Thank you to our friends who came to see our girlies dance. Especially Kimmy, who the girls were thrilled to see! You were beautiful girls!
Archives for May 2009
Happy Birthday Taylor!
This guy’s had a pretty exciting week.
Happy Birthday Taylor! You have brought me joy unspeakable.
*a few pics and a song from Taylor’s graduation video
Lamps are a girl’s best friend
I’ve said it before, but I have a strict policy in my house. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TURN ON OVERHEAD LIGHTS. My children faithfully abide by the rules ’cause if mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy’. Nothing puts me in a worse mood than someone turning on my Walmart-style flourescent light in the kitchen. So I was so happy to find out that the Nester was gonna host a party to celebrate lamps. I believe I currently have over 40 lamps or bookshelf lights in operation in my house. Lighting is everything. Next to lip gloss, lamps may be my most cherished earthly possession.
This is by far my favorite lighting project. Once I removed the doors from my kitchen cabinets and painted them white, they needed to be shown off. So I bought these bookshelf lights for $4.95 each at IKEA. They are all plugged into extension cords which run behind the cabinets to plug in under the counters. I know..I know…a little jerry-rigged ( or is it jury-rigged), but noone sees it. And they look fabulous!
And this is my favorite lamp! I added the starfish to him to cultivate a little whimsy in what could have been a snobbish little lamp. He’s like a college professor. Of botany.
Then there’s the tall svelt mantel lamp. She’s all form and very little function. But we love her, just the same.
……and my 2nd favorite lamp, the picture wall lamp. She’s very matronly and can nearly light this whole room herself. Sorry, but my lamps are definitely gendered. I haven’t named them though.
And who couldn’t love these patriotic twins. They work tirelessly day and night and are the only lamps that you can see from the road. I love them.
And last but not least, the IKEA lights in my homeschool room.
That was certainly a Lampalooza of a good time for me. Click here for more lamp fun! Thank you to my friend the Nester for hosting. I’m contemplating a ‘Painted Patio Furniture’ party in a week or two, so let me know if you’ve got old stuff you can rescue! It doesn’t take much creativity to buy new furniture and it’s much more rewarding to rehab stuff you already have!
And this is my favorite lamp! I added the starfish to him to cultivate a little whimsy in what could have been a snobbish little lamp. He’s like a college professor. Of botany.
Then there’s the tall svelt mantel lamp. She’s all form and very little function. But we love her, just the same.
……and my 2nd favorite lamp, the picture wall lamp. She’s very matronly and can nearly light this whole room herself. Sorry, but my lamps are definitely gendered. I haven’t named them though.
And who couldn’t love these patriotic twins. They work tirelessly day and night and are the only lamps that you can see from the road. I love them.
And last but not least, the IKEA lights in my homeschool room.
That was certainly a Lampalooza of a good time for me. Click here for more lamp fun! Thank you to my friend the Nester for hosting. I’m contemplating a ‘Painted Patio Furniture’ party in a week or two, so let me know if you’ve got old stuff you can rescue! It doesn’t take much creativity to buy new furniture and it’s much more rewarding to rehab stuff you already have!
3 things
This post has 3 clearly defined objectives.
1. I wanted to make sure you saw my new button. Isn’t she lovely? She’s located at the bottom of the page.
2. Because it makes me feel like I’m giving an important presentation:
I wanted to use the ‘block quote’ box; which one would use for highlighting important points. You may argue that this is not a particularly important point, but I’d beg to differ.
3. a. I was thinking of hosting a linky party to feature painted patio furniture. What do you think? Would you participate? How much time do you need?
b. I fell behind on anwering emails during my sons’ graduation. If you have a question for me, ask away. It can be anything. And I’ll copy Kimba and answer you here on the comments. And if I can’t answer it here for reasons of posterity, I’ll let you know.
For example, someone ask me where I got the dress I wore to Taylor’s graduation party…….
answer: Maurice’s about 3 years ago.
Example 2: Do you watch tv? Not much. I watch 24, Grey’s Anatomy and Lost. That’s about it. I’m not a fan of reality tv which constitutes about 90% of what’s on tv. We’ve tried different methods for our kids—-no tv during the week, very limited tv with no set guidelines. In general, if you ask my kids, they’ll say that ‘mom says tv turns your brain to mush’.
c. I haven’t added back a blogroll to my blog yet. Do you like blogrolls? I’m thinking of making it a separate page that you have to click to get to. Do you prefer them on the side? Tell me all your blogroll wisdom.
Graduation Garden Party
As I sit here with puffy, tired eyes, and aching legs, I am so thankful for the wonderful celebration we had for Taylor on Saturday. The weather was beautiful and with the help of many family and friends, I think we were able to communicate to him how special we all think he is. My wonderful, supportive sister (and beloved Rock Band partner) spent the night with us after graduation on Friday to help me with the party. I absolutely could not have made it through this weekend without her. She knows that. We cried together watching Taylor’s video. We laughed together looking through old pictures. And she chuckled at me as she helped me hang the last ‘dropcloth’. She kept me ‘on task’ when I needed to stop spray painting things yellow to start making food and then when the guests arrived, she made me leave the kitchen and enjoy the party. I love you, sis. I thank God for you in my life. Taylor is lucky to be loved by you.
The hardest part for me was finishing the video and having it ready to play by party time. It was down to the wire, but we (my sister and I) finished it and even burned a few copies to share with family. It turned out wonderful. Thank you for your song suggestions. I ended up using:
1. As long as you’re not leaving
2. Kite
3. Flies on the Butter
4. Then there’s you
5. How FAr We’ve Come
6. Say
7. Times Like These
8. Song 42
9. Hold On to Me
The video was twenty minutes long and though I’d love to share it with you, I haven’t decided yet if it should be made ‘public’. I may end up showing you parts of it.
The party was mostly outside, by the pool and gardens.
A few months ago, I found this table and two chairs (which are now yellow) on the curb at my neighbor Sues’ house. I hauled ’em home and gave them new life!
Sue said they were rusting and surely ‘you can’t paint plastic’. ‘Rust’ is no hill for a climber. And I will at least attempt to paint anything.
The food was just perfect. Thank you to all my friends who helped out. And to my sister who helped me assemble all my appetizers.
These two sisters (my mom and Aunt Rosie) were like professional catering staff. They took over the kitchen and didn’t sit down all day. Until this moment late in the evening. Thank you both for your tireless work.
Taylor’s great grandmother came and after watching his video and being reminded of his signature ‘cowlick’ as a child, she inspected underneath his shaggy hair to see if it was still under there somewhere! Too cute.
>Please pray for Andrews’ continued recovery. After our party, he became very ill and ended up in the hospital with acute appendicitis. The very day he was supposed to have his own party. We love you and are thinking of you Drew.
We are so thankful for our friends and neighbors. Especially Kristi and Leigh Ann who went above and beyond the call of duty to help us.
And we are so thankful for family! You made Taylor’s day by making the trip!
I think this is my favorite picture from the weekend. I feel a little like Elea. I will watch you leave with longing, with joy, and with anticipation. “For I am confident that He who has begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus”.
You’re free to fly!
Project Procrastination
So, while I’ve been mistreating windows with canvas dropcloths (not my original idea, but brilliant) and spray painting many things yellow (more to come on that soon)…..
…..and doing all those little things you never do until company comes…….
Darcy has performed a small miracle here at lifeingrace! I’ll be working on adding ‘stuff’ to my sidebar categories, so just be patient. But make yourself at home, look around a while, and check the links out (help us make sure they work) and then tell me what you think. My
archives page is at the very bottom and along with my ‘categories’ list.
I wish I had the same good news to report about my real life projects. It’s down to the
wire. Graduation is tonight. The party’s tomorrow. Hard decisions must be made.
Do I shower or clean the baseboards of the
schoolroom? Should I make gourmet appetizers or clean my closet? Should I feign ill and curl up on the sofa in the fetal position and wallow in my bittersweet memories?
It’s a toss up. I think I’ll just sit here and look at my pretty blog all day.
I definitely must get water proof mascara.
Big southern gigantic-invade your personal space- hugs to Darcy. She is wonderful to work with…..very professional and timely, but also genuinely interested in making your blog beautiful and more user friendly. You should ‘get in line’. She’s worth waiting for. A link to her design blog, called Graphically Designing, is at the bottom of the page.