on my mind

Sophie still doesn't understand the finer points of sleeping in on Saturday morning. At 5:30 she was calling for me. 5:30! On a Saturday!! I gave it a few minutes, hoping she would lay down and go back to sleep. But alas, twas not to be. We got up and laid on the couch and I was hoping for a nice nap. No takers. This child was ready to start her day.

Despite the tiredness, I do love these mornings. They give me time in the quiet house, with that nearly perfect first cup of coffee, to reflect before the sun rises. Here are some of the things I've been thinking about:

How can people not be inspired into action by Obama, and if he loses, will I ever have faith in my country again?

What role do I want yoga to play in my life, and how much time do I have/want to dedicate to its practice?

Is Sophie's suddenly demanding and dramatic personality a sign of her "terrible" 2's and what is the best way to deal with it? So many options and more than one that is right.

Is her ability to give great hugs nature or nurture?

Exactly what is it about Elmo that puts kids into Beatle-mania type frenzy?

The other day I got up and made coffee with the thought that soon I will be able to do this every morning for a week without going to work. Some of my favorite times with Roy have been in the car, driving across the country, scanning the radio and talking, talking, talking. This is ever present.

Work is unbelievably busy right now as we're getting ready to open a new, amazing branch. I need to cram as much trip preparation into this 3-day weekend as possible, but it won't be without some fun with my husband as we take Sophie to her Granny's and the two of us go off to see friends and celebrate another August birthday.

Is there something useful I can do with all this dog hair?

Moments like these.

call for suggestions

Three weeks from today, Roy, Sophie and I will be on the second leg of our drive from Lexington, KY to Newton, KS for the wedding of my best friend, Carolina Graber. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! I lay in bed at night, wide awake, making lists in my head and enjoying the fluttering butterflies of anticipation.

We're renting a small cottage near campus for the week, and my parents will join us half way through. I'm so excited for this time with them. Sophie has grown and changed so much since they last saw her last April. This reunion is overdue.

I spent some time this morning looking for a parenting forum that would help me come up with activities to entertain this nearly 2 year old on this drive, but didn't find anything that grabbed me. So I ask you, my blogging community, for advice.

We're breaking this 12 hour drive in two, 6 hour jaunts, with a stop in St. Louis for the night - both coming and going. We're leaving Lexington at her naptime so hopefully she'll sleep for the first couple of hours. We'll stop often to let her get out and run. I will pack a cooler of food and drinks, bags of crayons, paper, music, and books. Oh, and Roy is downloading movies to his iPhone as a last resort. I bought a little pad Sophie can put on her lap so she can color and play on a solid surface. But I need more suggestions. How do you keep your kids entertained in the car for long trips?

the beauty of this august

Despite feeling a bit out of sorts and irritable myself, it was nearly impossible not to be inspired by this day. My eight Kentucky Augusts have not seen such beautiful weather.

We met Roy's granddad (and Sophie's biggest fan) at the Farmer's Market and picked up some things to get us through the week. I spent the rest of the day mowing the lawn, doing the never ending loads of laundry, and I indulged just a little by running to Rebelle for a skein of the softest, deep purple bamboo yarn that will soon be a hat for the Cornetts' next great Grandchild, due in October.

After dinner, Sophie and I went to the Arboretum. I am ashamed that we haven't been there this summer. After spending the evening, I am even more so.
We spent a couple of hours there, walking through the bird house exibit scattered in the gardens. Sophie was especially entranced by them.
and playing in the giant logs. I try not to think about where they came from.I continue to feel grateful for these moments. This day reminds me of an Ojibwe saying, "Sometimes I go about pitying myself, all the while a great wind is bearing me across the sky."

my old kentucky home

Today at work, I had to order flowers for someone. His father passed away and the services were being held in Frenchburg, KY, in between Mt. Sterling and Stanton. I called a florist.

Me: Hi, my name is AnnaMarie Cornett and I'm calling from the Lexington Public Library. I need to order some flowers.

Him: OK. What's the name? (this is all in a VERY thick Kentucky accent)

Me: My name?

Him: See, if you're going to do this I need to get all kinds of information from you. Your name, your address, a credit card number...

Me: Yes, that's fine. (I repeated my name.)

Him: Where do you want these to go?

Me: (name of the funeral home)

Him: They got a body there?

Me: Excuse me?

Him: They got a body there? I thought they only had bodies at (names another funeral home) right now.

Me: Well, I called and confirmed that this was where the visitation would be tomorrow.

Him: Oh, well they might have a body there tomorrow.

Me: ...

Him: Our florist is at the Courthouse right now. Don't know when she'll be back. She's on that Grand Jury over there.

Me: Oh.. okay.

Him: ...

Me: Maybe I'll just call someone else.

Him: That would probably be best.

sophie's tricks

Tonight we decided to practice drinking from a glass, not a sippy cup. She did amazingly well, so well I'm not sure why we waited so long! By the time this video was taken, she had drunk about half the glass. She is just so darn cute!

Six Years

Today, Roy and I have been married for 6 years. It seems impossible that this much time has passed. That I am 6 years older. That we have such a domesticated life. At the time of our marriage we were still so merrily unsettled. So perfectly happy to just BE as we were.
It's funny how time changes. I think I always knew that one day I would rather have a mortgage than a bus in which to travel around the country. I knew I would want health insurance and take my vitamins every day. Create an environment like the one I grew up in - earthy, warm, and inviting. Today, 6 years after our wedding, we are still so perfectly happy to just BE where we are... even though it's an entirely different place.
We celebrated Friday night with pizza at Smashing Tomatoes (mine was arugula and prosciutto and yes, it was amazing) and a carafe of wine, followed by Batman, The Dark Knight, which totally lived up to the hype. I didn't realize how long it had been since we had been to a movie theater until I saw the "please turn off your cell phone" had been replaced with "please no texting during the film".

Pa (Roy's dad) had picked up Riley from school and MawMaw (Roy's step-mom) got Sophie and they went north to their property in Sadieville, so we had the whole night to ourselves. When the kids are gone, I like to come home and talk loudly late at night, just because I can.

When we went to Sadieville Saturday morning, after sleeping in until 8:00, I marveled at just how lucky our children are.

MawMaw and Pa had set up their horse trailer and camper. No doubt the kids slept in comfort. There was bacon, eggs, donuts, coffee, and juice, and all kinds of family sitting around in sweatshirts and pj's.

Sophie was two-fisting it.
Riley was riding. He's become an amazing rider and spent the rest of the afternoon with his Pa, doing time trials and going up the trails Pa has made in the property. The barn in the background was built after he put in the trails. It allows us to camp with a running water... luxury!We took a lovely hike up the mountian and picked a wildflowers, taught Sophie words like "moss" and "dirt" and she identified puddles and butterflies.

We spent the morning there, then headed back to town to hit the Farmer's Market, wind down and make dinner for Granny.

Six years ago I married the man of my dreams. Six years later I have a life I could only imagine for its blessings.

Today is indeed a day to be thankful.

the perfect end

Sophie made great strides at the pool, "jumping" off the ledge into my arms and even going under water without freaking out. I was so proud!!

At the grocery store earlier I had decided to buy ice cream cones to go with the big tub of ice cream in our freezer. We retreated to the front porch to enjoy, and enjoy we did!

Was it a coincidence that I spent today singing, "Oh what a beautiful morning"?

This has been the most wonderful weekend. Was it the fact that the week leading up to it was stressful and hard? I don't know. I'm not going to over think it. All I know is that this weekend was like a cool drink of water to a parched throat.

Saturday morning I cursed under my breath as Sophie's cries for Mommy started at 5:45am. I brought her to bed with us where she whispered as she stroked Roy's face, "Daddy... daddy..." and put her arms around me, patted my hair, and snuggled in deep. This reminder of her first year lasted about 30 minutes before we finally got up to orange juice and coffee and I continued to marvel at the evolution of her play.
I've been a bad Farmer's Market supporter this summer, so after the coffee kicked in, and having been inspired by Katie's post about peaches, Sophie and I went to the market before the crowd - and the heat - kicked in. I came home with peaches and beans and carrots and beets and potatoes... Oh the bounty of summer!

Hungry, and with Roy still asleep, I made a plate of scrambled eggs and grabbed 2 forks.
Up so early, I took a 2 hour nap (rejoice!!), did a few loads of laundry, and prepared a menu and meal for a dear friend, who more closely resembles kin. I wish I'd gotten pictures of our evening, but alas, it was not to be. We ate wild salmon from the grill with fresh, locally grown vegetables that required nothing but salt and pepper. We drank lots of wine, shared stories, and watched as Sophie dance to Jimmy Buffet.

This morning, at Sophie's prompting, Roy and I took our coffee and entertainment (me: cookbooks, Roy: Disney World books) to the outdoors and the beautiful morning.
Sophie played in the yard put various things inside Roy's pinball machine that is currently living in our carport.
As I type, my family sleeps. I've made a meatloaf from Cooks Illustrated and have peaches preparing to be cobbler-ized. When Sophie wakes up, we'll head to the pool, an event that will no doubt thrill her to bits.

I hope that your weekends were as full and rewarding as mine, and that I can remember THIS feeling when the heaviness of life crowds my being.

Dr. Horrible

Seriously, if you haven't seen Dr. Horrible yet, you need to.

It is so freaking brilliant.

I'm pretty sure you can see it free at the above link. It was an experiment by Joss Wheden that went brilliantly and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more episodes.