Foundry Photo Workshop

So I have the coolest husband in the world. He has envisioned, planned and is about to orchestrate this fantastic conference in Mexico City in a couple of weeks. I just thinks he's groovy and needed to brag a bit. He's pretty cute too. Here is the link to the workshop website:
www.foundryphotoworkshop.org

Favorite Quotes

I just needed some inspirational quotes today and thought I'd send them out to cyberspace too. So here goes:

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
Henry David Thoreau

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.
Maria Montessori

Be the change that you want to see in the world.
Gandhi

Life is either a great adventure or nothing.
Helen Keller

Mother's Day

It was with mixed emotions that I greeted the day called Mother's Day. The jaded side of me hates going to church and listening to all the talks about how so and so's mother always made breadfast and baked bread and looked beautiful and climbed mt. everest all at the same time. Okay, I'm exaggerating but you know what I mean. Something in me always seems to feel inadequate during those talks. There was just such a talk today but I survived. The tender part of my heart aches for the children I don't yet have. But, I am so grateful for the one I do have. Cedar is such a fun kid. He is sweet and crazy and endlessly entertaining. He has taught me so much about love and life. He even bravely marched to the front of the chapel and sang 3 mother's day songs with the primary without me standing next to him (this was a first). I beamed with cheesy mommy-like pride. Even in the hardest mommy-moments it is worth it. Cedar has brought me greater joy than I knew was possible. It makes those moments when I think I might just sell him bearable. I am grateful for my own mother who taught me to be strong and creative. I am grateful for the mother who raised my husband and taught him to be gentle and good. I look forward with hope (and a lot of faith) to the day when another child will join our little family.

24 Things About Me

Okay, so at the risk of appearing narcissistic, I will do this questionnaire. Mostly, because I'm tired and need the diversion.

4 Places I Go Over and Over
Walden School of Liberal Arts
Nana's House
Target
Running

4 People Who Email Me
Mom
Diana
Claire
Verlane

4 of my Favorite Foods
Banana Pancakes
Cheese
Polenta Lasagne
Tamales

4 Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
Asleep
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Camano Island, Washington
Europe

4 People I Think Will Respond
Becca
Jenn
Mom?
I have so few friends:)

4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over
Bourne Supremacy
Kite Runner
Juno
Annie:)

There I did it!

The challenged shopper

Okay, so last night around 8pm I set out, with trepidation, on a big grocery shopping trip. I was concerned due to the late hour and my level of fatigue and the fact that I needed to buy a lot of food. I thought I had prepared well---I left the nino with the papa and I even remembered my handy-dandy re-usable grocery bags. I was doing pretty well, had all my items and was ready to check out. I was even on time (I need to be back by 9:30 to put Cedar to bed). I love using my ec0-friendly shopping sacks but sometimes the clerks get annoyed. So, wanted to avoid and confrontations at such a late hour I decided to just use self-checkout. I started to check out my grocery and remembered that I can't put the reusable bags on the weight-sensitive checkout area. So, I thought, I will just pile everything up and put it in bags at the end. That was fine until I got about halfway through and realized I was running out of room and the sensor kept getting messed up and the clerk and had to help. At which point, she reminded me that self check-out is and express checkout. You know like 10 items or less. I had like 50-100 items. The clerk tried to be nice but I could tell she thought I was a complete lunatic. I kept piling the groceries up and with each one felt more and more flustered. I'm pretty sure people were staring. Then I had to pile everything into bags. It took an eternity. I was somewhat mortified. Luckily, Smiths has a pretty regular turnover in employees and I doubt I will ever see the clerk again. Never go shopping when tired.

The demise of the hard-drive

We had a tragedy last night. Eric's beloved hard-drive containing countless hours of curriculum preparation and a great deal of info about the up-coming Foundry Photo Workshop (Eric's current project) took one last breath and died. We took it to the doctor (Bridge Technologies) and all was lost. It has been a very devastating rough day for Eric. Luckily, he has a completely separate computer for photography so no images were lost. He is purchasing software to upgrade to some other operating system that will allow him to be constantly backing up remotely (i'm really pretending I know what I'm talking about here). The moral of the story is---appreciate your hard-drive, you never know when it will take its last breath........

Random Thoughts

Just some random comments on life from the day's experiences:
1. If it seems too good to be true...it is.
2. If you go into a store intending to buy a sensible pair of sandals for a five year-old you may come out with a pair of Transformer light-up tennis shoes.
3. Teenagers are more naive than you think
4. Sea World does tours with live animals. No really, it's true.
5. Sea World has lemurs. Why?
6. Poor eyesight is genetic. (I'm sorry Cedar)
7. 6 year-olds cannot carry a plate full of french toast and yogurt parfait without spilling. They MUST be assisted.
8. There is no way to make balancing the checking account non-stressful.
9. I am allergic to cottonwood trees.
10. There are an unusual number of said trees in our neighborhood.
11. 5 year-olds can stay up very, very late even when they are tired.
12. Cats can be obese.
13. If you call a student to the director's (principal's) office they will assume they are in trouble. (incidentally one came just because he heard students were being called in and assumed he was in trouble and needed to be there).
14. If a 5-year-old is given a "freebie" it is possible that they will believe they won it and forget about the thing they didn't win.
15. Cats enjoy crochet projects.
okay, I'm done