mama j

Sunday night I had these friends over:

This is us 20 years ago:

During my three years of middle school my homeroom teacher was Mrs. Johnston. Her classroom was the one I started every day of sixth, seventh and eighth grade. She was also my math teacher in sixth grade, joined our church and her mom and dad became dear friends of mine too.

Mrs. Johnston loves her students. And we loved her right back.  She was the teacher in charge of Ski Club, and took a school bus full of middle schoolers down hill skiing every Friday night of the winter. It was just for fun. And it was all fun. She chaperoned our middle school church ski retreats and all I remember from those trips is laughing with aching abs.

She got a group of us together to wake a teacher up on her birthday with our own little band. She threw a surprise birthday party for me after ski club one year and another year woke me early to take me out for a surprise birthday breakfast. I babysat her kids, built a friendship with her daughter and exploded a bowl in her microwave when I tried to reheat the old maids from the popcorn bag.

When we graduated from 8th grade, she threw us a murder mystery party. When I was in 10th grade, my parents went to Israel for two weeks, and I went to stay with Mrs. Johnston (who had now become Mama J). While staying at her house, I fainted at breakfast and hit the gallon of orange juice and cheerios on my way down.

Mama J's parents became dear friends of mine at church. Her mom was the secretary that I got to talk to every time I needed to talk to my dad. Alice kept close tabs on me this way. I loved that.

At my dad's retirement party I was milling about from person to person in the narthex and then I saw Mama J and burst into tears. It was so instant and surprising to me that I reacted this way. I wasn't sure why I was crying so hard, other than I missed her. And there she was. She looked awesome, had lost quite a bit of weight and I just felt her love. I can't explain that very well, but Mama J loves me so well. I just know she does. She is one of my biggest fans. She loves me and believes in me.

A few months ago I got an email from Mama J's daughter Sarah, telling me that her mom was going in for tests. It looked like it might be cancer. And a few days later it was confirmed stage 4.

It knocked the wind out of me for a long time. Until I called Mama J and heard how upbeat she was and ready to fight. She knew the reality of all that she faced, but she also was ready to seize every day. I felt like a babbling idiot. I never know what to say in these moments. But she was so comforting and I was so grateful.

Ivar and I went to visit shortly after. We brought her a jar of zinnias from the garden, and Ivar had wanted to bring a jar too and chose just one hot pink zinnia for her. But when it was time to go home, he picked up his jar with his one zinnia. I told him that it was for Linda, but he protested and said that he would like to take it back home. Linda was gracious and Ivar took it back home. I kept that zinnia in my window sill for a long, long time. News like this is just so hard to understand and impossible to swallow.

Sunday night I had Mama J and a group of friends over that I first met in middle school, some of them in kindergarden. Twenty years after working our way through 6th grade word problems, drawing tessellations and spending each Friday night of the winter skiing together, we were back together again. It was a sweet, sweet time and just as we did all through middle school, we laughed all night long. It was a joy to be together. And a joy to celebrate Mama J.

aqua aerobics

This week I went back to aqua aerobics. When Elsie got hand, foot and mouth disease, I lost my rhythm. But I went back three times this week. The class is held at our local senior center and I am a few decades younger than everyone else. They are there through the senior center, I am there through the YMCA. But let me tell you, that senior center is so awesome and offers so much that it makes me excited to one day be a senior citizen!

Until then, I'll just enjoy my Aqua Aerobics class.

Can I tell you why I love this class so much?
1. I get out of bed and move around my quiet home. Then I drive to the pool in my quiet car when the sun is just rising. Quiet. This is the first reason I love aqua aerobics.
2. The pool at the senior center it is warmer than the bath I draw for Ivar and Elsie. When I wake up cold, I keep thinking about walking into that warm water. When we begin it is still pretty dark outside and the pool is all lit up. It's so welcoming.
3. The exercise itself is like yoga in the water. Lots of stretching, lots of water weights, lots of water jogging. And it feels so good. Especially on my lower back. Elsie is a hip child, and this is my time to stretch it all out. And this morning they were playing ABBA. Awesome.
4. It's super social. The instructor talks through the chatter, but there is lots of conversation. And this morning I got invited to the aqua aerobics cookie swap. Come on!
5. When the hour is over, I join a few others in the hot tub. This is downright luxurious to me.
6. I get to shower. By myself. Well, come to think of it, not by myself, but without my daughter pulling back the shower curtain trying to hurl herself into the tub with me.
7. On my way out I grab half a cup of coffee, already made, and drink it on my drive home.
8. When I come home, my family is sitting at the breakfast table, happy to see me. And my husband mumbles something about how the garage door woke the baby again and how he's been up since I left. (This happened Monday...today she slept until I got home!)

The people in the class are wonderful and the instructors have been great. In fact, I told Marilyn, our M, W, F instructor that I was blogging about our class today and told her she should read it. Hi Marilyn!

And that sign above? That's on the swim suit ringer. It made me happy the first time I saw it. Not every generation would know how to knead stiff bread dough. I know how, because my grandma taught me. And interestingly, she was a faithful aqua aerobics attender in her own town. :)

pronto painting

When my sister lived in Montana, I had this thing for painting her house. She'd tell me what room, and the color she was thinking and I'd run to Ace to get color samples. Often I would have just arrived after taking the train from Minnesota, and would start my painting project pretty immediately.

She and Jedd lived in a little cottage by the water and I painted her living room and stairwell, the room downstairs, her entry and maybe her bathroom. I can't remember if I did that one or not. 

But here's what I remember most. I'd arrive off the Amtrak and we'd start talking and she'd say things like, "oh, I'd love to paint this room...." or "I would love some color in here..." And I couldn't understand it. I would think, Annika. Just paint the room. 

Well. Guess what I didn't fully grasp? Annika had  an infant and a toddler. 

This reality only really hit me during the past few months. I have had this lovely window installed for quite a while now, but absolutely no motivation to paint the trim. Or the door. Or the baseboard. I had no oomph to finish the room because I, too, have wee ones.

So to get the job done, I actually dropped my kids off at my folks' for an overnight so I'd feel the pressure just to do it. I did, and it was absolute drudgery. Mind numbing boredom. Trim is a bear. All the grooves in the windows, painting around the window locks, getting into every corner. The windows nearly killed me. 

But then the windows were done. After three coats and a weeks worth of time they were all white. 

And I discovered something else while applying coats two and three. I could get a lot done from the hours of 8pm to 10pm. That's a lot of time without kids. And, after the windows, I saw the rest of the painting projects in the house as simple. Painting a door? Easy! Painting a wall? Are you kidding? It's totally flat! 

Something snapped in me and I got to work. I currently am in my fifth night of painting my house. Each day I plan for a different project in the house. Two nights ago it was the door in the kitchen. Last night it was the backsplash and then I got crazy and did the walls too. I painted the whole kitchen in a day and it's awesome.

The paint people at Menards recognize me now. I come in each morning to grab paint samples for the next project and come in later in the afternoon to purchase the paint. 

While painting, I remembered what I called myself when I painted Annika's house in Montana. I always told her, "I'm a pronto painter. It may not be perfect, but I can get it done pronto." I prided myself on my speed. I'm grabbing hold of that title once again. And you know, it looks so good. Color looks good in my house. Little projects add up over five days and the blank walls I have been staring at for sixteen months are now finally getting covered with color. 

Are you inspired? Me too!

news from the coop

It's been a long time since I've done a chicken update. I think the last time I wrote about them was the day we said goodbye to Almonzo, Eggs and Hamburgerpoopedonthecarpet.

We had three chickens then for quite a while.  But a few weekends ago we went back to Terri, our awesome chicken lady and got three more hens. I'd like to introduce you to Zinnia, Nana and Denise.

Zinna is the other black cochin. We wanted to give her a name that started with z, like the other black cochin, Zumbrota. For a while she was going to be Zeta, named after Catherine Zeta, but we chose Zinnia. And hopefully having named a chicken after my favorite flower, I will now learn how to spell Zinnia without an e. That was a bummer.

Nana got her name for a few reasons. My nephew Simon told me he was a Mexican Banana for Halloween. I asked him what that looked like and he said, "a banana with a sombrero." I wanted to honor his clever costume in some way. When I told Rory he said, "well, Elsie can say Nana." So we named a chicken a word that Elsie can say.

Denise. Driving home discussing names Rory said, "How about Denise." I nearly spit my coffee. A chicken named Denise. That's just hilarious.

Introducing the three new ladies to Big Rooster Legos and the other two hens has been sort of hard to watch. The animal kingdom bothers me. And though Rory tells me to stop projecting coop hardships, I can see what is happening. Legos is aggressive and rough. And sweet Zumbrota, who used to be the uncool chicken in the coop, suddenly made it into the popular clique and is rude to the new kids. Come to think of it, the chicken coop plays out a whole lot like high school cliques.

We are getting two or three eggs a day, and after they are done molting, expect all five hens to start laying. Five eggs a day equals a whole lot of frittata.

what to wear

I don't like shopping for clothes. As in, I hate it. It's just not fun for me. And I have no idea how to shop for a wardrobe. Which means most Sunday mornings leave me running around the house in a fury, unable to put an outfit together, frustrated that I'm so frustrated about getting dressed to go to church.

I typically shop event to event. Dad's retirement party was coming up so I had to go get a dress or something. Family reunion around the corner and I ran to target and get a bunch of new hoodie sweatshirts. True story.

I do ponder deep things about clothing thought. Like the part of the Bible that says that the lilies of the field don't worry about what they're going to wear...even Solomon in all his splendor can't compare to the beauty of the flowers. But flowers don't have to get dressed for fancy events, so it's hard to compare.

You're right. I'm missing the point. But it's hard to think about flowers and Solomon when I know I have to put something on that will look put together.

So imagine my complete gratitude when two dear friends, the girls that I get to work with on the Mother-Daughter Soul Sisterhood Retreats, took me under their wing. Melanie and Amanda always look nice. Not overdone, not trying too hard...just nice. And classy.

I told them my woes and they offered to help me build a wardrobe.

You heard me. A wardrobe.

And they meant business. My wardrobe overhaul had three phases, with a few phases still to come.

Phase 1: What Not To Wear
Melanie and Amanda came to my house on a lovely Saturday and I tried on every piece of clothing that I own for them. And just as Stacy and Clinton do in the tv show, I was shown the light and was taught a few important things.

Lessons Learned:
1. I am not allowed to shop in the juniors department anymore. Because I'm 32.
2. It is time to start doing my laundry. As in, not drying everything completely. I need to care for my clothes so they don't shrink up on me. I need to read tags and then follow the laundering instructions. Because I'm 32.
3. Target, Ragstock and Garage Sales are the three top places I shop for clothes. And that's okay. But it is also okay to get a few nicer pieces to build from. If I promise to wash them with care.

It was an awesome day and when they left I drove two overflowing clothes baskets to good will. The girls stripped me of my clothes and it felt awesome. Because I knew what was coming next.

(Unfortunately, we couldn't meet again for another month or so. Which meant I had like seven things to choose from in my closet for a month. That was tricky.)

Phase 2: Pinterest
The day of the clothing purge from my closet, Amanda and Melanie wrote up a list of items my closet was missing, pieces that might work with what I already had. And then I was given the assignment of making a pinterest board, pinning clothes that I like.

I made this board, and from looking at this board and knowing what was left in my closet, Amanda made up a shopping list, sort of in order of priority. The list included what colors I seemed drawn towards and what should be purchased in the future, but not on this first spree.

Phase 3: Shopping at the Mall of America
The day finally arrived. I was super excited to see these girls again, and super excited to get some items in my closet. And oh my word, to shop with two actual shoppers! To have two ladies picking things out for me to try on. To have them checking things off the list, keeping the colors coordinating, running for different sizes, hanging clothes back up on their hangers! It was a dream come true!

We went to four stores: Old Navy, Loft, Marshalls and DSW. And here's what I came home with:
A winter coat, scarf and hat
Ballerina flats
Boot cuffs, tights and boot insoles
black leggings and jeggings
three cardigans
two tank tops
one denim shirt (called something fancy now...I can't remember what)
two necklaces and one pair of earrings
two flowy shirts (also called something fancy)
two striped tops

All coordinating.

And Melanie brought a few items from her own closet, bless her heart! Like the cutest dress I've ever seen. And the girls even gifted me with some additional jewelry. Amazing, right?

We shopped on Veterans Day, which meant everything was absurdly priced. I'd list the grand total, but it would sound like I'm bragging. I had been saving up since August and that was enough.

And now I have a fall capsule wardrobe (capsule was their fancy word, not mine).

And I don't have to have a conniption every time I need to look nice for an event. Plus, I have nicer every day clothes that just make me feel better.

So. If you're in my boat, not loving to shop, not knowing how to put things together, ask a friend who loves to shop. And walk through these three phases. It's so fun. And empowering. This site also has some really helpful hints.

And a final thought: don't fight the jeggings. I wasted a lot of time thinking that jeggings were dumb. But oh my word. They are so comfy. You know, I didn't own a pair of non-legging pants until I was in 7th grade. I lived in leggings. And they're back people! How I thought jeggings were a dumb idea, I don't know. They are brilliant. Comfy, fitted and cute with boots.