tidbits

Random thoughts on this last day of April:

Wondering how bad my driver's license picture will turn out. Tried to change my name, I have been Kristi Hanson Pohl since I got married, on everything from my social security card, to my checking account, to my retirement accounts, but apparently you need a court document that says that you legally changed your name before they will change it on your driver's license. So if I ever end up in jail, it will be because of my "assumed" name. Please come and visit me there, and bring me treats.

HUGE DAY in my life on Tuesday, Mike went with me to Ikea and we decided on our new kitchen cabinets and countertop. Some of you may know that I have wanted to remodel our kitchen since we moved in here 16 years ago. Well, it is FINALLY going to happen! Mike wanted to do the whole thing for $4000. Then he kind of fell for this lovely granite countertop, and after that, nothing else would do. So the budget has gone up, and he has decided he will install the cabinets himself. (luckily, the high price of the countertop does include measuring, delivery, and installation, and it is still far cheaper than other places.) He even felt we needed to get a new faucet! And I figure, if he can build a simulator for Lockheed Martin, he can install Ikea cabinets. On top of that, we know someone who works at Ikea, and ran into him while we were there, and he said he would be happy to help if we had any questions. cool.

I am starting to feel like a grown up!

For those of you who still have younger children, here is something to look forward to. I have been noticing it more and more this year, but haven't really wanted to voice it out loud, thinking that perhaps it would then go away. Now that Charlie is 10, and pretty much manages himself after school and at night (other than homework reminders, and pushing him into the shower), I have WAY more time for myself! Tuesday night after dinner, he and Mike went across the street to play catch, and then he found some other neighbor kids to play with, and Mike went to the garage to work on his cycle. So I had until bedtime to do something just for me! Hey, maybe I can actually do some more of those projects that are sitting around here unfinished. Or write the great American novel. Or start exercising......

The lovely month of May is on it's way, and I love it for so many reasons: lilacs bursting into bloom, the smell of the newly dug dirt in my garden, all of those birthdays, Mother's Day, winding down to the end of school, longer days spent outside, dinner al fresco before the mosquitos come out, those first nights of sitting on the patio by candlelight and drinking wine-wrapped in a blanket, and all of the million shades of green that explode from the trees as the new leaves reach toward the sun. And the Plant Sale, and Memorial Day weekend, and May baskets, and making a birthday cake for Mike, and filling all of the window boxes with heady blooms. GOODBYE APRIL!