Some pictures I promised

I couldn't get these pictures of my desk to upload last night, but I promised some friends that I would put them up.


These shelves and filing cabinets are the relatively good part. This is leftover sanity from when my organizer came and helped me. My files are in good shape, I just need to catch up.


And you can't see the three shopping bags of stuff that has been carried up from other parts of the house. Those need to be dealt with, too.

My desk

I've been working a bit on cleaning my office. I've unearthed some interesting things this evening from my desk. I found a lip pencil still in the box. It must be friends with the new-in-box brow pencil that was hiding in another spot. In the middle of a pile of bills was a clipping from the Anderson, Indiana paper in 1986 announcing the recent marriage of Colin and I.

Assorted scraps of paper with unidentifiable bits of information are all over. For instance "03826," "blue," and "Mary" written in different spots on the back of a Far Side desk calendar page. Here's a phone number with no identifying info on a post-it. (I have post-its in at least six colors among the clutter on my desk.)

This feels like an excavation.

The Friday after Thanksgiving

We shopped. We lunched. We shopped some more.

I went with my mom, Bethany, my sister-in-law Kim, and my niece Kate to The Fashion Mall at Keystone in Indianapolis. We have tried other malls for the post-Turkey Day shop, but Keystone is the best. It isn't mobbed by bargain hunters; we always find some good gifts; and there are good lunch options.

Lunch. Mom treated us to the Cheesecake Factory. It was yummy. Mom, Kim, and I were sane and shared a piece of cheesecake.



Too bad. It was soooo good.

The people watching at Keystone is fun, too. Different. Lots of designer bags and people looking like the "Dos" in a fashion magazine instead of the "Don'ts." I love seeing people who wear their clothes really well! I, of course, dressed in my signature black.

After the mall we made a quick run to Trader Joe's. I stocked up on coffee and chocolate.
All in all a most satisfactory day.

Hmmm, time does fly

I was just trying to figure out where the past couple of weeks went. I think that I can blame my absence mostly on laziness. I can give myself lots of good excuses for not writing, but truly, I'm just lazy.

I even considered deleting my blog. I hate neglected blogs. But I can't do it. So I'll have to write. I'll have to be disciplined.

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

This is the anniversary of another one of my favorite days. Twelve years ago today Andrew Robert Casey made his grand entrance in Highland Park, Illinois. He has been keeping life fun and interesting ever since!

All the world is indeed a stage for this child. He is a total ham. Until he was about 4 he honestly believed he could fly.

Here he is at four. That sparkle in the eye tells you all you need to know!


Here he is at nine playing soccer. His main occupation on the soccer field is always checking to see who's watching him.


I love this picture from the spring of 2006 at Foster Park.


This picture of him with his big brothers at the Milwaukee Zoo this summer is pretty typical.

And then there's this view of him captured by his sister:


This really catches my favorite side of him that I have been fortunate to see lots of over the years. This is the sweet Andrew who would snuggle on my lap in the mornings and who always has to hug hello and goodbye with his brothers and sisters, grandpas and grandmas, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, cats....

And he's growing up quickly. By the time his next birthday rolls around he's going to be taller than I. I keep getting alternating glimpses of my sweet, goofy, slightly spoiled baby and the man he's going to become. You'd think by the time my third son is hitting this stage I'd be getting used to it, but this is my baby!

So, happy birthday, Andrew!

Gone scrappin'

My bags are almost packed and I'm almost ready to go.
This weekend I'll be scrapbooking with Bethany and a couple of non-blogging friends at a Y camp in northern Indiana. With the exception of a break Sunday morning to drive home for church I'll be buried in photos and scraps of paper all weekend. Well, and maybe we'll take the break or two to walk in the woods or play tetherball.