Racler les feuilles.

Today I did something that I haven't done since I was a kid. I raked leaves. It used to be one of those seasonal chores that my Dad would save for my brother and me. But I haven't lived in a house since leaving home at eighteen, so my leaf raking opportunities have been far and few in between. My front yard, like the other yards on my block, has been covered in brown crumpled leaves for the past few weeks. My neighbors have started picking theirs up and not wanting to look bad... well you understand, I'm sure. My son and I had a wonderful time pulling the debris around the yard and stuffing it into a rubbish bin. I know this is going to sound a little silly and somewhat exaggerated, but I felt like the monk whose job it is to sweep the temple steps. The repetitive action mixed with a mindset of caring for my surroundings made me feel connected to my home and to my son. After we were done, we had lunch at the dinning room table so we could look out side and admire our work. We watched as the wind picked up and blew a new batch of leaves onto the lawn. Oh well.

Just getting by today.

I'm not trying to be super mom. Today, I'm just getting by. My once peaceful kid has turned two and replaced his little kisses with "NO", his curiosity with destruction and his smile with kicking. I know this is only a moment, but it is a moment when I have no tools. I'm a little off my game today, so I'll just settle for non-harm. I guess that counts as parenting, right?

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving.

The Pink Glove Dance

I have way too many friends with breast cancer. It makes me want to go running into the streets and scream at the universe, WHY, WHY, WHY? But instead of howling at the moon I watched this wonderful video on You Tube. Emily MacInnes Somers, created, directed and choreographed this in Portland last week for her Medline glove division as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. This was all her idea to help promote their new pink gloves. I don't know how she got so many employees, doctors and patients to participate, but it started to really catch on and they all had a lot of fun doing it.When the video gets 1 million hits, Medline will be making a huge contribution to the hospital, as well as offering free mammograms for the community. Please check it out. It rocks.

You are never powerless.

There are a million and one ways to affect change in your world. My suggestion is to start small. You know who you are. Pick something that you want to change and do it. It is all in your power. Really breathe it in and make something happen. Please don't shackle yourself to your old self. You have more power than you can possibly know. Now go forth and "be the change". Make it better than it was yesterday. I promise, you'll feel better, lifted, different, lightened, happy. It all lies before you. You only have to chose it.

Home Improvement Incentives

I've spent the last three days prepping and painting two behemoth projects in my living room. One is a floor to ceiling dark wood built-in hutch that hasn't been touched since 1971. She's a real piece of history, but if she wants to live in my house, she needs to shape up and fit in. The second project is a brick wall that houses our fire place. The bricks are very porous and craggy, which is wonderful to look at and crazy hard to paint. The brick was in fine shape but the dark brick made my living room look like a cave. And being that I'm a light junkie, I needed to rescue my fireplace from the doldrums. Anyway... I'm very happy with all of my efforts and I've been saving a little something away in the pantry to reward myself. This morning I made a thick, hot, yummy Mocha. Is there anything better? Well... besides that other thing.

Note to self

I've been working from this list this week and let me tell you... its not easily done. It seems simple enough, right? But ooooh daddy, this is hard stuff. I usually get hung up on number one and just skip to number two. Then I realize that I can't really wrap my head around number two and I move to number three. Number three goes pretty good and I get cocky and blow through four, five and six. I get bogged down at number seven because I've made lots of mistakes - I start to bore myself and so I move to number eight. Eight is understandably difficult for me as evidenced by this meandering post so I skip to nine and ten. I'm good at nine and especially ten and this gives me the fortitude to go back to number one.

Rêver de Paris.

Dreaming of going back to Paris someday - but this time with my husband. This hypothetical trip will be a ways off, as in five or six years off. But I like to dream about things WAY in advance just to lay the groundwork, you know? Paris, Paris, Paris. I don't know much about being French, but I bet I'd be darling at it.

Services de santé

Dear Boys in Washington,
Pull your heads out and lets get this party started. We need it and we're worth it and it won't kill the poor little insurance companies to back down a bit.
Sincerely,
Mama

Let us not be disconcerted.

In the Kitchen

I've been cooking, baking, cleaning, stocking and loving my new kitchen. It will probably wear off, but having a kitchen that works and is set up well makes me want to be in it! I know what you're thinking... you want to be in the kitchen? It's weird, right? Weird, but true.

Date Nite

My husband and I have been putting aside one night each month to go on a date. We've got a great gig set up with another couple. Once a month we take their kiddo for the night and then they return the favor. So cool. The other night, we went to a great place called The Porch. Their motto is "Downhome food, Uptown cocktails." I had a dirty martini (what else) and BBQ brisket sliders. I know that this combo may not seem like a good fit, but let me tell you - it was amazing. Anyway - all this to say GO ON A DATE WITH YOUR HUSBAND. I always feel lighter in spirit, closer to my man and all around renewed by our time together. And it's not just the martinis talking.

We own it.

It's ours. We did an early morning walk-through of the house and property and then headed to the title company to sign and seal the deal. For all of the cringing and hand-ringing I've been doing this week, the final signing was really smooth. Delightful, even. Our agent, our loan guy, the title company rep, the sellers and the seller's realtor were all present, enthusiastic and engaged. We handed over our money, passed out thank you notes and drove back to our apartment on cloud nine. If I didn't feel like a full fledged adult before today, I do now. I think 31 is a good age to be a grown-up. But if I'm totally honest, we couldn't have done it without our parents. So, parents, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now get your tushies to Dallas and let's celebrate!

Tomorrow, we close.

This process has been long and a bit unsettling, but tomorrow, we close on our home. Tonight, I ask the universe for a smooth transition, a speedy closing and that everyone walks away well and happy. 24 hours and counting.

Drag

I feel like putting on a beautifully tailored Katherine Hepburn pant suit, going out to a late night wine bar and smoking a few clove cigarettes. I'm not usually one to crave a cigarette, but this past rainy week and the onset of autumn have put me in a strange mood.

Rêver grand.

We move into our new home a week from today. I'm so excited that I haven't been sleeping at night. All I do is day dream about our life in the new house. I drive by and imagine our family eating in the front window. I scour design magazines and dream about re-tooling the rooms to suit our life. I am a big ol' dreaming fool. I can't wait to move in. T-minus one week and counting.