She's Driving in My Car!

I think the phrase "mixed feelings" must have been invented by a parent with a child on the cusp of adulthood. Here is my beautiful daughter, who as of Friday can DRIVE, and it is totally freaking me out.

But before I make this all about me let me just say to Maddy how very proud I am of her. I told you you would pass! And you are the most amazing, lovely young lady and I am so happy for you!

Okay, back to my trauma. She is DRIVING people! And studying for her college entrance exam! And talking about prom! And you know what comes after that? Turning 17 in June...and then college next year...and then getting married and leaving me forever. Argh.

No joke I keep wandering in and out of the kitchen singing "Stay With Me," from Into the Woods like a crazy mother.

But then there's the good parts...like I've already been able to send her off to pick Jonathan up from a play date. And how excited I really am for her to have a fantastic college experience. And how proud I am of her super cool Maddiness (but I kind of wish she didn't keep her room like a hamster).

...and then I fantasize, briefly, about how nice and not hamster-nest-like her room will be when she does go off to college...

Since the thing I like best is pretty much staying home in my pajamas her being able to drive really is great. So great. But sometimes, just for a minute, I feel really sad.

I love you baby girl.

Happy Birthday Dad

All that talk about bacon made you want to see a picture of my Dad at his party didn't it?

Here you go!

Bye Bye Bacon

Recently my Mom made bacon wrapped meatloaf for Sunday dinner. Don't turn your health-conscious-low-fat nose up; if you had walked through her door and smelled that meatloaf you would have been powerless to resist too.

My Dad was so powerless in fact that he asked for it again for his birthday. With homemade macaroni and cheese. Geez!

That bacon is STRONG I tell you what.

It tasted so yummy that when I accidentally (yes it was so an accident!) saw a recipe on allrecipes.com for bacon wrapped roast chicken I just went right ahead and made it, cholesterol be damned. And then I had broccoli bacon salad at my Dad's birthday party. Three times.

Friends, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I have a problem...

It's time to move away from the bacon.

Roaming Gnome

Speaking of things I missed sharing that I know you want to know about...when we went trick-or-treating we saw this guy dressed as the roaming gnome. Love it!

Jackie and the Beanstalk

Back in October Ellie was in the critically acclaimed elementary school production of Jackie and the Beanstalk. She was one of the singing farmers who trades magic beans to Jackie for her cow. She was so cute! They all were. It would be a crime not to share just because I am a negligent blogger and skipped the fall. Ellie is the farmer in the green plaid shirt.

Dayna-Dayna-BO-Bayna

I love my friend Dayna. Partly because she is a teensy bit crazy (in a good way). At our church Halloween party she decided to tell Ellie that if you find a tootsie roll wrapper that has a picture of an Indian shooting an arrow at a star you can turn it in for a prize.

After Ellie wandered off I hissed, "What are you doing?! Now she's gonna be bugging me for a prize!"

"I know," she said nodding her head vigorously, her eyes big and round and a smile from ear to ear, "I'm gonna make her a prize!"

Dayna has four kids of her own. And her husband's the bishop. Obviously she has too much time on her hands.

"Are you on cocaine?" I asked. Dayna doesn't really sleep. She texts me at 2 in the morning.

Between Halloween and Christmas Dayna brought our family at least three different homemade treats including amazing-better-than-anything-from-a-store toffee. I won't tell you how many homemade treats I made for her family but it rhymes with "hero." And each time she showed up I would look her sternly in the eyes and tell her to go tell Ellie that THIS was her prize (I'm her friend; I was trying to help her).

But each time she'd smile and nod and do the big eye thing and tell me that no, she had something special in mind for Ellie. Specialer than homemade toffee? What could that even be?

I'll show you what.

Last night she showed up with these for Ellie. Are you jealous? I'm jealous. Let's start collecting our tootsie roll wrappers and be ready for next year!

Show Off

Right then, I'm thinking it could conceivably be in bad taste to post about the things I got for Christmas, but I can't quite get mortified enough to stop myself.

Maddie gave Marc and I this beautiful glass lamp. Wowee is it fun to have a daughter who actually earns money and is willing to spend it! We don't have any overhead lighting in the dining room so this was totally needed, too.

A note about the beautiful Madonna and child painting in this picture. My Aunt Colleen bought it for me when we were in Venice (that is a good story) and it is my favorite thing in the house. It also works as a litmus test when people come over for the first time. See, if you look at it and ask me about it and mention that it's lovely then I imagine we will be kindred spirits. If, however, you look at it and then hem and haw about how it is "interesting," or worse yet, you don't notice it at all, then I am inclined to believe our hearts just don't speak the same language.

So now you know, you didn't imagine it, I AM judging you!

Another absolute gem, Ellie made us a calendar with original art work for every month of the year. This, of course, is January with snowflakes (la la ha ha no snow where we live :)

Katie actually painted this Christmas angel for us. I am so in love with it!

And finally, that same Aunt Colleen gave me this fabulous piece of barnacle shell cluster thingie. I cannot get a photo that actually does it justice. It is gorgeous!

So there! Am I the luckiest lady or what?

The Reluctant Barber

Marc and I have been an item for almost twenty years; I'd say about 10 years ago he announced that he was done going to hair salons or barbers and whatnot.

"It's dumb," he said. "It takes forever and they always do something wrong anyway. I want you to cut my hair."

"Me?" I squeaked. I don't know nothin' about cutting no hair I tried to tell him. But he wasn't hearing it. I really, truly didn't want to be his barber. I was convinced I'd mess it up and he'd hate me. He's kind of sensitive about his hair...don't tell him I said that, but he is.

So I fussed for awhile but he pretty much bullied me into it and now, for ten years, I have been cutting his hair. After each cut I still feel a little nervous that he'll be unhappy, but he never has been. He always gives it a comb, smiles and tells me it looks great. Then I tell him he looks great and we smooch.

That picture up there is after his haircut yesterday. And at the end when I said, "wow, you sure look handsome with your new haircut!" he said, "'Course I do. You can do anything."

And then I had an epiphany, ten years ago when he told me I was going to be cutting his hair from now on it was because he believes in me. I am worried all the time. I'm always afraid I'll mess things up and disappoint people, especially the people I love. Isn't it crazy that it's taken me this long to actually hear my husband.

Thanks for repeating yourself all this time babe!

Thursday Drivel

• Oh boy there is a lot of screaming going on over here tonight! Ellie is mid tantrum and it is something to behold and behear.
• I made Maddie's drivers licences appointment for the end of this month and I have been stewing about it ever since. Stewing with nerves.
• Jonathan won't wear a coat, and even though we live in California it is the foggy cold San Francisco part so it makes me look like a bad mother when he has no coat plus hair that's too long and his shirt doesn't match his shorts. Come to think of it, shorts look bad too. And yes, I still care that I look like a bad mother. But not enough to actually do anything about it. Except whine.
• Katie is studying very hard for Spanish. I am proud.
• Ellie is still yelling.
• Maddie is mad at me because I won't drive her to Chipotle before dinner. She says she needs a burrito.
• I need chocolate. And quiet.
• Marc isn't home yet but when he is I think we should hide under the covers and yell, "no hay blue aqui!"

One Dog For Sale

I'm supposed to be at work today. And I'd like to be because I bought some dress pants at Ann Taylor over the holiday and I was looking forward to wearing them to work.

Instead though, I'm stuck at home trying to un-skunk my dog. Again.

After a vigorous wrestling match in our little bathroom wherein I tried to drench Riley with Natures Miracle Skunk Oder Remover and he tried to rub it off on me, I had the simply brilliant idea to walk him over to the grooming salon downtown and see if they wouldn't take over the problem. And they have. Glory.

So now as soon as the bathroom airs out I'll get my shower, but the dress pants will have to wait.