Wedding Photos

Here is the happy day when we welcomed Maria to our family!

(Plus one of Mom eating her first sushi....)

Their first dance was, I think, a choreographed tango.

Plans and Goals for 2018

1. Pay off the house.  (Almost there!)
2. Organize everything!  Papers, basement storage, art studio--everything!
3. Get my weight back down to where it was when I started my new job.  It's either that or a whole new wardrobe and ya'll know I'm WAY too cheap for that!
4. Pull my spiritual life back from the margins and put it front and center where it belongs.

Spend time in New York with Aunt Monica... go to my brother's wedding in NJ.....take an improv class....do some volunteering...make more art....spend time with those I love...

Oh, and check out my Christmas presents in greater depth:

A very busy weekend...

Friday = Escape Room - 6th fastest time.... out of 860 teams....

Saturday = Craft Fair and Book Club (not pictured)

Sunday = Anime Convention

Hanging Out with the Kids

Hanging out with Rachel

Hanging out with Mom....

In honor of my husband's first ukulele lesson today

From our last trip to Omaha

We hung out with our beloved Aunt Amy and Uncle Steve at Hot Shops.

It even inspired some artsy-ness of our own:

This Time Last Year: Shakespeare on the Green

We went to see Macbeth on July 9, 2016 with my sister, cousin, and some Book Club friends:

This Day Last Year - Sunburn

Beware of weeding while wearing a racer-back shirt!

My sister spotted it before it started hurting (thank you!) and so I got it slathered with the sunburn/aloe stuff in time.  It didn't end up peeling, or even hurting that much.

I figure it is the closest I'll ever come to wings, at least in this life!

But I'd still advise you to cover up and/or wear sunscreen for those early forays out into the garden!

Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks, Mom, for so many blessings, large and small.  God has given me many, many gifts, and you are definitely one of my favorites!

Weekly Round-Up

My brother Mark and his lovely fiancee Maria were in town, bring with them lots of fun.

... my husband and I joined Mom, Mark and Maria in doing our first escape room.  Lots of fun, even though we didn't come even close to solving the puzzle.  I'd like to try doing another one some time.

... we had a surprise birthday party for Maria

.... since we were all together, we took advantage of the moment to take some photos.

Truly blessed in my family and grateful to God for giving them to me!

Next Week: The Amazing Birdbath Transformation

Lately....

I took Arwen to her very first circus, at the kind invitation of our Goddaughter Isabel's parents.  We both had an excellent time!

Belovedest and I played board games with my sister Rachel. Lots of fun!

A really close game...

Auntie M. had a lovely birthday tea.  It's becoming a tradition of elegance that I very much look forward to.

Rest in Peace, Grandma Shirley

One more year....

.... next year on Feb 24 my brother will be marrying the beautiful and sweet Maria!  Can't wait to get a new sister :)

What I've been up to lately....

I've been working on Grandma Rose's obituary.  For work I often write or edit text that multiple people have conflicting edits on, so I'm very much on home turf.

We've started arguing about planning the new garden shed.

Here's a nice snap from a recent visit to our dear friend Anne M.

We also visited my dad's grandmother on that trip.

And finally: a great triumph!

I finished a novel for my sister Rachel!

(I'm pretty sure it has been at least 5 years...)

Have a good weekend, everyone!