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Doing the Friday dance…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay4 Comments
i haven’t been able to find a good chunk of time to work on the manuscript, in weeks, and I’m pretty sick over this… Just yesterday a girlfriend, at lunch, was reassuring me that I’ll always have my writing (or something like that, i forget) and I just cringed… Anyway, while my book sits collecting metaphorical hard drive dust, at least I’ve got blog posts, right? The one, from this week, that I am most proud of would be the one about my foster mom Julie. I have a photo of her, holding my adorably chubby Genny, sitting beside my bed. It has caught my eye every morning this week…

Bittersweet…

Moving on…

Best thing i stumbled across, on the web, was this post, which is absolutely WORTH the click… IT IS Great. Moving. Identifiable… 

All week I’ve had things on my mind… The two most pressing were the situation in Japan, which is just so heartbreaking… And Lucas, who turned 22 on Sunday. We miss him so much and, of course, would rather he been home. Even so, we are so proud of him for his selflessness and willingness to serve our country. Plus he has kidney damage, which sucks…

Top five moments were:
1} uncomfortable but vital heart to heart discussions.
2} dinner and hanging out with those friends that are your forever friends.
3} going to a crazy, but fantastic interior design sale followed by an incredible bakery lunch, with a friend.
4} refinishing/recovering chairs with my husband.
5} finally finding a vegetarian cookbook that i love. 


This week I’ve really been loving Satellite, by Guster. {If you aren’t familiar, I encourage a listen. SUCH a great track!} 
Best recipe was definitely this Burrito Casserole… We had friends over and even though loved it. 
For school we studied the judicial system, state government and did an indepth study of the Salem Witch Trials.

I’m reading All Is Vanity… I stumbled upon it, at the library, and was thrilled. Drowning Ruth is one of my favorite books. I am really excited to read it.

Next week I’m looking forward to birthdays. Spring break, swimming, birthday parties, friends, gift wrap, cake… What’s not to look forward to? 

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And, it’s a wrap…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay2 Comments

Here at Chez’ Wagner, it has been quite the week…

Wind, snow , sunshine, blizzards, sixty-five degree days… Unpredictable, if anything…

My favorite Rainy Day in May post would have to be this one though, for the life of me I can’t understand why.

The most incredible thing I encountered on the web was this video…
Top five moments:
1} getting our garage (after three years) organized. (PLUS it was 65 that day!)
2} lunch and a matinée with a girlfriend.
3} Lent… I get excited about things like that!
4} funny text bantering with Chw about sending him to the gallows. :) {we’re cool like that!}
5} Going to see the Broadway tour of Fiddler on the Roof.

Best song this week was this one, HANDS DOWN!

Best recipe was Vegetarian Korma. It’s a family favorite (even my meat loving husband loves it!) only we change a few things… and I use Sweet potatoes for half of the potatoes it calls for. And we don’t use onions.

While practicing the ways of the home educating we studied horses, specifically caring for them, the science of them and ways they’ve been used and bred over the years. We are reading the play Romeo & Juliet for literature, which has of course brought about some interesting discussions…

Best thing I read was chapter eight in One Thousand Gifts… It may be taking me a long time to get through this book, due to almost no time to read, but every time I get the chance i just love it all the more.

I am really looking forward to an interior design sale, with a girlfriend tomorrow, followed by a film critique… {You know I’m anxious to get out of the house when I’m uber excited about critiquing ;) } Also hoping to sneak in some sort of date with the husband but we’ll see…

How was your week? What were your best moments? 

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The sad truth about family time…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay8 Comments

Want to know a dirty little secret? I am one of those people who gets ridiculously overwhelmed with my calendar, therefore forgetting to plan any quality time with the people in my life. Or, worse- I schedule it in the planner… I wear only an expression of complete shame when I admit that to you. I am anal, to a fault…

But, I am trying to be better…

I see the monster me that happens when I don’t have regular quality time for myself, and with those I love. It’s ugly. Frighteningly ugly. It’s impatient. (of course, you understand, that’s not me… but the monster.) It yells… In fact, this monster likely grows more Hulk like than even I’d care to admit… But give me a quality game night, with my family or an afternoon out with a girlfriend and I’m a mouse again. (well, that’s a severe stretch of the truth- but you get the point.)

In a fast food, instant gratification society, such as ours- it’s quality time that seems to permanently live on the butcher block of the modern family. Dinners around the table are traded in for mini van meals pulled from paper bags… Frantically, families run in forty directions to things like work, clubs, sporting events and meetings. Even when we do have time with one another, (or, a date night) they usually involve a movie. Being the movie lover that I am, I asked a friend last week why they saw a movie every date night if they weren’t really big movie lovers. Her response made me sad, Because I can numb my mind and just wind down from the week…

Call me crazy, but I’ve decided to advocate for family. For quality time, between spouses as well as with their kids. Wind down? Quality time should refresh us. It should build us up. It should invigorate us with what we need to move forward with renewed strength.

And yet, I find myself over scheduled… One thing I do love is that we do have dinner together, every night… And let me tell you, there are those frantic days when I live for those 45-60 glorious minutes of peace, laughter and conversation…

Today, in my 28 day challenge, I will:
– Spontaneously do something fun with Genny, this afternoon.
– Spend some quiet conversation and dream time with Chw.
– Mesh my schedule with Amanda so that we can make time to get a pedicure and talk.

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Shedding my bad girl ways…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay6 Comments

In an effort to change my horrific ways, I’ve decided to resource some better behaviors, from a friend…

In all seriousness though, she’s a COMPLETE genius and I do have some horrible habits that her revolutionary idea really spotlighted…

Like, for one: I am a compulsive list maker. I have, on an average day, three or four to-do lists going, at one time. It has happened less than 20 times, in my entire life of 34 years, that every tedious detail has been checked off and every task completed… The end result is always a resounding “you suck!” non-pep talk to myself…

But then, my google reader paved the way to her glorious post and i thought to myself- with a task list like that, life already sounded happier.

More peaceful…

So, I’m doing it. I’m buying a ticket for the fast train to living a life that can be both Type A anal and lead to days of seizing the moment and focusing on what matters.

{Clarifying, here and now, that I don’t actually own sweat pants. I do own yoga pants and I’m not promising not to wear them… She, this friend of mine, is so much better than me.}

I do, however, plan to:
1} Bring my sewing machine out, (it intimidates me) and fix things/play.
2} Read a book. No pressure about what book, it just has to be a book- for me- in it’s entirety.
3} Dance, everyday, for fun.
4} Play with my cricut.
5} Do yoga, at least twice. Twice is reasonable.
6} Listen to 5 cd’s that i haven’t listened to in a very long time.
7} Continue purging things we don’t need or love…
8} Fill out the foster care paperwork.
9} Give myself a pedicure.
10} Bake home made bread.

I would love to hear what you are doing this week to make it a productive but beautiful one… 

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