she can find out by reading my blog (no such luck, eh?). It's not a song that any of you will guess...but it fits. It's Hope. And really, that's what it's all about....

...cue Mom-of-senior tears...