Growing up is hard

Growing up can be really strenuous.

Bodies are difficult. Learning to get where you want to go can be frustrating. And when the mucus starts flowing, life can be downright miserable.

Then there is the emotional part. You can find yourself waking up from scary or sad dreams that leave you in tumult. It is hard to figure those emotions out.

There is the problem that everyone is out to get you. They all want to beat you, win your stuff, play with your best friend, etc. No one seems to think about what YOU want.

It never ends. Even now in my "old age" I have a hard time.

My body doesn't really like to obey me still. I am trying to learn to control my own appetites and passions.

Emotions can be tricky even now. I've mostly mastered my own, but figuring out how to understand and deal with the emotions of others is tricky.

It's hard not to be consumed with my own little family. I wonder how much more frequently I need to be thinking about the needs of others outside my own family.

What's going on

Not much is happening around here. Well, that's not exactly true.

Andrew had a mean runny nose which migrated to a nice ear infection.

Matt built and raced a sweet Pine Wood Derby car last Saturday.

We swept fall and winter off our back patio, put out a new rug under our table, moved and restocked the sandbox (which Charity has already acquired a taste for, literally).

Matt and I tried a new restaurant, the Blue Lemon, in Highland--very good! We had fiery fish tacos, cussabi shrimp salad and sweet potato fries with blue lemon sauce. It was so different and delicious, beautifully presented and fun (not cheap). Highly recommend it. Then we tantalized our spring fever with a walk around Thanksgiving Point's small, free gardens (the big ones open on March 28!).

Yesterday I planted lettuce, mesclun, onions and sugar snap peas in my little peat pots. When they send up their little shoots, they will have a new home in my garden.

But today it is snowing. Bluhhhhhh!

Happy St. Patty's Day, President Obama is Irish!

Apparently, President Obama has a great-great-great grandfather from Ireland. Ancestry.com uncovered the fact a few months ago. You can read about it here.

And while you're at it, you can hear a great little Irish ditty,"There's No One as Irish as Barack Obama", about it here. (Don't skip that one. )

A house of fun, a house of partitude

15,000 square feet of St. George house, or maybe we should call it a resort.


Pretty kitchen, I really like the light cabinets and gigantic island.


Mud room complete with drinking fountain, I really need one of those.


Master bathroom, bigger than my family room and kitchen combined.


Look out the upstairs windown and what? Oh, the backyard. Yes, let's look at that closer.

Same view, one floor down.

Walk out the master bedroom and find this. You can't see it clearly, but there is a water slide on the rock as well as several fountains.

Walk a little to the left and enter the hottub room.

Follow the lighted tunnel through the rock to this lovely grotto, a nice place to catch an outdoor movie.

Looking back at the house we can see the pergola and kitchen, fountains and more.


Let's walk down to the basement shall we? Oooh, a basketball court with slightly wider screen on the wall than the theater upstairs.

A little to the left, the climbing wall.

And beyond that, the putting green.


The racketball court, looking from the weight room.


I obviously didn't include everything in this house, like the 6 bedrooms, theater room, family room, dining room, casita, and pool house. I just showed the more outstanding elements.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Growing up, Everyone is Beautiful

The days before I got married, I felt much like this, sad about all I was leaving behind. I was excited and happy, of course, just a little mournful of leaving childhood behind.

I believe my tears were a testament to the happy childhood I had.



I don't know anything about this book, but from the excerpt, I think I'd like it. Have any of you heard about it?

Found on Design Mom

A Spot of Sun

Having so many family visitors that there's no time to think of blogging is a spot of sun.

That and the fact that in the last week I've had TWO outdoor naps on my swing in the sunshine. Oh happiness!

Dump truck cake

Remind me to make this for Andrew's next birthday.


Instructions here.

Sweet dreams

Saw this on Little Green Notebook. It's beautiful and so cool.

MaLM - Happiness on a Monday

Make a List Monday -- Happiness

1. giggling baby
2. sleeping through the night
3. dancing
4. finishing our service chain
5. waking to a clean kitchen
6. eating M&M cookies
7. FHE
8. a call from my hubby
9. watching children learn and progress (piano, gymnastics, running, interacting all today)
10. crocuses
11. outside, no jacket needed