A dear friend of mine turned 50 on Friday and I was trying to tell her how great it is to be in your 50's. Now, for those youngsters out there still in their 40's, it's not that I don't wish I were younger (thinner, richer, healthier, prettier, funnier), but there is something so freeing about hitting the big 5-0.
Like, you no longer have to wonder if that cute young guy is looking at you. He isn't. Unless you remind him of his mom.
You know you're not ever going to the Olympics as anything other than a spectator, so you can stop worrying about when to start training.
What you're going to be when you grow up has already been decided.
You know what you like, you often know what you want and sometimes you remember both of those.
Sometimes you get the seat because you're the oldest one around.
You don't really care what others think any more because you have confidence and experience. You know who you are and if others don't like it, well... You still might want to change out of the slippers when you leave the house. Or not.
The President of the United States is younger than you are. I don't know that that is a good thing about being in your 50's, but it's a fact. Like when you realized that Miss America was younger than you...that the NFL football players were all younger than you...then you realized that you could be the mother of Miss America or an NFL football player. But not the POTUS.
Not yet, anyway.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Queen Anne vs Craftsman
At two of the charity events I attended last year, I was the highest bidder for interior design consultations. One was for an initial consultation and one for three hours. We all think we have good taste, but I'm woman enough to admit I need help and to know my stuff doesn't really go together. I'm also frugal enough to try and get advice for cheap.
I had the "initial" consultation on Friday. It was enlightening, as I've never dabbled in professional decorating advice before. (You might note that it's obvious...) The designer, Mickey, wisely did not come in and tell me that my mish-mosh (it's "our" mish-mosh, but stay with me) of stuff sucked and had to go. Her approach isn't to clean out a room and have you start from scratch (unless you have a gazillion $$), but to work with what you have and advise on spacial planning and accessories. Cool, I can work with that, my ego still intact.
She didn't even speak unkindly about the Craftsman style rocker with the tropical print next to the Queen Anne style cherry wood coffee table and the rustic cedar chest. I like Mickey.
I love our media room and it is mostly my creation, done while Cameron was away on a business trip a couple years ago. Mickey gently told me that the shiny pillows really didn't go with the texture of the couch and that brocade drapes don't work with tropical print pillows and that blue in the UA print on the wall (which I love) only matched my heating pad and dust rag that were out.
Yikes. But she did it nicely. I still like Mickey. We turned the coffee table, took down the drapes and removed the shiny pillows. Not bad. I'm seeing some improvement. Oh, and removed the UA print. Not happy about that, but I'll figure that out. I get the point.
Before she ended the iniital consultation, the cherry wood coffee table and end tables were out, the living room rearranged and the cedar chest became the coffee table. I can already see the benefit of my "free" advice. I'm thinking about hiring Mickey for a few more hours of advice.
But, first I need to use the other three hours from another designer. Oh, no, what if she tells me I need broacade drapes and shiny pillows?
Stay tuned.
I had the "initial" consultation on Friday. It was enlightening, as I've never dabbled in professional decorating advice before. (You might note that it's obvious...) The designer, Mickey, wisely did not come in and tell me that my mish-mosh (it's "our" mish-mosh, but stay with me) of stuff sucked and had to go. Her approach isn't to clean out a room and have you start from scratch (unless you have a gazillion $$), but to work with what you have and advise on spacial planning and accessories. Cool, I can work with that, my ego still intact.
She didn't even speak unkindly about the Craftsman style rocker with the tropical print next to the Queen Anne style cherry wood coffee table and the rustic cedar chest. I like Mickey.
I love our media room and it is mostly my creation, done while Cameron was away on a business trip a couple years ago. Mickey gently told me that the shiny pillows really didn't go with the texture of the couch and that brocade drapes don't work with tropical print pillows and that blue in the UA print on the wall (which I love) only matched my heating pad and dust rag that were out.
Yikes. But she did it nicely. I still like Mickey. We turned the coffee table, took down the drapes and removed the shiny pillows. Not bad. I'm seeing some improvement. Oh, and removed the UA print. Not happy about that, but I'll figure that out. I get the point.
Before she ended the iniital consultation, the cherry wood coffee table and end tables were out, the living room rearranged and the cedar chest became the coffee table. I can already see the benefit of my "free" advice. I'm thinking about hiring Mickey for a few more hours of advice.
But, first I need to use the other three hours from another designer. Oh, no, what if she tells me I need broacade drapes and shiny pillows?
Stay tuned.
Ahhhh Kahhhh
She said my name!! She did! She did!
I don't care what the rest of you think.
When my 17 month old niece, McKenna, comes running down the hallway, saying "Ahh Kahh! Ahh Kahh! Ahhh Kahhhh!" then stops when she sees me, lights up a big old grin and puts her arms up, SHE SAID MY NAME!!!!!!!!!
Ah, love. Ain't it grand?
I don't care what the rest of you think.
When my 17 month old niece, McKenna, comes running down the hallway, saying "Ahh Kahh! Ahh Kahh! Ahhh Kahhhh!" then stops when she sees me, lights up a big old grin and puts her arms up, SHE SAID MY NAME!!!!!!!!!
Ah, love. Ain't it grand?
Monday, January 4, 2010
What I learned in 2009
If you read my Facebook note today, then you've read my blog. Mostly. A couple of my friends on Facebook, Trish and Gloria, posted what they learned in 2009 and it inspired me to do the same. Some of theirs are much funnier ("It's okay to laugh at your mistakes, but not while drinking milk" is a favorite), but we didn't all learn the same things, so here you go:
- It really is easy to get to Australia. Get on a plane in LAX and get off in Sydney.
- My husband can still delight and surprise me, even after 19 years together.
- If I am honest with myself and know that I have absolute best intent in what I do, then it doesn't matter what someone else's perception is of it.
- I can follow a plan. I can also stray off of it, but I know what it takes to get back on track.
- I can eat a lot.
- Getting laid off can be a good thing, as long as another-and better- job comes along.
- Friends can get very sick and they can die.
- Telling people you love that you love them is easy when you keep practicing it.
- Make sure you're ready to turn the camera on when making a video call on Skype.
- I don't have to eat it all. I can leave something on the plate.
- Driving a nice car is a nice thing.
- Texting while driving really isn't a good idea, no matter how good I think I am at it.
- Forgiveness is possible, forgetting is much harder.
- I can't do it all.
- I am blessed with friends who love me despite my shortcomings and faults.
- Giving back feels really, really good.
- I am in love with my niece.
- Work isn't the end all, but it makes many things possible.
- Time for myself and slowing it down is incredibly important to my mental and physical health.
- I love keeping in touch with Facebook.
- I don't have to name my Higher Power, just believe.
I'm sure I have learned many more things and when I think of them, I'll let you know. For now? This is it. The first post of 2010. I have one to add already:
- I like to blog.
- It really is easy to get to Australia. Get on a plane in LAX and get off in Sydney.
- My husband can still delight and surprise me, even after 19 years together.
- If I am honest with myself and know that I have absolute best intent in what I do, then it doesn't matter what someone else's perception is of it.
- I can follow a plan. I can also stray off of it, but I know what it takes to get back on track.
- I can eat a lot.
- Getting laid off can be a good thing, as long as another-and better- job comes along.
- Friends can get very sick and they can die.
- Telling people you love that you love them is easy when you keep practicing it.
- Make sure you're ready to turn the camera on when making a video call on Skype.
- I don't have to eat it all. I can leave something on the plate.
- Driving a nice car is a nice thing.
- Texting while driving really isn't a good idea, no matter how good I think I am at it.
- Forgiveness is possible, forgetting is much harder.
- I can't do it all.
- I am blessed with friends who love me despite my shortcomings and faults.
- Giving back feels really, really good.
- I am in love with my niece.
- Work isn't the end all, but it makes many things possible.
- Time for myself and slowing it down is incredibly important to my mental and physical health.
- I love keeping in touch with Facebook.
- I don't have to name my Higher Power, just believe.
I'm sure I have learned many more things and when I think of them, I'll let you know. For now? This is it. The first post of 2010. I have one to add already:
- I like to blog.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Immanaunt
As you all know, I'm NOTAMOM (see early posts here in the Hygge Hut), but I am most proud that IMMANAUNT!
I am the very delighted aunt of Megan and Allison, aged 19, twin daughters of my step-brother, Scott. I am the aunt, by marriage, to Christine, age 28, and Michael, age 25. I am the excited, fortunate and involved aunt to my 15 year old nephew Jackson and my 17 month old niece McKenna, children of my brother Doug. They live in Long Beach, just two miles away.
This aunt thing is working out pretty great. I get my nephew once a month for a dinner, when he's not playing water polo, and I go to the water polo games to cheer him on when he is. I get all the good stuff and none of the teenage boy stuff. Jackson is a really good kid, with straight A's and a talent in the pool. He's also a 15 year old boy.
I've been trying to get my niece McKenna once a week or so to play the auntie. We're working on dancing with Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video and any "So You Think You Can Dance" stuff on the DVR, as well as watching part of "Finding Nemo" everytime she's over. She loves the jumping Pixar light that comes on screen before the movie starts. You know the one. Boing! Boing! Boing! She's also quite good at wrapping my heart around her finger.
Jackson will know and remember me, but I worry about McKenna. I'll be 53 soon and she'll be 18 months when I hit that age. I need to keep working on creating memories for her so they will stick and so she will always think of her Aunt Katie with happy thoughts, long after I'm gone. Not to be morbid, but I'll be pretty old when she graduates from college - and I plan to be there, by the way.
I want her to think of me when Jackson has kids, even with kids of her own, and she gets to say "IMMANAUNT, just like Aunt Katie, and aren't I lucky"?
I am the very delighted aunt of Megan and Allison, aged 19, twin daughters of my step-brother, Scott. I am the aunt, by marriage, to Christine, age 28, and Michael, age 25. I am the excited, fortunate and involved aunt to my 15 year old nephew Jackson and my 17 month old niece McKenna, children of my brother Doug. They live in Long Beach, just two miles away.
This aunt thing is working out pretty great. I get my nephew once a month for a dinner, when he's not playing water polo, and I go to the water polo games to cheer him on when he is. I get all the good stuff and none of the teenage boy stuff. Jackson is a really good kid, with straight A's and a talent in the pool. He's also a 15 year old boy.
I've been trying to get my niece McKenna once a week or so to play the auntie. We're working on dancing with Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video and any "So You Think You Can Dance" stuff on the DVR, as well as watching part of "Finding Nemo" everytime she's over. She loves the jumping Pixar light that comes on screen before the movie starts. You know the one. Boing! Boing! Boing! She's also quite good at wrapping my heart around her finger.
Jackson will know and remember me, but I worry about McKenna. I'll be 53 soon and she'll be 18 months when I hit that age. I need to keep working on creating memories for her so they will stick and so she will always think of her Aunt Katie with happy thoughts, long after I'm gone. Not to be morbid, but I'll be pretty old when she graduates from college - and I plan to be there, by the way.
I want her to think of me when Jackson has kids, even with kids of her own, and she gets to say "IMMANAUNT, just like Aunt Katie, and aren't I lucky"?
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Top Ten
We have been asked to provide a Top Ten List for a New Year's Eve gathering. No subject matter, just come up with a Top Ten List for 2009. I thought I'd share a couple with you, while deciding what to share.
Top Ten Items to Pack in Your Suitcase:
1. enough underwear
2. deodorant
3. a pair of sandals
4. camera battery charger
5. charger for any electronic gadget you're dragging along
6. bathing suit, because you never know when you'll need it
7. blank thank you card to write out while you're visiting friends to leave on the pillow
8. hostess gift
9. an extra pair of underwear
10. camera, with a charged battery
Top Ten Things I did in 2009 and Hope I Won't Do Again:
1. not take enough underwear on a trip
2. forget the camera charger
3. not believe my husband when he says he's worried about losing his job
4. hold my poor old cat in a towel instead of her carrier when going to put her to sleep
5. spend 7 hours in Denver trying to get to Atlanta instead of buying a ticket
6. try to reason with an unreasonable client
7. spend over $70 per person for tea
8. fall behind in my SalesPro updates
9. forget to floss
10. stop counting/tracking points
Top Ten Things I did in 2009 and Hope I Will Do Again:
1. start the New Year on a boat in Sydney Harbour
2. go to Australia three times in one year
3. go flying in a private plane
4. have a nice visit with Anna
5. spend time with friends around the country and around the world
6. spend time alone with Jackson and with McKenna
7. make something good out of tragedy, like a new friend
8. lose 24+ pounds
9. tell and show my husband I love him frequently and with gusto
10. make a difference with Pathways to Independence and Long Beach Basket Brigade
Still a work in progress. Happy New Year to all!
Top Ten Items to Pack in Your Suitcase:
1. enough underwear
2. deodorant
3. a pair of sandals
4. camera battery charger
5. charger for any electronic gadget you're dragging along
6. bathing suit, because you never know when you'll need it
7. blank thank you card to write out while you're visiting friends to leave on the pillow
8. hostess gift
9. an extra pair of underwear
10. camera, with a charged battery
Top Ten Things I did in 2009 and Hope I Won't Do Again:
1. not take enough underwear on a trip
2. forget the camera charger
3. not believe my husband when he says he's worried about losing his job
4. hold my poor old cat in a towel instead of her carrier when going to put her to sleep
5. spend 7 hours in Denver trying to get to Atlanta instead of buying a ticket
6. try to reason with an unreasonable client
7. spend over $70 per person for tea
8. fall behind in my SalesPro updates
9. forget to floss
10. stop counting/tracking points
Top Ten Things I did in 2009 and Hope I Will Do Again:
1. start the New Year on a boat in Sydney Harbour
2. go to Australia three times in one year
3. go flying in a private plane
4. have a nice visit with Anna
5. spend time with friends around the country and around the world
6. spend time alone with Jackson and with McKenna
7. make something good out of tragedy, like a new friend
8. lose 24+ pounds
9. tell and show my husband I love him frequently and with gusto
10. make a difference with Pathways to Independence and Long Beach Basket Brigade
Still a work in progress. Happy New Year to all!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Where are those glasses, anyway?
My beloved husband, my dear engineer, absent-minded professor and farsighted guy received some nice gifts this year from our families. He loves the argyle sweater. He likes the iTunes gift card and the BevMo gift card. He even thinks he can use that utility cord carrier that someone gave him.
He was quick to tell me we'd need to exchange the nice Eddie Bauer shirt that someone gave in him in Large, because he needs at XLT.
Of course, he has no idea who gave him any of those things. Nor did he know that the L shirt he opened was actually OUR gift to my step-father.
That's because Cameron can't read the tags without his glasses. He didn't want to get up to find them, he wasn't sitting next to me to have me read everything and said "I just opened what I was handed".
That pocket on your shirt, Cam? That's for your reading glasses.
He was quick to tell me we'd need to exchange the nice Eddie Bauer shirt that someone gave in him in Large, because he needs at XLT.
Of course, he has no idea who gave him any of those things. Nor did he know that the L shirt he opened was actually OUR gift to my step-father.
That's because Cameron can't read the tags without his glasses. He didn't want to get up to find them, he wasn't sitting next to me to have me read everything and said "I just opened what I was handed".
That pocket on your shirt, Cam? That's for your reading glasses.
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