i really am an old dog

I enjoy the company of friends. I tell myself I am miserable without it. I feel sorry for myself when we move and I leave good people behind. I pick myself up and make an effort to meet new people. I'm starting to feel a part of the community after a year and a half into this duty station. Once again, I'm having good times with good people.

I was the girl who would do it all. Thank goodness I'm slowly learning to say no. I hate saying no to people. Will they still like me if I tell them no? I have to hope they will and remember my own peace of mind and body, because I'm dragging. It won't stop me from offering help. I feel good when helping people. I love getting help when I need it and I truly enjoy making what comes around, go around.

But...I'm tired. I guess I really am getting older? Two kids :hiding from those of you with big, lovely families who will roll their eyes at me: must take more of my energy than I realized. Being a temporary single parent probably contributes a little, too. We had such a fun, busy weekend that I really need today off to today to recover.

I notice the kids can't go go go like I assumed they could either. The wee one's nap gets pushed back. She's either being restrained some place not kid friendly or she's left to run wild in a safe environment, both of which irritate her after a while. The big kid seems to need a break from constant kid to kid interaction, too. I assumed we would all adapt well to being busy with friends, nonstop.

We love our new friends but I'm learning we need moderation. No surprise there. This Baroness has always had a problem with moderation. While trying to rush my way to the end of this deployment, I'm rushing us past quality mommy-daughter interaction. Time to slow down.

*The above blog post was in no way directed at any one new friends and we would never want our new friends to think we are tired of them. We are just plain tired. We thank our new friends for making us tired.

fiesta?

I love my dishes. I went with the basic rainbow approach and purchased scarlet, tangerine, sunflower, shamrock, peacock, and heather. They were my Birthday/Christmas present last year.

The dishes we had before were ho-hum Pfaltzgraff "Hopscotch" pattern from 12 years prior. They were white with a blue checkered border and varying pieces of fruit painted in the middle. The perfect blah dishes for a blah me.

The Fiesta appeals to the hidden, chaotic me. I find great pleasure in the table set with a red plate and peacock bowl resting on a yellow place mat. I have dreams of using these dishes when we have friends over for dinner. Anybody know where I can get a rainbow of friends?

The amazing place mats are from Kohl's. They were a clearance item that I found this summer. Granny and I stumbled on them when she was here last month and I stocked up. They are too perfect.