Home Team

I have just woken up from a nap in the king size bed of my best friend Eliza Joy's guest bedroom. I feel rested, refreshed, and inspired. And not just from the nap... but from being in the company of best friends, sharing the excitement of a 9-month old baby with another on the way, and relaxing in a home that was beautifully transformed by Eliza Joy and her husband, with the help of family and friends. This weekend trip was just what the doctor ordered.

Here's a quick summary of my trip.... pictures don't do justice for how lucky I am to have as good of friends as these and to feel the comforts of being known and loved by both of them.

Hannah's Nursery that Eliza Joy has decorated with such thoughtful detail. I have walked away with many "DIY" project ideas and inspired to put more time and energy into my home.

Dana selflessly having her hair chopped off for Locks of Love. She was a trooper throughout the hair appointment, only shedding a few tears and one loud scream after the initial cut.

Taking countless pictures of Hannah Bean and claiming every little thing she does makes her "the cutest baby in the world".... and trust me when I say, she really is!

I am confident that all of the Charlottesville girls will appreciate that we found it necessary to make up our own recipe for "cake balls" on Saturday night. And this was after we enjoyed an incredible dinner at Blue Koi... dumplings, Chinese pot roast, and all. Some things never change.

Bath time for Bean... happiest baby in the world! As long as you're not trying to make her take a nap when she'd rather be playing with Mom and new friends.

More pictures to come!

Man of the Year

A belated re-post for my Dad's birthday.... I was sad to miss out on the celebration this past weekend, but I was definitely celebrating him here in Austin! He spent part of his birthday weekend building the crib for the little Nugget's nursery.... proving once again that he really is the best Dad (and soon to be grandfather!) in the world.

And here are 10 more reasons why he really is the best... (besides this picture, which clearly blows all other reasons out of the water)

1.) He taught me to appreciate good music. I used to flail my body around the living room, dancing and reciting every word to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band CD as well as Aerosmith's Greatest Hits. You name the artist... Billy Joel, Tom Petty, the Eagles, Paul Simon, Chicago... if they were good, they were being played in my Dad's car. He used to play DJ at all of his friend's parties.... sound familiar to anyone who has attended a party with me or Dee?

2.) He is the only male in the house. A wife and three daughters. We never even had a male dog. Hello, estrogen... yet he handled it like a pro. God bless him. And give him a few grandsons (possible one on September 30th?!)

3.) He is one of the funniest people in the entire world. He tells the BEST stories... ones that I ask him to repeat over and over again. I hope I have just an ounce of his sense of humor.

4.) While the three of us girls were eating breakfast when we were younger, he used to run downstairs through the kitchen dressed in only his boxers and a t-shirt saying, "I'm late for work! Just woke up! Gotta run! Love you girls!" and would run out the door to the garage. Being as gullible as we were, we would chase after him screaming, "DADDDD NOOO you don't have any pants on!!! You can't go to work like that!!!" Always kept us on our toes.

5.) He has traveled all over the world. He has been to almost every state in the U.S. and to so many other countries. The best stories involve Japan and the business men singing karaoke across the dinner table.... in English... with straight faces. I would give anything to be a fly on a wall to see my Dad in that situation.

6.) He has been the most faithful fan to the New York Jets. For those that know their history, that says a lot about him. But soon enough he will be rewarded for his dedication.... J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets!

7.) He is the most encouraging and supportive Dad that three girls could ask for. No matter what sport we wanted to play, courses we wanted to study, places we wanted to live... he has backed us up 100%.

8.) He has been the best example for what I want in a husband and in a Dad for my children (in the far-off future...), and let me just say, it hasn't been easy to find somebody with his qualities.

9.) Remember when it was funny in high school to make inappropriate comments about your friend's Dads? Without going into too much detail, let's just say my Dad was the most popular.

10.) Here comes the cheese... but it needs to be said. Dad has always told us how proud he is of us and how lucky he is to be our Dad, but I'm not sure if he knows how proud we are of him. We are told on a regular basis by friends, family, co-workers, etc, what good people our parents are. And they're right... we are the lucky ones.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I love you!

You Are My (Half) Sunshine

Can anyone guess what happened to the other half of this clay sun that a resident and I so creatively molded and detailed with our hands?

I'll give you a hint....

Me: "Good job! That's the coolest looking sun out there."

Betty: "Okay... what do I do with it, eat it?"

Me: "No, no! It's clay. We just look at it."

I turn to help another resident for 10 seconds, and when I look back....

Me: "WHERE'S THE OTHER HALF OF THE SUN?!"

Don't worry, I played a quick game of "Go Fish" in her mouth. But if I hadn't, let's all thank God for non-toxic clay.

Neon Daggers

I remember babysitting for a family in Charlottesville and knowing exactly what kind of parent I didn't want to be. The Dad was a creeper (as in he used to walk me outside, slip me an extra 20, and ask me to look at the stars with him as I awkwardly hurried to the car) and the Mom was caught up in some sort of materialistic /wannabe charlottesville liberal hippie / probably-never-wanted-kids-but-all-of-her-other-friends-were-doing-it outerspace. Did you catch all that? And the kids were just wild. Free reign over their hundreds of acres. The first time I babysat, I was on a four-wheeler within five minutes, cruising through the woods to their monstrous mansion being built. I am laughing as I write this because it doesn't even seem possible. But I couldn't help but love them. They were desperate for their parents' attention. They lived for it. So even though it wasn't my attention they were looking for, I gave it to them. I still let them know who was boss, but we had fun. I'm talking cannonball into the pool, King of the Mountain on top of the boulders, being chased by chickens in the coop kind of fun. But I'll never forget one specific day when the Mom was leaving for a bridal shower or something of the sort when her youngest son ran up to her with so much pride and excitement, handing her a bracelet that he had made for her to wear to the party. She quickly thanked him and threw it down on the table. He told her it was for her to wear that night and begged her to put it on for the party. Instead of just putting the damn thing on and taking it off in the car, she replied, "Seriously, I am not wearing that to my party." I loathed her from that day on.

And the only reason I'm telling you this story is because of the picture below. My resident made me this necklace and even before I knew it was for me, I joked that it could be used as a weapon with it's neon green daggers posing as jewelry.

But you better believe that unlike their coldhearted Mom, I'm wearing it with pride. And it is totally available to be borrowed... anytime.

Not-so-secret Admirer

I never quite pictured my admirer to be a 75-year old woman who made me stationary with a sponge toothbrush. But I definitely got a bigger kick out of her note than rose petals at my doorstep or chocolate covered strawberries in my kitchen.

"Skip looking at this - it didn't turn out well."

(not sure if she was trying to draw a picture of herself or me... but if it was meant to be me, I'm hoping it truly did not turn out well.)

"I made this card from a sponge toothbrush. I'll lend it to you, if you like."

Your Admirer,

.................................

Aging 101

We celebrated the 101st birthday of a resident last week. 101. Pretty unbelievable. All of her family and friends gathered in our meeting room which was decorated in balloons and flowers, and filled with love. It was a sweet day. I've had the privilege of knowing a handful of residents over the age of 100, and I am always in awe of them. It makes you wonder what their secret is. One lady at my last place was 105 when I left.... she was still walking, talking, and thinking with no limits whatsoever, and her only impairment was her vision. When I asked what her secret was, she told me to never stop laughing. In fact, she was known for her "dirty" jokes in the facility. And I found out that she was a champion skeet-shooter in her seventies. Imagine that....

This one lady who turned 101 last week is mostly sedentary and the only activity that she seems to truly enjoy and benefit from is the communion service provided by volunteers from the Catholic Church. We visit her every week and the volunteer will recite the prayer with her before she receive communion, and she never misses a beat. Sometimes she even leads him in the prayer. It's obvious that this has been a very sacred, meaningful event for her all throughout her life and I am always touched by how alert and oriented she becomes during that five-minute visit. The last time we visited, the volunteer recited the prayer with her, gave her the wafer, and we said our goodbyes. We were almost out the door when we heard a high-pitched voice behind us.... "No vino?!"

Another secret discovered!

Blues on the Green

Blues on the Green is a very popular event in the summertime for Austin locals, and Firas was finally successful in getting me to attend last night. It is a HUGE outdoor concert held every other Wednesday at Zilker Park. Hundreds of blankets spread out across the field, coolers of beer, picnic baskets filled with food, babies in diapers running around, local vendors selling their specialty items, music blaring from the speakers, and bikes parked all over the place.... ours included.

Yes, the Wicked Witch of Lamar was at it again. Only this time, I was a tad more pleasant to ride with. At least on the (downhill) ride there. Firas, Angie, and I biked to Zilker Park in less than 15 minutes, breezing by all of the cars stopped in traffic and pedestrians headed to Blues on the Green. Any other day, one would feel luxurious driving by people in a limo, but a bike was definitely the privileged mode of transportation this time around. We weaved in and out of people until we were at the field, set up camp, and enjoyed the music, good company, and best of all... the people watching. Forgive the blurriness of these pictures... I was zooming in like a total creeper to catch some of the crowd's finer moments.

Sexy.

The grass was itching me too. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

This was occurring literally five feet from Firas.

Needless to say, we had a great time. It was very relaxing, minus the uphill trek home with the wind blowing against us. And yes, believe it or not, there was a breeze in Austin last night. It was the ideal weather for my first Blues on the Green, and I'm certain it won't be my last.