Busy Days

Lauren and Adam's wedding is two weeks away! My days alternate between busy and procrastinating, but Lauren seems to be working every minute on detail after detail. Here's a glance at what's been going on here:

Alterations Continue (I had a larger picture here but was told to remove it because "it showed too much.")

I'm baking the wedding cake--my "usual"--hazelnut with raspberry jam, chocolate ganache, and French buttercream.  For Len's birthday I made a sample to test a bittersweet chocolate (thumbs up!) and try out an icing style that the bride is considering.

A florist will prepare the church arrangements and boutonnieres; Lauren and her helpers (many guests are artists . . . ) will create the bouquets and centerpieces.  This was our "field trip" to a floral wholesaler in MD.

 The refrigerated room--note our sweaters--brr!

Lauren's photos served multiple purposes.  Most flowers were neither labeled nor priced, so she brought her camera to the next room to show the salesman.  He identified the plants and looked up their current prices.  She's also used her pictures as references while planning her order.

Adam's uncle will be renting his town house to the newlyweds (and Adam's brother).  Friends and family have been working hard to clean after the previous tenant's departure.

Allegedly power washing the deck . . .   :-)

 The Groom painting yet another ceiling

 The Father of the Bride, painting the kitchen

I've always baked wedding cakes in stages, so it was fun to pile up the ingredients to get a perspective of how much richness is going into this dessert.  The cake (and icing) will need 44 sticks of butter (44!), 32 eggs, and 11 cups of sour cream (those are gigantic tubs in the photo)!  It will be 4 tiers:  6", 9", 12", and 16" in diameter.  We will NOT run out of cake.

 Cake mixes for the days to come--8 double batches of dry ingredients

Of course there's lots more going on--dance lessons, program writing and rewriting and editing, music plans, DJ interview, caterer and venue details to finalize, the flower girl's dress and basket to prepare, and on and on and on.

Many hands are making light work, but Lauren and Len especially impress me with their dedication and continuous efforts.  I am so grateful to both of them.

Weekends Aren't Always for Relaxing

But you already knew that, right?  Consider this morning:

• Walk the dog 0700-0750.
• Drive Joe to violin 0800.
• Shower, dress, make arrangements for Marianna's day.
• Drive Daniel to 0900 mass, pick up Joe.
• Grab 1/2 a bagel, make arrangements for Rebecca's day.
• 0940:  Drive Becca to a friend's house.
• 1000:  Chapel visit, pick up Daniel.
• 1035:  Home again.

Still to come: the end-of-season sports party for the boys (I must drive and stay), an afternoon meeting for Len (when he gets home from work), and a high school party for Daniel (we only have to pick up for that).  That's all I remember without checking my planner!  Then there are the standard weekend chores (all of us), laundry, cooking and eating dinner (we may all be home for that!).  None of which include the "real" to-do list--school prep, sewing, processing meat for the freezer, online research and ordering, and a million other fun or important tasks.

The sun is shining and the leaves are gorgeous outside.  Maybe we'll get out in the freshness. (Dusty's walk only half counts, since it's mostly dark and I don't have a human companion on the weekends.)

Enjoy your day!

Random photo:

We recently had the driveway dug up (by a bulldozer) and repaved.  The girls and I enjoyed watching the process, and I got a kick out of having a steamroller (?) in my gargage.    ;-)

Viaggio Sicuro!

Len and I are flying to Rome on Sunday!  We'll spend four days there celebrating our 25th anniversary (coming in March), then travel to Paros to visit Lauren.  My parents will be here driving, cooking, cleaning, schooling, and spoiling.  ;-)

This trip is coming together quickly.  We didn't decide to go and start making plans until mid- to late-October, so right now life is CRAZY, trying to prepare ourselves and our family (school, groceries, to-do lists) while still working through our "normal" routine.

SO . . . posting here will be light or non-existent for the next few weeks.  ασφαλές ταξίδι!

Cop Out or Not?

I'm cancelling this week's Soup Night.

72 hours after a five day trip, it's just too much for me to pull off. I've got youth orchestra tomorrow and a zillion things happening Tuesday, with no time to get to the grocery store and prepare two soups if I want to take care of my true family duties. Something has to give, and this time it's my hostessiness (new word).

BTW, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We sure did. I even played soccer for two hours with other aging adults and lots of nimble kids--great fun!

Where Am I?

Home, but not blogging...

It feels like I haven't posted in years!

These days life is either:

1. so busy that I can't justify the time to sit down to write, OR
2. so crazy that by the end of the day I can't string two coherent thoughts together.

I hope you miss me. ;-) I hope I'll be back soon.

Multi-tasking

"It is far better to do a few things well than undertake many good works and leave them half-done."

- St. Francis de Sales

Good advice from the 17th century. Any takers?

Random Bits

I don't have a real post for today. Just consider these bits to be my side of a chatty phone call:

• Today was what I call a "30 degree day", not uncommon in certain seasons here: it was 41* during the morning walk, and hit the low 70's by this afternoon. Weird.
• Lauren and I went to NY for a baptism this weekend (her third godchild!). Six hours up Saturday morning, six hours back Sunday night, and totally worth it.
• Joe went camping in Gettysburg with his scout troop this weekend and had fun despite the rain.
• My surreal weekend moment: someone was talking to me about "getting away", and asked how it was to travel with just one child along. I replied that she was mistaken, it was actually my look-alike sister who had brought her five-year-old. It turns out I was mistaken--L was talking about Lauren!
• Netflix may be a luxury, but it's one I heartily enjoy. We get family movies, kid movies, grownup movies, and plenty of school movies. Lately we've watched Slumdog Millionaire (which deserves all its accolades), Blues Clues (8 episodes on one disc!), Life in the Undergrowth (up close and personal with spiders, slugs, and insects), The Sixth Sense, and Flubber. I keep meaning to post mini movie reviews, and maybe someday I'll actually get around to it.
• Speaking of movies, I saw the new Star Trek flick with Dave and Dan last week. It's the best ST movie so far. (Yes, I know that's not saying much...) Pity my poor sister who had to hear my ST comments about a hundred times on our baptism trip; I really need to get out more often. ;-)
• David's lacrosse team went to the state championships in Richmond on Saturday, and lost in a close battle (13-12, I think).
• One of Marianna's birthday gifts was special time with her aunt yesterday. They went for a hike, then shoe shopping, then out to lunch. Len's sister is a thoughtful gift-giver, almost always squeezing time out of her busy life for some kind of outing. Next week Daniel is going on a belated trip with her (he was sick during the originally planned time) to the Spy Museum.
• I got my long overdue haircut today. I don't think anyone noticed, which is just as it should be.
• School is winding down, but sort of like a whirlpool running down the drain. Tomorrow looks like this: Len driving all the way to school (David) and fine arts dress rehearsal (the rest of the carpool), Kids' Korner at the nature center for Rebecca, a visit by Len to his parents before taking the rehearsalees back to school, then the regular afternoon carpool, scouts for Joe, kayak meeting for Len, and book club for me.
• Thursday (yes, May 21!) is the last day of classes for David and Daniel! Unbelievable!

God bless YOU and your days.

Crazy Busy

Sometimes I don't post because I have nothing to say, but other days I just can't find time to write. That's what's going on lately. I want to show you my nature drawing idea (I've been trying to put it together since Thursday night), and there are lots of recipes I could put on the cooking blog, but...no....

This Saturday was another one full of driving for both Len and me. It doesn't sound like so much when I write it down, but most of these activities necessitated two trips (coffeehouse took three!), and several were at least half an hour away. Ah, northern Virginia!

• tae kwon do
• Saturday chores (including some carpet cleaning and room sorting/moving)
• neighborhood business
• Sea Scouts
• David's haircut (short! looks good!)
• nature center activity
• DC day planning (Len and I are going out for our anniversary, and it took a surprising amount of time to decide where to go, what to see, and where to eat--lots of restaurants are closed on Sunday.)
• high school coffeehouse
• play date
• library

We were on the go until about 9:30 p.m., and up much later. Today will be spent on mass and our anniversary date, which is wonderful, but I have a stack of projects including some "right now" ones, like planning tomorrow's school work and food for our Teams of Our Lady meeting (also tomorrow). I'm not actually frantic, but the fullness of two days in a row is a bit unsettling. I doubt that will keep me from enjoying my date, though.

Saturday Specials

Everyone's got something special going on today:

• David is taking the SAT for the first time.
• Daniel is helping out at our parish's First Communion retreat.
• Joseph is coming back from a sleepover at his cousin's house, and tonight will see the Harlem Globetrotters.
• Marianna is dancing in a local St. Patrick's Day parade.
• Becca, Marianna, and I are going to tea at a friend's house.
• Len and I will have a Teams of Our Lady "sit-down" (kind of a date night) tonight.

Fun, fun, fun!

Metro Traffic

Okay, don't complain to me about your traffic unless you live near Los Angeles. Our DC metro area is #2 on the hideous list. Today's evidence:

It took 68 minutes to get David to his school's play rehearsal this morning--11.8 miles away. (Yes, he was late.) No accidents, no emergencies, just "volume". The journey home? 24 minutes. Ack!

Whining over--resume normal programming. :-)

First Communions

I've got all kinds of post ideas running through my head, but Marianna's First Holy Communion is this Saturday, so computer time is not a priority. Meanwhile, Anne wrote a nice post about my trip to Michigan for Emma's FHC.

I Am a Terrible Mother

Yesterday Lauren stayed home from school--nausea, abdominal pain, can't lift one's head off the pillow. I was solicitous--calm, quiet, serving a special chicken, rice, and egg soup. She didn't experience the worst possible intestinal symptoms, and actually recovered pretty quickly.

Today it was David's turn. He stayed home from school. I made the special soup. I was kind. But part of me harbored a secret joy . . . no rush hour lacrosse driving today!

Today's Schedule

Tuesdays are always busy, but this one is even more interesting than usual:

8:00 Start school (check!)
1:00 Art co-op here (not my week to teach, but we must tidy and clean, especially the art area, aka the kitchen table and island)
3:15 Violin lessons (Joe and Becca)
4:00 Haircut (me)
5:00 Pick up soccer (none of mine--part of a carpool)
5:30 Pick up lacrosse (David)
6:00 Irish step dance (Marianna's first class)
7:30 Sea Scouts (David)
8:00 Guitar lesson (Daniel)

Today's activities are all over northern Virginia, which is officially part of the second worst traffic area in the nation (LA is #1).
Bilocation? Not so much; Len will take half of this, starting with violin.
Dinner? Subs, made to order (probably during lunch or art) and eaten at home or on the road, as needed.

Crazy Busy

Also known as: It's Always Something.

Or maybe: What Did You Really Give Up for Lent?

We all have busy lives, but the pace here has been ratcheted up lately. Yesterday's list of ten "gotta do"s has TWO checkmarks. Okay, then...

So this morning, I'm lying in bed deciding whether or not I'm really going to crawl out at 5:45, because Thursday is a "short walk" day, so I don't HAVE to. Then I think maybe I'll get up now, take the dog out, and finally make the salt dough crown of thorns my kids want/expect/need/use every year. After all, Lent IS a week old already. Then I wonder why I haven't heard teen noises (yes, some get up before me). Did I sleep through showers and doors, or is it actually too quiet?

Get up. Wake them up. Yes, they're running a bit late.

So now it's: Make a lunch. Suggest the end of shower #1. Make two bagels. Get dressed. Make hot chocolate. Unlock a finicky car. Get another one out the door--insist on a coat. Meanwhile, Dusty is prancing and jumping (he really is cute) and following me everywhere. Is he begging for that ham sandwich or desperate to pee? Let's hope I don't find out...

None of this is rushed or panicky, but by the time we head out for our walk, 45 minutes are gone. The crown of thorns is postponed again.

This is how it's been lately. It's always something. I really am glad I got to help the teens this morning. Lots of days I don't do anything for them, and barely see them before school, so it feels great to do a little actual mothering. It's just that I didn't get to do what I had planned.

And that's where Lent comes in. Elizabeth has written more than once about how sometimes God chooses our penances, and they're not the ones we planned for ourselves. And Len has also encouraged me that doing what the family needs is better than doing what I want, even if what I want is very good.

So I try to let go and offer even the busy-ness to God. The checklist looks like I haven't accomplished much, but there's a lot more to family life than that list. If my attitude is right (loving, serving, patient, cheerful, or at least TRYING for all those), I will be offering something good. Time to try!