So it turns out The Killers are coming and I didn't even know it. Talk about a sheltered life. So I'm taking Holy Son as a belated 12th b-day present - he doesn't know it yet - and Shiny Toy Guns and Death Cab for Cutie will be playing, as well.
Can't wait. It'll be the 25th anniversary year of when I used to hang out at concerts like this...I know what you're thinking...that was back when you were young, Holy. Yup. Still am. I'll have the concert tee to prove it, too!
In other Schmidt happenings, we have a new office desk suite. It took a year of shopping for me to find the color I was happy with to match the dark mahogany stain of our office futon arms. In the meantime, we were using Holy Hub's small kiddie desk from when he was 7. Kinda small and the drawers had this funky 60s smell - you know, the kinda odor that old furniture likes to give off. And it was just getting, well, old.
Craziness. The new stuff is not a perfect match nor is it swanky by any stretch - the furniture is a tad darker but it'll have to do. Best thing about this furniture is not the quality - it's mdf or some other such high quality pressboard - it's that it's made for small home offices and it's no-tool building. Everything snaps together. Kinda nifty. Not that Holy Hub thought so. Putting office furniture together and untangling computer cords was not on his priority list on election night, which comes two nights before he flies back to Edmonton on his whirlwind Keep on Trucking weekend (he's bringing his Dad's pick-up back across the border). But thankfully, it was a tool free and painless experience and he's a light packer.
Anyhoo, onwards, upwards. We've successfully torn down Halloween. I still have to get pictures posted. The power switch on our stand-alone computer decided to call it quits just as we were moving it around a bit. So it'll be awhile before I get pics posted. Holy Daughter looked priceless as Snoopy the Red Baron. I heart eBay...we picked up three great Snoopy masks in October online. I'm thinking of getting into ditching some stuff on Craigslist and eBay in the next few months.
In other news, we're all banding together in the house to support Holy Son on his Mr. Schmidt Goes to Washington project, which will be his option week trip next spring. He's very excited and I kind of am, too, because I now have 5 months of one-word command behavior modification. It works wonders. All I have to do is raise my right eyebrow - which is more dramatic now that I've had them waxed a tad thinner - and then I affect a poker-face stare and mention, "Washington..." and he bucks right up. It's beautiful.
We've asked that he try to raise $700 on his own through babysitting, chores, odd jobs around the neighborhood, money in lieu of birthday and Xmas gifts, etc. And he needs to earn his American Heritage, Citizenship of the Nation and Family Life merit badges for Boy Scouts as part of going to DC, as well. He's very excited. Who can blame him? The trip looks like a gas. We've discovered there aren't too many 12 years old who would take a trip to the other side of the nation without their parents. Luckily for him and us, Holy Son is already an intrepid traveler from these recent summers trekking off to boy scout camp without us.
And we're gearing up for Nutcracker season soon. Holy Daughter has a big part as a Snow Princess and Holy Son may be enjoying his last stint as the nephew, Nutcracker and prince. It's been a great run for him. He's grown out of three boots these past 3 years and is now working on size 10.5. I've threatened to stop feeding him now that he's 5 ft. 5 and a half, but so far, I'm not having a lot of luck with that.
Last but not least, my weekly Artist's Way group has morphed into a rather tight-knit creative circle. We're a great mix of newbie and seasoned artists. It's been a fair amount of work coming up with creative in-class assignments, but also a lot of fun. Last week we shared our creative collages. I did not create a new one from spring but I'm happy to see that my Obama image has since manifested into more than just a dream. As has my Art Club image. That's the cool thing about making creative dream posters. If you build it - the images, that is; they really can and do come true.
Anyhoo, I'm hard at work amassing a collection of 50,000 written words this month so on that note, I must make like Snoopy and type away. 
4 comments:
Marissa choir group is going to NYC in April for 5 days. She is excited about that. Not sure on the cost... yet. And the exchange!!
What a great trip! No wonder he's willing to jump through any hoops you hold up! Of course, later, when he writes his memoirs about his manipulative mom... :-) And somehow, I've never pictured you as the type who waxes her eyebrows; shows I still have a lot to learn. be well,
J.
Single parenting is never as easy breezy as you'd think. ;)
Bryan had foot surgery about 3 weeks ago, and I thought I'd have a little down time beside him to write. I must have been NUTS to think that, because instead I had double duty... all the household tasks rather than half, plus fetching, carrying and nursing him. He's tons better now, though.
I hope you get some writing in today. Hopefully you can just sit down, with a virtual do not disturb sign on your forehead, and knock some out.
An online acquaintance of mine has a weekly creative exercise she calls Manic Monday. Her challenge this week is a 'goal box' - like we used to decorate our lockers as a student with the things we loved? I'm going to twist that to my own purposes, and photoshop myself a cheesy cover for my NaNo book. It'll be a fun change of pace.
Shana: I know - that whole cross-border thing is never fun but at least you're right there so it's quick and dirty. NYC would be so exciting with a youth group. We found Holy Son's trip to be uber-expensive - it's basically like $300 a day and most of their attractions are free memorials and they stay quad-occupancy but...it's one of those life experiences that probably doesn't get measured with money so much as memory. Nice to hear from you!
Jorge: I have learned that my son is a big time hoop jumper - he's my own little Pavlovian experiment...dangle a carrot and that kid will move mountains. :)
And I'll have you know I've been waxing my eyebrows for oh, 5 years now....curiosity finally got the better fo me. So I sit half-upright on the chaise lounge, (good ab workout) and I direct them where and where not to wax and pluck because I think being a unibrower would be just as scary as being a unibomber - and I'm just generally neurotic. And it still hurts every time - it's the only little bit of s&m I have going on in my life.
Jeri: Yeah, we got busy with Holy Daughter's PTA art project due this Friday so it became art central on Saturday and somehow I lost my groove after my rhyming picture book was born. Now I'll all hellbent on getting the manuscript ready and farmed out for that. Hope I get my groove back. I love the idea of the NaNo book cover - great idea. I've been collaging a bit lately and already scheming a visual collage for next year (my theme will be New Gold Dream) - but I love the idea for the NaNo project. Congrats to you - I see you're moving along nicely.
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