The Most Exciting Thing About Last Weekend

While at our college visit last weekend, we took a tour of the men dormitories and this young gentleman was our tour guide. He did a great job! This tour came after the financial aid session so my mood was quite sober. I walked through the rest of the tour that morning only half engaged.

Until I saw the laundry room.

It was beautifully outfitted, the colors were quite soothing, it was clean, AND there were young men in there doing their laundry.

I had to take a photo. It was the first photo I took on the tour by the way. I looked back to see that my family, the tour guide and the entire tour group were looking at me and laughing.

If only things like that bothered me.

It’s Monday On A Wednesday

It’s spring break time in our  neck of the woods and though we have visions of beaches and suntans, the reality is quite different. This time around, spring break means college visit.

It was a quick one for us – up and back so to speak. It was also quite sobering for us and for the boy. We as parents are thinking about how to pay for the exorbitant price tag that comes with a college education. Yet, all the statistics point to the fact that a four year degree is the way to ensure a future with a higher paying career for a young lad.

The sobering part for the boy? – he’s going to have to leave home. We reminded him it won’t happen for another five months or so – that he has to finish high school first. He said, “Oh, yeah, there’s high school.” Yes – there is – and one more quarter to go before he sleeps.

Bear with me as we struggle through the financial maze and emotional toll this process will take on all of us.

The good part is this – I’ll be able to somehow get through this summer by posting some silly and strange details of our experiences.

1. The boy sprained his ankle last week. He was on crutches for two days then did his college visit with an ankle brace and a slight limp. His sister decided to stomp on the said foot/ankle combination while walking around campus because – well, I’m not sure why. His limp got a little more pronounced after that but he took it well. She’s his little sister after all.

2. I was waiting outside a restaurant for the husband to pick us up with the rental car when someone threw a rotten banana at me. I went underneath a tree and looked up to the apartment complex where the banana came from to see if I could spot the perpetrator, which dismayed the girl because she wanted me to ignore it. I never saw the culprit – I don’t know what I’d do anyway.

3. I realized over the course of the last few days that I really don’t like eating out at American restaurants, especially at Cracker Barrel. I gain five pounds just walking through the door. I will now lock myself in my house for the rest of the week and eat lettuce. And the boy will rest his ankle.

The photos above are courtesy of Ella as we groom her tail by pulling it. Poor girl, she took it well.

The Cost Of Looking Good

The girl’s equitation team arguably has the best riders and in my opinion, have the prettiest girls. It was nice to see them dressed up and not hiding behind helmets and horse apple-covered paddock boots.

They clean up well.

My girl claimed to not have anything to wear to the banquet (which I know is not true – but oh well) so I took her for a little dress shopping.

By the way – here she is accepting her trophy for the Finale Medal Class Winner – or something to that effect. All I know is that she was the champion! And she got a HUGE trophy with her name on it! She’s the best – really.

Here’s a run down on what it cost to look this good in order to accept the champion trophy in style.

Dress: from Macy’s $49.99 – ok fine, it was $50. It’s slightly shorter than I like it to be…
Sweater: Victoria Secrets. It’s an old sweater of mine but she wears it all the time. I think it was $19.
Necklace: from Macy’s $14.99. She’s not wearing it. It broke immediately after the purchase. Instead, she’s wearing a little pearl necklace with a mother of pearl cross that I purchased for her at Christmas. It was from Silpada and I think it was $50. It was expensive but it’s sweet and she wears it all the time.
Shoes: from Charming Charlie’s $29. Have you ever been to that store? It’s fantastic! It’s sorted by color and you can find any accessory under the sun. Her shoes have a 2 inch heel, her first. They have a ruffled flowered front, cute with the flower dress.
Hair accessory: from Claire’s $4.99. We purchased a couple of them and some earrings so it turned out to be a little more expensive. We have no self control.

Below is a better photo of the flowered hair accessory.

She’s pictured here with  Alexandra. These girls were #2 and #4 for the year. I’m so proud of them.

I did a not-so-good job of photographing that night. It’s a good thing the girls were so pretty:)

Finances are now front and center again for me which is why I’m posting this. I want to remind myself to have some self control. I could have saved some money on the dress by going to cheaper stores and the shoes would have been more affordable at Payless or something. The entire outfit cost me more than I wanted – but in the end, I’m not disappointed. She was happy and looked beautiful!

There Are Times I Wish…

I had extremely low self-esteem as a teenager. I freely admit it now. I used to wish I was someone else and I always wanted to be somewhere else.

But I don’t wish that anymore. I love my life and where I am in it – belly rolls and all. A friend just told me that if we threw our troubles into a pile and saw everyone else’s problem we would want ours back. Every once in a while though, I tend to wish that I had someone else’s strength, leadership abilities, singing voice or big biceps (not really). But these times are just fleeting – it’s useless to dwell.

However, today I feel like sharing my wishes – for no reason at all.

I have a friend (who is young enough to be my daughter.) Here she is (along with another friend who is young enough to be my daughter) getting autographs from alumni Redskins players. We didn’t know who the players were but it didn’t matter that day.

And then Alicia noticed that a poster had fallen over behind this Redskin great, Ken Harvey.

As he continued to sign autographs with his head bowed, Alicia decided to she couldn’t stand it anymore and went behind the table to place the poster back in its place.

There you go. Perfect. We all felt better, particularly Alicia.

I wish I had the ability to always leave a place cleaner and in better order than before I got there.

While living in Hawaii, the husband had a co-worker who made cupcakes for Easter that were meticulously decorated as Easter eggs. They were literally the most beautiful cupcakes I have ever seen. These are not them – but they were delicious. I love to cook but I’m not really a baker. It’s too detailed: it takes too much focus. I like to experiment with my ingredients but it doesn’t stop me from wishing that…

I could bake cupcakes like these.

My mother is a green thumb and she loves to garden. Her backyard is full of perennial blooms and colorful annuals and raised flower beds. I regularly kill house plants and prefer to showcase artificial flowers purchased from the super craft store, Michael’s.

I wish I could garden like my mother.

My girl had her first boyfriend, her first love, and then last month, experienced her first heartbreak. Her little boyfriend broke up with her three days before her birthday, then asked another girl to the prom less than a week after that. They were “in a relationship” since October. I had to get counseling, I was so upset with him. It’s a good thing I know people in high places and can get counseling for free (you thought I was going to say something else didn’t you?) The husband and I were talking on the phone a few days after the incident and he said, “What’s (the girl) doing now?” I said, “She’s sleeping. She’s been asleep for over an hour.” – and there I was, awake and upset and giving the husband an earful on the phone.

I wish I was as tough as my little girl.

Addendum – I’m ok now, thanks. A couple of days ago the girl said to me, “Mom you bring up his name more often than I do.” I said, “Well, I guess you’re right.” – to which she rolled her eyes. And I was ok with that.

The boy just made up his mind on which university he will be attending – this after a long and arduous journey in patience and prayer. Then he decided to invite his friends over for a nerf war. I love teenage boys. I wish I had the ability to so quickly focus on something else. I tend to call it a short attention span but that’s probably not the most flattering portrayal of the male teen so I’ll say it this way -

I wish I had the ability to bear the burdens of life as easily as a 17 year old boy.

Now I’ll go back to wishing I could lose weight without eating less or going for a run.

Happy Monday:)

The Finale Story In Photos

And so the girls performed beautifully and the team was Reserve Champions for the day. I was so proud of all of the girls, they showed a lot of grit, grace and glory! I loved how they cheered on and supported each other and there were smiles all around when the results were announced. Our girls placed 1st and 2nd – therefore all the screaming.

Thanks for indulging this mom!

People Want To Know-Oh…

A lot of people have been asking me lately about the boy’s future plans and there are two things I want to say about that.

1. We have a lot of options but do not know for certain where he will be going to school. We do know however, that he will be somewhere next fall – but not with us.

2. I will miss his oh so much – we all will. Someone asked the girl about that yesterday and she unhesitatingly answered, “I’m going to miss him.”

I feel that the kids are old enough and have gone through enough life experiences in their short time here on earth to appreciate direct lessons from me. Lessons that aren’t necessarily subconscious or subliminal – but rather a more direct approach – like through texting. It seems the only way I can reach them now-a-days.

I’ve been sending them what I feel are inspirational messages through our conversational medium of choice – our cell phones.

Here’s what I sent over the last week or so -

I love this -

And here’s another -

Isn’t that cute?

Last night I sent this -

Sending these on occasion to the kids reminds them that I love them. And that I’m trying to impart wisdom – what little of it I can.

In turn, the boy sent this to me.

I am soooo going to miss that boy. More than words can say.

From Tail To Mane | Chapter 3

I have some friends who take meticulous care of their grooming and as a result, they look fabulous. I’ve always wished I had the talent – and it really is a talent – to look that good, all the time.

After watching Ella get groomed for the big finale a couple of weekends ago, I realize that I don’t have the attention to detail – nor the patience – to do this…

I think it’s cute that it takes so much concentration to braid that the braider has to stick out her tongue to focus better.

Apparently everyone does it when they groom a horse.

It’s the same as opening your mouth really wide when you apply mascara. I know you’ve all done it.

But look at the results – you look fabulous Ella…

Let Me Tell Ya… | Chapter 1

There are some moments in life that you will never forget – the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. The in-between moments can get lost and forgotten sometimes. It’s a shame; it’s why I try to take the time to record those moment as well – to your chagrin at times I’m sure.

But this time I am going to chronicle – in pain staking detail, one of the highest highs of my girl’s young life. That event occurred last weekend – at her equestrian league season finale. Last weekend served many purposes, one of which is a salve for a broken heart. Yes, she suffered a heartbreak a couple of weeks ago and it was the lowest low of her young life. I’ll go into detail in about ten years, after the dust has really settled. I will tell you this – it will take me longer to recover than it will take her. Because she’s tougher than I am. And more compassionate too because if it was up to me – well – never mind.

Last weekend started with prayer. Prayer that the team performs well, prayer for good weather, prayer for good travel and prayer for a busy and productive weekend. And it was all that and more.

The girl and the horse get ready for a long trip and a long, but exciting, weekend.

The team was ready to shine and they had their game faces on.

Me? I drank coffee. I offered some to Ella but she turned her nose at me.

And then she did this – I’m apparently boring her.

Where was I?

Oh yes, the girls…

They’re cute – and tough – and ready to compete.

and my girl…well she refuses – still – to look at the camera.

Gotcha!

Where was I again?

Oh yes…it was a great weekend…I should tell you about it sometime…

For Wordful Wednesday.

Happy Birthday Horse & Doggy Spa, The Girl, The Boy, Among Other Things

My girl had a clinic on her birthday and while she was riding, her friends brought cupcakes and sang to her. It was so cute and so special. She blew her candles out while atop Ella. It made me a little nervous but then I realized – it’s Ella. Ella is so laid-back that a bomb can literally go off next to her and she wouldn’t notice. She wanted to eat the cupcakes herself – she has a little bit of a gluttonous side.

It got me thinking about the girl’s temperament again. Even as a baby, she was extremely shy and extremely introverted. I don’t think she started talking to her coach until about a year ago. It’s funny that she surrounds herself with people (animals) of the same disposition. Ella, her favorite horse on the farm, is really laid back – nothing phases her – absolutely nothing.

Except when there’s food around – then she perks up.

And the girl’s other companion, the dog, is exactly the same way.

Here she is before her spa treatment yesterday. She was very afraid to see me go. By the way, the spa treatment was a necessity, not a luxury. It was necessary to rid her of her natural – uh – smell. And the shedding – ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.

So off to the spa she went to get a furminator and an ear wash.

You would have thought I was dropping her off to get tortured. The dog is also very shy, very introverted, very laid-back and the smallest things scare her. Like the hair brush.

Poor thing.

However, the girl, the horse and the dog have another thing in common. They love to eat.

They are definitely cut out of the same cloth those three.

And then there’s the boy – this was him after seeing the movie War Horse.

Someone help me…

For Wordful Wednesday.

La Pinata

I purchased this pinata for the girl, or rather, for the girl to give away. She changed her mind about giving it as a gift – something about being embarrassed. It doesn’t take much time for the boy to claim it as his own.

He then invited some friends over for a hockey game.

And they took some shots.

And poor Justin Beiber lost his cookies – or candies in this instance.

For Wordful Wednesday.

« Previous Page — Next Page »