1. I think, when I've actually been here on a Friday, that I've been showing up lately with flowers. I've been so drawn to them these days, and I've felt such joy photographing them in the studio. I've been casting about for some flower arranging classes (seriously, I'm lousy at this), and I have some possibilities out there, and I remain hopeful. What bright possibilities in these vivid petals.

2. I think this was one of the best, most fascinating blog posts I've read in ages. My friend and cook book author Jeanne linked to it on Facebook, and I was mesmerized. I've you've read David Lebovitz's work about living (and eating) in Paris, this is great fun. I'll be buying his cook book, for sure.

3. I think I'm curious. How many of you have had a bad customer service experience? Rooth, you can count your insurance company, if you want! I had a really lousy customer service experience this week, one of those things that felt like to took all of my energy, all my attention and all of my time. And this from a company that has treated me well in the past. Very little makes you feel more impotent than being at the mercy of customer service, I think. I was not happy. It's resolved now, although I should hold my breath until I sign for the package, but I've been left with a bad taste in my mouth. When I see their logo, I feel yucky.

4. I think sometimes it's hard to be the only woman in a houseful of boys. And perhaps I shouldn't make Great Northern Beans for dinner again.

5. I think for the first time in weeks I can hear my kid's happy noises from the other room as he (gently) tosses himself a baseball. Maybe things are starting to look up.

1. I think the weather has been criminal to poor Cal's baseball schedule. He's missed one game on one team and is likely to miss another on Saturday (rain). His school team was meant to play game #5 on Wednesday. Canceled due to rain. They've had ONE game so far. Hard to get your at-bats in a rhythm when there are no at-bats. I love the snow, but I'm ready for some warm.

2. I think I totally should have saved that photo of Cal's "bruised' face for April Fool's Day! When I picked him up at school and saw it, I knew he had to be okay or they would have called. Plus, the bruises looked a day or two old. Neel fell for it hook line and sinker. It was great. I'm sorry if I worried you, but I really just wanted to show off what a great job his teacher did. He hated to take it off.

3. I think I've tried to change my approach to, oh, LIFE this week. In two cases I've leaped where I usually linger (one case took a bit more teeth gnashing, but a lot less than my normal amount) and tried to take advantage of opportunities that have stared me in the face. I have to do something, right? I commented on Facebook that "over thinking was my specialty," and one of my oldest friends pointed out that instead of over thinking we should call it "thoughtfully considering." I love that, but I can "thoughtfully consider" myself until I'm completely frozen, unable to make decisions until they pass me by. I need to trust my instincts more, I think. Or try to.

4. I think one of the best moments of my week was when I was both texting AND emailing a friend of mine at the same time. How crazytown is that? We were having basically the same conversation, but not quite. Somethings just need different technology, I guess.

5. I think I'm thrilled to announce that Ditch Your Gear, the iPhone/camera phone class that I teach with my friend Kim at MOCA, is back by popular demand! We've just added it to the spring docket, so the dates are still being worked out. I'll post them as soon as I know them. In the meantime, if you're local and are interested in brushing up on your blogging or in starting a blog, I'm teaching a class on that too. Head to the MOCA site for details.

five things, april 11

five things, march 28