2008 May | chatting at the sky

looking for Stonehenge

May 14, 2008

A few years ago while working as a sign language interpreter at a local high school, I became friends with a math teacher whose name was Amanda. She was from England and had this spectacular accent that prompted students and teachers alike to constantly ask her to speak for us. She got a lot of Have you ever met the Queen? and Is Prince William as big a deal over there as he is over here? and stuff like that.

Sissy from Painting Love was Amanda’s roommate, as we all worked at this high school together. When Amanda moved back to England, Sissy went to visit. And one of the things on their agenda was to visit Stonehenge, as Sissy had never been. Neither had Amanda.

I remember thinking What? You live in England and you’ve never been to Stonehenge? And it was strange to me that someone would live so close to something so cool and never go.

I unpacked my china today. It was wrapped in newspaper dating back to May of 2005. It has been boxed up since then. As I opened it, I thought about this post written by my sister a few days ago. So today, I unpacked it and threw away the box.

Because as strange as it is to me to live in England and not see Stonehenge, it is even worse to have nice china and keep it in a box. I know there are tons of other things like this that are right at my fingertips but I forget to notice them. Forget to enjoy them. I want to decide to notice, to purpose to look for the little stonehenges not yet visited that exist for me in my everyday life.

Filed Under a girl 24 Comments

brought to you by the letter B

May 10, 2008

We spent some good time outside today. This little one insists on wearing dresses. No matter the occasion. When she gets on her bike, she likes for it to flow behind her like this.

Then, while unpacking the playroom, the girls found these. Of mine. From…a long time ago.
Look! It’s Derek from Barbie and the Rockers. Not to be confused with Derek Shepard from Grey’s Anatomy. Although they do bear a striking resemblance to one another. Notice the way Derek looks at Bee. He’s always had a thing for her. And they were born with a mike in their hands.

For what it’s worth, I just realized I have officially passed the age of my Barbies.

Enough about that. On to more house news. I’m finally beginning to think about that fireplace wall again. Remember the before?
I asked you for help with this room and you sure did deliver. We had painted the walls and the mantle, as well as the doors to the built-ins. Many of you recommended we remove the doors and so today, that is what I’ve worked on.
It’s harder than you might think, as those little screws are all painted over. But here you can see one side with, the other without. I put a little horse on the shelf just to try her out. I think I like them door-less.

In keeping with our theme, I have to mention that my dad helped my man assemble the girls’ bunk beds this afternoon. I don’t have a good photo of the beds, so here’s one of my dad.
He likes to make strange faces when he knows the camera is pointed his way.

Here’s someone else who enjoys reacting to my camera as well as opening every single box in the playroom and trying on every piece of dress up clothing that comes out of them.
Buzzzzzz.

Filed Under a freak, a house-lover 29 Comments

remember these?

May 7, 2008

This was the living room of our new old house back in March. I already posted about it once, but I’ve been flipping through photos to remember what it used to look like.

This was it on moving day morning, pre-truck. And don’t go asking me for photos post-truck cuz I haven’t taken any yet. But I will. Oh, I will.

Here’s that sun room photo again, for you who never saw the before.

And from another angle. This was what it looked like when we bought it. I doubted that this room had hope at first glance. But upon further speculation…

Ahhh, the after. Like my Costco rug? That was the I’m Moving Into A House With No Carpet Tomorrow And My Kids Are Really Gonna Need A Soft Place To Play Rug.

It was a good moving day, as moving days go. While I spent lots of time pacing, pointing and kicking myself for wearing bright pink underwear that tend to peek out from the back of my jeans every time I bend over (and can you imagine how much bending went on during MOVING DAY?), my kids were busy getting to know our neighbors. Now that we live on a cul-de-sac with their cousin, they are going to be outside all day, all summer. Which I love.
They have already begun to make themselves very comfortable in that sun room, which is of course as it should be. And life continues as usual, in a new old house we are learning to call home.

Filed Under a house-lover, a mother 41 Comments

moving eve

May 5, 2008

The Polly’s are packed and ready to go. The bikes are in the back of my car. The diapers and wipes are in a safe, easy-to-access basket. I have brain-farted my way through this entire day. But it is finally almost over and tomorrow, I get to watch people that aren’t me carry all my heavy furniture while I drink coffee and send my kids to preschool. Or something like that.

Farewell, sweet Sophie Marie. Be kind to your new owners. Feel free to reveal to them all of your quirks and creeks that make you you…but don’t go blabbin’ about how seldom I did the dishes. Or about how many dirty clothes we could fit on the laundry room floor. See, aren’t you gonna miss us?

We will certainly miss you.

Filed Under Uncategorized 19 Comments

this is me, letting it be

May 4, 2008

So after reading your comments on my last post (which I loved, by the way), I’ve decided that blogging is definitely kind of weird. Pink Dreaming, you said it so perfectly when you commented about chatting with your blogger friend and how you simply knew more about her than she knew about you. I love that you slapped her on the knee and laughed like you were old buddies. But isn’t that why blogging is so cool, too? Still, when you have a blog and someone reads it and then you meet them for the first time, its like they have an unfair advantage. The social scale is kind of off balance.

But you know what else I’ve decided? I think I’m gonna just go with it. So this is me, embracing the weirdness.
Actually, this is Andy Warhol me. Andy Warhol me with my U-Haul box. Because we’re moving in 2 days. And I have nothing better to do than to take pictures of me and my big self.

Filed Under a freak 12 Comments

prepare for the question mark

May 3, 2008

You know how when you were a kid and you said your own name 100 times in a row out loud and it started to sound really weird? And you wondered how in the world anyone could name their child that weird sounding name? But then you waited a few minutes and then said it out loud again it sounded normal?

That’s kind of where I am with this blog.

I am honestly kind of weirded out that I have one. I’ve met several people lately with about 3 degrees of separation between us and they have said they read my blog (hi 3 degree away people!) which is great. And no big deal to me if you lurk. That’s part of having a space on the internet as far as I’m concerned.

But it’s kind of weird, isn’t it? Right? I’m all Hi. I’m Emily. What’s your name? And they’re all Hi! I’m so-and-so and I really like your new house and the color in your kids room and my fingers are double-jointed too. And it’s kind of fun. Until I realize Wow. I have nothing new to say to this person because they already know EVERYTHING ABOUT ME.

Okay. Maybe not everything. But you know what I mean? Is this weird? Or have I just said my name too many times in a row and I need to give it a bit and it will seem normal again? Does anyone else think this way? Am I asking the wrong audience?

Filed Under a freak 26 Comments