Three

Week over Week

As I sit in the dentist's chair waiting to learn the fate of an upper left molar, I'll attempt to explain why I think this week has got to be better than last:

1. After celebrating mr price's bday in lovely style... He became deathly I'll with the flu. poor guy; never seen him look so miserable. and it lasted alllll week. which meant a couple things: (1) he was in quarantine upstairs and i brought him food and drink, little more than sliding it on the bedside stand and bolting for the door for fear of catching this dreaded illness or worse... passing it on to the Shorty. (2) sick and in quarantine = needs help, not helping. so all morning, evening and middle of the night duties were passed to yours truly.
2. between the snow and the below freezing temps, there was quite a bit to maintain around the house - dripping pipes, running the pool pump, fishing leaves out of the pool (which involves holding a large aluminum pole for extended periods at below freezing temps and no, i did not stick my tongue on it), carrying the citrus trees to the cabana, and other manual labor.
3. still in the wrist brace
4. severe tooth pain brought on by a girl scout cookie. (they look all sweet and innocent...)
5. our cousin's dog had to be put down. broken hearts all around.
6. VERY heavy work load this week + a work event which meant having to stay late
7. earlier in the week I declined some additional (& substantial) volunteer work. by mid week I found myself having just agreed. hello rush advisor. what? yep. for all the fun I am SURE it will be; i still might be crazy.
8. the nanny missed monday due to a cut foot. while it was surely an accident, it totals a LOT of missed days. So tuesday involved a very serious 'talk' with her and the other nanny-share mom. no fun. but definitely necessary.
9. Friday was a 'snow day' funny thing about snow days when you work from home: NOTHING CHANGES other than it's cold and a bunch of other people are working from home who usually don't so conference calls start late, people no-show and progress is gerenally slower and more frustrating.
10. All weekend plans were cancelled - not just because or Mr. Price's aforementioned illness, but because all three other families ended up sick, too. Did I mention my hands are raw from contant washing?
11. this was the last week to get in all final details for a large fundraiser of which I am on the board. many emails and phone calls. see item #6 above which indicates: it is not ideal timing to need to wrap up a bunch of loose ends.
12. despite substantial effort - the car search is still no closer to closure. oh, and the cabana renovation has not had a finger lifted in it's direction... which leads me to additional odds and ends, but at this point i'm exhuasted myself.

But some lovely things happened last week, too.

• Besides for the birthday celebration and the lovely new shoes that had their debut
• I had a lovely lunch on Friday with Arin, little Will and my babino at 34th St Cafe
• Late Saturday night while the babino slept and Mr. Price felt up to it...I saw a movie for the first time in ages. Loved the cinematography & lighting plus very interesting dialog and speed to The Social Network. It was pretty darn good I have to say.

So the bottom line: this week I'm looking for a multi-digit percent improvement over last and i'm pretty sure that can be achieved. =)

Sent from my iPhone

Father's Day Fotos

Pics from my Daddy of Father's Day at Ski Shores on Lake Austin.

Mmmm... Fried stuff. 

Student/Teacher

I have a cousin 8 years younger than me who- I'm proud to say just made the Dean's List at UT- stopped by to visit last night. While he was here, we told stories of when he was Jackson's age and things I remember.

Much to my delight: he had a memory to share from when he was 11. I apparently gave him his first CD. It was The Beastie Boys. I had two copies and gave him one. He remembered it all quite clearly (and fondly). I was quite amused about it after he left and eventually we had this exchange via text:

Me: That's awesome that I introduced you to the b boys... Was it License to Ill?
Graham: Of course, and you told me the whole cd was good except "girls." And I am forever indebted to you for the good taste in music and the appropriate way to treat a woman.

Makes me proud.

Anyway, I was reminded that you never know when someone is really paying attention and what someone is going to remember.

Mayberry?

I started this post awhile back and never finished it. On a walk tonight in the dark, already, at 6:30. Not all of the few street lights in the 'hood are working at this time yet (strangely, because one would THINK that light sensors are a better approach than timers, but whatever... after all, it is the City of Austin we're talking about here) - but I saw shadow of a guy on a walk carrying a grocery bag on the other side of the street. Probably the 10th person or so we'd seen on our short stroll, but then he came into view of the one streetlight working for a couple blocks- and it was my Dad! YAY! Good fun. He invited us over for dinner but we were already prepped for scallops and green beans. Anyway... the point is that the encounter reminded me I had this unfinished post. So, here it is:

Original Post date and time 10/14/09 9:13PM

Came home tonight and before pulling in my driveway, saw my neighbor Will walking Emma (their yellow lab) and stopped to chat for a minute. Caught up on each other's plans for the weekend and other small talk.

Got in the house and Mr. Price was already home and wanted to go on a walk! So we suited up and headed out in a matter of minutes. Got to the front yard and saw our neighbor John walking his pup. John worked with the Mister back in the day at the firm and we love seeing his post-firm happiness and free time. We all revel in it =) He's quite excited for our pending shorty and had a bunch of questions about how I'm feeling and how the little guy is doing. Of course wanted to be reminded of his approx due date. Lovely conversation and they were off to continue their walk.

Took a lovely tour around the neighborhood - passing the TriPrices house and waving and chit-chatting with other folks. Everyone seemed so cheery and relaxed.

A couple blocks from home and hear a bike coming up behind us. Then we hear in a familiar voice "I thought that was you two! You're walk is a bit different than usual..." It was my Dad! He was riding his bike to the store and detoured a block when he saw us =) So he rode in circles around us until we made it to the driveway. He was going to come in and see the new sonogram pictures, but by the time we made it to the house, we'd all forgotten and he peddled on down our street to the store.

Oh, but we're not done yet.. the along comes another neighbor ending his run and stops for a minute to talk home renovation progress (they, too, are doing some work on their house).

Seriously, are we in Mayberry or what? It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.