No "Check Engine" light, violet pots, rain

1. My car passed inspection, so now all I have to do is get the new stickers for the plate
   
   
2. I finally found some good pots for repotting my violets
   
   
3. We had a little bit of rain last night
   

Wordless Wednesday #21

Testing Day

1. My oldest did her first round of testing for placement into high school next year. After being taught at home independently her whole life, we're going to try correspondence school for the first time.
   
   
2. During the testing, I was able to get tons of work done on my laptop.
   
   
3. I told my other two that they needed to be quiet to help out the testing. They promised each other to do their best to get along, and they really did. They played games and watched movies and did some chores, and they didn't argue all day long.
   

Work, games, end of school year

1. I got a lot of work done on my paper today.
   
   
2. I also had a chance to play some Fast Uno with the family.
   
   
3. All the kids are finished with school for the 2006-2007 school year, though my oldest still has to do her testing to get into high school this week.
   

Memorial Day Sunday

1. They started out our church service this morning with a trumpet duet of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The kids did a really good job. I'm so happy to be living in this country instead of in Europe that I always cry now when I hear our national anthem. I'm so thankful for this country and for our soldiers who are willing to die to protect us.
   
   
2. I'm thankful in particular for my two nephews who are serving in the Air Force and the Navy.
   
   
3. I'm also very thankful for our uncles who served in our Armed Services.
   

Overnight guest, summer vacation, cut grass

1. The girls had an overnight guest---the first guest we've invited to the house that wasn't family. It's a sign that the girls are starting to feel at home in Tennessee, but it's also a sign that I have the house unpacked enough that I feel comfortable inviting people over.
   
   
2. My two youngest finished school yesterday, and my oldest will finish her last two finals today. I'm so excited to finally have a summer vacation.
   
   
3. My husband is mowing the lawn today. I love the way it looks just after it's been cut.
   

Weekend off, clean house, new sensor

1. My husband has a long weekend off from work after 12 straight days without a break and working Saturdays for the past two months.
   
   
2. Because my husband was awake today, I finally had a chance to really dust and vacuum the house. It looks good.
   
   
3. My car is fixed. It was a sensor that controlled how much air was going into the mix.

Deer, turkeys, hummingbirds

1. I saw a deer in our side yard, eating grass and not eating my new flowers.
   
   
2. I saw two big male turkeys in the back pasture.
   
   
3. The flowers are starting to come on the bushes in the yard. The hummingbirds are still around, and this will give them more to eat than just from my feeders.
   

New white dresses, new friend, my car

1. Success at last! Today I bought dresses for both girls that needed new white dresses for the ceremony in July. My youngest was talking about sewing hers, but I just don't know when I'd have the time, and I didn't want that kind of stress.
   
   
2. I met someone new at church tonight. I'm really making an effort to be more like my old self and to reach out to people---to be more outgoing.
   
   
3. My husband made an appointment for my car on Friday.
   

Good results, sleep, my car

1. I survived another doctor visit today, and the results from my blood tests done earlier were very good.
   
   
2. I was running a temperature today, which explains why I've been so tired. I'm not anemic, or even depressed, like my husband thinks. I just have some kind of minor bug, and my body needs the sleep.
   
   
3. My husband is ready to get the "check engine" light in my car taken care of.
   

Monday, awake, scrapbooking

1. It's the first day of the last week of school.
   
   
2. I'm feeling less tired today.
   
   
3. I did a couple of scrapbook pages, even though I really don't have time, with papers to write and papers to grade. But it sure felt good.
   

Nap, Purgatory, early to rise

1. An afternoon nap with my husband.
   
   
2. I started reading Dante's Purgatory, and I'm really enjoying it.
   
   
3. I heard the turkeys leaving their roosts this morning, and saw a beautiful sunrise, too.
   

Photos found, flowers, no school

1. We made a rule recently that everyone needs to clean their room on Wednesday and Saturday, with mandatory picking up dirty clothes and putting away clean clothes and making the bed. Also required is 15 minutes of cleaning something else. The problem is that I never get a chance to clean in my room because my husband works third shift and sleeps during the day. But today, I pulled out two boxes of junk from the floor of my room, and three other boxes that needed to be unpacked, and I sorted through them in the living room. And the incredibly awesome news: I found a box of pictures that was missing! It was a batch from Christmas that I was working on in my family scrapbook when we left Europe, and I hadn't seen them since. (I had packed up most of my scrapbook stuff before I broke my leg, but this was something that somehow didn't get in with the rest.) I really thought they were in the house somewhere, but I was starting to think I wouldn't find them for years.
   
   
2. My indoor plants are looking really nice. I love all the flowers.
   
   
3. I bought some shrimp, and I'm going to make Jambalaya for supper tonight!
   

Grading, beautiful weather, homeschool poem

1. I spent most of the day grading test from the past six weeks (yes, I got behind), but I got a lot done today.
   
   
2. We had another day of beautiful weather.
   
   
3. I saw an ad for a game for homeschoolers, and I saw the poem "Mom talks to herself, but that's OK,/It's just a meeting of the PTA." It makes me smile just to think about it.
   

Hard work, stripes, cloud shadows

1. My oldest did lots and lots of school today. We're all ready for summer vacation.
   
   
2. My middlest had play practice tonight, and she wore her costume all day, including a trip to NTB to get the tires balanced. She had on striped socks, rolled up jeans, and a stripped shirt that didn't match her socks. The looks she got all day long were pretty funny.
   
   
3. The weather today was gorgeous---blue skies, fluffy clouds, and cool temperatures. I enjoyed looking out my office window and watching the shadows from the clouds move across the hills and our valley.
   

Wordless Wednesday #20

Work, conference, and nap

1. I finished up a long-term project for a client today.
   
   
2. I got lots of work done on my slides (that are due today buy won't be sent until tomorrow or maybe Thursday).
   
   
3. I was able to sneak in a nap today also.
   

Open windows, Zekie and friends, flowers

1. Cool nights and sleeping with the window open.
   
   
2. I talked to my friend Kathy today, and Zekie has a new girlfriend.
   
   
3. I could sit on the couch today and watch the amaryllis blossoms open up. They would sometimes open so suddenly that the entire plant would quiver.
   

Mothers' Day

New DVD's for Mothers' Day:

1. Chicago
2. Hello Dolly!
3. Guys and Dolls
   

Auction, nice visit, fireworks

1. Today is the birthday of another good friend of mine. I wish I could call her, but I couldn't find her home phone number. Still, it's good to think about her today, and pray she has a good day. I think about her "insane but preppy" look to try to stay warm, and it always makes me smile.
   
   
2. I took the girls to their youth group project at Rita's house, and I had a chance to sit and talk to Rita for a while and to get a tour of her really lovely house.
   
   
3. While the older girls and I were away, my husband and youngest daughter had some father-daughter bonding time---setting off firecrackers and bottle rockets. Nothing like fireworks to bring you closer to your dad.
   

Birthdays, and an almost date

1. Today is my husband's 40th birthday. No one would believe him that he was 39 when he was 39, so maybe they'll believe him now that he's 40.
   
   
2. Today is also the birthday of a good friend of mine. It's nice to think about her today and pray for her to have a good day, too.
   
   
3. The older two girls are busy tonight, and the youngest has agreed to spend the evening upstairs watching movies so that my husband and I have can some time together this evening. We're going to watch a movie with Salma Hayek that I know my husband will like.
   

Learning to fix, hair cuts, green

1. I had some trouble with the computer last night, and all that help from my brother is paying off. I was able to get the thing working again this morning without help. OK, it took some time, and I hate the way that computers can seem to bog down for no reason, but I'm happy that I'm learning, and I'm really thankful for my email and Internet, and for all my blogs.
   
   
2. I got tons of work done for a client today, and I still had time to cut hair for two of the girls today.
   
   
3. I took a walk outside this morning, and almost everything that was damaged by the cold in early April is making a good come-back, and I'm still hopeful for everything that's still not quite on schedule. Everything is greening up.
   

Wordless Wednesday #19

Getting ready for the auction, nap, sleep

1. Getting all the paperwork in order before the land auction on Saturday.
   
   
2. An afternoon nap.
   
   
3. Getting to bed on time.
   

Photos, good start for school, lots of hummingbirds

1. I finished putting photos in frames and got most of them hung on the wall today. I took some of the extra photos from our trip out to Yellowstone and the Black Hills back in 2002, and from our trip to some battlefields in 2006, and some nice pictures of DC (from way back in 1992, before they started with all the scaffolding on the Washington Monument), and I hung them all on one wall in the living room. I took extra photos from our international travels and hung them on the walls in the hallway/entryway. The only countries I'm missing is the Netherlands and my trip to Romania, but I did find a nice picture from my trip to Japan. (We had so many fun pictures from Paris, Germany, and Luxembourg that we just put them all up.) I also got my poems from Germany hung beside the cuckoo clock. I'm so happy. I like the way it's all coming together, and I like the fact that the living room is getting less cluttered. Next stop, back to my room.
   
   
2. We had a bit of a rough week in school last week. It was our first full week back since my dad's funeral, and it was interrupted also by the doctor appointments and the fact that the kids were busy for a good bit of the day on Friday. But today was a great day, and we're looking forward to a great week.
   
   
3. My husband filled one of the hummingbird feeders today. I'm so happy that we're getting so many visitors!
   

Sleep, defeating the French, getting work done

1. I had a full night's sleep last night.
   
   
2. The kids made Mexican for lunch in honor of Cinco de Mayo and the defeat of the French yesterday.
   
   
3. I had a very productive meeting at church this afternoon because I got lots of grading done for the girls. I found out that the girls did make all Superiors at the Fine Arts Festival, just like I predicted. Also, I stayed for church and they actually served communion this time, which was nice.
   

New glasses, swimming, flower bud

1. My youngest's glasses weren't right, so we went back to the eye glasses place today. I went in really upset, but we came out happy. Especially my baby.
   
   
2. It poured down rain like crazy while we were in town in the car. But, we got everything done we needed to get done without getting wet, and there was plenty of water in the creek for swimming when we got home.
   
   
3. My amaryllis is growing an inch a day, with a nice big bud on it now.
   

Unpacking, auction, movie night

1. I got more cleaning and unpacking done today. After a year in this house, it's finally coming together. (In my defense, I did have a broken leg when we moved in.)
   
   
2. The lot next door is going up for auction on Saturday, and the bank is going to approve us for financing. Now all we have to do is keep praying that it all works out in our favor, whatever that may be.
   
   
3. My baby and I had a movie night while her sisters were off doing youth group stuff. We watched Beauty and the Beast---a great chic flick. We hadn't seen it in ages. I tried to get her to break out my Mother's Day gift early (I know she bought me a DVD), but she wouldn't go for it.
   

Eye doctor, vampires, floor space from the Chinese picture

1. The girls had eye doctor appointments today, and all went well. They are healthy. The two youngest needed new glasses, and they were both able to find frames they liked. They were both happy to be able to see again. And insurance paid for it all, so my husband is happy.
   
   
2. I went to the doctor today, and I had to have some blood drawn. It was the best stick I can remember. So though I hate going to the doctor, it wasn't so bad today.
   
   
3. I finally hung up my big Chinese picture and got it off the floor in my living room. Hooray!
   

Wordless (almost) Wednesday #18

(Today, an added bonus: details from picture #3.)

Clean floors and stairs, visit, green leaves again

1. Since we were in the vacuuming mood, and since the kids had cleared off the stairs in honor of grandma coming, my youngest and I vacuumed the stairs today for the first time in months. It's amazing how much cleaner my house looks with just a little bit of vacuuming.
   
   
2. My mom and I had a nice visit, and she made it home safely.
   
   
3. There is some green coming now on my hibiscus bushes. The new leaves were really damaged when the cold weather came through in very early April, but they are now starting to make a come-back.