phfr: late July

Pretty: I think it was all the late spring snow and rain we had, but this has been an amazing year for our roses.

Happy: this week we got to celebrate our friend’s engagement and meet her fiancé. Stupidly, I didn’t take a photo of them, but she and I both took photos of the cake. Recipe from my friend Kristina’s awesome baking blog here.

Funny: I’m running some new routes this week, and I keep passing this car. It makes me feel like I’m in Mayberry.

And there is one house that totally overwaters (their sidewalk is always flooded) and I nearly stepped on this little fellow.

Real: So many heavy things are on my heart right now.  So many shootings.  Politicians using fear as a weapon.  My goddaughter is in the ICU far away, getting good care, but still… heavy. Scary. Would you add her to your prayer list?  Thanks.

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phfr: moving into March

Pretty: there are all sorts of signs of spring around us: budding trees, tulips and crocuses coming up (I’ve counted 34 of my tulips poking up into the light), birdsong coming back, blue skies, and children climbing said trees.

Happy:  Despite February fatigue, I capitalized on a field trip to drop in on my parents for a morning.  The girls turned it into an impromptu tea party with Papa.  I am really grateful for my parents.

Funny: On one of the days we were trying to beat the February blues, I took the girls to the outdoor ice skating rink downtown.  We ran into some of our friends from the girls’ former dance studio.  They had a blast skating around the little, melting rink and running into the walls.

Real: Feeling my age in my bones (and more when I’m sitting a lot), I’ve been trying to walk more.  My phone automatically counts my steps, so I’ve been shooting for 10,000 a day.  10K is harder to get to than I remember it being… which might me a clue why my clothes aren’t fitting as well as I’d like.

The happy upshot for the girls is more time in the parks.  We like to borrow our neighbor’s little dog and take him with us.  Turns out he has a taste for carrots and rice chex.

phfr: doing my best

Pretty: I love our Advent wreaths.  I only had 12 candles left over from last year and no energy to procure more, so I put one in every other hole.  Plus, this way it’s less likely to set off our smoke alarms.  (I’m doing my best here, people. No judging.)

Happy: This weekend was our annual Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis.  Go Team RandomAmandas/Colorado!  (Those silver Ys are monoclonal antibodies to IL-6. As my sister-in-law said, “Geeky fabulous.”  The only person at the race who got the joke was our neighbor, the drug rep.)

Funny:  This tree was down on my normal running route.  I’m thinking those are beaver teeth.  In the middle of Denver!

Real: This week we made peppermint bark.  I use the recipe from Orangette.

I love that the smashing of peppermints takes so long that I don’t have to let anyone help with the chocolate.

Normally, I would have shared some with friends but we ate it all ourselves the chocolate was from last year and I didn’t want to poison anyone. (Remember: no judging.)

For more {Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} check out Like Mother Like Daughter!

phfr: beautiful November

Pretty: the temperature is dropping tonight, and we’re supposed to have snow tomorrow. I actually managed to cut the good roses and bring them inside. I had to do it in the cold rain and dark, but it was totally worth it.

Happy: Despite the general craziness going on lately, I have managed to fit a few short runs in here and there. On Tuesday, I ran through piles of crunchy leaves on the sidewalk but couldn’t manage to get any photos better than this one. I stopped about ten times to try to capture the beauty. [not successful] You’ll just have to take my word for it.

I’m not sure why my leg looks so weird in this photo. My perpetual pallor perhaps? Or maybe the plastic bag I keep my phone in to protect it from my sweat?  (I’m also not sure why the font is suddenly green.) Too many variables…

Another trans-baggie photo:

I finally stopped and took the phone out of the bag for this one:

Funny: One of the stuffed animals had a birthday party the other day, and I was invited to her tea party.

Real: Both my dad and Sam’s mom have had major surgery in the past week. They’re both doing well but have a long road of healing in front of them. Would you say a prayer for them? Thanks, friends.

Here’s one last bouquet for the road:

{pretty, happy, funny, real}: It’s finally Summer!

Pretty: With all the rain we’ve had, Colorado is more green than I can remember.  This was especially evident when we went camping last week.  Between the green meadow and blue sky, I was overwhelmed.

Happy: My baby is fifteen. Seriously?   How can that be?  Despite a torrential storm, we managed to have a birthday dinner with hamburgers, cake and paper hats.

Funny: The girls had a great time paddling around- in the lagoon, and in the bigger lake (with a bigger boy) to discover an island. (I’m sure no one had landed there for at least 15 minutes before they “discovered” it.)

However, when the kayak tipped, SweetP raced her godfather out to rescue it. Guess who won.

Real: I rode my bike to work for Bike to Work Day.  I felt pretty smug about it until I realized I had no nice shoes, so I had to look like a clown all day in my linen pants and running shoes.  The good news was that most of my patients were under the age of seven, and they didn’t care.

For more {pretty, happy, funny, real}, go check out Like Mother, Like Daughter.

p,h,f,r: June

Pretty:   The peony has bloomed.  Gosh, it is gorgeous.  I had three blooms this year from one plant, and the other– well, it’s dead.  It was so frightened of a recurrence of last June’s hail storms that it didn’t even bother to come back up. Which was smart of it, since we’ve had an awful lot of hail.

Happy: This flock of pelicans was hanging out on the pond by the park where I like to run.  Dipping and stretching with their long wings and bills, they looked just like a bunch of teenaged boys on the water.  I love seeing birds when I run.

Funny: This may not technically be funny– maybe just fun. Sam’s sister and her family drove through on their way to California and stayed with us for fifteen hours.  We had a blast.  Here is my lovely niece (now a high school graduate!)

Real:  Alas, now I’m injured.  Apparently my glute hasn’t been firing. So instead of being pushed by a large muscle in my butt, I am being pulled by the small muscle in my ankle.  No wonder my ankle hurts.  No half-marathon for me.  I don’t have a photo either of my lazy butt (you can thank me later) or my overworked ankle. Instead, I’ll leave you with this photo of a rose the hail hasn’t managed to kill.

For more {p,h,f,r} go check out Like Mother, Like Daughter.

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real: April

Pretty: Spring cleaning this week! After so many years of feeling like the kids’ cleaning didn’t help me much, we’ve reached the point where 30-45 minutes of our working together really can accomplish a lot!

Of course my photo of that is not a sparkling kitchen, but the cleaning rags and the bathroom rug drying. Hmmm…

Happy: We have a tradition of going out for pizza our last night of spring break. The paper-covered tables and crayons work well for the whole family, from 7 to 77. We play “guess what I’m drawing” to “lightening-draw” to “hangman.”

Funny: While Moriah and I skied, Phoebe and Sam (or Phoebe and her grandparents) toodled around town looking at all the sculptures. Being the sculptures.

It was an extra bonus that all the bears were dressed up in pink for the town’s American Cancer Society fundraiser.

Real: We arrived early at dance class. Probably they should have been practicing their dance, but… but no. Apparently it was time to fence with sticks.

All right, friends– a blessed Triduum to you all, and may your Easter be full of joy!
For more [p,h,f,r] go check out Like Mother Like Daughter!