And A New Adventure for Lori

Wow!  My Mary Kay director, Karen, hosted the first Larson Area "Advance" (rather than a "retreat" :-) this weekend and it was so much fun.  I made some new really positive, really pink friends and I learned so much about my new business and myself.  They really planned a worthwhile couple of days for us!

I've used the Mary Kay skincare products for about 30 years (how is that even possible???)  Karen has been my Mary Kay BFF for the last 15 of them.  I finally switched over to the newest age-fighting "Timewise" set last month and I'm more thrilled than ever.  I can't even believe the difference in my skin - I'm pretty sure I look better at 40-something than I did at 30-something!

Call me if you need some extra special pampering - I need the practice and I'd love to see what you think about the latest skincare & color lines!  I ship for free & can even send you a "facial in a bag" if you're not here in the beautiful Red River Valley.  Check my personal Mary Kay Website for more info, ordering and even a Virtual Makeover! 

I'm having so much fun - and I'm really excited about this new adventure - I'd love to share it with you! 

Phone:  701-866-0589
Email:  lorilynn66@gmail.com
Web:  http://www.marykay.com/lmiller66

a new opportunity for alex!!

Alex received two compliments from his orchestra teacher last week.  First he stopped him after class to tell him that he heard a particular part of a song that Alex played and that it was "just about perfect."  If you know Mr. Cole at all you know he doesn't just hand out these compliments for free!

Then at the end of the week, Mr. Cole stopped Alex again after class and invited him to join the Fargo Moorhead Area Youth Symphony!  Alex went to his first rehearsal Sunday evening.  He said the music was VERY hard!  We're not sure what he needs to do as far as auditionning, etc....but it is really a great compliment to be invited.

1st Garage Sale Fun - and Surprises

"Mama! WHY are you trying to sell my most favorite books with the very best pictures in them??  WHY would you try to sell the books that you are going to read to my children???"

This is what happens when your children come home in the middle of your 1st garage sale.  Oh dear. 

I'm pretty sure everybody - myself included brought something(s) back in house!  My personal favorite is the cribbage game from Itasca State Park that I haven't learned how to play in the last 15 years.

I cannot believe the number of people who drove down Centre Square today - our one block, dead-end street that nobody knows about unless you live here or know someone who does.  The kids made GREAT neon yellow signs to point the way.  I wish I had counted - they started coming about 8:30 (an hour & a half before we officially opened) and were still coming after 5 when the "garage sale monkey" had declared the day was over.

But The Big Surprise today was how much FUN I had.  I knew a garage sale would be ALOT of work and it has been.  At first it was fun like when you play store when you're a kid.  But here's the thing:  for an Outgoing Introvert like me, I had no idea I much I would really enjoy the people who have crossed my driveway today.

Like the lady who looked in the partly open garage door and asked if I was getting rid of the stack of cloth diapers sitting there.  The diapers I have moved from house to house and room to room and fretted over because I just didn't know what to do with them (I have PLENTY of rags already thank you) but just couldn't throw them away.  She's going to Jerusalem this fall to work in several orphanages and they would love to have them!  I was so grateful to put them in her hands with my blessings.

And the young girl about 19 who was out "treating" her grandmother all day today.  They looked like they were having so much fun together.  She is playing soccer for M-State and bought a BUNCH of soccer socks and shin guards.  I wish I could watch her play in those stripey maroon socks.  (I was so happy she didn't buy the very ugly dress I'm trying to get rid of - it would have looked horrible on her, too!)

And the dad who bought the Trail A Bike - and listened to me remember when Alex used to "coast" along behind me when he was little.  "Are you pedaling, Alex??  *hee! smile-at-mom*  PEDAL, Alex!" 

And the young couple who came back to buy the mouse habitat and tubes that Alex was so creatively setting up for display.  (I'm pretty sure he's already spent his earnings!)

And the little lady who reminded me of my grandma who took the plastic flowers out of the "free" box.  I KNOW she is going to make something beautiful to give to someone she loves who will someday put them back in the "free" box at her garage sale.  Who knew free flowers could bring so many people such remembered joy??

And the church librarian who bought a bunch of books for the library.  And the lady who bought the daily Bibles all the same kind so that her family could all study together.  And even the nice guy with some kind of physical disability who bought the blue Schwinn and brought a few quick tears to my eyes watching him wheel it down the driveway and away into the fall afternoon.  And the single guy with the bad back who bought the comfy couch & chair for his new apartment.

And yes, the Big Stack of Books with the Wonderful Pictures - that I bought from the door-to-door encyclopedia saleman in Minneapolis the summer of 1989 -  is safely back in the house.  Ready for my grandchildren.

End of the Week - Busy Weekend Ahead!

THIS IS IT.  Garage Sale Weekend.  I put the ad in the paper so I'm committed to this thing.  And I'm pretty sure Jeff would kill me if I put it off one. more. time.  So we're trying to sell the junk out of my garage and off my driveway Friday 10 - 5 and Saturday 9 - 5.  Anything that doesn't go? Goes. 

The kids are in the swing of things.  Jamie & Nate have fallen into a very nice routine driving to school together.  They also enjoy going to the (new!) Fargo library after school to study.  Alex is figuring out how to get himself up in the morning - his mother is figuring out how to let him do it. 

We are all going to church together at Salem Evangelical Free Church in Fargo Sunday mornings.  The kids are going together to Valley Christian for dinner & youth group on Wednesday evenings.  This is MUCH easier with Jamie driving now. 

Kathryn is heading to Chicago with a friend from Crossroads College (former Minnesota Bible College) for a wedding this weekend.  She leaves October 1 for a month with friends who are moving to Colorado.  She's enjoying her break from school this semester. 

Jamie has been invited to travel to New Orleans with a Habitat for Humanity project - leaving from her Uncle Brett's church in Minneapolis.  Phil went on this trip a couple years ago and loved it.  Still a few details to work out, but it looks like she'll be heading to Minneapolis Oct 9 to meet up with the group.  Traveling to New Orleans by bus Oct 10 - back home Oct 18.  She'll only miss one day of school as that week is her fall break.  She's very excited about this opportunity to both travel and serve others.

Gotta get moving - need to pick up stuff to make signs (kids' job tonight), get some change, some pop/water for the kids to sell (mom assures me this is a money maker and I need to at least make back my money from the newspaper ad - sheez!), and then it's time to get busy setting this thing up.  Anyone need a ratty old couch?  Cheap? I'll through in the mismatched throw pillows for free!

First Days

I love fall and its thrilling melancholy.  

Back to School.  Marathon shopping trips with three generations ~ grandma could wear. us. out.  Stiff new shoes.  New metal lunchbox with mom's magic marker kisses on the napkin inside.  Milk money in an envelop.  Bookbag with pencils, scissors and paste.  Crayola box with 64 colors and the sharpener.  I still get a thrill over a new pink eraser

And I miss my grandma.

It was a rainy first day this morning.  Alex is camera-shy and not a morning person anyway.  Nate & Jamie went racing out the door - ok, Nate was waiting in the car when Jamie went racing out the door (twice!) 

No pics today - but I couldn't really capture all the invisible firsts today anyway.  Alex's first day of his last year at Middle School - Top Dog!  Jamie's first day of her last year of High School and first day driving to school.  Nate's first time to figure out a scheduling dilemma all by himself - a person just can't be in two places at the one time, even if the scheduling software thinks so.  Kathryn's first day to take a break and not go to school at all.

I remember the first time I really rode my bike.  Dad running along holding on to the back of the seat, encouraging me to "pedal, pedal!"  I was pedaling, pedaling and chatting a mile a minute when I finally looked back and saw him standing in the middle of the long driveway.  What a thrill!  the sun on my face, the wind in my hair - down the road alone!

I have a picture of Nate pedaling away from me down the sidewalk when he learned to ride his bike.  It was one of those really rare fall days - crisp, sunny, clear.  Leaves falling from the big elms.  I felt the same thrill of success and a new melancholy as I stood in my dad's place and watched my boy ride away.

getting it straight

Getting it all straightened out...

Brackets, wires, ties, rubber bands, spacers, retainers, special toothpaste, toothbrushes and floss! Here we go again. Today Nate became the 4th in our family to start ortho. Alex got his braces last week and still refuses to be photographed. (I'll get him sooner or later.) Looks like Jamie will be the only one to escape the brace face.

I'm just SO glad Dr Harvey has free wireless, big screen TV, and a coffee bar!!

learning to drive

On the last day of August Jamie drove us through the busiest part of town at the busiest time of day. And we all survived. And we laughed. She's ready.

She still needs to practice parallel parking. She still needs to drive at night, and in Minneapolis, and in the rain, and on snow. She still needs to figure out what on earth 90 degree backing is. She still needs to scrape an icy window at 6:30 am and learn how defrost works at 30 below zero. But she's ready.

And the calendar page turns. Another last is gone, another first is here.

I never planned to teach Jamie to drive. That job was assigned early to her laid-back, relaxed, patient, long-suffering, encouraging, loving Daddy! A much better fit for my creative, fun-loving, nervous-to-drive artist.

Did you know it takes several whole minutes in the drive just getting ready to safely start a motor vehicle? And then you have to remember to actually start the engine before attempting to shift to reverse. Getting down the driveway with an "otter" child is a party, I can tell you. Every time.

Accelerator and brake with just one foot. Adjust your mirrors and check your blind spot. Maintain speed through the lane change. Observe grandpa's 28 eye motions per minute. Slow down soon enough at the stop to keep your passenger from bracing herself against the dash. "Share" the road. And the parking lot entrance. Do you see that parked car?! That pedestrian? The motorcycle? And left turns. About left turns. Left turns are better than a cardio stress test - my heart is just fine, thank you.

I'm so glad I was there. I learned how to drive all over again. I got several hours alone with my daughter. I got to sit and watch. Actively listen and respond. A miraculous change in seats from driver to passenger and passenger to driver happened as naturally as the change of seasons.

I can't bear to think what I would have missed if I hadn't been in the passenger seat when Jamie learned to drive. I was there when the season changed. I saw the calendar page turn. And we're ready...