Tuesday, August 30, 2016

The New Normal


Tonight we went for  a very last minute date night to Houston's...I had been craving their cheeseburger and so, well...we went for the cheeseburger.

I have no clue why it's sooooo good but it just is.  And the fries with the spicy aioli are the absolute bomb.

But...that late night dinner now has me blogging at 2:45am because I am so full I can't sleep.  

Oh well.

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Buddy the Dog is so happy that he has me home all to himself during the day.  I thought he might be lonely but he follows me from room to room and puts his sweet little head on my lap while I'm working and don't tell Daddy this, but he curls up next to me on the couch too.

He's smart though and jumps down when he hears his car.

I won't tell if you won't tell.

Two big events happened yesterday.  I did 5 long, hot, painful, whiney miles on my favorite trail AND my work car hit 33,333 miles.  

The driving part was MUCH easier.  And less sweaty.

Our lime tree is literally losing branches from all the lines that are growing.  I made key lime pie  (two actually) and have been loving my bubbly water with fresh limes in it.

The lemon tree isn't as happy this year and the fig tree produced 5 whole figs, 3 of which the birds ate.  The grapes were prolific and the olives are ready to be picked...I'm going to press them into oil this time around and will probably get a 1/2 cup if I'm lucky.

Gardening isn't for the faint of heart.

I was given a box of HelloFresh meals and they were actually pretty fun to cook and everyone liked them.  This one was the favorite...pork chops in a shallot pan sauce over couscous with an arugula and peach salad.  

I'd definitely do them again during a busy season when we have lots going on...and don't have boys popping in and out for food.   

Speaking of the boys...Brian and his roommates have come home a few times and it's so fun to hear their stories.  He TOTALLY lucked out in the roomie department and I am so happy for him...they are all having a fun time.

I just love boys.  

I also love that my job is still secure because the 'hey mom!' calls keep coming.  The latest is that his phone is broken and he can only facetime us and not make regular calls.  Guess we've gotta get that taken care of at some point but it's fun to see his sweet face when he calls us.

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We went to Disneyland last week for an afternoon but don't let this picture fool you.  I was totally stressed about my job and kept breaking out in tears.  That guy that I like so much was hunting Pokemon and I was annoyed and ugh...we were both just totally grumpy and even the happiest place on earth didn't help.

But then we sat in Carthay Circle for an hour or so and slowly we relaxed.  And by the time we got home I had a fever, which explains a lot.


New shirts for my Colorado football loving boys.  I couldn't resist.

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Friday night we had a garden party and it was so nice to make a big pot of pasta and just sit in the garden and just 'be'.  The weather, even though hot during the day, has changed and I can feel Fall coming.

I'm ready for all of it.  Meals cooked in the oven.  Sweaters.  Pumpkin candles.

Above: before bed.

Below: the morning.

The clean up fairy lost our address and forgot to come while I was sleeping.

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So, my work life has been a challenge lately and I'm just so bummed.  But for now, I think it's all settled and relatively quiet...I'm back to doing what I do and trying to make thigs ok for my team.  I'll be honest, I cry a lot in the shower and my worry level is at an all time high but I know...I KNOW that this is all part of the plan.  That God has his hand in all this and I'm just trusting that it will all work out.  But for reals, it's been really rough.

And so I'm cooking.  And eating.  

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And that's that.  It's all good.  The quiet house isn't hard to adjust to...but the strange lack of sporting events is.  For the first time since 1995, there isn't a single Busch boy playing a sport (or an instrument) without a Busch parent in the stands.

Kinda weird.  But kinda not.

It's hard to explain.  

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Saturday, August 20, 2016

Happy To Be Home

This has been the summer of being on the go...we travelled to Hawaii,  road tripped to NorCal, that guy that I like so much was off on a retreat, and then I spent nearly two weeks on a work trip to Florida.  

I'm ready for the suitcases to be put away.  Far away.

Before my long trek to the other side of the country...which conveniently happened right as that guy that I like so much went back to work, I cooked and cooked and cooked so that they wouldn't have to worry about meals.

I'm not a big 'make ahead' cook and I've got a family of fresh food eaters but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.  

I boarded the plane with a pit in my stomach.  Not for fear of flying...I actually like to fly, but because there is this shift in my work life that has me sad and more than a bit worried.  There is a new management and a new way of things being run and while some things have been helpful, there is a whole new feeling of change.  And not for the better.  

I'm worried because it's not good and I have a boy who just started college and the whole thing is just not pretty.  In fact, it's gosh darn ugly.  But just like getting on that airplane, it's not in my hands and I just have to trust.

But it's hard.

I had breakfast at the Waffle House four times while I was travelling, each time with a different set of police officers but every time I ate the the same thing because those pecan waffles are so. gosh. darn. good.  They're malty and crispy and soft and I want one right now.  Please.  

Yum.

The working conditions were lovely.

Not.

Over the weekend I drove up to visit with my cousin who recently moved to Florida and we went to a nearby state park.  I love where she lives...it's so green and lush and beautiful.  Plus,  I got to see an alligator...thankfully from the safety of a glass bottom boat.

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Three people and three hundred selfies. 

What a bunch of goof balls.

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I was able to sneak in a very stormy, very rainy day at the Magic Kingdom and I can now say that yeah, the west coast park is best.  It's more compact but so much more character filled.

Sorry Disneyworld.

I flew through Denver and could've shopped for days and now I'm so bummed that I didn't buy this shirt.  Maybe on my next trip.

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And then I came home.  

Home.

I don't know what it is about this little house on this little street.  It's not fancy and it's not big and it's not the cleanest and it's just four walls like everybody else's....but it's just got this feel to it.  I can't explain it but it's like God's face just shines down on this little space and it almost feels sacred.

It's truly a special place.

Baby Brian...who is no longer a baby but it's really hard to not think of him as the baby, has moved into his dorm room and is ready to begin college.  What?  Really?  He's in college???

But, I already got an SOS call that he needed a Target run for random things we forgot and so I picked him up, did some shopping and then spoiled him for lunch at the Hatch.  

I really miss him.

And then today I realized that the boy who moved out took a whole bunch of random things with him and now I need to shop...things like my laundry basket and the trash can from the bathroom.

And I'm fighting the 'sads'...the end of era life changes that are happening.  We popped open a bottle of rose and grilled up some steaks and toasted life.  

Thirty years.  

Three boys.  

One really great God.

So here's to stage three.

Stage one - marriage.
Stage two - raising boys.
Stage three - party time.

Or something like that.  

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Saturday, August 6, 2016

I've Been Quiet This Summer

This summer is a summer of transition for me and through it all,  I've been quiet.  I've had lots of words but they haven't been written...but they have been spoken.  And prayed.  And cried.  And laughed.

This summer has been one of crazy busyness but also of rest.

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There was the whole thing where I turned 50.  And then shortly after, that guy that I like so much and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.  I had a high school reunion in there and more garden parties that I can count...some big, some small, some in my garden and some in others.

Transition.  We are in transition.

The youngest of my houseful of boys graduated high school in June and he is moving into his dorm exactly 7 days from today.  It's just so strange, this time of life.  This time of transition from having a houseful to this time of empty nesting.  

I'm still figuring out how I feel about all of it.

We road tripped this summer so that I could reunite with my high school friends.  I may have written this before, but I was the girl who left town the day after I graduated.  I never once looked back for 30 years (!!!)...but high-tailed it from point A to point B.  From the life that was to the life that was waiting for me...and that life involved a boy that I would marry pretty quickly and a baby that I would hold not so long after that.

I had a plan...but God had a bigger plan.  His plans are always better anyway.



We reunited and it just wasn't enough time with the girls from way back when.  They say that you can't go back but you know what?  You can.  You really can.

That guy that I like so much and I turned the whole reunion into a big road trip...a visit with his parents and with mine and then threw in a few nights of just us in a place that we love so much.

I've just felt like we've needed alone time so much this summer and God smiled and said 'yeah, you do'.  So we've run with it and had some fun.

 There were wineries to visit and a beach to walk and pokemon to catch...because hello?  Pokemon Go?  The best app of all time.

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The whole house was purged this summer...bags and bags of junk were carted off for goodwill and it feels. so . amazingly. great.

We needed that to happen and instead of just talking about it, we made it happen.  

So how come I want to shop now???

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So that's about it.  Nothing major happening around these parts but yet, lots of major changes happening around these parts.  I'm back at work after a tiny summer off and my job has changed quite a bit...and I'll be honest, I'm more than a little worried about that.  My boss retired and a new one is on board and, well...it's just different in a way that I'm not so sure about.  But college tuition payments mean that we need to work really hard right now...and so we're working really hard right now.

Just like everyone else in the free world.

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 The Olympics are on and I've got a houseful of 20 somethings here watching.  I love this little house and that it's 'the' house...that it's just a gathering place for the boys and their friends.  I still dream of a fixer-upper farmhouse on lots of land but God has a whole 'nuther plan for us, so here are planted in the middle of SoCal...and that's ok.  

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I'm heading on a work trip to Florida for a few weeks and need to get back in the habit of writing here in this space.  There's just so much I have to say and none of it is life changing but still...it's stuff I want to remember.  I've missed writing and am ready for a regular schedule again.  Kind of, anyway.

How has your summer been?  I'd love to hear.  

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