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Photo 365: Week 21

May 21:

Cami was beside herself with delight and awe when she spotted the castle as we entered Lexington. "Do you think there's a king and queen of Lexington?" she joked. I love her take on things.


May 22:

Even though they didn't get any warm-up laps and this was the first time running in a different order, they came out and did a great job with their first foray into state competition. It's one of those things where you just get one shot at it, and so you do what you can do.


May 23:

While we sleep late, she's building elaborate stages (complete with speakers) for Barbie and friends. Gradually becoming aware of her in the living room, talking to herself as she works away, is one of my favorite ways to wake up.


May 24:

It's time to put the sneakers away; flip flop weather has most definitely arrived. This week has boasted temperatures in the upper 80s, with humidity to match. Luckily, we've dodged most of the storms.



May 25:

We don't normally do our grocery shopping during the week, but this weekend was spent out of town so we had to adjust the routine. It felt good to get the cabinets and fridge stocked back up again, especially since school's out and the girls are home all day.


May 26:

I'm trying not to think about the fact that I should be here (Ireland) right now. I know there'll be other opportunities; I just wish I wasn't quite so impatient about discovering them.


May 27:

I remember my cousin had a set of these, although hers had different covers. I was thrilled to find this set (with the rainbow and gray binding, which I prefer) for just $3.00 yesterday. The girls have looked at them all afternoon.

10 Questions

My friend Lee tagged me a few days ago with 10 questions, and since I've been a little slacker-ly in the blog department the past few days, I have to say thanks to her for providing me with blog content for today. Ha!

What is the one thing you want to do before you die? What are you waiting for?
I want to travel to Europe with Chris and the girls for a huge, massive vacation -- one of those where you spend a couple of months living in a little cottage somewhere, exploring every little detail. Ideally, we'd spend June and July doing this. What's holding me back? Money. Money and work, to be more specific. Number one, we are nowhere near having the amount of money something like this would take. And there's no way that Chris could take two months from his job to do this. Maybe I ought to dream a little smaller -- aim for two weeks instead of two months, but that's still way out of our reach.

What is the best piece of photography advice you have ever received?
The tips that have really helped me the most have been the ones that involved practicing -- just shoot, shoot, shoot! Especially since I'm shooting digital, so there's no film being used.

What is your favorite color, and how do you incorporate it into your life every day?
My favorite color, without doubt, is orange. I have bits of orange scattered all over my house -- pillows on the couch and chairs, lamps, a stripe on my bed quilt. In terms of my everyday, I have a well-worn pair of orange chucks that I wear almost daily. 

Do you have a phobia? What is it? How did it start? Are you trying to get over it?
I have always been afraid of heights. Well, not heights but falling from tall heights. That means I won't stand close to a railing or look over the edge of a balcony if we're high up. I even get uncomfortable on stairs if the railing is a little low. I'm not sure what started it -- I just remember always being afraid that I might fall. And no, I'm really not trying to get over it.

What is the one character trait you have that you want to pass on to your children?
I think that my children already possess much better character traits than I ever did...they have grown into some truly amazing people, and that growth is really only just beginning. More so than passing on one of mine -- here's what I'd like to continue to foster in them that is already there: Cassidy's sense of self and Cami's compassion. Cassidy is such a self-possessed kid, and she's so cool with being herself, no matter what anyone else thinks. I love that about her and hope she continues to be that way. As for Cami, her little heart knows no bounds. She even stops during her soccer games if she bumps another player and checks to make sure they are okay -- even if she's got the ball!

What music makes you happy - a genre? a band? a song?
Right now, I'm listening to needtobreathe's "The Outsiders" over and over and over. It's my most recent favorite song. In terms of what makes me happy, anything that I can sing along with (handclaps are a bonus, lol!)

What is your family favorite comfort meal? One that everyone likes, requests, asks for seconds.
This would probably be Chris's lasagna. It's just really good -- meaty, cheesy, saucy. Everyone in our extended family loves it too, especially on my side of the family.

What household chore to you like least and how do you manage to get it done even when you don't want to do it?
Keeping our floors clean. We have hardwood floors, which means they need to be swept and mopped much more frequently than I'm willing to do it. In terms of sweeping them, I actually use a small vacuum cleaner, which works better -- oh, and I have Cami do it, as her "big chore" in the household list of chores. And Chris normally does the mopping. I will do all other chores, if they will do those two.

To date, what is your greatest personal accomplishment?
I look at the girls and Chris, and I have to say them. Ten years of marriage, with two really good kids. That's not easy. But in terms of myself, personally...I think it would be the growing up I did during college, to the point where I finally did graduate. There were times when I didn't think I would make it, and I know my family wasn't sure either.

Who do you most greatly admire? Why?
Ugh. I hate questions like this. I admire lots of people for many, many reasons. I think, though, that I'd have to go with Teen and Sam, the couple who babysat me when I was a little girl. They had very little and lived a simple life -- but they were happy. They were content. They were some of the best people who ever touched my life.

And now it's my turn to ask the questions. Erika, Jill, Elizabeth, Barb and Jennifer: Here are your 10 questions:
1. What's on your nightstand?
2. If you could eat only one thing for lunch for the rest of your life, what would it be?
3. What is your middle name? Is there a story behind it?
4. If you could win a shopping spree in any store, which store would you choose?
5. What word or phrase do you use most frequently?
6. What's the last thing you purchased?
7. If you could have a different career, what would it be? What's keeping you from making the switch?
8. When you get too stressed out, what do you do to relax and calm down?
9. What's the most recent thing you bookmarked on the internet?
10. What are you most looking forward to during the next two months?

10 on Tuesday: the summer to-do list edition

One of the perks of my job is that I do get two months off in the summer. Since I work primarily with middle and high schools and they aren't in session during this time, there's not much for me to do in terms of work. However, there's always plenty to do at home -- things that have been put off until I have more time. Time that rolls around in just a few more days. So here's a peek at the list of things I plan to tackle this summer:

1. Paint the wire shelving unit in the bathroom. This thing is a definite hand-me-down. When we moved into our first apartment here in Murray (after leaving Clinton), we found this shelving unit out on the upstairs balcony. At first glance, we thought it might be a plant rack or something like that, but then it hit me -- it's a shelving unit to go over the toilet in the bathroom. (Which was a good thing, because that bathroom and the one in our current place are both very, very small). It's metal and somewhat rusty in places, so I plan to give it a good sanding and then paint it white.

2. Put all of these layouts into albums. I don't even know how many there are -- a couple hundred, give or take a few. They have been separated into different categories -- layouts for Cam's albums, Cass's albums, the family album, etc. I've experimented with a number of different albums, and I've found that I much prefer to just put them into three-ring binders. Last year, Wal-mart had some really pretty binders in their back-to-school collection. I didn't buy them, but I should have done so. This year, once school supplies are put out, I plan on stocking up and finally getting these layouts finished. The plan is to get a certain color or design for each person's album -- that way, we'll be able to find what we're looking for more quickly. I'll probably also add some type of label to the outside spine -- perhaps to indicate general dates or something like that.

3. Get these prints framed for Cami's room. We bought these from The Black Apple's shop for Christmas, but we still haven't gotten them framed yet. (That's something I was really excited about -- that both the girls got art for Christmas. Here's what Cass got.) At first I thought I'd buy some frames from Target, but then I remembered these older prints in the garage with these ornate gold frames. They'll look great painted white, and they won't cost me anything either. It's a win-win situation.

4. Spruce up these bulletin boards in Cassidy's room. While they're nice and functional right now, I'd like them to be prettier. And Cass has a request as well -- she wants them paint-splattered! The idea is to paint the frames white and let her splatter them with green, blue, and purple. The cork will likely get covered with fabric, though I haven't taken Cass to pick anything out yet. I'm sure it will be something in stripes, though. (There are rumors that Grandad perhaps may be working on some type of storage/display unit for all of her medals -- but I'm not sure about that).

5. Find some way to frame or display these larger prints. One is my Hatch Show print from the Damien Rice concert here on campus almost three years ago. The other is a really cool painting that Cami made in art class. I've got different bits and pieces of the girls' artwork hanging in the house, and I love the personal touch it gives everything.

6. Style this corner cabinet. The Nativity is still there because I haven't put it back into storage, and because I don't know what I want to put in its place. I think I might have to bring my sister in for this project, as she's much better at this type of thing than I am. Usually I'm okay with styling, but the triangular space is just throwing me off. This will likely be a project that will bleed over into other areas of the house, especially since I just plan on shopping what I already have (and finding a new place for the dragon collection should prove...interesting.)

7. Create a new pair of kitchen curtains from this vintage tablecloth. My mom had this tucked away, and I'm so glad she asked if I wanted it. It fits in nicely with my kitchen plans -- and the colors pick up the color of my new bread tin and some other vintage goodies really nicely.

 

8. Fill these photo frames. I've had them hanging on the wall for at least a year now, and while some are full, some still feature the generic kids from the store in them. The plan is to rework them all and fill them with a mixture of family and travel photos.

9. Clean and organize the mudroom. I'm not even going to show you a picture of this space. It's a small room that's between our garage and our laundry room, with a separate door opening to the back deck. It closes off from the main house completely and it's not airconditioned or heated, so it's really just a staging area for outdoor equipment and shoes, or storage for items that don't need to be put completely away (in the garage, for example).

10. Have a yardsale. We finally moved all of our "extra" belongings out of storage and into the garage. Not only are we saving some bucks now, we can also see that most of this stuff is just that -- stuff that we don't want or need anymore. While there are a few things we plan to keep, most of it will be finding new homes.

Hopefully I'll be able to check back in during August and update you on the progress of these items, in another 10 on Tuesday post. What kinds of makeover or other projects do you planned for summer?

giveaway winner announced & recent inspiration

Thanks to all of you who left comments, tweets, and status updates about the collab Em & I put together! If you purchase it, I'd love to see your projects. In the meantime, congrats to Teri, who was the random winner of all 8 of my collab pieces, plus Em's full kit and the album too!

 
 

Teri, email me at audneal at gmail dot com and I'll get your codes to you asap!

We've got a busy afternoon planned. Cami has a soccer double-header and her end-of-season party starting at 2:00; Cass has a friend over and they're heading to a birthday party tonight from 6-8. I'm not sure that the weather's going to cooperate with any of this, but we'll see.

A few random things around the net I've been eyeballing lately:

Flourish Bath & Body: My list of "wants & needs" from this shop just keeps growing. Right now, I have my eye on some of those new fragrances she's listed, especially the Cedar & Mint.

The One Book, One Twitter project has launched with the first book, American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This is one of my top reads of all time; what better way to kick off your summer reading list?

Speaking of reading, NPR does a "What we're reading" list -- I've found some pretty good recommendations there lately.

12 of 12: May 2010

I am really behind on this project. I've taken my photos for March and April, but I just haven't had time to put them into any sort of layout. That's one of my main plans, as soon as summer break rolls around. :) Meanwhile, here's a summary of today's 12 of 12:

(from top left):
1. Marriott beds are sinfully comfortable. They should probably be illegal.
2. The Marriott -- in particular, the Lexington Griffin Gate. Quite nice. I'm here for a staff workshop.
3. Lots of reading this morning: dropouts, academic rigor, social support, assessment. Good stuff to really get the brain working, thinking, making new connections. Love this kind of thing.
4. Rain. Lots of rain at one point, but just one rumble of thunder.
5. Qdoba for lunch: beans and rice, chicken, salsa and chips. It was my first time to eat from this chain -- we don't have one anywhere near us. It was okay, but not something I'd seek out again on my own.
6. Trying to explain to people who just don't get it why I kept taking pictures of things. "Why aren't you taking pictures of people?" "Because I don't want people in my pictures." ;)
7. On the escalator, going down to the YA section of Joseph Beth Booksellers. One of my most favorite places ever (and I do mean the YA section of that store, not just the store itself.)
8. A peek over the balcony on the way to my room at the hotel.
9. Opening my copy of Will Grayson, Will Grayson to discover that it is a SIGNED COPY? What a kickass surprise!!!
10. Packing a few things tonight so that I don't have to do much in the morning.
11. Hot chocolate and some internet time. Answer me this please: why is it that the cheap hotels have free wi-fi but in the good hotels, you have to pay for it? As much as $15.00 for 24 hours??? I just don't get it.
12. A little mindless TV-watching before bed. Something I *never* do at home.

10 on Tuesday: the Lovett Live edition

This is coming in a bit late today, but it's been one of those "run-around-do-lots-of-things-before-leaving-town" kind of days. Cass is running in the high school track meet today (YAY!) and I'm going to watch her race before leaving to go to a conference for work (BOO! to a five-hour drive). Here's a recap of how I spent last Thursday, though. Enjoy.

1. Lovett Live is a concert series that is held on Murray State University's campus in historic Lovett Auditorium. While some bands have filled the auditorium proper (Damien Rice and Ben Folds are the two I've seen since moving to Murray), most of the shows are much smaller and more intimate. That's because the floor plan actually allows the audience members to sit up onstage with the band, in comfy chairs, couches, and at tables.

2. The photo above gives you a pretty good look at the stage layout. The photo below gives you a little bit of an idea how this looks in the context of the entire auditorium.  It was taken from my seat in the front row.

3. Andy Davis was the opening act -- or in this case, the supporting act, as he was billed. Apparently, he's been to campus and performed (maybe at the BSU?) but I'd never heard of him before.

4. He put on a good show, alternating between keyboard and guitar. There were some really funky numbers, with a crowd sing-along at one point (which I ALWAYS enjoy), as well as a few little snippets of Beyonce to lighten the mood.

5. I definitely recommend checking out the song Laugh So You Don't Cry. Brown Eyes is another good one.

6. After a couple of minutes for Andy and friend to clear his equipment from the stage (it was really strange sitting right there at the stage, watching -- I felt like I should volunteer to help?), Will Hoge and band took the stage. I get such a Bob Dylan/Tom Petty/alt country vibe from him -- really into his music lately. He commented on the call he'd gotten to come play this show. He told them that he didn't sell out auditoriums very often, and they explained the stage setup. He said he thought that it would either be the worst idea he'd ever heard or the best. Luckily, he thought it was the latter.

7. At one point, his guitarist switched instruments -- to a dobro, in fact. Immediately reminded me of the old Lynyrd Skynyrd song, The Ballad of Curtis Lowe. I'd never seen a dobro before, so it was neat to actually check it out.

8. The drummer cracked me up -- the dude came out in this great vest/pants combo with a tie and button-down shirt and dress shoes, though those came off right away. I was a fan of Mr. Hoge's boots and bellbottom jeans, as well as the vest, shirt, and tie combo.

9. The best song of the night was the piano version (completely unrehearsed? at least according to Hoge) of "Too Late, Too Soon." I got video of it, and I'll link it up here once I finish uploading it. Definitely worth listening to, in any version.

10. I'm looking forward to school starting again in August, so I can see what the upcoming year's lineup will be. I've been told to look for a Neko Case show sooner rather than later. I think I might just fall over from excitement if that's the case.

Photo 365: Week 18

April 30:
I keep all of our events on my iPhone calendar, but I like having the paper copy at work in this size. The different colored highlighters let me see at a glance just how many home, work, or school obligations I have in a week.

May 1:
Lately our weekends have been filled with storms, while the weekday weather is beautiful. This time, many of the storms passed around us; he commented that I am obsessed with severe weather. That's not true -- it's just that I would prefer not to be caught unawares.

May 2:
You were in my thoughts all day long. When I made breakfast for the girls, I fixed the cinnamon toast just the way you used to make it.

May 3:
This standing puddle in our backyard is nothing compared to the many feet of water flooding areas of Kentucky and Tennessee. The video footage and pictures just leave me speechless.

May 4:
She was so tired; it was a full night of soccer practice and then gymnastics. One minute she was talking his ear off, and the next minute she was so quiet he thought she'd left the room.

May 5:
It was one of those nights with no obligations, no appointments, no expectations. I spent some time catching up on the laundry, letting my mind wander as I folded cloth napkins.

May 6:
An evening just for me. I love live music; he hates crowds. I don't mind going alone, especially because I know he'd only be going to humor me.

The Trees: Philip Larkin

The trees are coming into leaf 
Like something almost being said; 
The recent buds relax and spread, 
Their greenness is a kind of grief. 

Is it that they are born again 
And we grow old? No, they die too, 
Their yearly trick of looking new 
Is written down in rings of grain. 

Yet still the unresting castles thresh 
In fullgrown thickness every May. 
Last year is dead, they seem to say, 
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.

Thank you for all of your comments and kind thoughts yesterday; they are much appreciated. Last month was National Poetry Month, and while I didn't post anything specific about it here on the blog, I spent the month reading a couple of different poetry collections, one of which I'll review in the upcoming weeks. When I took them back to the library today at lunch, I came across another poetry anthology on the shelf of new arrivals: The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing. It felt very right to check it out, and flipping through it as I finished my lunch, I found the poem above, and it just seemed like such a fitting way to follow yesterday's post.

ten years

Ten years. How does a time frame of that length sneak up on a person? Because that's exactly what happened to me. It's not that I don't think about you, because I do. All the time. Yet somehow, this morning, this day, just crept up without really catching my attention, and it wasn't until I was in the midst of reading a post at The Pioneer Woman's blog that it hit me: Today is May 2.

Today is the day it happened.

The day we lost you.

I say "lost you" like we misplaced you somewhere, never to find you again. The euphemisms we use for death are silly sometimes, aren't they? Because that is what really happened. You died. Ten years ago, you had Tom drive you to the house from work because you needed to go to the hospital. The chest pains had just gotten worse over the past couple of months, and before Elisha could put her shoes on, you collapsed in the carport. While she called the ambulance and performed CPR until they arrived, I was student teaching in a classroom in Murray, oblivious to just how much my life was going to change.

It sounds like such a drastic, melodramatic statement, what I was thinking just now: I had no idea that my life would never be the same again. But it's true. Ten years ago, I had no idea just how true it would be. I think I grasped pretty immediately the fact that you were gone, that I could not see you again, and that I had not gotten to say goodbye, to say I love you, to say all the things I might have said had I known that we would be losing you like this.

What I don't think I realized, at that point, was this: For twenty-five years, we'd had a story -- the story of me and you, of us. And at that point, our story ended. All the pages to come after would be blank. It was all the tiny things, the little ways in which your life meshed with mine that would take years to understand and cope with. In some ways, I'm still learning how to manage those things, and I suspect I will always have to make adjustments.

There are so many things I still don't know, and will probably never have the chance to learn. That's why I cherish any talk I can have of you with other people, people who knew you when you were a young boy, people who worked with you as an adult, people who raised nine kinds of hell with you as a teenager. After you died, I talked about you to anyone who would listen, craving the details they could provide, hoarding them away like the precious treasure they were. I scoured the family photo albums for the too-few photos of you, like this one:

On the back is written:
Virgil Wayne Clark
2nd grade - 2 yr of school
Miss Mae Magruder - teacher
Central School - age 6
nearly 7 - born Dec. 9, 1955
Picture made Oct 1962

I smile every time someone looks at me and tells me how much I remind them of you. Sometimes they are referring to a physical resemblance, but other times I know they mean something more: my personality, my tastes, my attitude, my temper. I took some photos for a family friend last fall, and when it was over her husband told me that it had been like spending the afternoon with you. I don't think he'll ever know how much that comment meant to me.

grade school pictures of the two of us, taken around 4th or 5th grade

I love that people look at my two girls and see traces of you as well. I love that Cass still tells stories about you, and that Cami asks to hear stories all the time. You were absolutely crazy over Cass, right from the very start, and it hurts my heart to know that Cami will never know just how crazy you would've been over her too. I know how insanely proud you would've been of Cass and how smart she is -- all of her academic and athletic achievements -- and how you would've bragged on her to everyone who pulled up at your gas station. I see Cami do or say something funny, and I can hear you laugh -- I know that you would've gotten the biggest kick out of her antics, and the two of you would've been partners-in-crime, without a doubt.

I miss you, Daddy. I love you, and I miss you, and not a day goes by that I don't wish you were here with me, so that I could continue to tell our story. Instead, I'm left with a story with holes in the narrative, and no amount of editing and polishing can fix what's missing. I miss talking to you about music; I miss the arguments we had; I miss seeing you on Sundays after your weekly trip to Wal-mart to stock up for the station; I miss hearing you laugh over totally inappropriate things; I miss the sound of your voice; I miss hearing your stories; I miss tiptoeing around your temper; I miss knowing you were there, no matter what; I miss taking that knowledge for granted.

And right now, ten years after your death, I realize that I still miss you as much as ever. And I know that ten years from now, I will still miss you just this much, and I will never stop needing you to be here.

10 on Tuesday: the eye candy post

Just a quick posting today -- 10 photos I've recently added to my inspiration files. (These are not my original photos; however, I am bad about noting sources. Normally I pull photos I like to an inspiration folder on my laptop. If you know the source and want to leave a link in the comments, that's great.)

1. I want this couch and chair SO BADLY. I just love the lines and how cozy they look.

2. Here's another view:

3. Love the wallcolor in this bedroom and the cool media storage at the foot of the bed.

4. So much to love here: the globe collection, the shelves, the open floor plan.

 

5. Love those pops of color against the white background. The lamps are great, and that headboard is genius.

6. Cool barstools. I'm hoping our next house has something like this -- we all like to be in the same room while we're cooking supper, and I like how this is small but functional in terms of space.

 

7. Yes, it's tiny but I love those pops of red against all that white. It's just happy.

8. Love the bedframe and the colors/textures of the bedding. Just a great vintage look.

9. No, I'm not in need of a nursery, but the colors in this room grab my attention every time I see it. And that paper airplane on the wall? Brilliant!

10. This is a great room -- and not just for a boy. That map mural rocks, and I love the green and orange. Lots of cool stuff put together here.