welcome to suburbia



never has my suburban lifestyle been more exalted than this past weekend.
i daresay it's been 21 years.
21 years of kenmore
21 years since a new washer or dryer has passed my threshold.
but this past weekend
it all changed.
and i'm in suburban bliss.
sad,
but true.
a new era has emerged.
an era of LG.
and not that i would ever become an advertisement for LG
but it must be said....
they rock.
solid.
it has a chirpy, perky little singsong beeper that plays to me.
none of the honking, screeching beepers of the past.
and lord,
i never knew that clothes could dry in less than 2 hours.
and they're hot when they come out.
this is the stuff of dreams.
suburban dreams.
my dreams.



if every day could be like this,
people would smile more.

hope you have a smiling weekend
full of sun and color
and warmth
and joy.

happy weekend!



Caffeine is my shepherd; I shall not doze.
It maketh me to wake in green pastures:
It leadeth me beyond the sleeping masses.
It restoreth my buzz:
It leadeth me in the paths of consciousness for its name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of addiction,
I will fear no Equal™:
For thou art with me; thy cream and thy sugar they comfort me.
Thou preparest a carafe before me in the presence of The Starbucks:
Thou anointest my day with pep; my mug runneth over.
Surely richness and taste shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the House of Mochas forever.
~Author Unknown



i have no time for foolish games.
i'm all grown up and have major responsibilities
afterall
i have a family
and a job
and a house
and a dog
and a car
and i have bills to pay
and i have things to do
i have to eat right
and i have to exercise
to stay healthy
so i can continue to work
and pay bills
and be a wife and mother.
so you see...
i'm very, very important and
i have no time for foolish games.

on the other hand
when i really think about it
isn't a work week really just about foolish games
anyhow?
and so, i guess i'm indulging in foolish games afterall.
there, i feel much better now.

happy tueaday!
and welcome to your foolish games!


“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
- Arthur Ashe

happy memorial day.



dear junk food,

i miss you.
i don't succumb to your pleasure anymore
and it hurts.
it hurts so very bad.
but i want you to know that i still ove you.
i really, really
really
do.
and although i don't partake in your sugary laden empty calories orgasmic yummy pure pleasureness,
i dream about you.
and they are such sweet dreams.

your most brokenhearted friend,
dawn



seeking or releasing.
which one resonates more for you these days?

and in seeking, do we thereby release?
and vice versa?

mr. ntm and i were having this discussion yesterday at starbucks.
for me, i'd have to say it's more about the releasing
lately.
but i have been about releasing for a while now.
and in releasing,
i feel like the seeking is at bay.
because the releasing has uncovered things in me that
i thought didn't exist
or had long been lost.
not to say that i won't seek anymore.
i have lots to seek.
but releasing seems much more for me...

at least for today.

would love to hear what you think.
happy monday!



i'll be the one doing housework this weekend.
but if it's sunny like this outside
i'll be more than okay with that.

happy weekend to you!



some lessons i've been learning lately.

1. walking through fields of tall grass and lots of prickly things and bugs isn't so smart with sandals on = ouchie
2. i was told this week by an 89 year old man that he "likes the way i'm built" = try not to laugh
3. there is such a thing as eating too much yogurt = lactose intolerance
4. when my warning light comes on for low fuel, it means it = you can pretty much guess this one
5. my child is a slob. that's s-l-o-b, slob = ick (but i love her beyond measure)
7. there is only so much of me to go around, i can't meet everyone's needs = crabbyhead dawn
8. i need to just to go ahead and eat a "real" dinner....a light snack ain't gonna cut it = i end up eating all night anyways
9. when all else fails, put on the ipod = serenity

despite these lessons, i am grateful beyond measure for my life, my family, my friends (including you) and the world around me.

happy weekend all!
and a big heartfelt congratulations to my sister-in-law for graduating today!
so proud for you, joan!



where has elegance gone to?
i for one, never had it.
i'm like a bull in a china closet.
refined escaped me.
but i do have an appreciation for it.

i think elegance is lovely.
but for me, it's lovely from afar.
and that's okay.
i'm one of those that tends to eat before i set the table.

have an elegant tuesday!

self portrait tuesday

in
can you believe we're in may already?
what's up with that?

anyhootie, ( i love saying anyhootie)
may's theme for the self portrait challenge group is: diptych
a diptych is a group of two shots hooked together.



we can also submit triptychs (3 shots) or polyptychs (multiple shots)

happy tuesday!

on motherhood




my friend meg has tagged me along with four others to talk about five things they love about being mothers.
and since mother's day is coming up, it is only fitting that i take a few minutes to respond as best i can.

one:
motherhood is a falling in love kind of love that is unlike anything else i have ever experienced. and its depths and breadth know no boundaries.
is this a good thing?
well, yes and no.
it's exhilarating, yes.
it's daunting as well.
because a love that wide and deep has got you.
forever and ever.
unending.
and not that i'd ever want to let go of that, but it's humbling to love like that just the same.

two:
i am her history.
i am a touchstone.
i am home to her.

three:
motherhood is a challenge.
and that's a good thing for me.
full of lessons.
stretching me and growing me beyond what i thought i was ever capable of.

four:
watching her grow and change and becoming a wonderful human being
has been the most amazing thing i have ever witnessed.
it has enriched my life immensely.

five:
she is the product of the loving union between me and the big guy.
because of us,
there is she.

and so now i am tagging you moms out there to do the same.
share your insights.
because being a mom is a wondrous thing.

good morning



what'll it be today?
maybe some strawberries in a pale blue bowl
and some sunshine
on a red checkered blanket for you to stretch out on
while your feet hang off the edge and the grass tickles your toes.
and the sun makes little rainbows inside your eyes
and you feel the warmth of them all through your body.
and you're happy.
very, very happy.

how about that?


"if you knew that it was the last time you were ever going to see your dad, would you have done or said anything differently, dawn?"

this was asked of me by my friend tracy.
i have been lucky enough to know tracy through her life of
becoming engaged and then married to her wonderful mark,
the heartbreak of a miscarriage
the profoundly moving adoption of her daughter,
the joyful birth of her son,
the tragic death of her mother
and now the anguish of her father's progression into alzheimer's.
a lot of living this friend of mine has had.
and she moves through this living in grace and love.
i know she's hurting
and there's not a damn thing i can do about it.

i've thought a lot about this question.
i've had my share of deaths, both personally and as a hospice social worker.
i've witnessed hundreds of families as they struggle through grief and loss.
the "what if" question always comes up.

when my father died suddenly, would i have given everything i own for just one more minute with him?
yes.
would he have known that i loved him any better than i did?
no, i don't think so.
for me, it's the yearning.
it's the not wanting to say goodbye.
because when we love people, there are always going to be
the good parts
the bad parts
and the ugly parts.
that's part of loving someone.
but i don't care how prepared we think we may be,
when death comes, we're hard pressed to let go.

for me, it's the wishing.
it's the heartache.
the "what if" is a way of us trying to make sense of it all.

i told tracy that i was going to write about her here.
and i told her that i would ask you all on her behalf if you would please share your thoughts on this question.
so if you would please,
take a minute.
let her know what you think.



the time is here.
it's the weekend.
no more work for the weary.
no schedules
or deadlines
no office politics
or eating a crappy lunch at your desk
wishing you were outside
playing.

because it's the weekend.
and it's all yours.

so enjoy it.