My plate runneth over

Today was one of those days when I was ready for a pitcher of margaritas by 10 am. Landscapers waiting for sod. Grass delivery running late. Sprinkler guy merely setting out colored flags all over yard and not actually starting the trenching until tomorrow. Dealing with doctors for the younger daughter. Arranging for a blood draw on Friday. Zipping to our nearest big box store to buy yet another garden hose and couple new cheapie sprinklers because the freshly laid sod needs water. Dogs wrestled to and from the groomers for a much needed bath. I was sorely tempted to order a shot of tequila at lunch, but refrained. Barely.

And speaking of water, we've already entered Stage 1 drought restrictions here in our neck of Texas. We haven't had any precipitation in over a week and there isn't any in the forecast for the next ten days. So every afternoon I'm hosing down in mosquito repellant before getting busy spinning our water meter up into the big numbers.

Last month, our bill was stamped with the ominous and yet laughable "We think you may have a water leak" message. Ya think? What with the lack of rain, broken old sprinkler system, serious evaporation in the pool and watering in new landscape plants, it's no secret why the water bill was almost $400. And it's not gonna be any better this month. I may need to get a part time job to earn some green so we can keep our front 1.5 acres in the green instead of dry and crispy brown.

Grad School Graduation, May 2018

Our older daughter finished her Masters of Arts in Management degree earlier this month and we were pleased as punch to watch her graduate at the hooding ceremony on May 20. I'm not usually the sentimental sort, but as she started towards us in the processional I got all quivery chinned and weepy.

This smart and beautiful young woman is the baby who was found to have a tumor at 17 weeks gestation during a routine ultrasound to date my pregnancy. I was told by the specialists we visited that she could die at any time while I was carrying her, with no warning, and there was nothing to be done but wait and watch. She made it to an induced delivery, born three weeks early, and had surgery when she was 36 hours old. Due to this tumor, she has dealt with a chronic medical condition her entire life. Lots of extra doctor's appointments, procedures and another surgery in her freshman year of high school. And yet there she was, walking down the aisle headed towards her masters degree and I was so proud of her. Not just for furthering her education so successfully, but rather for persevering all these years. For staying focused and strong. For remembering to pray and depending upon God to show her the way. For being committed to her studies and doing her very best. For not using her medical history as a crutch or resorting to "Life isn't fair!" We can't wait to see what she accomplishes next as she begins her second masters program next week in accounting. 

Above is the grad student's roomie, Jill. I had fun documenting the taking of a group picture for all of the students in her masters program.

The commencement address was given by Carla A. Harris (below) and she kicked it off with, "God is good all the time; all the time, God is good." She had a great message for the graduates and was an excellent speaker. When I looked up her bio today, which is really impressive, I discovered she grew up in Port Arthur, Texas. She's a born and raised Golden Triangle girl just like me!

The hooding... our grad student, her roommate Jill and Yoyo, her friend from China who spent ten days with us over the semester break in January.

Girl got graduated!

Here she is with her daddy after the ceremony, standing on the "back porch" of the business building for me to snap a quick pic.

No post about grad school would be complete without including Ivey, her roommate Jill's mentally challenged cat. We were introduced to Ivey long distance via Snap Chat and she became a four legged honorary member of the family.

One last thing I have to mention are the reserved parking spots at the business school building... on electronic signs. How very 21st century of them.

Cousins

Earlier this month, a cousin on my mother's side of the family came down for a visit. He brought his wife and their almost 4-year-old son. We had the chance to hang out with them while they used our cabana as a base for exploring around the city and other parts of the hill country.

If this is any indication as to how it will be once we eventually have grandkids - not that I'm rushing the process - then I need to start working out again and taking my vitamins. Because wow, the little kids do have the energy to keep you hopping. It's all making sense to me now, how you reach middle-age and your female hardware goes kaput. That's a message from the universe telling you you're not supposed to be chasing after the little ones at 50 on a full-time basis. 

Rocking good time

Ye olde money pit continues to get the gradual improvements. With the exterior patch and paint job done, we've been working on updating the landscaping. With the house standing empty for over two years and only the most minimal of maintenance done to the yard, we've been busy trying to get the front 2/3 of our 2.5 acre lot looking presentable.

I'm desperately seeking this pretty fountain grass seen above. I found three plants at one local nursery, but I need a total of ten. So I'll be hitting other local nurseries next week to try and locate it.

We've looked and considered, checked out Texas agriculture websites, considered what the landscape architect "thought" would look good in the space based upon her design, and spent more money than I ever thought I would on plants at a local nursery. When you're working with such a big yard, it takes a lot of greenery to make any sort of impact. And rock. Who knew there was so much variety in landscaping rock.

Old Wives' Tale

Our 11th grader is one of the healthiest people I know. On top of the obvious not drinking or smoking, she went vegan in the fall of 9th gr. Her diet consists of strictly fruits and veggies, with the every blue moon non-gluten, non dairy and egg free baked treat. At least it's a treat in her eyes. 

Since she's a cheerleader, she gets good cardio. Not an ounce of cellulite and her body fat must be in the single digits. So we were all surprised to discover through her recent bloodwork that she has borderline high cholesterol. 

To say she was disgusted to hear this would be an understatement. Poor baby might as well be eating like me and her dad. Drop that stir fry for some tasty butter, sour cream and three cups of cheddar cheese potato casserole. Ditch the butt and gut workouts for some decadent chocolate ice cream. You are what you eat? Not so much for the teenager, and that's a shame.

No outdoor recess today

The poor dogs are being driven to distraction by the danged tree rodent that keeps taunting them from his perch right outside the family room windows. It has been raining most of the day, so they're out of luck with me letting them out to race around and get filthy.

The slate on our patio, as well as the new and improved entry at the front of the house, looks great when dry. But I think it's even more attractive when it's wet. Our contractors wrapped up phase 3 on the exterior today, so we'll be moving on to a landscape and sprinkler system update starting next week. I'm hoping we get this money pit looking good before the husband and I are both too old to enjoy it.

For our remodeling fans out there, you'll notice that the cabana has a new porch and we cut the number of columns supporting it down from four to two. Plus recessed lighting up in there. I like this cleaner and less fussy look.

This little piggy cried wee-wee-wee

Yesterday morning, while preparing to attend the junior's ring chapel program, I needed to iron some pants. Our master walk-in closet is large enough that I'm able to keep the ironing board open at all times, with the iron sitting on top of it. And the cord dangling on the floor. You'd think by 50 that I'd know better.

So I had turned on the iron and fetched some clean clothes on hangers in the laundry room to hang up. As I walked over to my side of the closet, my left foot got tangled in the iron cord. Therein ensued this sort of arm swinging, trying to catch my balance ballet where the iron and ironing board hit the floor. Thankfully, I was saved from the same. Barely.

I can't swear that I did any shouting, but there was certainly some cursing afterwards. I was still hopping around on the right foot because the left was throbbing. I had to finish getting ready to make it to the ring chapel on time, so I dashed out of the house with mother in tow.

As you could see in my post from yesterday, ring chapel was lovely. However, by the time I had walked from the school's chapel to the parking lot, my left foot was still hurting. Specifically, the area between my pinkie and fourth toe. I took a look after complaining about the pain to my mother, and found it was already bruising. By the time we got home from lunch, my toe was swollen and had turned purple. 

I hobbled around for some house chores like dishwasher duty that the teen didn't do, but then gave up and got off my feet. This morning it still hurts to try and move the toe. I ordered some of that self-adhesive medical wrap to do the buddy toe thing until it feels better. That's the trick with broken toes. No satisfying way to address the issue other than wrapping it up and just waiting for it to feel better. Toe-tally a bummer!

Ring Chapel

It's the ceremonial torch passing during the final weeks of school, the seniors ready to launch and rising class of juniors get tapped for top of the heap honors for the next school year.

It's called ring chapel, but the vast majority of students don't get a class ring like I did back in the day. Our grad school student didn't want one when she was this age, and neither does our current 11th grader. Upside - the junior got to wear a dress and cute sandals all day instead of the usual school uniform.

The junior chose her senior friends James and Linda (above) for the flower presentation part of the ceremony.

Above is the 11th grader and her good friend. Below is a picture with her Mimi.