...to say nothing of misty days and Tuesdays? Ok, that's not actually true. Sure, my first thought was...ugh, morning...and gloomy. But as I was driving into work, the misty gray sky and slight drizzle begin to have a certain appeal. Of course, I would have preferred that appeal on a day slightly cooler and across the Pond...there's just something about the mist and smell of a peat moss fire that is uber-comforting...

As much as I would have loved to get a picture of this misty morning, I thought it best not to snap while driving with my new phone and droopy eyelids. Instead, here's a picture from my trip across the Pond. You see why I might like it better than a misty metro-Detroit morning....

They say it's my birthday. And so far, I am rather unimpressed. Well, sure, it is only mid-morning, but let's just say I am remaining a skeptic. Far gone are the days of being excited for the impending party, the pile of presents, and the pizza and cake. It's just that everything in life gets more complicated when you're older...even birthdays.

The age old question still gets asked: "What do you want for your birthday?" The trouble is, at this point in my life, if I really tell you, you'll just get offended. What do I want? I'd like a day to myself, where I can just relax, sit in silence if I want, rock out to music if I want, get pampered if I want, choose to hang out with whomever I choose if I want, without the drama of explaining why I chose who I chose...a day where the demands of life are just erased. I'd like a day where I do not need to perform, do not need to be nice when I want to scream, do not need to satiate other people's desires of being useful and 'thoughtful' by attending things I don't even want to go to. I'd like to actually sincerely be asked what I would like instead of being told what I will like because someone else feels a need to be thoughtful and generous and give me something I don't even want because it makes them feel better.

Now, I must interject in my own ranting to say that I do have two very memorable birthdays from my adulthood.* The first was my 20th birthday where my best friends in college threw me a surprise party in my own apartment. I know - rather amusing, right? For my "gift" they cleaned my apartment (really they were just getting it ready, unbeknownst to me), and one of them took me to dinner while the other "already had plans." She sure did! Very low key, but so very thoughtful... The other was a few years ago...possibly my 1st anniversary of my 30th birthday. My best friends arranged for us to stay in a jacuzzi suite at a hotel, had a masseuse come in, and arranged for our fourth member to show up to take us to dinner and a movie. Again, totally low-key, but the most fun I've had at a birthday in many years - I even got a handmade, storybook birthday card from Mr. BirthdaySkeptic himself!

Now, I'm sure in the years to come, things will change. I'll appreciate the quiet times with my own family, new ways of celebrating and giving...but for now, this year, I remain unimpressed. Perhaps it's just the stress of the many things going on in my life right now. The wedding is two weeks away, we've just been told they are cutting our full staff by 77 and everyone must re-apply for jobs, my mom is staying with me until the week before the wedding... Perhaps it is just all of those things together that make me want to run and hide. That, however, is not my fate for today. For today, it is just another day for me, though to everyone else it may seem something special to say it is my birthday...

So this year, dear BirthdaySkeptic, I agree with your earthly revolutionary theories. There - there is YOUR belated birthday present...or early Christmas present - you pick! :)

*I should mention it is really 2 and a half memorable birthdays. For my 25th, my friends made a valiant effort to work with my mom from afar to plan a fun surprise party. Unfortunately, my mom decided to hire a limo w/o asking/telling me (I get carsick) and they lied to me about where we were eating. Never mess with this girl when it comes to food! All in all, not quite a great birthday, but I very much appreciated the effort by my friends...

For ten years, I have driven into the back lot of the parish where my office now sits, and every spring thought - I have got to get a picture of those sheep! Yes, there is a sheep farm right next to the church in the middle of the city. Of course, this didn't always used to be city - the university across the way used to be a farm after all... So finally, after a decade (yikes - I've lived here a full decade!), I have captured a version of the photo I have always wanted. It's not quite the way my mind's camera captured it, but it will certainly do for now! BAAAAAAA!!!!

The Land of Orange would be this lovely metro-area I live in. Finster and I wrote an Ode to MDOT once - I wish I could find it now. (MDOT for those not from the area is the Michigan Department of Transportation. I contend it should be MDOLT - 'cause the transportation has been plain ol' Lousy!)

It seems we cannot get from here to there without an orange barrel surfacing. If they were truly working on a whole stretch of road, I would be somewhat understanding (though I still maintain that they do not need to be working on multiple major thoroughfares at once - but what do I know?). Unfortunately, as you drive down the orange barrel lined roads, the sight of burly men at work is ... well ... few and far between. I say that with disappointment not because I enjoy the sight of construction workers, but rather because I dislike the inconvenience of closed lanes where no work is being done.

I am sure my friends in construction could give me multiple reasons why such closures are necessary. To them, I say "Poppycock!" I, of course, am not 100% sure what that means.

Amidst this sea of orange, it seems too that lately all I hear is more bad news. More people losing jobs, sick parents and grandparents, losing loved ones, troubled pregnancies, yadda yadda yadda... Even in the excitement of an impending wedding, all this news can cast a gloomy shadow on things - it can even drain my energy and has from time to time. No worries, though, every shadow has the sun behind it, and I know that all this too shall pass. With so many blessings in my life, the evil one is sure to try to muck it up with a little darkness in the shadows, but I know who's on my side. To all those with the cares of the world on their shoulders, myself included some days - I say give it all up to the only one who has conquered the world. Jesus - it's all yours!

...and that is what this episode of our own version of Friends would be called. Well, minus the floor sander, perhaps this episode was kind of already done, only I didn't inherit a stinky boy apartment. I'm just renovating before the hubby-to-be becomes the hubby-who-moves-in!

FlyGirl came over last night to help rip out the last of the carpet that covered the hardwood floors in my house. The room that was the office...er, storage/office, is now uncovered and waiting for furniture to become the office/guest room until we have need for an office/nursery. Yes, the office will remain in place. Once you understand that the "office" is a desk and some supplies in the closet, it makes it less strange I hope!


Earlier in the day we'd been looking at fancy-schmancy headbands that FlyGirl could possibly wear in our wedding now that she has shorter hair that won't go up. After surfing a few sites and realizing that the bridal business is a veritable racket we couldn't afford, we were inspired to create our own line of headwear. So we threw on "America's Got Talent" (which after watching the show for the first time I find to be questionable), and away we went!









...now we just need models to show them off in style!

All in all, not a bad night of destroying and creating, of creating and destroying....

So, I've had a few things to upload over the last couple of days, more photos from a day in the life, interesting experiences, but well, one of those experiences kept me unplugged...literally! I was working on the office in my home (painting and clearing the room to pull out the carpet), when I unplugged the computer from the power strip. In doing so, the prong on the cord actually snapped. I'd never imagined that was possible. In the interest of not completely frying the laptop, I decided to use the computer for work only, preserving what battery life I had, while I ordered another adapter (second one, mind you). Luckily, thanks to a HS/FB friend, I spent much less on this one NOT going through Best Buy...best tip I've gotten all year! ;)

Long story...well...long, I'm back in business! The weather has been warmer and more humid than I like, but the sky has been just beautiful in the mixture of the perfect cottonball clouds and sunlight. So, here are a few sky-pix from the past week...

Or, rather...the sassy apple as I like to call it!

Seriously - is this apple not sticking it's tongue out at me?!?
Little sassafrass fruit snack...

Every now and then, I go back through all my photo files, and realize one of the downfalls of being the shutterbug I am is forgetting some of the pictures I have taken. This evening I took a stroll down photo lane and discovered a store of photos from our last Fall Retreat. I love autumn, with its rich and vibrant colors, to the cool breeze...and having a retreat on Lake Huron just adds to its charm. Seeing these makes me look forward to autumn, though I realize this year I have new adventures to look forward to...

I admit it. I am old. Well, older than I was at any rate. ChiquitaBanana had a party tonight, and I was gleefully planning on arriving around 7:30 and leaving by 10...until on the phone with FlyGirl, when I realized I should check the party details. Much to my dismay, the party did not even start until 9. Upon learning this, I was truthfully disappointed.

Although I've been having trouble sleeping (and no, it is not because I am blogging in the wee hours of the morning. I'm blogging because I can't sleep!), I must admit I have long looked forward to being home by 9 or 10, getting into my pajamas and just relaxing. I am no longer the MadameSocialButterfly I used to be by any means, as Hombre and I were discussing at ChiquitaBanana's. Long gone are the days where if a party started at 9, we'd show up at 11 and possibly stay 'til the sun came up the next morning. Those were indeed glorious days, and perhaps we can relive them on rare occasion.

Mostly, though, I'd rather curl up on the couch with a good book or some reruns...possibly a good movie if one is on tv, because even deciding on a movie to put in the DVD player is too much effort at night. I think one of the things I am most looking forward to about marriage is having someone to share that downtime with...and maybe someone to make the decision about the movie, though my MonsterMan might not always get his pick.

And now...off to try to cure that insomnia with some sleep.

(All names have been changed to protect the innocent. I kind of figured you might have guessed that, but hey - I don't want to make assumptions. I am not really marrying a monster.)

Ok, Cake Boss I am not. But...I gave ye olde cakeistry (cake artistry) a try and this is what I came up with. It's been dubbed the Alamo, a Mayan temple, and what it actually was supposed to be...a sandcastle. Yes, in hindsight, I would have focused less on how to include the pudding moat, and more on structural design. Well, it is what it is - it was tasty, that's for sure! Of course, I'm still finding crumbs of cake and "sand" all over the house...mental note for next time, design in a box... Next time, it's on cakeists, it's on...

It's sure a good thing that there were moments of consolation in prayer this morning, where the voice of God began to answer some prayerful questions I'd been asking (ok, ok, pestering) Him with forever. And as I look out the window while I work, it seems that the sun is shining and it is another beautiful summer day. Now if only those pesky animals that helped Snow White clean the dwarves' house would come and clean mine...

Apparently, I'm more of a Cinderella than a Snow White for now. ;-)

Today is one of those days. No, I don't mean that in a bad way for once! It is one of those absolutely beautiful perfect summer days where it is not too warm or cool, sunny with little cottonball clouds amidst a bright blue sky, trees of green and wildflowers lining the drive into work. It is one of those days - the kind where there is no doubt God is smiling on us despite the aching headache, late work night and rushed day. It's a day where you can't help smiling no matter the other little glitches. I can definitely take more of those!

Today comes after another day where things didn't start off so great, but then, everything started lining up. If you've ever seen Just My Luck (and I'm a little ashamed to say I watched it on tv the other night), I felt a little like lucky Ashley. Sure, I missed the priest by five minutes when I went down to the Solanus Casey Center, but there's always tomorrow. And yes, my computer was giving me all kinds of headaches as I was trying to finish a project for work, but there were creative ways around it. And sure, the travel-wedding dress I took in to get altered ended up being two sizes too big. Always a good thing except when they tell you it will cost just as much to alter the dress as you paid to buy it. And yet, they offered me a size exchange for a dress that was of equal value which, at the end of the day, I like even better than the one I'd originally bought - and it doesn't need any alterations! Now, you can't get much better than that as a bride to be, let me tell you. Are there other headaches (literal and proverbial)? Um, sure - that's life. All in all, not so bad a day, especially once the project was all complete and set at the end of the night...and I mean the end.

Yes, that led to a bit of sluggishness this morning as I headed out for appointments and work, but it was worth the effort to not have to worry about it through the day. Unfortunately, I also received a phone call first thing in the morning from a friend, early enough that I had to check the message immediately since I'd missed the initial call. Sure enough, it was not good news, which is what I figured from the "early" hour of the phone call - my friends know before 9 a.m. is not my best time of day....make that 10 a.m.! It turned out that her father had passed away suddenly the night before, and I was the one she thought of to call, both for prayer and to let everyone know. This makes friend #2 who has called me to be the point of contact for such news.

Now, some may get a complex. I admit, even I wondered why I was the one they chose, aside from the fact that my own father died while I was still in college. That wondering turned to quite a bit of humility in the end - that they would think of me to trust with that news and to do what was necessary is actually an honor. I can only hope that my prayer and response brings a little peace to an otherwise tumultous time. For FriendG I hope that I can be a better friend as she works through the loss, and for KFriend, I pray that I might let God use me as he chooses and not shy away from my own brokenness.

All in all, a pretty blessed week so far...

I sometimes wish my eyes were attached to cameras. It is so often that I see something and think "Wow! That would make a cool picture!" and yet there is no camera nearby or the moment has passed too quickly. Yes, yes, the memory and the experience are my own internal "camera" of sorts, I know. I can hear Bishop Flores in my head from his address to us at World Youth Day telling us to be sure to capture the moment in our minds and hearts as well as on film. But seriously, sometimes I just want to take a picture, and it would be far easier if the camera were attached to my eyes and clicked on command.

For those who know me, they might say I'm a wee bit of a photobug. Ok, they might use a different word than "wee." I enjoy the capture of an emotion, a moment, and sometimes just little things that you don't think to capture everyday. On a recent trip, I apparently began to take the term "photobug" too literally in some people's estimation...I think I got a couple interesting shots. You be the judge!

I am in the midst of reading Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, and I must say I am in a state of perplexity. I'm not quite sure whether to be grossly horrified (and I do not use the word "grossly" lightly!), or brilliantly amused. At times it seems as though the author has created a web-bot into which you place the novel and out comes zombified language to substitute for the phrases of Austen-ian England. At other times, the writer has intuitively captured the underlying feeling of the characters and interjects some brilliant humor, where before it was only assumed.Elizabeth the Zombie Slayer, my verdict is still out whilst I finish the book. For now, I continue to waver between gasping in shock, and laughing...sometimes also in shock at the looser nature of some of the characters comments.

Now, of course, Elizabeth could come in handy...or rather, perhaps it is a good thing she is not real for it would tempt me to call upon her services driving as of late. I'm not sure if there is something in the air, but I am convinced that drivers have lost all sense of reason. Maybe zombies are to blame, eh Lizzy? Regardless, I find it challenging to maintain a sense of Christian charity as I've been driving. Don't get me wrong - I haven't lost it...yet. But seriously? You are going to be in the far right lane of a three lane exit ramp and then turn your car so it is horizontally blocking two lanes because you have realized you really want to turn left from the right-turn-only lane? SERIOUSLY?? [I do wish I'd been aware enough to snap a pic on my cell phone, but sadly I was not]. Oh, and boat-of-a-station-wagon - no, your car does not gracefully make U-turns in the middle of the road into a left turn lane right in front of me with any ease whatsoever. Please be advised.

Perhaps I am simply exhausted from these antics on the road ... or maybe it's just that I want to finish this book that has captured my attention for some odd reason. Either way, the painting I need to do will just have to wait. Sorry study - you've now reached procrastination station, especially since I've realized that you need to be completed in 4 weeks, not 2. My apologies.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.