Tag: Mermaids

Proper Prior Planning. . .

Because Mo and Co are two years and three weeks apart in age, I decided that we’d only have birthday parties on big number birthdays.  Otherwise, there’d be two parties over the span of two weeks. I know my girls; they aren’t going to have any of this “sharing a party” business.  So, Co turned five on Saturday and we had a party to celebrate. 

I’ve been planning this party since March, no joke. I knew that having a baby a few months before the party was going to be a challenge, so I did as much as I could ahead of time, once Co decided on a theme.   A mermaid themed party had lots of hits on Google, Pinterest and Etsy, so I started my due dilignece there.  Certainly, there was a lot from which to choose.  Some parties went all out on the theme:  mermaid tails for guests to wear, sand imported from the beach for guests to play in, and all manner of sushi, star-fish shaped sandwiches, rock candy and swedish fish floating in jell-o molds as table top decor, and netting strewn with seashells, casually and artfully draped around the house.  I’m no Martha Stewart, but I do try my hand at some crafts that are within the realm of my capabilities.  I kept it simple, but concentrated the craftiness on things that I thought would have big impact — invites, thank-yous, and the sweet treats.  The rest was pretty basic 5 year old birthday fodder — pizza, goldfish, juice boxes and games.  It’s a good thing, too, because the night before the party, I ended up in the ER.

Seriously.  Co and I share a birthday, so talk about kicking off another year in a big way. 

Earlier in the day, I had broken a glass pitcher while making some iced tea.  I didn’t wrap it up and dispose of it right away, like I should have.  Later on the in the evening, I was running around, per usual, and needed some kitchen counter space. I threw the pitcher in a plastic bag, dropped it in a second plastic bag, and then put it in the trash bag that had been leaning against the kitchen counter.  On my next circuit through the kitchen, I tripped over the trash bag, and my leg connected with the pitcher. It hurt like the devil and as I looked down to see what I’d done, I noticed that I was bleeding, a nice deep, dark red.  Not good.  Fast forward to everyone hopping to: my in-laws got the girls squared away (they’d been in the kitchen and saw the whole thing –> freak out), Craig got a tourniquet around my leg and carried me fireman style to the car.  ER, registration, wheel-chair, waiting. . .waiting. . .waiting. .until I’m finally seen.  I’ll spare you the gory details but suffice it to say, 
I’ve got some tendon damage, stitches, a soft cast, and crutches. I have to see an orthopedist in the coming week to figure out the next steps.  *sigh* It’s always something with me, isn’t it.  

And mind you, this is Friday night at 8pm. Co’s party was at 11am the next day.  The show must go on!  And go on it did!  We had a great time, friends and family pitched in and enjoyed the nosh, the games, and the treats.  So even though I get a hard time for being type A/anal/overachieving/etc., I’m certainly glad for those tendencies in this case.  Things went off seamlessly, the birthday girl was overjoyed, the family was involved, the friends were entertained, and I got to sit back with my feet up, literally.  Which is exactly what a girl likes to do on her birthday!

Here are some photos from the main event!
(all pictures courtesy of fête{ography})

Invites courtesy of ScrapStory on Etsy

The Big 5 y.o girl

Craft time
Game time: Pin the Tail on the Mermaid
Picking tails.
Water Games
Cupcakes courtesy of Frosted and Dipped.
Cake Time!
Happy Birthday, Co!

Favors: Mermaid Cookies courtesy of Frosted and Dipped.



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IN: ON: September 10, 2012 TAGS: , , , , , BY: Hilary
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photography projects & DIY

Thoughts on a Tuesday

I’m Type A. I know that about myself and I embrace it whole heartedly.  I love making plans. I like lists. I like nothing more than taking a piece of paper and filling it with the fine minutiae of what will suck up the minutes of my day. Even simple things that are part of our everyday routine, like “Drive the girls to school” make it on the list so that I can have the satisfaction of crossing it off when I’m done.  It’s the little things in life, right? Well, that and new pair of shoes. . .ooooh, I’m going to add that to my list.

Anyway, finding some time to write and something to write about has been topping my list as of late.  I haven’t been any busier or any more tired than normal. I just haven’t felt compelled to write. Or more likely, when I do have a minute to write, the great ideas I had slamming around in my head have disintegrated into “What am I going to have for lunch?” and “What happened to that ice cream I hid behind the frozen peas?” and stuff like that.

Sure, I have thoughts on Trayvon Martin, Samantha Brick, Sandra Fluke, placenta pills, red-shirting your kids, and the on-going SAHM vs. working mom vs. OAM debate.  There’s a lot to discuss out there and I’d rather have a meaningful discussion about it with some friends over coffee than just put my two cents into the mix, step back and see what happens.  A lot can get lost in the translation between my head, the keyboard, and whomever chooses to read what I’ve written.

So, I gravitate towards lighter fare.

Photographs and pictures that inspire me.

I do believe in mermaids. I do, I do.

Recipes that I want to try.

Pie in a Jar

Clothes that I’d like to have (and somewhere schmancy to wear them to).

All dressed up with places to go.

Crafts I’m (pretty sure) I can make.

Where we met, married and live map

Places I want to visit.

Ahhh, Venice.

Books I’m reading.

I don’t know if I’m impressed or depressed.

At first, I was going to take this blank space of a post and write about how I’m already planning Co’s 5th birthday party.  Yes, I have OAM tendencies, but I’m taking medication for that.


SN: My mom got on my case when I whipped out my folder of ideas and notes. “Her birthday is still in September, right?”


“Yes, Mom.”


“And you do know that it’s April, right?”


“Yes, Mom.”

After my first paragraph about list making and my internal monologue about “proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance”, my train of thought took a different course. And I just started writing just to write.  I have come across several other bloggers giving tips on how to get started with blogging, or how to improve your blog.  Sometimes, I want this blog to be a little more than it is.  I want it to have substance (the word gravitas keeps flashing in my head). I go through periods where I’m ready to scrap it as my personal sounding board and really try to pinpoint some topics that I think are worth intellectually stimulating.

I want it to be something that people say, “Did you see what was on the One L today?” (of course, that would necessitate more writing, but I’m working on that).  I want to have fully formed, thought-provoking opinions on topics that matter.  BUT, I also just want to look at pretty things, eat good food, read books that have me thinking “Just one more page and then I’ll put it down”, and take pictures of my family and friends that really capture just who I am and what I’m about.

I focus on the tidbits that make up my little plot of earth:  how my girls are the smartest and funniest bundles of the best parts of me and my hubs, how we’re getting ready to become a family of five, and my attempts to be a better person.  I show off a few things that I’ve made — I just finished making little ribbons for Co’s soccer team (pictures forth coming).  I’m still working on those Norfolk Mermaids.  I’m slowly growing a photography business. I’m busy in ways that matter to me and that matter to those people who are most important to me.  I might not be the wittiest, the funniest, the craftiest blogger out there, but I’m doing what I know how to do the best way I know how to do it.  
In college, when I became a member of my sorority, I was given a name that represented who I was and who I had become throughout my sorority experience. At the time, I didn’t really get it’s significance, but as I’ve *ahem* matured, I’ve come to appreciate it even more.  I’ve definitely grown into it.  I understand how it truly represents the person I’ve become.

e·thos

   [ee-thos, ee-thohs, eth-os, -ohs]  Show IPA

noun

1.

Sociology . the fundamental character or spirit of a culture;the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs,or practices of a group or society; dominant assumptions ofa people or period: In the Greek ethos the individual was highlyvalued.
2.

the character or disposition of a community, group, person,etc.
3.

the moral element in dramatic literature that determines acharacter’s action rather than his or her thought or emotion.

This blog is just an extension of that.  This is what makes my blog my own.  I don’t need to be like every other blogger out there. They’re already filling niches; why cram myself in? I’m going to stick with what I know. Just doing my own thing and crossing things off my list as I go.

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IN: photography projects & DIY ON: April 17, 2012 TAGS: , , , , , , , , , BY: Hilary
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photography projects & DIY

Painted Walls, Happy Girls

When we broke the news to the girls that we were leaving Norfolk for Richmond, Morgan was particularly vocal in her reluctance to leave.

She listed all of the reasons she didn’t want to leave Norfolk, why Richmond wouldn’t be any fun, and all possible scenarios that would render her post-kindergarten summer the worst on record.  Not easily swayed by the drama she puts forth, seeing as she does so on a regular basis, Craig and I heaped reason after reason why a move would in fact be a good thing.

She wasn’t buying it.

So Craig resorted the one, true trick tool every parent calls upon at one point or another: bribery.

And it worked.

We told the girls that with a move to a new house comes a new room for them to decorate.  Ever the skeptic, Morgan asked, “Decorate however we want?”

Within reason, we assured her, but certainly, think of the possibilities.  Craig enumerated all the ways they could make their new room their own.  He mentioned hanging up the Norfolk Mermaid poster we had framed, putting up canopy beds. Then he pulled out the big gun: a mermaid mural on the wall.

Whoa.

And of course, Morgan heard that and well, it was done deal.  For days thereafter, “When are we going to Richmond and when are we getting the mural painted on the wall?” became her constant call.

As we boxed up the Norfolk house day after day, as the movers came and carted stuff onto the truck, she kept reminding Coever, “. . and when we get to Richmond, we’re going to get a mural of mermaids on the wall! I’m so excited!” She’d clench her hands together up under her chin and bounce on her toes in anticipation.

When we rolled up to the new digs, you can imagine what she said. When she and Coever raced up the stairs to their room, you can imagine what she said, immediately followed by, “Well, where is it?”

Thankfully, Craig had been in touch with several artists, trying to obtain the best one for the project. We decided that when the girls spent a week with his parents this summer, we’d get it done while they were gone and it would be ready to surprise them when they came home.

Which is exactly what we did.

Morgan and Coever as mermaids
I love the detailing of the puffs and the eyes.

Many thanks to Emily Z. for the great design and speedy work!

 The girls love it.

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IN: photography projects & DIY ON: July 24, 2011 TAGS: , , , , , , BY: Hilary
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Ask, And You Shall Receive

The other day, I was talking about how we found two more mermaids right as we come to the end of our Norfolk experience.  I closed that blog post by saying, I’d like to find a few more before it was all said and done.  
Not four days later, I learn of yet another mermaid.  
I was talking with my dad about how we’d been spending our time since the girls have been out of school. I told him about the mermaids we found and he says, like he’s reminding me of my own name, “There’s a mermaid right over there where your mother is.”
Wait, what?  
My mom had her surgery last Monday and we went to see her at the hospital. I knew that there was a mermaid over there. We nabbed that one a few months ago, actually.  Last Thursday, Mom left the hospital to recuperate at a transitional/rehabilitation facility.  We left to go out of town before she made the switch, so I’ve not been by to see her new digs.  The girls and I surprised her with a visit yesterday and lo and behold! There’s a mermaid in the courtyard where Mom is doing her rehab.  

This whole turn of events — wanting to see more mermaids, finding out about another mermaid — got me to thinking.  What’ll happen if I say, “I really hope someone leaves a large bag of money (preferably twenties) on my front porch before we leave.”

If you need me, I’ll be sitting on the front porch.

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IN: photography projects & DIY ON: June 28, 2011 TAGS: , , , , , , BY: Hilary
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Two for the Road

So, I’m coming up for air in the midst of packing, summer camps, road trips, and keeping my dad off the crazy train whilst my mom recovers from knee replacement surgery. I feel like Atlas, and I will say after finishing the Rebel Race with DH, BBC, et al., I’ve been feeling mighty strong as of late.

A few weeks ago, I was driving my normal route from pre-school drop off back to the house when, as I rolled up to a stop sign, I spied something in front of a real estate office that hadn’t been there before.

A friggin’ mermaid.

Let me tell you, when I started this project, I thought it would carry us from June to August — of the same year!  Here it is close to two years later and these sirens keep popping up. What killed me about this mermaid or rather this particular location, was that we’d found a mermaid there on during the inaugural outing!  You can’t switch ’em up on bi-annual intervals!  We’ll never get closure!

Summer 2009

Summer 2011
Look at how much Mo and Co have grown.

 Granted, these are two different mermaids, but I thought we’d had this block covered.  The one from 2009 is gone.  Been gone for two years!  Now, here comes this new one (albeit on the other side of the building).  Anyway, the girls were excited.  Coever decided to wiggle it, just a little bit to demonstrate her level of excitement.

I snapped a few shots of her gyrations and when I scrolled through them, it was like watching a flipbook.  Hilarious!

Now, please understand that my griping about the preponderance of mermaids is all in good fun.  Nothing makes me smile than when I take the girls on a mystery ride and see their faces when the mermaid comes into view.

The second mermaid I found happened to be when I was slogging through an early morning run with friends.  We tried a new route, threading our way past schools, across bridges, along busy roads until finally turning into a charming neighborhood with excellent waterviews.  I had no idea this little jewel of a community was back here.  We rounded the bend of the road, huffing and puffing, when what do I see?

A mermaid.

One we hadn’t seen. One that I am almost certain isn’t on the Norfolk Mermaid Poster.  One that is missing a hand like so many others.  What’s up with that?  SN: There’s a mermaid hand-nabber out there, just breaking off hands right at the wrist. Only one, usually the right hand.  Weird.

I took the girls back there after our visit with the aforementioned mermaid. They were amazed not only at the mermaid, but the roughness of the water due to the whipping winds.  “This wind sure is strong,” Morgan remarked.

“I’m strong,” declared Coever.  The proof is in the pictures.

Look at them muscles!
Posing, posing, posing.
I love how giddy Morgan is here. She’s so amazing. 
So, two more mermaids in the bag.  I’m sad to have this little piece of their childhood end.  Truthfully, I’m hoping another mermaid turns up before we pull up stakes.  You know, it’d be just like one more dollop of icing on the cake. 
Mmmm, cake. . .
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IN: ON: June 23, 2011 TAGS: , , , BY: Hilary
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Mermaids (still) on Parade

The girls are on spring break this week and somehow, I haven’t been as pro-active as I need to be in keeping us occupied with activities.  The fact is, I’m tye-red. Not tired, tye-red. My groove has been off since daylight savings and we sprung forward.  Losing that hour has really knocked me off kilter. I’m out of orbit, out of sync, out of joint, and out to lunch.  It wasn’t that I didn’t know that spring break was coming. It just caught me off guard, like when you think you’ve got a few sheets left on the roll and really, you don’t have a square to spare. 

Anyway, seeing as at the end of this summer, we are going to be pulling up stakes here in the Tidewater area, I figured it was time to wrap up this mermaid quest once and for all.  We haven’t gone mermaid spotting since last July.  In that time, I’ve spotted two new ones.  
This one is by Mystic Mermaid, and the owner of the shop calls her “Annie”, as in “Orphan Annie”, since no one will buy her or decorate her.  Morgan was quick to offer up my wallet to shoulder the burden, but thankfully, I was able to cough up my rote “I left my wallet in the car” response to quell that foolishness.  Besides, we all know how I feel about arts and crafts.  Crafting up a mermaid? Hold on while I sell this ice cream cone to an Eskimo. 
This one is over by Sentara Leigh Hospital.  It’s like her hand is in VA Beach and her tail is in Norfolk. 

I also decided to go for two that were affixed to the sides of buildings.  We’ve driven past them time and again, and there really wasn’t a valid reason not to include them on our tour.  They’re just up really high. True, there are two others that we missed (one on the Scope marquee and one precariously close to the Waterside Overpass).  I didn’t think investing in ropes, anchors and carabiners for a few frames was worth it.

 

This one, Techno Maid, I had spied through an office window over the years as I drove through town.  I had never seen anyone go in or out of the building. I didn’t know what was going on in there, but I thought, “The answer if no, if you don’t ask.” I’d go in, state my case, pushing the girls forward with their big pleading eyes and we’d get our shot.  I hadn’t expected to need a swipe card to get in the building.  Luckily, someone had propped the door.  Still, it wasn’t easy.  The elevator worked by swipe card.  The stairwells worked by swipe card (SN: isn’t that a fire hazard? What if there’s a fire and you can’t use the elevator? What if the power goes out? You’re stuck).  Anyway, a few employees were out smoking some butts and were kind enough to let us hitch up to the second floor.

  The whole office building smelled like something was burning, stale air, and lethargy.  When the elevators opened to the second floor, there was a herd of office chairs and several pyramids of overstuffed file boxes. The guy that let us up insisted on standing there, watching us while we took the photos, even though he assured us it was alright to do so. Judging by the closed postures of the girls, I wasn’t the only one picking up on the weirdness.  We hustled out of there so fast, the meter I had fed hadn’t even rolled over. 
No doubt, I’ll happen across another mermaid before we leave.  Truthfully, I hope I do.  It’s been a fun junket, taking the girls around and amassing this little collection.  I finally took the Norfolk Mermaid poster to get framed and plan to hang it up with the girls’ favorite picture from our adventures.  What I enjoy most about flipping through the mini album we’ve created is seeing how the girls have changed over the course of the past few years (the outfit that Coever is wearing in these pictures, Morgan was wearing last summer).  
When we started, this whole thing was just a way to fill up our summer days and learn about the city in which we lived.  Now, it’s a sweet reminder of the time we’ve had in Norfolk; a time when we didn’t have anything to rush for, except be the first to shout, “There goes a mermaid!”
 
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IN: photography projects & DIY ON: April 19, 2011 TAGS: , , , , , , , BY: Hilary
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Day 18: A Photo of Your Town

Mermaids on Parade
Norfolk, Virginia
Summer 2010

In June of 2009 (has it been that long?), I decided it would be a fun summer activity to take the girls all around town in search mermaids.  Chicago has Cows on Parade, and Norfolk, the fair city in which we live, has many, many mermaids. So, I thought, well, let’s see how we can blend some summer activities with the toddler fixation du jour. Armed with a copy of There Goes a Mermaid, I jumped on the ‘net and began plotting out where the mermaids are around town and how many mermaids we could find in a given radius. Before I even opened the book, though, I rattled off as many mermaids as I could think of given our drives all around to playdates, grocers, and school.
Over the course of the past two years, we’ve seen just about every single mermaid in the area.  We’ve visited one at the zoo, the botanical gardens, the YMCA, and Nauticus.  We visited a mermaid that lived in the backyard of one of DH’s colleagues.  We’ve seen mermaids affixed to the sides of buildings, freestanding in parks, and behind windows.  We’ve seen mermaids that are there one day and then gone the next.  There were mermaids in disrepair, mermaids in mint condition and mermaids who were listed on our schedule, but when we arrived, we found nothing more than the pole on which she had been formerly mounted. 
We’ve criss-crossed over Norfolk, from neighborhoods like Larchmont and Ghent to Kempsville and Downton and beyond.  We’ve been to some familiar places and places where I left the car running while we jumped out, snapped and jumped back in.  
Over time, you come to know the short-cuts and switchbacks around town that help you get from place to place.  The more I learned about Norfolk and how to get from A to B, the greater the likelihood that another mermaid would appear.  Case in point: I was driving to pick up Coever from school the other day, driving through town in a zig-zag to avoid the train that was coming through.  I found myself pulling up next to a commerical part of town that I hadn’t visited in a while.  One of the stores usually has intricate seasonal displays to market their wares.  I cast my eyes to the right to check them out while I waited for the light and sure enough, there was a mermaid.  She wasn’t part of the display, she was actually resting on a little fenced patch of grass between the store and a bicycle shop.  My train of thought went like this,  “Oh (as in, there goes a mermaid).  Ohhhhhhh. . . (as in, really? another mermaid?), OH! (as in, a new mermaid), Ooooohhhhh (as in, the girls will like this one)!”
Even though there were times when I found myself OM (over mermaid), overall, this has been a fun project. The girls enjoy taking our mystery rides all over town, seeing if they see fish-tailed sirens.  I enjoy the time we spend together and the collection of pictures we’ve created.  There are at least five more that I know about and would like to capture before we leave Norfolk behind us this summer.  No doubt, a few more will pop-up to make sure they play their part in our Norfolk adventure. 
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IN: ON: March 20, 2011 TAGS: , , BY: Hilary
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