Well, I have been intentional and I have been keeping busy. So busy, in fact, that I have not been intentional about posting to this blog. :) and :( . Update on projects....finished the formal gowns....barely....picking out the last basting stitches a few hours before the were to be worn. Being the perfectionist that I am, I thought that the dresses could have been better. I felt rushed and made mistakes. The process did make me realize that I enjoy being busy, I like sewing but have much to learn, the internet is a great tool when I am stuck, I don't like sewing with a deadline, and my husband is very patient. In the end, the girls were pleased, they looked beautiful, and T even wants me to sew her dress for prom. I said I would....but only if we start now and have time to make a muslin first to iron out all the wrinkles before we start on the real deal.
Formal day itself was a united effort. M was a terrific help by taking T and S all over town, pedicure and manicure, make-up at the department store, updo at the salon, I even think they went into Frederick's of Hollywood to pick up some special underwear to avoid VPL. He was patient and good-natured and took pictures and posted to FB about his day. I got up early and went grocery shopping, cleaned house, set a beautiful table in whites and golds, and then began cooking with my mom alongside. The girls arrived, donned their dresses, and then all the other teens and assorted parents arrived. Mass mayhem with pictures, parents left, served dinner, and thankfully it was a meal enjoyed by all. Kids left, parents left, husband left.
I changed into my pajamas and realized that this was the first time in over a week that I didn't have a knot in the middle of my stomach. Too much stress and now I remember how much I don't like that feeling! So the goal is busy, but not so busy that it upsets stomach! On the upside....in two weeks I've lost about 8 pounds.
Since formal, I've begun and almost completed a batik purse (items purchased 18 months ago), and started a granny square afghan from yarn that my mother gave me over 4 years ago that originally she purchased to have someone else make and afghan for my aunt. These projects feel more relaxed...and I like that better!
Final analysis...busy=good ..... too busy=stress=not good.
Showing posts with label daughter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daughter. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Today Was Nothing and Everything
Today was Epiphany.....but no epiphany moments here.....just the continual gradual realization that I am happiest when I am busiest.
Started off the day with a Rosca de Reyes, a King's cake, and coffee. A little fondling and some passionate kisses with my husband before I had to run off for a day of cooking. Toting along my new Gourmet Cookbook, as well as half my kitchen, I headed for church where I prepare a budget lunch for about 60 seniors. Today's menu: Apricot Almond Glazed Chicken Breast, Rice Pilaf, salad of Baby Greens/thinly sliced red onion/dried cranberries/mandarin oranges/mushrooms and champagne vinaigrette, Hawaiian King rolls, and Applesauce Pecan cake. A winner.
Before all the lunch dishes were washed I began dinner for all ages at our Wednesday evening program. Tonight's menu: Pork Loin chops braised in Orange and Soy, Smashed Red Potatoes with Roasted Garlic, Same salad from lunch but with the addition of leftover toasted almonds, buttered french bread, and Red Velvet or Spice cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. Also delicious.
Clean up, pack it all up, drive home, unpack, put it all away, put on my jammies, unwind!
What did I learn today? I feel more fulfilled when I have had a productive day. My body feels better when I have been physically active all day. I am gratified by serving others. I love to cook. And eat. And talk to many different people throughout the day. I still wish I came home to a house cleaned by a maid. My husband is thoughtful and made our bed with all the pillows in the right spots after I left this morning. He understands how I like to come home to a clean house. My daughter is still a mercurial teenager and she had total attitude meltdown on me this afternoon in front of others less than 24 hours after I had written such nice things about her. And an hour later was eating dinner with me in the kitchen as sweet and loving as she could be. And my mom has a generous spirit and shows up to help me cook, even when it isn't even her church.
Today was nothing special, no big aha moments, but it was a great day!
Started off the day with a Rosca de Reyes, a King's cake, and coffee. A little fondling and some passionate kisses with my husband before I had to run off for a day of cooking. Toting along my new Gourmet Cookbook, as well as half my kitchen, I headed for church where I prepare a budget lunch for about 60 seniors. Today's menu: Apricot Almond Glazed Chicken Breast, Rice Pilaf, salad of Baby Greens/thinly sliced red onion/dried cranberries/mandarin oranges/mushrooms and champagne vinaigrette, Hawaiian King rolls, and Applesauce Pecan cake. A winner.
Before all the lunch dishes were washed I began dinner for all ages at our Wednesday evening program. Tonight's menu: Pork Loin chops braised in Orange and Soy, Smashed Red Potatoes with Roasted Garlic, Same salad from lunch but with the addition of leftover toasted almonds, buttered french bread, and Red Velvet or Spice cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. Also delicious.
Clean up, pack it all up, drive home, unpack, put it all away, put on my jammies, unwind!
What did I learn today? I feel more fulfilled when I have had a productive day. My body feels better when I have been physically active all day. I am gratified by serving others. I love to cook. And eat. And talk to many different people throughout the day. I still wish I came home to a house cleaned by a maid. My husband is thoughtful and made our bed with all the pillows in the right spots after I left this morning. He understands how I like to come home to a clean house. My daughter is still a mercurial teenager and she had total attitude meltdown on me this afternoon in front of others less than 24 hours after I had written such nice things about her. And an hour later was eating dinner with me in the kitchen as sweet and loving as she could be. And my mom has a generous spirit and shows up to help me cook, even when it isn't even her church.
Today was nothing special, no big aha moments, but it was a great day!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Two Patterns, Nine Days
The time....9 days.
The goal...2 formal evening gowns.
My daughter can be egocentric, moody, shallow....in short, she is a teenager....at 17, teetering on the brink between a dependent child and a fully realized adult....a mercurial teeter-totter swinging swiftly one way and then the other without apparent provocation or reason. Just when I am sure I have failed completely as a parent, I discover a formerly unknown to me admirable quality in her.
Today I discovered she is a true friend, putting her own needs and vanity aside for another. Attending an affluent, label concious high school, the winter formal is more akin to an after the Oscars party than a dance in the school gym. The girls shop designer salons and department stores in Los Angeles and New York for that perfect one-of-a-kind evening gown. In her senior year the pressure is even greater. A divorce and the work lay-off of the custodial parent has caused one of my daughter's friends to be excluded from the "dress process". Most are unaware of her family's severe financial difficulties and she is too proud to accept charity. How to include her in the festivities while allowing her to save face? My daughter came up with the brilliant suggestion that I sew evening gowns for both of them!
Now, I have barely sewn more than a hem for the last few years, and I can't remember the last time I put in a zipper, let alone lined a dress, but....here I am...two patterns and a trip to a scary discount fabric store later....and we are in the haute couture business! My daughter will have an outrageous over-the-top Pretty In Pink Molly Ringwold kind of gown, her friend will be channeling a classy Audrey Hepburn in a form-fitting one shouldered slit cut up to there dress. At least that is the plan. They will either look fantastic or like two teen girls in home-made formal gowns. Either way, no one is excluded, no one girl will be singled out from the pack.
On the drive home after dropping the friend off this evening my daughter acknowledged that her dress is not what she had envisioned when she fantasized about her senior formal dance, but in the end it didn't really matter. Her boyfriend could care less about the dress, her good friends (wearing their designer gowns) will still enjoy her company, all of her friends and their dates will come to our house for dinner before the dance, she will have fun and dance and laugh and take a thousand pictures. And to me, she will be the most magnificent young woman of the evening. Not thanks to a designer dress, but by virtue of the radiant person within.
The goal...2 formal evening gowns.
My daughter can be egocentric, moody, shallow....in short, she is a teenager....at 17, teetering on the brink between a dependent child and a fully realized adult....a mercurial teeter-totter swinging swiftly one way and then the other without apparent provocation or reason. Just when I am sure I have failed completely as a parent, I discover a formerly unknown to me admirable quality in her.
Today I discovered she is a true friend, putting her own needs and vanity aside for another. Attending an affluent, label concious high school, the winter formal is more akin to an after the Oscars party than a dance in the school gym. The girls shop designer salons and department stores in Los Angeles and New York for that perfect one-of-a-kind evening gown. In her senior year the pressure is even greater. A divorce and the work lay-off of the custodial parent has caused one of my daughter's friends to be excluded from the "dress process". Most are unaware of her family's severe financial difficulties and she is too proud to accept charity. How to include her in the festivities while allowing her to save face? My daughter came up with the brilliant suggestion that I sew evening gowns for both of them!
Now, I have barely sewn more than a hem for the last few years, and I can't remember the last time I put in a zipper, let alone lined a dress, but....here I am...two patterns and a trip to a scary discount fabric store later....and we are in the haute couture business! My daughter will have an outrageous over-the-top Pretty In Pink Molly Ringwold kind of gown, her friend will be channeling a classy Audrey Hepburn in a form-fitting one shouldered slit cut up to there dress. At least that is the plan. They will either look fantastic or like two teen girls in home-made formal gowns. Either way, no one is excluded, no one girl will be singled out from the pack.
On the drive home after dropping the friend off this evening my daughter acknowledged that her dress is not what she had envisioned when she fantasized about her senior formal dance, but in the end it didn't really matter. Her boyfriend could care less about the dress, her good friends (wearing their designer gowns) will still enjoy her company, all of her friends and their dates will come to our house for dinner before the dance, she will have fun and dance and laugh and take a thousand pictures. And to me, she will be the most magnificent young woman of the evening. Not thanks to a designer dress, but by virtue of the radiant person within.
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