Alison Hodgson

Expert on the etiquette of perilous times.

Archives for April 2008

Never say die

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I don’t think the Mactography is ever going to go away, my friends.  And why should it?

I was checking my e-mail and beside me was this adorable kid sweetly eating her sandwich.  I turned my laptop and took her picture.  She decided it would be better if she was sitting on my lap.

I was happy with the first picture and closed photo booth when I noticed this pose.  You can’t shut down that sort of beauty, not when capture is at hand.

She started to tweak her hair, when Jackie decided to do a little counter shopping.
I knew we needed one more with that hair.  She agreed.  Aren’t you glad?  Yes, I am still wearing my pajamas when it’s pushing noon.  I torked my back this morning and the giant, red Ibuprofen is just now kicking in.  Thankfully, I had already worked out and walked the dog with Paul.  Most of school we did on my bed, but we did it.  

Career Talk

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Tonight while I was tucking Eden into bed the subject of her future work came up.  Old time readers of the blog, might recall that Eden’s first career goal was to be a “Sample Lady at Meijer” (I’d link to it, but I’m tired.) which we all agreed would suit her to a T.  Now she wants to be a “Dog Vet.”  Although I am feeling for future Meijer shoppers, I think this is a good choice too.  

“And I will put bows on the dogs’ ears,” she said, “but just the girl dogs.”
“Oh, so you’re going to be a sort of canine stylist?”
She nodded, “And the boy dogs will get sweaters.” ( In the interest of full disclosure she mentioned a certain type of sweater, but I forgot what.  It was distinctly masculine.) “The girl dogs will get sweaters too, but their’s will be Hannah Montana and High School Musical.”
“Wow!”  I said and then pulled her in for a hug.  “You are going to be a great Dog Vet/Canine Stylist.”
She looked at me for a moment, “I’ll have to look for penises, to figure out if they’re girl dogs or boy dogs.”
“Of course you will.”  I agreed.

Happy Monday

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I’m sitting in a dark kitchen and the only things I can hear are the hum of the fridge and the sound of birds singing.

I always know it is really and truly Spring, regardless of what Michigan’s weather is doing, when I wake and notice the birds.  Yesterday was the first morning.
It’s been a long winter.
We had warm weather over the weekend and blue skies, but almost everything is brown or a dull green.  Eden and I played I Spy on a family walk and I swear one of the things she picked was a “darkish brownish green.”  Since there aren’t a lot of houses where we walked we were pretty much limited to brown (dead leaves, dirt, tree trunks), dark green(patches of old, ice burned grass), grey (embankments and pebbles) and black (the path itself and the road beside) so we were desperately looking for the underground utility flags and bits of trash.  Finally I picked the sky just to say something blue.  But we had fun and spring is here, even if we don’t have all the proof.  
The kitchen is still quiet.  I’m going to do this more often.  I need time to myself when the house is still to think and to write and to pray.
Happy Monday.

As promised:

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As soon as I hustled her into some light for a picture she knew exactly where she was going, “When you put me on your blog you can write Princesses are rich!”  This was because she was clutching her wallet full of dough.  Here she is:

You might be thinking, “So she’s a little disheveled, she’s FINE!”
It really doesn’t matter what any of us think, because she knows she’s FANTASTIC.  I would like to point out the stains above “Dreamy” and the foam letter “P” above the “a” that, for some inexplicable reason, she put on.  You might be saying, “Fiffle!  Faffle!  And it looks like her socks matched.”
Well, you would be wrong.  “Can you see my kitty?’ She asked while I was taking this shot.  Oh yeah.

Here is where Jackie Boy chewed on her shoe, but never mind.  She certainly didn’t.

I tried to do a close up so you could see the dirt on her coat, but it wouldn’t play.  Bottom line, the kid’s adorable.  I mean look at that gorgeous jaw.  “You mean jowl?”  Her father asked.  Yes.

I did let her go out like this although I combed her hair and put a barrette in it, because that’s just what we do.  

A Dilemma

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Eden is putting together an outfit that only a mother could love her in.  The real problem is that her own mother isn’t feeling the love.

Zebra skirt that is torn out a little?  Check.
Mismatched socks?  Check.
Wool clogs that Jack chewed?  Check.
Shirt that washes out her complexion and is stained but sweetly says, “Daddy is dreamy and so am I”?  Check.
Down coat that is soooo dirty as only a coat in Michigan in April can be?  Check.
Velvet scarf that she stole from me?  Check.
Uncombed hair?  Check.
The thing is, we are going to the store.  Furthermore, I am looking a little schlumpy and I guess I was relying on her cuteness to carry me, whereas I am going to need to spruce up so that she will look like a bit of a bohemian and I will look like a loving mom and not a sad sack who has let herself and even her kid go.
Or we could go as we are, and be who we are, and not worry what the very few people who even notice us think.
I’ll keep you posted.
(And I took pictures of the fabulous outfit, to be uploaded later.)