Relative Arrival

1. I am my mother. I hate to admit that I have the same problem of waking up in the morning. I just can't do it. Now my marriage is in jeopardy. N needs to be at class at 9 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I am responsible for getting him there. I lie in bed, knowing I need to wake up, and I think that the extra 5, 10 or even 15 minutes is going to make me feel more energized, more awake, more alive. Really, all I need to do is get my ass out of bed, starting walking around, and then I will feel fine. But getting my ass out of bed is the part I simply cannot do. And if only I reminded myself of all that N does in the morning to get me ready and out the door (walks the dog, makes my breakfast, lunch and coffee, etc.) that should be enough to spring me from the comforts of my pillow. Why isn't that enough? Am I selfish? Or do I just have some disorder that prevents me from waking up when required?
2. My petition for appeal was granted and now the brief is due on Tuesday. I've been at work late every night this week so I can complete it by tomorrow. The self-imposed early due date is because brother and sister are coming into town today. While I'm sure the main reason for their visit is to see us, the real main reason is because sister is giving a reading during the Festival of the Book here in Virginia. She's famous. Seriously. Just google her name. It comes up all over the place.
3. I'm in love with the idea of multiple Polaroid cameras at my wedding and guests using them ferociously. Working on getting some from craigslist.

River

On Sunday, I took Steve to the dog park and then to the river. This time, I brought my camera, and these photos don't even begin to capture her cuteness when she's there.Here Steve is just checking things out. Right before this picture was taken, she was sitting in the water, with her butt rubbing the dirt floor.

You can barely see her white head poking out of the water, cooling herself off after an hour of chasing other pups at the park.
Steve and Marley after some rough-housing. I can never remember what kind of dog Marley is. She has some Great Pyrenees in her and some St. Bernard.
On her throne. Our house is now covered in sand, despite the time I spent cleaning her up. She slept like a baby the rest of the day.

Spring me from this place!

The only way I can get things done that I dread doing is to set up an appointment for someone to come in and review the actual document I need to draft. That way, I HAVE to complete it by that time. This method has worked on occasion. It's also backfired recently when I had to call up a client and reschedule cause I didn't have a chance to do what I needed to do. Bad bad!!

On a completely different note, yesterday was the first day of spring. In celebration, I've posted this picture from last year since it gets me excited for planting in our garden and running around with Steve. The green grass in the background, sun on N's face, Steve smiling...and don't forget the large zucchinis N's holding from our garden. This weekend we are planting 6 types of seeds from the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Last year, we bought seedlings or just planting seeds directly in the garden. This year, in order to utilize our cold frame, I picked this up from Southern States. We've never used it before, but all you need is come water and seeds, and voila - seedlings appear. I'll try to take pictures this weekend as we start our seedlings. Hope it's warm out!

Vigor for Life

That was yesterday's motto. Steve and I went to the dog park Saturday morning. She LOVES it there, and being such a warm, beautiful day, so did I. Lately, it's been frigid, but yesterday, I brought my book, sat and read, and didn't feel a pinch of guilt for indulging since Steve was having a grand ole time. She got muddy so I took her down to the river, which I would've done anyway since she loves to swim, and she cleaned up a bit. There are two dogs, Coco and Marley, who we always see there, no matter what day or time. Steve loves to chase them. They give her a good instigator for the crazies! The crazies are when she runs around in circles like she's possessed with something unearthly, like she has so much energy she can't get rid of it fast enough. She went swimming in the river, cooling herself off.

We then went to Integral Yoga to pick out seeds to plant this week. I got zucchini, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, lettuce, watermelon, and bell peppers. Afterwards, I went to Southern States to pick out our pods to plant the seeds in. We then surprised N at school and headed to the Corner to get a sandwich, where Steve made friends with some cute yuppie kids. Then back home to rest while watching the Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan. Ah, gotta love it. Last night we headed to an engagement party for our friends M and B. B is in the same program as N and I got to know M through our ladies' night dinners. M and B are moving to Philly since M got this great job at a hospital as a speech therapist. With the move, and their wedding, they have many adventures headed their way.

On a different note, I wanted to share a picture of Steve. As a result of our playtime at the dog park and splashing in the river, this was Steve earlier this morning:You can't deny how cute she is. Oh, and I promised a picture of our curio. And believe it or not, I'm going to deliver on that promise. Here is the beginning of our bird collection, along with a close-up.The close-up picture attempts to capture the great lighting we have in our bathroom. In fact, I admit that our downstairs bathroom may be my favorite room in the house. Granted, our landlords did re-tile the floor, we spruced it up with a coat of paint, and it's very minimal. Any one else have any collections started?

Flu You

1) It's Flu-ville in C-ville (I'm that much of a dork). N went to the health center yesterday and they did some test which came back positive for influenza, which then led to my phone call to the doctor's office and resulted in some meds to prevent me from getting the flu. Probably shouldn't admit I didn't get a flu shot - but wait, I just did. My health insurance kinda blows since I have an annual $1,200 deductible, afterwhich coverage is 100%. Because I'm relatively healthy, I pay for everything out of pocket. By the time I'll every reach my deductible, it will be the next year and I start all over again. I shouldn't complain because there are millions without any insurance, and g-d forbid I get into a car accident or some incurable disease, it will come in handy. So, I'll shut up now.
2) I won something, which rarely happens (despite my competitive nature). You can check it out my winning entry here and my prize here.
3) I bought my wedding dress. It's not anything like I imagined. I could show you pictures but they don't do it justice. And I already made the mistake of showing a certain someone, and let's just say it didn't go as I would've hoped. Whatevs. It's a dress. It's long and white. I'm going to wear it for a few hours. Whatevs. I'm going to look hot!
4) Working on sweet collections of birds in our curio. Pics are worth a thousand words.