Sometimes Life Is Like . . .

. . . the really big hedges
in front of your new next door rental property.
you know,
the one you were really excited about
before you owned and
had to remove the hedges
that were probably planted in 1953,
when the house was built.

those are old hedges,
in case you were not certain.
and so they have really long,
gangly, tangly roots
that twist and turn
and make things unpredictable
and you have to pull them out
so that your rental property is not ugly.

because really,
who likes an ugly rental property?
no one, that's who.

truth be told,
herb has been the one ROCKING the bushes!
so really, from personal experience,
life is more like many layers of 60's and 80's
inspired wallpaper
hung without first priming the walls
because all you can think about is how lovely
the burnt sienna and maize print will complement
you brand new kitchen carpet
with the beautiful faux-parquet wood pattern.
and you don't have time to think about priming.

yep, i said kitchen carpet.
carpet which, by the way,
you felt was a much much better alternative
to the beautiful wooden floors that you covered.
so you secure it with glue and tar
and layers of thin ply wood and foam that will be crumbly
and difficult to peel up in 45 years.

life is sometimes like that.

you know what i mean?

WINNER!

there were 9 people who left a comment
so herb counted the number of steps
between the couch
and the newspaper

15 steps

and took the last number

5

to determine the winner

the 5th commentor was aly!

hey aly, why don't you let us know if you find any fun new tunes, okay???


have a happy happy friday!

cara

***RAI*** (Random Act of iTunes!)

today i purchased tickets to see lyle lovett this summer
cool

after i checked out
i received an email
that told me
that they wanted to give me
THREE FREE SONGS FROM ITUNES
there they were . . .
the three little codes to enter
to redeem free music
even cooler

guess what?
i want to give those songs to YOU, dear reader!

so, leave a comment
telling me the first concert you ever went to
and on friday morning,
i will pick a name

and forward my three free iTunes
to you!
to redeem any old way you choose!

(confession: my first concert ever was in the 6th grade . . . New Kids on the Block . . . does that date me or what!?!?!
for my 16th birthday, i was able to take a bunch of girlfriends to go see The Steve Miller Band . . . that, my friends, was my first exposure to pot . . . it was being smoked by the adults on the blanket next to us who were our parents ages. it was really wierd.)

some things that are making me smile

things i have been working on . . .
things i have around me that bring a little sunshine . . .

one of my favorite flowers was in fully bloom last week!
i love peonies!
they are like the ecentric, edgy cousin of the rose!


a canvas i am working on for kelly's studio


a little motivator . . . good words



a little thought that rolled out of my head when i should have been sleeping


this sweet little "curly girl" card . . . if you don't know curly girl you must immediately open another tab and check her out!!!
(but come back and finish reading my blog, okay?)


and finally, some pics from my beautiful red book
where i keep little tidbits and snippets that
inspire me!
you could call it an inspiration book if you like.
or george
or stella
whatever.
she's not picky
but she IS pretty!

his words . . .

back in february,
i was sitting in the play therapy room
at work with my colleagues and our spouses.

it was our christmas party

because we are therapists,
we don't care about things like
having christmas parties in the correct month.

and because we are therapists,
we do things at christmas parties
that most people wouldn't.

like take an hour and a half,
cocktails in hand,
to encourage one another.
as a staff, we shared all of the things
that we admire and respect about
our colleagues & team mates.

then our spouses got to speak.
and they were asked to share a trait
that we have that is a contribution to our team . . .
and THEN . . .
an area THEY would like to see us grow or push ourselves . . .
PROFESSIONALLY!

it was a gusty move on the part of
the conductor of ceremonies!
but it was cool.

i remember everything herb said.

"cara loves helping people learn about therapy - she is always so excited and pumped up after a team meeting. i would like to see her push herself a little and share her gifts more."

it is amazing what the words of a spouse can do to a person.

it can break a person down.

or it can build a person up.
it can give a person the courage they need to take a risky step.
because they know they are supported and loved
by someone who believes in them

because somebody thinks they have something worth sharing

so i did it
i created an internship program
for Foundations Family Counseling
a Master's level, year long internship program
for counseling students

i wrote curriculum
i marketed to schools
i interviewed candidates
i made binders with lots of information
and i bought snacks

because snacks are important

and yesterday,
for 6 hours,
i led the first day of orientation
for my first class of interns!

and it went fabulously!

modge podge: not just for pre-school anymore

collage workshop over the weekend!

the things that amuse my husband never cease to amaze me!

looking back

a fun little question posed on this blog today
led me to dig into my pictures to see what i was doing a year ago today
i didn't take anything on june 7th last year
but these were taken saturday june 10, 2006
at the estes park beer festival

man, our life sure is fun!

all you need to know . . .

is that as i sat toward the front of the movie theatre
and craned my head back
i saw plenty of light reflecting
off of the metal emblems centered on the foreheads
of children, tweens, and teenagers alike

me: "are those people wearing headbands?"
herb: "yes. yes they are."

i kept my hand secured on herb's forearm most of the evening
to ensure that i didn't laugh outloud.
instead, i just dug my fingers into his flesh.

you also need to know that people were cheering throughout this film
we waited for the prompts of our seatmates
(who, impressively, did not take us up on our offer to sit behind them!)
before hooting or hollering.

my 15 year old friend was sweet and funny
her companion
(whom i was brashly informed "is NOT my boyfriend")
was equally sweet, funny, and charming.
and he shared his mozeralla cheese sticks with me at Red Robin.

on the way home, i told herb
"i don't know how B wouldn't like him.
i am a grown, married woman,
and i had a crush on him within 10 minutes!"

that's not weird, is it?

weird would have been if i had worn the ninja costume.
i didn't.

love is . . .

going to a movie that you would never watch on your own
nope
not in a million years
but you go
you always go
you've seen king kong
and the hulk
and ghost rider

and now she wants to see naruto
you don't care about this film
but you will go see it
and your husband will go with you
because there is a 15 year old girl
that you really love
and she really loves japanimation
and her mom won't let her
go see a movie with a boy
without an adult

so here we go
the chosen ones
wednesday night
double date with a pair of 15-year-olds
to a japanimation film

this is love