Hats, belts, aprons and running shoes

Like most people I have many different hats to wear.  I was thinking of titling this post "all the hats I wear" but they are not really hats.  I think of them more like different articles of clothing.  I only have one head and I can't wear more than one hat at a time.

There is the Mom Hat which I have worn for almost 10 years now.  This hat is more like a belt that has to go with all of my other clothing.  I never take it off.  I wear it to bed and I wear it in the shower.  It is really a tool belt that holds the family calendar, a digital camera, a blankie, cheese stick, emergency chocolate, band-aids, multiplication flash cards and a 5 hour energy drink.  This belt is my most prized accessory.  I wear it like one of those big rodeo belt buckles you win for staying on the bull for 8 seconds.  I am proud of this belt but it does get heavy and does not go so well with fancy cocktail dresses.

There is also the Work Hat.  It is more like a sleek black suit that makes me feel so professional.  When I am wearing my black suit and high heels I am in charge.  I can give a presentation to a group of 100 or work in the server room all by myself with my high heels click-clicking along with my fingers on the keyboard.  I enjoy my work suit.  I do.  It makes me feel like I am part of something bigger.  But my suit doesn't fit anyone else.  It is tailored to fit me and me alone.  The uniqueness of the suit makes it a burden to ever shed.  And I am always wearing my big mom belt with my suit.

And the Wife Hat. This hat is more like a sexy bra...(sorry to the men reading this).  It needs to be supportive but still has to look good.  And it goes well with the suit and the belt.  It is 17 years old and has seen so much change.  But on a daily basis it performs well and still holds up in the wash.

The Athletic Hat is better represented by running shoes.  They must carry me for miles each week. When I don't get to wear them I am grumpy.  I feel like I have to make time to put them on.  They get shoved under the bed or to the back of the closet but I feel so much better when I can squeeze in the time to lace them up and get out there.  I often wonder why I like wearing these shoes.  Is it really a selfish decision to make the time to run or a societal pressure to be the complete woman who also takes great care of herself?  Who knows.  

Now for the Social Hat.  The social hat is really a purse that keeps peoples birthday presents, cards, stamps, addresses, and phone numbers handy.  This purse can get really heavy and sometimes I forget to look in it but I never stop carrying it around.  Oh, there is also glue in this purse.  The glue that holds friendships and families together.  This purse carries responsibility and thank you notes.  It makes time for friends who are having a bad day.  It hands out complements to complete strangers in grocery stores.  This purse is not trendy or expensive.  But sturdy with big wide straps that can hold a lot of stuff.

Craft Hat:  This is a cute smock sort of apron with ruffles that I sewed myself.  I wish it got more use but when I do pull it out of the closet, it has knitting needles in the pockets and a long forgotten scarf that was being made for a birthday or special gift (see social hat).  This apron makes me feel creative and alive.  I love this apron.  It is a joy to wear and I get compliments on it.  It is seasonal though and I don't get to wear it every week.

Archiver Hat:  This hat is like a pair of big pop-bottle glasses.  I wear them all day trying to record what I see and hear and smell.  I don't want to forget the cute things my girls say or the sweet fingers that wrap around my hands and ask if they can have "some of my warm".  These glasses record all the history of our family.  They see everything and try to keep it in RAM memory so it is easily accessible.  These glasses never forget.  They have amazing storage and can recall things so quickly.  I hope I always have these glasses. These glasses are the reason I blog.  I want my girls to know all the stories and be able to go back and read them when they can appreciate them.  Because I know that one day these glasses will fail me.

Baker's Hat:  Now this is really a hat.  It is a poofy chefs hat that sticks way up in the air.  I have to dust it off and it is definitely a seasonal hat.  I LOVE this hat.  I love to bake with my girls.  This hat makes my family so happy.

I always think of this moment when Emma Jane was 3 and enrolled in ballet. I was in her closet wearing a suit and on a conference call about a server that was down.  I was explaining to someone how to ping for the IP address of the server, while on my hands and knees digging for a ballet slipper while Emma stood over me sobbing because she was going to be late for her class.  The dog was barking because the timer was going off on the oven to alert me that the cupcakes that I was making for school the next day needed to come out.  I thought to myself...this is true multi-tasking.  (And I used to be so much better at it.)

So the picture I have drawn for you is a 41 year old woman wearing a black suit, tool belt, running shoes, frilly apron, glasses, baker's hat, carrying a huge purse and has super sexy underwear underneath it all.  That is quite a mental picture, I am sure.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh, and I have wings...

Our vacation Part 1

We are on vacation!  We left Tulsa Saturday morning and picked up our happy camper from Camp Takatoka.  We loaded the van on Friday night and picked up Emma from camp.  With a quick stop in Tulsa to get new glasses (she lost hers at camp) we were on our way to Colorado.

We stopped in Kansas for dinner.

Lucy was so glad to have her sissy back.  (We were too)  I was crying when we finally got her back.

When the sun set we saw an incredible lightning storm over Goodland, Kansas.

We spent Sunday with my brothers and my nephew Parker.  We went swimming and played and had dinner in Boulder.  A thunderstorm came in and we needed our jackets.  We had a delicious dinner and a great visit with the family.

This was the view when we came out of the restaurant.

How does my garden grow?

From this in March... (Do Not judge the messy kitchen)

 To this in April

To this in May

My bell pepper plants have flowered and are getting peppers now.  My banana peppers are already producing.

But my tomato plants, while getting big, are not producing flowers or fruit...any ideas?

I Don't Do "Pretty Good"

I recently went to the doctor and was told my blood sugars were "pretty good" for a diabetic.  This was supposed to be good news.  I, however, have a personality flaw that prevents me from relishing in doing "pretty good".  Pretty good is not quite good.  It is almost good, and it is better than okay and far better than poor, but it is not great.  Not the best that I can do.

As I drove away from the doctor's office I thought to myself "just wait until my next blood test, I will knock it out of the park!"  And then I thought, what is it that makes people the way they are?  Why can't I just settle for being pretty good.

I went to a one hour training class for HIPAA yesterday at work.  HIPAA is the privacy and security policy regarding all of our medical records.  I went to class planning on sleeping through it until I heard the word "test".  Test?  There is a test?  Yes, Emily, there is a test, but it is not that hard and you only have to make an 85% on it.  Oh really?  Okay, now I am super-gunner-employee taking notes and thinking of the prize at the end...wait...what was the prize?  You take the 25 question test and no one knows what your score is but you and the computer.  But it doesn't matter to me.  Not only do I have to be the first one out the door but I have to make a 100%.  This is absurd.  I didn't even want to take this stupid class and now I am sitting on the edge of my seat taking notes?

I am like this with lots of things, like baby showers, for example.  It would be perfectly acceptable to go to a registry for a new mom and purchase something that she really needs and wants off of her registry and show up to a baby shower with it wrapped by the store from which it came.  After all, that is a "pretty good" gift.  It is even a great gift because it is what she ASKED for, for Pete's sake!  But no.  I have to custom make something that shows that I have more knowledge about what a new mom needs or wants or "will want" after she sees what I made.  Really?  She needs custom monogrammed burp cloths more than she needs bottles or a bathtub?  I think not!

In the last 4 years at my job I have taken our medical school from next to the last in the country on a National Board Exam to number 1 in the country.  This year we will probably be in the top 3.  I had my performance review yesterday (same day as HIPAA training) and my boss told me that being in the top 3 was still "pretty good". 

On Monday I went for a little 5 mile run on the river after work and before faculty/staff softball practice.  I have a software app called runmeter.  She tells you how fast you are running, what your split times are, your average pace and how well you are doing compared to all the other times you have run this same route.  It was 88 degrees outside with about 90% humidity.  When I finished she told me that my pace was average for that route.

That's pretty good, I guess...

Long day

After a long day of working in the yard, I am sitting on the deck watching the chiminea burn. The hot tub is ready (I'm just waiting for the girls to settle in for the night). Those are my peonies cut from my front yard. And yes, Greg, there is a fire mat under the chiminea so as not to set the deck on fire.

There are Baltimore Oriole's singing from the top of the oak tree above me. The yard looks fantastic thanks to much hard work by Mike and me. We had to put chicken wire around the garden today. A rabbit is getting all my lettuce and tomato plants and the tops of Emma's carrots. We shall see if this helps.

I am not sure the girls really understand that the plants that will bear tomatoes, peppers and carrots are the same plants we started from seeds in the kitchen. It seems a stretch to them. They don't quite grasp the whole photosynthesis thing.

The other day in the "mini van", Emma Jane said to me, "Mom, there are five reasons I would not want to be a tree. One, the whole making oxygen all day would get tiresome. Two, you would have to stand outside all day in the heat or in the snow. Three, people pick your fruit you worked so hard to make. Four, you can't dance. And five, dogs pee on you."

Ah, the sun is going down and Lucy has not gotten out of bed in at least 10 minutes...hot tub time. Goodnight

We went to a wonderful wedding this weekend

What have we been up to?

Playing in a half inch of snow, painting canvas, and going to the circus (and getting our face painted)

Just getting by

What a week it has been.  Illness has run through our family.  First Emma Jane came down with an ear infection and was in a lot of pain.  When we got to the doctor she had a fever of 103.5.  Then Lucy got the flu.  Her teacher at preschool came down with the flu.She followed a few days later.  Her fever reached 105.6.  I was one scared mama.  But she is on the mend now.
And I am sick.  It has been a long 7 days.

If you haven't gotten the flu shot, I wish you would.

A Facebook Exchange in Limericks

Me:     A challenge from a dear old friend
           Write a limerick about me and send
           To facebook I’ll post
           And hope for the most
           Comments right after the end

Tosca:  Did you just call Eddie Old?

Me:      yes

Eddie:   It's true that four decades have passed
             Maturity's upon us at last
             Dare I muster the nerve?
             Does memory serve?
             Tosca, weren't you the elder of the class?

Tosca:   Dagger! 

Eddie:   She feels somewhat slighted, I see
             My friend who is older than me
             Didn't mean to displease 'er
             To cite Julias Caesar
             Is she asking, "Et tu, Ed G?"

Me:       Four decades? I don't understand
             Denial, the name of the land
             "Young" mother of two
             My age I'll eschew
             I'll just keep my head in the sand

Eddie:    Four decades, I'm 'fraid that it's true
             Where it went, I haven't a clue
             No need to be down
             With your head in the ground
             You still look like Miss NSU!

Me:      Your comment comes quite as a shock
             I was hoping that most had forgot
             The days of the crown
             I still wear around
             The house when I vacuum and mop

Eddie:    LOL" doesn't properly toast
              The hilarity of the last post
              Miss NSU,
              Miss Limerickin', too
              Must admit, that's far better than most!

Where have I been the month of November?

The month of November has turned out to be the busiest month yet of 2011.  Right after Halloween we decided to drive to Dallas and visit Ikea.  The master bedroom was the last place in our house that really needed attention.  We had hand me down and even dumpster furniture that we had been using for 20 plus years.  I finally saved enough mad money to have a room makeover.

I forgot to take pictures of the bedroom looking normal.  These pictures were from when things were already in a state of deconstruction.  But it gives you a general idea.

Then we spent 2 days in Ikea shopping and measuring and planning.  If you have never been to an Ikea, it is an adventure.  To say that everything is do-it-yourself, is an understatement.  "You can configure everything just the way you want it" is code talk for "you are on your own, sister." 

We did find some people to help us but for the most part you have to make sure that you write down the correct number, then pull the correct box from the warehouse, load it in your truck all by yourself, and then put it together all by yourself.  I think they want you to have a sense of accomplishment when you finish.  Anybody can go to a furniture store and say "deliver that to my house on Saturday."  But it takes real stamina, perseverance, and moxie to keep two kids entertained for 2 days while configuring what you hope will be your dream bedroom; then haul it all home and assemble it each night for 10 nights while hoping that your husband will still want to stay with you in your new dream bedroom when all is said and done.

But it was worth it.  Yes.  I said it.  It was worth it.  I have a beautiful bedroom that was built by us (cut to me beaming with a sense of accomplishment) and is functional with a ton of storage.

Now for what is behind those gorgeous wardrobe doors...
Behind the wooden door is all the technology.  TV, DVR, surround system, tech drawer!

And behind the mirrored door is my favorite cabinet of all.  I have hanging space for my dressy outfits.  There is a place to hang scarves, long necklaces and felt lined jewelry drawers!  And the light automatically comes on when you open the door!  I love it!

I have a dream bedroom.  It is my sanctuary.  The blues and greens are very calming and since everything can be hidden in the immense storage, it feels very clean.  The room feels so much larger than it used to.  It took me 20 years, but I finally got the bedroom of my dreams.  Yea!

Know what this means?

Blog Makeover!

When I started this blog the night before I left for Malaysia, I had to come up with a name quickly and just used a pre-made template.  I vowed to "make it my own" when I returned.  I finally learned enough about html to create my own header and background and customize the look of my blog.

I also bought the domain name crelement.com  The creative element will be my new blog.  You can still get to it using the old blogspot address if you prefer.  Or you can bookmark www.crelement.com

I have bigger plans for the blog, but I have to learn how to make buttons in html...more later.

Emily

Great visit with my brothers

We just left Colorado. We had a great visit with my girls' Uncles, cousin and Aunt. I wish we could have stayed longer. I wish we lived closer. I wish we could ride our bikes to Uncle Greg's. I wish we could have sleep-overs with cousin Parker. I wish we could have dinner at each others houses once a week. I wish we could be with each other on birthday's. I wish we could all help each other.
Too many wishes for one birthday cake...

Educational and emotional

We are in the new van watching a movie about oceans We just watched baby sea turtles trying to make it to the ocean and getting picked off by birds. The girls and I started crying watching the babies get picked up by the mean birds. Not sure this was such a good idea.
Poor Mike...trying to drive while three girls are cheering for baby turtles and then bursting into tears.

On our way to Colorado

We just stopped in Colby, Kansas for a potty break. I jumped in the back seat to watch a movie with the girls and hand out snacks. We are watching a discovery channel movie on Oceans (good thing we already went to the bathroom; there is a lot of water in this movie!!!!)
Look closely...how Many things pink can you spy?

Buying a Burka

Well friends, I am buying a minivan. Or as my friend Jessica described it, a vehicular Burka.

I am not buying either of the two aforementioned vehicles. I am buying a Honda Odyssey.

I guess all that is missing now are some little vinyl stick figures depicting our family on the back window.

Goodbye sporty Volvo. Hello carpool lane...

Car shopping

For quite a while now, my 10 year old Volvo has been acting up.  It is also not big enough in the back for my two girls and my third kid "sophie" who lives down the street and is often in the car with us.  So I have been in the market for a new vehicle (gently used) that can hold my girls, their friends, and all the car seats.

My dream vehicle is a Honda Element.  I am one of those people that thinks that what kind of vehicle you drive says something about you.  It speaks to your personality. 

Like this Mazda...

 Or this sexy Buick Enclave

Or this sporty Audi

Or how about this car...it says, I like to kayak down rivers, but don't mind getting stuck in the mud next to the river...

But the vehicle that best describes my personality is a Honda Element.  It says I like dogs and camping. 

 It says I'm sexy and sporty

And with the perfect personalized license plate, it says, I am a bigger Dork than YOU!

I have been dreaming of owning an element since they first came out.  I had all of my choices written out for my personalized license plate.  You have to submit 5 choices to the Tag Agency and it has to be 7 letters or numbers.  So here were mine:

LMNTL (elemental)
C6H12O6 (sugar) - the color of element I wanted was the color of blue cotton candy
H (hydrogen)
602 E23 (this is Avogadro's number 6.02 x 10 to the 23rd and it is the basis for the entire periodic table)
CARBON (if I got a black one...duh)
ETOHIC (EtOH is alcohol, and the ic makes it say Alcoholic.  So I know what you are thinking..."she would get pulled over a lot"  But really? think about it?  Would the police get that?  My guess is nope.

I have more, but I think you get the idea.

So then I discover that the back seat only holds two kiddos.  The back seats split and can only hold two kids (2 seat-belts, not 3).  So because I am looking for more room, not less, I am giving up my dream of driving around in my very own element.  Sniff, sniff...(tears on the keyboard).

So, I have narrowed it down to two vehicles...

A Chrysler Town and Country:

Or a Ford Flex

I am having a really difficult time pulling the plug on a minivan.  Even typing it is difficult.  I am not a minivan kind of girl.  I don't have a minivan personality.  I don't wear knit pants or shop at Wal Mart!  I am kind of freaking out!  But I want your opinion, please.  Take one for the team and get the girls a vehicle that they never want to exit?  Or be selfish and buy a car that still allows me some swagger in the car pool lane?

Speaking of swagger...you have to see this video...

http://youtu.be/ql-N3F1FhW4

Please let me know what think.