If It's Friday, It Must Be Princess Day ...

Of course there are about a bajillion more pictures, but since I'm running so behind, these are the best I could manage ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Princess Gathering; Palo dinner

Moving On ....

So on Thursday, we moved on to a new location.  Of course, only a clean princess dress would do ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Disney cruise line cast members; boiled shrimp and lots of it

Day Two - In Pictures

I Heart Mickey!!

I Heart Winnie's Ride!!

I Heart the carousel - after a few minutes, anyway!

I Heart my new Rapunzel two-piece ... and my tummy!

I Heart the splash area - and so does Daddy!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  MK and Be Our Guest with Everley and Maribeth; pool time with Lindley; Wolfgang Puck with the gang

Let The Potty-Celebration Vacation Begin!!

Since learning to walk, someone seems to want to be in charge of her own transport.

My seatmates.  Apparently if you wear a princess dress and look adorable, you get a whole bunch of peanuts on the plane.  As in all the peanuts left in the big bag...

First ride - monorail at the airport - made more interesting by the policeman on the seqway on our train.

Walking to the MK - took the monorail back ...

The only princess who didn't have a 90 minute wait time.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Safe, smooth flight; resort room ready and great location close together; MK with Lindley, Sam, and Steve

You Learn Something New Every Day ...

... if you want to.

On last week's trip to Jackson and back, I listened to a lot of Oprah radio.  One of her sponsors was Squatty Potty.  Apparently for the past 50+ years, I have been abusing my colon by misuse of the porcelain throne.  Who knew?  Obviously not me.  I'm just not sure which bothers me more - the colon mistreatment or the fact that I wasn't genius enough to come up with this money-maker!! 

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The Good Stuff From Today:  actually packing for vacation; pictures of Everley at the pool; Steve bringing Chic Fil A peach shake

Happy Sunday!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  4 miles and Bongo Java with Molly and Sharon; napping with Everley; Lindley and Everley time; Massage Envy time

Happy Birthday Goofy!

Today is Goofy's birthday.  Since I really don't have anything else to blog about (still sleep-deprived) and since I will be looking for Goofy in his natural habitat in a few days, here's his debut performance:

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The Good Stuff From Today: Athens breakfast with Molly, Eddie, and Marilyn; Everley and Lindley time; Molly's birthday dinner

And Then She Turned 27 ...

 Obviously I blinked again ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Eddie's safe travel to Nashville; fun with Mikey; Steve's burgers for dinner with the family; Lindley and her new dresses; Everley and dancing Mickey

Road Trip - Sista Style

It was simple enough.  I would drive to Jackson, Mississippi, to attend my nephew's graduation.  My sister would arrive a few days before from her new home in North Carolina in order to spend a few days with friends.  We would have dinner with my brother and his family, watch as my nephew received his diploma, and then my sister and I would head back to Nashville, stopping in our hometown of Starkville and spending the night.  On Friday we would get up and head on to Nashville, where her husband Eddie would arrive from North Carolina, spend the night, and head back to NC on Saturday.  Great plan, right?

As usual, when my sister and I travel together, our plans have a tendency to be rather "fluid."  That means that they are easily changed.  That means when we get lost, drive around a city several times because we were yacking so much we were oblivious to the fact that we were driving on the interstate loop around a city (at least until my sister said, "I think we've passed that grocery store before,"), run out of gas, or some other plan changer.  Not that any of those things has happened.  But they all did.

Anyhoo, after dinner and graduation (which went according to plan), Marilyn and I decided to change our spend-the-night plan.  We just decided to drive on back to Nashville.  Which would take around 6ish hours. Which means we would get home around 3.  As in a.m.  It seemed like a viable plan.  At least to two menopausal-brained women.

After one stop at possibly the nastiest McDonald's ever and gassing up my roller skate of a car (Prius C), we  drove.  And drove and drove.  Thanks to satellite radio, the Oprah Winfrey network kept up entertained, as did looking for the exit to Huntsville (which would provide a 24-hour McDonald's that would have a passing health inspection score) which we never saw because we were oblivious to it or it disappeared.  Eventually we did arrive back home, at 3am as predicted.

It was a good idea.  We think.  We'll let you know when our brains catch up on sleep ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  safe travel to and from Jackson; Amerigos with Marilyn, John, Anne, David, and Michael; graduation ceremony; McDonald's experience; Oprah's radio guests

Whoosh - And There Went 14 Years ...

Back in 1999, this little guy and his brother and parents came to Nashville to see Sam graduate from high school.  Tomorrow I will head to Jackson, Mississippi, to see this little guy, my nephew Michael, do the same.  It seems I blinked, and 14 years went by!

Congratulations Michael!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Everley time; success in semi-cleaning house

The Story Of My Life ... In A Cartoon

I guess it's nice to know that somebody gets me ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Picking up Lindley from school and making a Starbucks stop; babysitting for Everley at her house; Mathieu's chicken dinner

Sometimes You Have To Try It On

Um, not what it looked like.

Recently I found a good deal on bathing suits on a "fluffy woman" online bathing suit store.  As I perused the different styles, I decided to try a "tankini" swimsuit.  For those of you not in the know, this is a type of two-piecer.  It's not a bikini or really an obvious two-piece - it's a bottom and top that pretty much covers everything.  My sister always buys this type and loves them, so I thought I'd give it a whirl, especially at the low sales price.

Once it arrived, I took out the top part and was not thrilled.  For one thing, the top seemed more ample than my top needed.  When I held it up, it also seemed that perhaps it could not cover my ample midsection (my ample-ness is obviously misaligned).  I debated whether to keep it or send it back.  I even asked around to see if anyone I knew might want it (nobody did).  So, I started the paperwork to send it back (the biggest decision was whether to get a store credit or refund).

I took the top out one more time, and on a whim decided to try it on.  Surprisingly, what I thought was a too-ample bosom area turned out to be okay (not because I suddenly expanded, but because it sort of just worked its way where it needed to go).  Then I decided to go ahead and try on the bottom - and it seemed to work, too.  In other words, everything got covered and didn't look too out of place - pretty much what I desire in a swimsuit.  So I decided to keep it.

I think my lesson was that sometimes I reject things because I don't think they will work for my life.  I look at something and decide "no" without ever really trying it.  And by not trying it on for size, maybe I'm missing out on something that really works.

So maybe I'll try stuff now, instead of discarding it based on just what I think.  Maybe I will still reject things, but at least I'll have a real idea of why something doesn't work.  But maybe more new ideas and things will work out - I just have to try them on for size.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Everley time; watching "Jack Reacher" with Steve

I Didn't Win The Lottery ...

Just in case you were wondering.  It's probably just as well, since 600 million dollars is a lot of money to manage.  Although it doesn't stop me from thinking about what I would do with the money.

So here are just a few things I would do with the money, you know, in case I do win one day (of course, that would involve buying lottery tickets, which I rarely do).

Hire a personal staff.  These people would include:

     1. Food-Slapper-Out-Of-My Hand Person.  This person would snatch all offending food out of my hand and run for the hills.  Because apparently that is the only way I am going to stop eating the offending food.

     2.  Healthy Cooker/Food Planner Person.  This person would plan all my meals that would be healthy WW approved, yummy, and satisfying.  I would no longer have to gaze into my refrigerator and hope a healthy meal would fall out.

     3.  In-House Trainer Person.  This person would live close enough to me so I would be forced to work out several times a day.  This might also involve booting me out of the bed and out to my personal gym or jogging down my personal road.

     4.  Kitchen Guard Person.  This person would guard the door to the kitchen, only permitting authorized people to enter, which I would not be one.  I would only have access to a refrigerator stocked with fruit, veggies, and water.

Sure, I would have to hire banker people and money-advisor people and make-those-people-leave-me-alone people.  But first things would have to be first.   $600,000,000 certainly helps prioritize things!

    

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Lindley and Everley time; Lynnette picking up lunch and Steve picking up dinner

10 Days From Now ...

First here for a few days ...                               Then here for a few days ...

It's not my fault - it's all because Lindley decided to complete the potty-training thing. Really ...

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The Good Stuff From Today: 3 miles down Belmont and Bongo Java with KB and Cindy; lunch with the fam; Lindley and Everley time; watching the Preakness on tv; reaching my 3-Day goal

The Sheets Have Spoken

Some people mark the change of seasons by the Farmer's Almanac.  Others mark it according to whatever the current year's calendar dictates.  Others mark it by the last frost, or the first bud, or just that feeling that winter's got to be over.  Some even mark it by switching the clothes in their closets (they obviously have more clothes than I).  I don't adhere to any of these ideas - I mark it by my sheets.

Today I took off my flannel sheets for the last time of this winter season.  No more flannel coziness - we've changed to the coolness of crisp cotton (or at least a cotton blend).  I also took off my electric warming mattress pad, so for sure no more warm flannel coziness on a cold night. 

Spring has truly sprung, and it's sprung in my sheets!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  pedis with Molly; visiting Everley and her folks at their house

Mean Neighbors

I have nice neighbors.  Sure, the new ones who recently bought the one on one side seem to want to be on "Hoarders," what with the car permanently parked in their backyard and the mountain of boxes still in the carport.  But the neighbors behind us and on the other side of us have always been really neighborly (well, except the time the former neighbor on one side was attacked with an ax by his then-girlfriend's ex-husband).  Even when we've had a dumpster parked in our driveway, nobody has said anything except nice things.  We obviously are very blessed.

However, it would seem that not everybody in my family are so blessed.  One of Molly's neighbors is obviously the witch of the neighborhood.  She complains about everything and has called the city office to complain because during Molly's parties, her guests park in the yard (after the second letter from the city, I called the office myself and settled the whole non-problem).  She complains if Molly's dog barks (we're talking a temporary spell of 10-second barking) or if she can see the clothesline in Molly's backyard or just about anything.  She is just plain mean.  And she doesn't stop with Molly - she has actually gone to the neighbors on the other side of Molly's house and fussed at them.

Molly's neighbor wants a bush planted so that she won't be able to see the aforementioned clothesline, and I think I've found it.  What do you think? 

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Everley and Lindley time; Steve's burgers for dinner with the family; visit from Molly and Micaela; chatting about neighbor issues with Bill; 2 miles with KB

Obviously I Should Have Been A Painter.

Then I could have done this (which I think I could actually paint) and made a cool 43 million dollars.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Everley and Lindley time; Sam, David, and Jacob picking up Baja Burrito for dinner; 2 miles with KB

I'll Be Seeing This Tonight

In person.  In Nashville.  And it will be A.  MAZ.  ING.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Everley time; Demos and "The Lion King" with KB, Molly, David, and Jacob

Just Some Words (Borrowed) For A Monday

At this time of year, many graduates receive the book by Dr. Seuss, "Oh, The Places You'll Go." As gift-givers, sometimes we think that the book is all about inspiration and encouragement for those young minds as they go to college or out into the world. But maybe the inspiration and encouragement isn't just for those people - maybe it's for everybody, no matter where we are in life. Maybe we all need to be pepped up, especially on a Monday.

So, just in case you don't have the book (and maybe you should go get your own copy), here are a few excerpts as only Dr. Seuss can say them. May you go all the place you can go!

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Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. *************************************************************
I'm sorry to say so but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on. You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

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Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying
You'll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping, once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
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And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So... be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
You're off the Great Places! Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!
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The Good Stuff From Today: Watching "Life of Pi" with David and Jacob; chocolate treats from the Simmons family

Happy Mother's Day!!

Mother's Day 2007.  Castaway Cay.  

Day 2 of a 14-night Transatlantic Disney Cruise with Maribeth and Molly.

It was a very good Mother's Day!

May your Mother's Day be as special and fun as this one was!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  my family who help me realize the blessings of being a mom (and grandmom)!

It's Tomorrow - The Stores Are Still Open ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Lindley and Everley time; phone chat with Marilyn

Still Trying To Find That Thing ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Lindley and Everley time; Sam picking up Baja Burrito for dinner

Seasons ... Of Hope ...

It seems that lately I've been aware that it's a season of sorrow.  I've read prayer requests and notices and blogs about friends who have lost children and parents and beloved mates, about friends whose cancer has returned, and about friends who are going through really hard times.  While outside it seems to be a season of spring and renewal and new life, for my friends, it would seem to be a season of loss.

But the thing is, for many of these friends, all they want to talk about is hope.  Hope for the days they have left, hope for a cure, hope for the memories they shared with their lost one, and hope that things will be better.  They have hope in God and all things good.  And while I mourn with them, I also hope with them, that whatever has happened or will happen, that their hope sustains them through their difficult days.

And then I saw this on the internet, about a 17-year old who, when faced with an ominous bone cancer diagnosis, wrote a song.  That went viral.  And is all about hope.  Click on the link and learn about Zach.  And listen. 

And then embrace hope. And life.  And love.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Safe flight home; Molly pickup at the airport; sleeping in my own bed

People Be Cray-Cray

Today I decided to do nothing - and I mean no-thing.  I have come to the conclusion that sometimes when you "take a day off," it just means that you are going to really try to get stuff done that you don't get done in your regular day, but you need to get done anyway and so you're going to justify taking a day off so that you can get all that stuff done.  So much for your day off.

But today, since I am not at home and surrounded by millions of things to get done, I decided I would just laze on the couch and watch television.  Which is where the cray-cray people are.

I don't know how these people are recruited or who comes up with these shows.  Today I watched three men who sell million dollar real estate in NYC.  I didn't watch "Bad Girls Club" or "Hoarders" (mainly because the former just looked to stupid even for me and I have seen enough episodes of Hoarders to do me forever).  I've watched Honey-Boo-Boo and toddlers in tiaras.  I've watched housewives go after each other and dance moms cuss each other and celebrities try to dance and be apprentices.  The bad thing is that these are probably the tamer shows that are out there.

I guess the good thing is that maybe I feel sane by comparison.  Although, judging by some of these people, that isn't saying much ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  laziness and a little pool time; cobb salad for dinner at Olivia's

Just People Watching

Perhaps I should have been an anthropologist. That would explain why I am fascinated by people watching.  And at Disney World, forget the rides and shows - sometimes the best and most fun thing to do is sit on a bench and judge observe the people as they go past.

In my observations, I nearly always come to the following conclusions:

• I am not the fattest/tackiest dresser/oldest/most ridiculous tourist here.  But I come pretty close.
• I am glad I did not do the movie-star thing and wait until my 50s to have children.  I mean, it would be difficult to work the hoveround AND the baby stroller.
• I am glad I did not have a tattoo back in the 70s, when tattoo technique was antiquated, as evidenced by the decades of aged tattoos that I see on senior citizens (which I don't know why I should be seeing all that skin in that particular place on that old person, anyway).
• Not everybody that needs one wears a bra.  And apparently don't mind letting the girls get some air.  Or maybe their shirt is just ill-fitting with that large of a load in front.
• Sometimes parents need a nap more than their unhappy kids do.  Some other people need a nap just observing unhappy kids.
• Some people will purchase just about anything if Disney puts a price tag on it and sticks it on a store shelf.  And I have the shopping bags to prove it.

So those are my observations for now.  I have to go now, because I heard they just restocked the shelves at the Emporium, and I have a feeling there's something there with my name on it!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  a little walk and a little pool time; Downtown Disney and Chick Fil A with Steve

Some Days Just Feel Like That ...

Some days it feels like you're fighting a battle.  Sometimes it's a familiar repeated battle.  Sometimes it's a new battle.  Sometimes you don't even realize you're fighting a battle.  But the fact is, you're in a battle because you seem to be on the losing end of it.

But you continue to fight on, because you know what's at stake - that very thing that you're hoping to win.  It may be mental, it may be emotional, it may be physical - but you want something and you keep trying to hold on to it with all you've got, even though all you've got may not be much at all.

Hopefully at some point the tide will turn and your pulls on this tug of war battle will start to make a difference.  You'll dig in your heels and feel renewed strength and keep pulling.  And eventually you'll pull yourself to victory.

It's just some days, when it feels like you're losing, you really just want to let go and quit.  The trick is to just keep holding on to the rope and pull.

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The Good Stuff From Today: Animal Kingdom; chatting while waiting for the bus; meatball and bacon pizza

Bought It. Ate It.

Well, most of it.  And it was pretty good, considering that chocolate chip cookies are not my favorite.  But did I let that fact deter me from consuming most of it?  Of course not - I couldn't be that rude to Mr. Mouse!!

By the way, cookies are way larger than they appear on this blog - and we won't even mention the size of the plate!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  lunch at Be Our Guest with Molly; outlet shopping with Molly and Steve and getting dinner brought back

Just Another Disney Day ...

We started the day with a family fun run and ended it with the Expedition Everest 5K.  It sprinkled/rained during some of the family fun run and it was humid and warm during the 5K, hence my love hair-frizzled-do.  But it was fun, and I saw my friend, Disney volunteer coordinator Aisling, during both races. 
 
The 5K didn't start until 10pm and involved a 5K run with obstacles followed by a scavenger hunt.  Opting out of the after-party, we were back in our room by midnight.  Needless to say, it was a jarring wake-up call as to my lack of physical fitness.  If I can move at all on Sunday, guess I'll try to get committed to a plan.  Again ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  races with Molly and Steve; eating around the F&G Festival with Molly; seeing Aisling; watching the Kentucky Derby

Up In The Air

This morning Steve, Molly, and I boarded a plane for a trip.  Doesn't matter where - I'll leave that up to your imagination.  Anyhow, on this trip Molly decided to sit with us (we fly Southwest where you can choose your own seat if you check in early enough) with me at the window, Molly in the middle, and Steve on the aisle.  Behind us sat two little girls and a dad (I think the little girls were cousins and the dad was only dad to one of them).

In case you didn't know, I am not a fan of being up in the air in a plane.  If I could be assured that I would never crash or have scary moments up there, I would be fine.  But since I can't, I definitely have a love/hate relationship with flying.  And today, leaving in somewhat overcast weather in Nashville and knowing that the same weather might be in our landing location, I was not any more thrilled about being up in those clouds.  Of course, it didn't help when one of the little girls behind me (the one who obviously had never flown before) started off by saying, "We're gonna die," and then proceeded to gasp and utter worried remarks even before we took off.

Eventually we did take off with no bumps and no shrieking from the girls behind us.  Although the seat belt light stayed lit the entire flight, the flight itself was smooth.  The girls behind were happy.  And then the pilot comes on and says that there will be bumps as we land and would the flight attendants clean up the cabin early and sit down and buckle up.  These are never reassuring words to me.  I look out the window and see clouds, but I could also see Downtown Disney (oops - guess you know where I was headed - shocker, I know), so as usual I was filled to the brim with mixed emotions.  I mean, if we were going down (dramatic much?) would we land on top of Cirque de Soleil? 

The flight attendants went through the cabin one last time, sat down, and buckled up.  I glared out the window, looking for offending clouds with potential damaging (to me, anyhow) winds, and practiced my Lamaze breathing techniques.  And then we descended through the clouds and landed.  Without. One. Single.  Bump.

Molly says it is because she is our good luck charm and we never have turbulence when she flies with us (her memory is flawed).  But I know better.  I know who is in charge of the skies and I continually pray that He finds us a smooth passage through the clouds.  But the thing is, even if that smooth passage isn't always found, I know who's really in charge.

And that's really all I need to know to get me back up in the air next time.

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The good stuff from today:  safe, smooth flight; girls behind me on plane; room ready upon arrival; seeing Aisling at the expo; lunch at ESPN Cafe; dinner at Be Our Guest; fun in the rain at the MK; cast member who took care of Molly and Steve's park passes; phone chats with Marilyn and Anne; crazy parking lot people at mall

Tripitis

Since Lynnette diagnosed her chalk-adversion issues, I decided I could diagnose my own maladies, my current one being tripitis (pronounced trip-EYE-tis).  These are the symptons:

• having a trip planned, usually months in advance
• realizing that you have a trip planned months in advance
• realizing that your house is one mess away from being an episode of "Hoarders"
• somehow not seeming to care that your house is a mess and you are going out of town on a trip
• thinking that the night before you are going on a trip and your flight leaves at 6am and you haven't packed mainly because all your "good" clothes are in the dirty clothes hamper, that this night would be an ideal night for having the family over for "Family Make Your Own Pizza Night."  At your house.  Which is still a mess.
• At the point that you realize your traveling clothes are dirty, your house is a mess, the family is coming over for dinner, and you have no idea what other important things you should be taking on this trip, you decide to sit at the computer and play solitaire.

The good news is that this malady usually is gone within 24-48 hours, because Papa Johns made the pizza, the clothes got washed, most of the clutter got stacked up so at least it looks neat and clean, and you managed to get a few hours of sleep before the airport run.

Case closed.  At least until you get back home, look at the calendar and see you have another trip planned this year.  Bring on the solitaire!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  50 minutes of muscle manipulation (in other words, that good kind of pain) via Matt at Massage Envy; KB's birthday Athens birthday breakfast with Molly; Lindley and Everley time; Mathieu planting all the new plants around the house

I May Day

Today is the first of May, or May Day.  I think traditionally you are supposed to leave flowers on someone's doorstep and run away and/or dance around a maypole.  I chose to do neither of those today, but I did get to thinking (which is sometimes a dangerous thing), and I thought, "What if today was May I (you know, because a 1 can look like an I) or I May Day?  On May 1, you chose to do those things that you keep planning to do, and just do them?  In other words, today just say, 'I May (fill in the blank)' and then JUST GO DO IT?"

After thinking this profound thought, I decided to do it.  Due to a series of going places that weren't open yet, I wound up walking around downtown and decided that I was going to get my hair cut - short.  I walked past a barber shop and wondered if they would cut my hair.  But after reading their sign "Razor Cuts and Traditional Barber Cuts," I decided maybe not.  I kept walking and came across a salon that did cut women's hair, so I went in and got mine cut.  I am very happy with the results (sorry, no pictures) and glad that I carried through with my decision of, "I May Get My Hair Cut Off Today."

So maybe I've started a new personal tradition.  Maybe every first of May I will practice I May Day.  And maybe next year I will have a long list of things I get done.

Now that's worth dancing around a maypole!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Salon staff; Everley time; taking Molly Rafferty's; Steve bringing Chic Fil A; accomplishing several tasks