Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Yesterday, I went to PLA-ZA Artist Materials for the very first time. It's located downtown off 7th Avenue and Middleton (they said, "behind where the old Sears building used to be"- although I was never familiar with the old Sears building...maybe that was before I made Nashville my city). It was a great store with an impressive amount of selection. They don't carry much of the cutesy/crafty art supplies like scrapbooking stuff or hot glue gun accesories- this is definitely an art supply store. I went in there for gummed paper tape that I need for watercolor painting (it has been so long since I've done watercolor, that I must have thrown out my old roll!). After calling a bunch of stores in the Nashville area, this was the only place that carried it. I am glad to now have a new store for my art needs. They offered me a discount card at the register (free of charge) if I put myself on their mailing list (which I did) and now I will recieve 15% off every purchase. For signing up, I also was handed a $5 off $15 coupon for my next visit. I'm sure I'll be back to use it; they had the best in-store assortment of lino-cut products I've seen: lots of ink colors to choose from, varying sizes of linoleum, a choice of brayers, and even oil-based inks that I thought I'd have to get from Dick Blick. Don't get me wrong- I love Dick Blick, but I don't enjoy spending money on shipping for one tiny tube of ink.
My routine cleaning at the dentist was today. I love that extra clean feel. Afterwards, Mary (who was so nicely watching the boys for me during my time in the chair) and I cooked up a plan for heading to the Nashville Zoo. I'd planned on getting a year's membership* and the beautiful weather outside told me that today was the day to go do it. Lousy weather- lying to me like that! We got there and the skies were bleak and I was wishing that I'd brought a sweatshirt. The sun did peek out here and there, but it is nice to know that I can return anytime until March 30, 2005.
*Contrary to rumors out there, a year's zoo membership does not include free passage to the Adventure Science Center. I was skeptical, and I was right.
My routine cleaning at the dentist was today. I love that extra clean feel. Afterwards, Mary (who was so nicely watching the boys for me during my time in the chair) and I cooked up a plan for heading to the Nashville Zoo. I'd planned on getting a year's membership* and the beautiful weather outside told me that today was the day to go do it. Lousy weather- lying to me like that! We got there and the skies were bleak and I was wishing that I'd brought a sweatshirt. The sun did peek out here and there, but it is nice to know that I can return anytime until March 30, 2005.
*Contrary to rumors out there, a year's zoo membership does not include free passage to the Adventure Science Center. I was skeptical, and I was right.
Monday, March 29, 2004
More than meets the eye
When Eric's mom was here lat week, she bought Grant his very first Transformer. Not only was this cool for Grant, but Eric loved it as well. (similarly, I think it is really neat to see Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and Rainbow Brite in stores again)
Anyway, here is the important part: Today, for the first time, I was able to transform Sky Warp from a jet to a guy and back again! Woooo Hoooo! Mom is with it.
When Eric's mom was here lat week, she bought Grant his very first Transformer. Not only was this cool for Grant, but Eric loved it as well. (similarly, I think it is really neat to see Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and Rainbow Brite in stores again)
Anyway, here is the important part: Today, for the first time, I was able to transform Sky Warp from a jet to a guy and back again! Woooo Hoooo! Mom is with it.
Friday, March 26, 2004
What a wonderful day it was today. Not only because spring is in full swing and the air is warm and the flowers are blooming and the birds are singing and the breeze is soothing and buds are sprouting BUT because I celebrated my birthday with friends today. Belated, I know, but the timing wasn't right until now.
Mary and I share March 7th as the day of our birth and we got together with LaDonna for a little bit of lunch and gab. What sweet friends I have! I walked away with all sorts of goodies: Melting Pot garlic and wine seasoning, Melting Pot Milk Chocolate, some amazing pampering products from Scentaments in Goodlettsville, good teas from Davidson's, and a copy of a book I remember fondly from childhood. See? Aren't I spoiled? The kids had a great time, as they usually do. Grant pouted and whined (and got in trouble for it) because we had to leave Amber and Analynn's house. Dean enjoyed the attention lavished upon him by Mom's friends. And Owen, took a lazy snooze in the breeze beneath an open window. We imagined, and envied, his comfort level while also sharing memories of our mothers putting us down for naps when we were little- in the warm sunshine wearing only a T-shirt and underwear as the gentle wind rolled over us. Thoughts like that impart a sadness over growing up.
Mary and I share March 7th as the day of our birth and we got together with LaDonna for a little bit of lunch and gab. What sweet friends I have! I walked away with all sorts of goodies: Melting Pot garlic and wine seasoning, Melting Pot Milk Chocolate, some amazing pampering products from Scentaments in Goodlettsville, good teas from Davidson's, and a copy of a book I remember fondly from childhood. See? Aren't I spoiled? The kids had a great time, as they usually do. Grant pouted and whined (and got in trouble for it) because we had to leave Amber and Analynn's house. Dean enjoyed the attention lavished upon him by Mom's friends. And Owen, took a lazy snooze in the breeze beneath an open window. We imagined, and envied, his comfort level while also sharing memories of our mothers putting us down for naps when we were little- in the warm sunshine wearing only a T-shirt and underwear as the gentle wind rolled over us. Thoughts like that impart a sadness over growing up.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
It has been one busy month!
Florida. England. Paris. And most recently having Eric's mom for a quick visit in celebration of Dean's first birthday. She did the same stops as last year when he was born: first to Dallas to celebrate Ethan and Olivia's birthdays and then here to Nashville to celebrate Dean's birthday. Having babies 22 hours apart was certainly not my idea!
Donna flew in at 2:10pm on Saturday, and we had Dean's birthday party at 4:30pm. What a lovely gathering of friends. If we hadn't been so tired from jet lag, it could have been a long night of chatting and laughing. It really is amazing to me that my little guy is one, but I've been too busy and tired to get overly emotional about the milestone and how quickly the time has flown by. What an amazing year it has been. So- watch out! I'm certain to break down in tears in the coming months!
It was wonderful to see Eric's mom, and the boys created some great memories. Grant cried for about a half hour after waving goodbye to her at the security check.
As far as our overseas trip is concerned, we had an amazing time and I don't think I can find the time to adequately outline all that we accomplished/ saw/ experienced/ felt/ or did. All of the bits and pieces will probably seep out into conversation and my postings over time. For now, however, I will operate in bullet point fashion showcasing some of the big snipets and fond memories:
-having a birthday party with Grandma celebrating my 25th and her 80th at Aunt Jaquie's home with all of my family. Grandma's traditional marzipan/ fondant cake is always a treat!
-going to church with Jacquie and Steve, where my Uncle Steve serves as head pastor of this sweet little congregation in Sunningdale. Jaquie made this great cake made with Jersey cream in honor of the mayor visiting. Apparently, politically speaking, mayors are pretty far up on the food chain and this was quite an honor. The mayor wore an adornment over his chest that was unusaul to me, yet I'm sure was related to his office: a swag of goldtoned chain and medallions.
- My grandfather rented a car for us to get around in now that our family can no longer fit inside one car with my grandparents. Eric was adorable driving around on the left side of the road in his sporty red Peugeot. He did so well- I wasn't nervous a bit. And the car allowed us the freedom and ability to go to and from the empty house we were staying at in Ewell, as well as various outside-of-London excursions without bothering anyone else's schedule. We went to Hever Castle, Eastbourne, Sunningdale/ Windsor area and Horton Children's Farm by car. The rest of the time, we were able to go by train or walk.
-heading out for quick dinner with Eric without the kids in front of Windsor Castle and picking up some lychee and ginger ice cream from Haagen Daz (apparently a limited edition flavor only offered at the Windsor and Leicester Square locations). Yum!
-Meeting a couple from Long Beach while in Paris that had also come from London for a day trip, and had also found the bus tour to be less fabulous than expected. They were booked for the earlier Eurostar back to London and were cutting it quite close on getting back to Gare du Nord (thanks to the bus), so we gave them some euros toward a taxi cab. Americans stick together, epecially Californians.
-Climbing to the second platform of the Eiffel Tower with my husband while snow flutters down from the freezing cold sky. Tempurature: 33 degrees.
-Walking along the Champs d'Elyse as the sun burst through the clouds a bit.
-eating a baguette and brie sandwich as we shivered and walked around Paris, thinking how we were still blessed to be there
-Walking back to Gare du Nord in the dark of night and grabbing another baguette sandwich and some amazing pastries while reflecting upon the day. One pastry had that carmelized sugar on the top like creme brulee and the other was like a tiramisu in that it had a mocha liquer like flavor. Ah, if only I'd been able to read the labels....
-Back in London, taking a day trip into the city and snapping shots in front of the lions in Trafalgar Square. Grant was too scared to climb on top of them, so for the first time in the history of this tradition, we simply stood on the ground and posed near them. He better grow out of that.
-watching Dean shovel Great grandma's food into his mouth while also noting the look of glee on my Grandma's face
-The view of Eastbourne from a hill on the way to Beachy Head- breathtaking!
-Lemonade, crisps, Ginger Beer, Cadbury vending machines, licorice all sorts, flavored steamed milk in Waterloo station
-at the train station, hearing the automated voice warn, "mind the gap"
-joining Grandma for coffee at her favorite coffee shop in Stoneleigh
-watching all of the strange street people in Covent Garden and near the Jubilee Bridges. Apparently, there is no lack of metallic statue people in the whole of London. Copper, gold, silver....you name it. We did catch a group on video that still makes me laugh out loud. It was a Regae band with two or three disco dancers with wigs and great outfits doing John Travolta-like moves to the beat, all the while taking themselves extremely seriously.
-witnessing the great play between my cousin, Katheryn, and Grant and realizing that kids are just kids regardless of where they are from or what language they speak. I remember one summer when my family flew back East for a conference and to visit with family friends; I met this girl from Turkey and she didn't know English and I didn't know her language, but we had a blast running and playing and we even tried to write letters to each other for awhile. Grant has come away saying "lift" for elevator, "naught" for zero, and the phrase "jolly good". It just warms my heart.
Florida. England. Paris. And most recently having Eric's mom for a quick visit in celebration of Dean's first birthday. She did the same stops as last year when he was born: first to Dallas to celebrate Ethan and Olivia's birthdays and then here to Nashville to celebrate Dean's birthday. Having babies 22 hours apart was certainly not my idea!
Donna flew in at 2:10pm on Saturday, and we had Dean's birthday party at 4:30pm. What a lovely gathering of friends. If we hadn't been so tired from jet lag, it could have been a long night of chatting and laughing. It really is amazing to me that my little guy is one, but I've been too busy and tired to get overly emotional about the milestone and how quickly the time has flown by. What an amazing year it has been. So- watch out! I'm certain to break down in tears in the coming months!
It was wonderful to see Eric's mom, and the boys created some great memories. Grant cried for about a half hour after waving goodbye to her at the security check.
As far as our overseas trip is concerned, we had an amazing time and I don't think I can find the time to adequately outline all that we accomplished/ saw/ experienced/ felt/ or did. All of the bits and pieces will probably seep out into conversation and my postings over time. For now, however, I will operate in bullet point fashion showcasing some of the big snipets and fond memories:
-having a birthday party with Grandma celebrating my 25th and her 80th at Aunt Jaquie's home with all of my family. Grandma's traditional marzipan/ fondant cake is always a treat!
-going to church with Jacquie and Steve, where my Uncle Steve serves as head pastor of this sweet little congregation in Sunningdale. Jaquie made this great cake made with Jersey cream in honor of the mayor visiting. Apparently, politically speaking, mayors are pretty far up on the food chain and this was quite an honor. The mayor wore an adornment over his chest that was unusaul to me, yet I'm sure was related to his office: a swag of goldtoned chain and medallions.
- My grandfather rented a car for us to get around in now that our family can no longer fit inside one car with my grandparents. Eric was adorable driving around on the left side of the road in his sporty red Peugeot. He did so well- I wasn't nervous a bit. And the car allowed us the freedom and ability to go to and from the empty house we were staying at in Ewell, as well as various outside-of-London excursions without bothering anyone else's schedule. We went to Hever Castle, Eastbourne, Sunningdale/ Windsor area and Horton Children's Farm by car. The rest of the time, we were able to go by train or walk.
-heading out for quick dinner with Eric without the kids in front of Windsor Castle and picking up some lychee and ginger ice cream from Haagen Daz (apparently a limited edition flavor only offered at the Windsor and Leicester Square locations). Yum!
-Meeting a couple from Long Beach while in Paris that had also come from London for a day trip, and had also found the bus tour to be less fabulous than expected. They were booked for the earlier Eurostar back to London and were cutting it quite close on getting back to Gare du Nord (thanks to the bus), so we gave them some euros toward a taxi cab. Americans stick together, epecially Californians.
-Climbing to the second platform of the Eiffel Tower with my husband while snow flutters down from the freezing cold sky. Tempurature: 33 degrees.
-Walking along the Champs d'Elyse as the sun burst through the clouds a bit.
-eating a baguette and brie sandwich as we shivered and walked around Paris, thinking how we were still blessed to be there
-Walking back to Gare du Nord in the dark of night and grabbing another baguette sandwich and some amazing pastries while reflecting upon the day. One pastry had that carmelized sugar on the top like creme brulee and the other was like a tiramisu in that it had a mocha liquer like flavor. Ah, if only I'd been able to read the labels....
-Back in London, taking a day trip into the city and snapping shots in front of the lions in Trafalgar Square. Grant was too scared to climb on top of them, so for the first time in the history of this tradition, we simply stood on the ground and posed near them. He better grow out of that.
-watching Dean shovel Great grandma's food into his mouth while also noting the look of glee on my Grandma's face
-The view of Eastbourne from a hill on the way to Beachy Head- breathtaking!
-Lemonade, crisps, Ginger Beer, Cadbury vending machines, licorice all sorts, flavored steamed milk in Waterloo station
-at the train station, hearing the automated voice warn, "mind the gap"
-joining Grandma for coffee at her favorite coffee shop in Stoneleigh
-watching all of the strange street people in Covent Garden and near the Jubilee Bridges. Apparently, there is no lack of metallic statue people in the whole of London. Copper, gold, silver....you name it. We did catch a group on video that still makes me laugh out loud. It was a Regae band with two or three disco dancers with wigs and great outfits doing John Travolta-like moves to the beat, all the while taking themselves extremely seriously.
-witnessing the great play between my cousin, Katheryn, and Grant and realizing that kids are just kids regardless of where they are from or what language they speak. I remember one summer when my family flew back East for a conference and to visit with family friends; I met this girl from Turkey and she didn't know English and I didn't know her language, but we had a blast running and playing and we even tried to write letters to each other for awhile. Grant has come away saying "lift" for elevator, "naught" for zero, and the phrase "jolly good". It just warms my heart.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Eric came home from work with dozens of free pens this week. Apparently, it was "Pen Day" where all of the pen manufacturers ( BiC, Pentel...) come to show off their latest product in hopes that employees will become devoted to a particular grip, or ink flow, or weight in the hand- and pressure the office supply buyer into stocking those. I remember the days of working in an office and having a "favorite pen". All of us did- the nurses and doctors, included. I was in charge of office supply orders most of the time and everyone had their individual requests. And you always thought twice about loaning out a special pen to the patients for fear they might run off with them!
I don't write as often these days. A bit in my daily Bible journal, a shopping list here, a note there. But nothing like the constant writing that goes with a medical office. Yet, I still noticed two samples from the lot that I liked: this new mechanical pencil, and this pen from Staedtler.
Considering the topic, I thought this was funny.
P.S. Still trying to find time to chronical all of the wonderfulness of our recent holiday.
I don't write as often these days. A bit in my daily Bible journal, a shopping list here, a note there. But nothing like the constant writing that goes with a medical office. Yet, I still noticed two samples from the lot that I liked: this new mechanical pencil, and this pen from Staedtler.
Considering the topic, I thought this was funny.
P.S. Still trying to find time to chronical all of the wonderfulness of our recent holiday.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Monday, March 01, 2004
Jessica Simpson
Guilty! We TiVo The Newlyweds and watch it while brushing teeth before bed.
Even guiltier: I find myself having "Jessica Simpson moments". Eric enjoys pointing them out to me. I think it's funny that I have personality similarities with someone deemed "dumb" or "airheaded" since I thought I was of decent intelligence. Eric even thought she acted like me when she made the "Tisra noise" on one of the last episodes.
I think I am going to start recording these moments. Truly, they are funny.
Sadly, I used the word 'rhinocesaurous' during our journey home on Saturday. Blame the fatigue. But even sadder, I repeated myself when Eric asked me, "what did you just say?".
"Rhinocesaurous".
Duh.
Guilty! We TiVo The Newlyweds and watch it while brushing teeth before bed.
Even guiltier: I find myself having "Jessica Simpson moments". Eric enjoys pointing them out to me. I think it's funny that I have personality similarities with someone deemed "dumb" or "airheaded" since I thought I was of decent intelligence. Eric even thought she acted like me when she made the "Tisra noise" on one of the last episodes.
I think I am going to start recording these moments. Truly, they are funny.
Sadly, I used the word 'rhinocesaurous' during our journey home on Saturday. Blame the fatigue. But even sadder, I repeated myself when Eric asked me, "what did you just say?".
"Rhinocesaurous".
Duh.
So where did I leave off regarding Florida?
Wednsday, I think we stayed inside the hotel room nearly the entire day since it was raining rather hard. I take that back, we did make it out: we headed back to the mall to pick up more tea from Teavana. (I seriously could become addicted to that place!) And I also found some new jeans for myself and a cute knee length dark denim skirt from Gap (skirt: $10- yay!).Then we went out to dinner when Eric got done with work.
Thursday, the boys and I spent the morning in the room waiting for the weather to get better. They needed the down time anyway, I think. A little bit of fussiness was creeping into their demeanor. After naps, though, we departed for a Party City store in search of birthday invitations for Dean. With the short amount of time between trips, I figured I had better complete this errand while I had some time. Grant picked some adorable invitations for his little brother. I can't believe we'll be having his first birthday when we return. *sniff* Time passes all too quickly.
The conference ended at 1:00pm on Thursday and it didn't take Eric as long as anticipated to tear down and organize all of the equipment. So, with time on our hands (or at least more than we thought we'd have), we called some friends for an impromptu dinner in Lakeland. It was a really pleasant evening, considering we don't know them very well. Shane and Angie are brother and sister-in-law to a Nashville friend of ours, Travis, and Shane is also a dear friend of Kris Kelso, another Nashville friend of ours. Shane and Eric play an online game together with a some other guys occasionally, and we've met up in person when they are here in town to see Kris or Travis. So, these friends-of-friends are becoming friends of ours. Conversation was easy and their little boy, Landon, enjoyed stealing Dean's french fries while Dean consumed nearly all of Landon's toddler crackers. Good times. Another highlight was saying that we have finally been to Lakeland, Florida where Travis and Kris both hail from. Although we have really just seen the chili's restaurant there, we have been.
Friday was Magic Kingdom day and we left on the hotel shuttle at 8:45am. Big mistake. We should have just taken our car. Little did we know it would be the coldest day of our stay and that we would want to leave early. Lots of fun, but also lots of shivering. The 6:30 pm bus couldn't come soon enough! Grant had a blast on the teacups, the barnstorming roller coaster, and all of the "flying" rides like Dumbo and the Magic Carpet ride. He still wasn't too fond of the indoor, in the dark rides like Peter Pan or Winnie the Pooh (no Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney World....sad isn't it?). I don't know whether it was our bias toward the familiar or not, but Eric and I came away still liking Disneyland better than Magic Kingdom. Now, if we had the time to do a week in Orlando with a Park Hopper pass, our opinion might be different. Still, lots of fun!
Saturday, we did the full and complete 12 hour drive home. The boys were amazing- hardly a peep out of them! Eric and I were very tired, but a few Mad Libs books and the trusty "alphabet game" kept us occupied. We also nearly wore out Jeff Deyo's new CD, Light (recommended).
So that is it in a small nutshell.
We're home and soon will be off again. Tomorrow is filled with packing and last minute errands. Today, I had my hair redone and finished up some lino-cut gifts I want to take "across the pond" with us for everyone.
Very much looking forward to showing off Dean to my family in England and can't wait for Paris!
Wednsday, I think we stayed inside the hotel room nearly the entire day since it was raining rather hard. I take that back, we did make it out: we headed back to the mall to pick up more tea from Teavana. (I seriously could become addicted to that place!) And I also found some new jeans for myself and a cute knee length dark denim skirt from Gap (skirt: $10- yay!).Then we went out to dinner when Eric got done with work.
Thursday, the boys and I spent the morning in the room waiting for the weather to get better. They needed the down time anyway, I think. A little bit of fussiness was creeping into their demeanor. After naps, though, we departed for a Party City store in search of birthday invitations for Dean. With the short amount of time between trips, I figured I had better complete this errand while I had some time. Grant picked some adorable invitations for his little brother. I can't believe we'll be having his first birthday when we return. *sniff* Time passes all too quickly.
The conference ended at 1:00pm on Thursday and it didn't take Eric as long as anticipated to tear down and organize all of the equipment. So, with time on our hands (or at least more than we thought we'd have), we called some friends for an impromptu dinner in Lakeland. It was a really pleasant evening, considering we don't know them very well. Shane and Angie are brother and sister-in-law to a Nashville friend of ours, Travis, and Shane is also a dear friend of Kris Kelso, another Nashville friend of ours. Shane and Eric play an online game together with a some other guys occasionally, and we've met up in person when they are here in town to see Kris or Travis. So, these friends-of-friends are becoming friends of ours. Conversation was easy and their little boy, Landon, enjoyed stealing Dean's french fries while Dean consumed nearly all of Landon's toddler crackers. Good times. Another highlight was saying that we have finally been to Lakeland, Florida where Travis and Kris both hail from. Although we have really just seen the chili's restaurant there, we have been.
Friday was Magic Kingdom day and we left on the hotel shuttle at 8:45am. Big mistake. We should have just taken our car. Little did we know it would be the coldest day of our stay and that we would want to leave early. Lots of fun, but also lots of shivering. The 6:30 pm bus couldn't come soon enough! Grant had a blast on the teacups, the barnstorming roller coaster, and all of the "flying" rides like Dumbo and the Magic Carpet ride. He still wasn't too fond of the indoor, in the dark rides like Peter Pan or Winnie the Pooh (no Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney World....sad isn't it?). I don't know whether it was our bias toward the familiar or not, but Eric and I came away still liking Disneyland better than Magic Kingdom. Now, if we had the time to do a week in Orlando with a Park Hopper pass, our opinion might be different. Still, lots of fun!
Saturday, we did the full and complete 12 hour drive home. The boys were amazing- hardly a peep out of them! Eric and I were very tired, but a few Mad Libs books and the trusty "alphabet game" kept us occupied. We also nearly wore out Jeff Deyo's new CD, Light (recommended).
So that is it in a small nutshell.
We're home and soon will be off again. Tomorrow is filled with packing and last minute errands. Today, I had my hair redone and finished up some lino-cut gifts I want to take "across the pond" with us for everyone.
Very much looking forward to showing off Dean to my family in England and can't wait for Paris!
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