five things, april 26 edition

1. I think I'm horrible at shameless self-promotion, and yet here I go again. Our May Food Photography Workshop looks good to go, and local folk, it's not to late to register! I think this session will be particularly fun with all the fresh produce available. Come have some fun with us!

2. I think as birthdays go, I'm not going to rank this one and instead let it slip on by. I worry, as always, the impact my actions have on my son who is now thinking, "Grownups have bad birthdays?!" And still, the bright shining light was all the lovely notes you left me. It was so wonderful to have them come trickling in. They meant the world.

3. I think I was smart to heed Leah's advice and ditch the planner I mentioned last week. Her suggestion? Recycle it. Who needs a planner they hate? Since Erin is never wrong (ahem), I'm going with a Moleskine weekly planner (on sale! who cares if it's almost May!). It'll take some re-training, but what the hell. It's almost May.

4. I think none of you had any helpful suggestions on creating a good schedule and were instead looking to me for advice which is laughable. Ha! Seriously, people. I have a very flexible life. Here's my Thursday, for example: After I got Neel and Callum of to school and work, I took a quick shower. I took a little time for domestic endeavors (laundry–I always start a load as soon as I get up and usually have another load to fold in the morning too) and to send some emails and check some blogs. Spent about two hours in the studio styling and shooting the photo you see above and another half hour to an hour editing it and popping it into photoshop for the text. Had a chat with a client mid-day and spent a bit of time doing a final edit on a newsletter for that same client. By 1PM I had to start dinner so it was ready to pop in the oven as soon as we got home from Callum's game, and at 3PM Neel rolled in so we could leave for the game. All in all not a bad day. Today will be entirely and delightfully different. But. It felt scattered and reactive rather than steady and scheduled. And I never, ever get enough done. Ever. And I end up not knowing when best to work on things I have deadlines for and thing get left hanging. Not the best way to keep it going. Would I benefit from a set time to check blogs and send emails? Probably? Still, I'm going to try some experiments next week (new planner!), and I'll let you know how they go.

5. I think things are looking up for the weekend. We're have a quiet day tomorrow, but on Sunday we're headed to The Marriage of Figaro. I can't wait! What's better, Callum can't wait either. He had to write an essay answering two questions on Amadeus for Music Appreciation, and his teacher asked him, "Did you get that off the internet?" Having watched the movie three times at home and written the essay entirely himself (duh), he was not amused. I'm kicking the weekend off right by meeting some girlfriends for brunch today, and I honestly can't tell you the last time we've been together, all three of us. I might even have a Bloody Mary. And who knows?! We might get mani/pedis after.

What do you lovelies have going on?

five things, april 19 edition

1. I think I never meant for you to think I was so despairing yesterday. You must have caught me at a weak moment. (wink) Truth is, it's been a rough week. Let's face it. In general, I believe in the inherent humanity of our fellow humans. I really believe that good and peace and right will prevail. When my mom and her friend Mike were here we were talking about (honestly, don't ask me why, I can't even remember how we got there) how people become terrorists and it's generally because they lack hope. Really, if you don't have hope, you don't have anything. Well, I'm full of hope. I have to be. We all do. And don't get me wrong. I love April too. As my dear friend Debbie pointed out, some people special to me were born this month! But I think Eliot was onto something. Real growth hurts. It's mucky and ugly and painful, but hopefully we really grow. I'm hoping that as much as we're in a mucky part of our history right now we're growing.

2. I think I need to figure out a schedule and stick to it. We were at sixes and sevens this week. (Side note, isn't that a great phrase?) And remember that planner I got? I think it's finally time to admit that I don't love it. It's not her, it's me. I just can't use it in the way it's meant to be used or I need it to do something different or something. Part of what I love about what I do is how varied my days are, but I'm slowly being driven mad by the lack of routine. Anybody have any suggestions for me? How do you keep your days screwed straight?

3. I think this is one of the most spectacular things I've seen in a long time.

4. I think two weekends of company and one out of town (and two to three baseball games a week) are a bit much for this mama to bear right now. My house is a wreck, I have my summer/winter clothes switch-over halfway done and spread across my bedroom (nice), our dinners have been impromptu and half-assed all week, I've missed loads of your blog posts. Seriously. Fail. Is it bad that I wish it would rain all weekend so I could hunker down and clear the decks around here?

5. I think I can't decide if I should go frugal and use something from my wardrobe or get something new to an event for Neel next month. These are the things I think about in the quiet spaces of the carpool line and the orthodontist's waiting room. Theresa, can you do a "Where in the World," Lauren Has to Leave the House Edition? I think I might need one.