In 1981, I got up at 4:00a in the morning to watch Prince Charles and Lady Diana walk down the aisle.  I was 17.  From the moment Buckingham Palace announced Prince Charles’ engagement to Lady Diana Spencer, I was enchanted.  She was a tall, shy, blonde and I immediately felt a connection.  Maybe it was the passing resemblance to the Princess, or my fascination with her fashion sense, or my need to believe in happily ever after.  It didn’t matter.  I couldn’t get enough of the…

I love royal weddings.  I love British weddings because they seem to “pomp and circumstance” the event up more than we do.  I think it is the hats.  I love the hats they wear to weddings and I am disappointed that this charming practice didn’t make it across the pond.

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I am always looking for new projects and hobbies.  I love art projects and crafty hobbies, although I never stick with one project too long.  My house is filled with piles of projects unfinished…knitting, stained glass, needlepoint, sketching, painting.  The only crafty hobby I have stayed with for any length of time is cross-stitch, although some projects took me years to complete.

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Imagine a scene from Footloose and you have a basic idea of what my high school prom looked like…without the grain elevator, without the cakes and pies, and without the fighting.  But, there were plenty of pastel colored long dresses, and ridiculously pastel ruffled tuxedos.  Roses and baby’s breath abounded and everyone was on their best behavior.

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I am married to a Texan…the quintessential Texan who wears Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots, George Strait plaid shirts, and an occasional cowboy hat or John Deere baseball cap.  He is capable of looking amazing in a suit or tuxedo, but as a commodities trader/cattleman there is little need or opportunity to wear a suit and tie.

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Last Friday was like any other day.  The girls came home on the bus.  They played outside until it started to get dark.  We were all tired from the long week so we decided to have pizza for dinner.  After dinner we watched a movie together, and then it was time for Hunter to go to bed.  She went to her room, put on her pajamas and brushed her teeth.  As she was leaning over to kiss us goodnight, I noticed something wrong.  She had bangs where she didn’t have them…

Thirty-two years ago, I became a licensed driver, one of many pubescent teenagers let loose on the highways and byways of our great nation.  In Illinois in 1979, driver’s education was still offered in school and every student was required to take the class.  For the first quarter of my sophomore year, I sat in a classroom filled with students whose 16^th birthdays were quickly approaching.

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I have written often about Hunter’s love for dresses.  Her goal is to own 27 Dresses and she is well on her way to attaining that goal.  The girl gets depressed if she has to wear jeans, and I’m not sure I am going to get her in a pair of shorts this summer.  Lately she has been going out to the barn in a dress and gold lame shoes.  I told her I didn’t care whether she wore a dress or not, but if her fanny was in the barn, her feet better be…

It rained last night and when I stepped outside this morning, there was a wet, loamy, spring smell in the air.  My heartbeat accelerated with excitement because it is almost garden time.  I planted my first garden last year and I loved every second of it.  I went into the season with no expectations except to prove my mother wrong when it came to my ability.  I surpassed her expectations and I realized I am a gardener.

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As I sit in the waiting area of my favorite hair salon, waiting to get my hairs cut and artfully colored, I look around at the other patrons and stylists wondering about their hair and styles.  I have a short, blonde, pixie cut which always seems rare in my salon.  Most women have longer, wavier or curly hair.

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I am currently reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.  It is a story about Olympic runner Louis Zamperini and his survival at sea and in Japanese POW camps during WWII.  I love books about WWII.  I love the romanticism of the times, although I understand that war is hell no matter what…

I am an average American when it comes to travelling.  I have been to Europe a couple of times, and to Canada and Mexico.  I would love to travel more, but with a child just out of a car seat, travelling has been somewhat limited.

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