Desert Magnolia

So the whole car thing? Where Daughter is taking the olive green car that we got tuned up and ready for the trip? Has changed a little. New scenario involves the olive green car staying here. And my car going to Providence. And me driving the cranberry red pickup. And hubby driving the olive green car which works fine around town, but isn't the greatest choice for a cross country jaunt followed by a winter in New England followed by another cross country jaunt. I knew this. Hubby just took longer to accept it. So there you have it. The really funny part? Is hubby thinks we can loan the girl my car for a year and expect her to actually return it after she graduates from college. He actually made a point of letting our girl know that we'll need it back when she's done with school. Really?

My oh my what a week it's turned out to be! First there was the not holiday, Memorial Day, which felt more like a prelude to a complicated dance. Then there was Daughter's wisdom teeth. Then there was the negative reaction to Vicodin, which involved a blackout in the kitchen. Then there was the new pain med prescription that we decided would be good to have on hand but not use as long as the ibuprofen was doing enough..which, so far, it has. Then there was a quiz today, which, thankfully, I managed to do fine on. Go figure. (Ok, three serious hours of focused study last night while my girl was snoozing in the recliner might have helped.) Then there was work, or IS work, since I'm still here but actually contemplating heading out before clinic to check on the girl one more time, though the last time I checked on her she was having a very nice time being entertained by her cousins and my motherinlaw..... I tweaked out yesterday. Fortunately the loving kindness

The good news? Attitudes change with the sweep of the hour hand on the clock, most days. Which is a blessing since the one I managed to get into yesterday was intense and I don't care to repeat that on a regular basis if I can help it. Anyway, here we are, and thanks to a combination of things, I'm in a much less dark place today and am told I look 'happy and fresh'...The funny thing is I have no idea how I looked yesterday, probably because most people instinctively avoided me...ahem. Reasons I think I'm in a better place today: 1. Daughter is home, and we had a lovely evening. We sat out in our backyard and enjoyed a lovely early evening and chatted about what had happened since we last relaxed together. Then we made a delicious dinner of grilled shrimp, wild rice, kale salad (fresh kale from the garden), and a chilly chardonnay. Mmmm. And then we watched Promised Land, which was good. I told JL earlier I'd give it a 6..for overall story/acting/chemistr

Or the lack thereof, actually. Case in point? Facebook. As the Marketing Director for a high tech firm, my boss made me create a Facebook account for myself years ago. Which I did, because I get it. And then business pages became the norm, so we created pages for all of our brands, which is fine. And part of marketing in the modern era. I get that too. But this isn't about promoting your business in places your audience is likely to see you, this is about the personal stuff. This is about endless posts supporting or bashing a political party. Yes, I'm a Democrat. I also support Planned Parenthood - actively and loudly for being the incredibly supportive organization that they are. I don't believe guns are good for most people to own, and I believe our health care system was in crisis long before Obamacare. It's taken a long series of stupendously bad decisions to create the pickle barrel we're all in at the moment. (Which may explain my pursuit of a health

Have you ever had a getaway that, the more you looked back on it, the better it became? The ones that fall into that category are rare and precious and buoy the spirit for years to come, I've found. Our big birthday trip to Seattle falls into that category. Every time I share memories with someone, I realize just how amazing it all was. It felt..fast, but we relaxed. It felt comprehensive in many ways, but we took our time. It felt langorous, yet we did and saw a lot. Magic, yes? I think so. Mostly I think these magical moments are about the people involved, and how they flow together and enjoy time and generally just relax into each others' company and simply enjoy whatever happens. In this case, JL knew when we wanted to head out and explore, and when relaxing and just 'being' were the ticket. And as a tour guide, well...she cares about and sees life very similarly to us, so naturally the stuff she showed us, we totally enjoyed. Apparently we all roll the s

Daughter has decided she really really needs/wants a car to drive her Senior year of college. Our first response to that was to ask around and see if anyone there might be selling a used car that she could pick up for a reasonable amount that would do the trick. She did, and nobody is. Well, one person was, but it's a long story involving a car belonging to a friend that used to belong to that friend's Mom, now deceased (the Mom, not the friend), and them asking way too much for it. So it really doesn't count anyway. And also, there were were vibes around that car that I think are best to avoid entirely. Trust me on this. Weeks pass, and the car thing keeps coming up in conversations, so we go to the next place, which is should WE buy a new car (that we can't afford right now and with my going to school more and working less certainly won't be any better positioned to afford a year from now) and give her mine? Then we dismiss that because it's just a bad id

I love movies. If you've read this blog very long you know that you'll occasionally be faced with my brand of review, which is non-traditional and based on true reaction. As it should be, right? Anyway, we've seen some really good movies lately, most notably Searching for Sugarman and Silver Linings Playbook. Searching for Sugarman is wonderful! It's...inspiring, and makes me want to be a less materialistic, more socially conscious person. In a non-preachy way. Rodriguez, the subject of this film, manages to live two lives, in effect - that of the inspired '70's musician, and that of the hard laborer supporting his family in the absence of commercial success. He manages, in spite of the life he lives (in Detroit, no less), to raise his daughters with an enormous emphasis on culture and focus on the need for spirituality. He is a gentle man, a cultured man, and he raises his family in that light. It's amazing, the soundtrack is great, and the story is