it doesn't matter how old they are...

john and i had a late dinner party to go to last night. so katherine, hannah, and davis went out to dinner early so as to get back in time to trade off puppy duty. the three had only been gone for about 30 minutes when our local news reported a car crash involving three cars with possible fatalities in the area to which they were headed. the odds were it wasn't them, but i called katherine anyway...

it rang,
and rang,
and rang...
no answer
then voicemail.

i called again.

it rang,
and rang,
and rang...
no answer
then voicemail.

my body started to react.
i got a knot in my chest,
my face and ears started to burn,
i could hear my heart beating... loudly,
and my mind began to race.

i texted katherine.
no reply.

i quickly resorted to the police scanner application on my phone
and listened for further information.

the police called for more ambulances,
an officer indicated that the jaws-of-life was going to be needed to extricate victims from at least one of the vehicles involved.

the kids had been running late for dinner.
but i told them to take their time and be careful.
did i tell katherine i loved her?
yes, i did!i always do.

"you need to call the coroner."
i heard the officer tell the dispatcher.

oh.my.God!

still no reply from katherine.

i called one more time.

it rang,
and rang,
and rang...

i totally started to go into full panic mode!

and rang.

and then...

she answered!

SHE.ANSWERED!

~@~

katherine explained that her ringer was turned off and she didn't know i'd called.
she said they were safe at the restaurant and waiting for the waiter to bring them their food.

it wasn't them in the wreck,
thank.God!

i felt relief come over my body.

"have fun, enjoy your dinner, and y'all be very careful coming home, " i told her.
"ok, mom," she reassured me, "we will."
"i love you," i told her.i always do!
i had the opportunity, the gift, of being able to say that to her again!
"i love you too. i'll see you guys later," she replied.

~@~

it was a gift that my child was uninvolved...
that she was safe!hannah and davis were too!!!
~@~

however, it was not the same story for those who were involved in the wreck...

~@~

i learned later that there were three fatalities as a result of that crash.
there were others very seriously injured.

~@~

today, i ask for prayers for the victims and their families.

today, i ask that you slow down, pay attention, and always drive soberly!

today, i ask that you to remember to thank God for all your blessings.
...

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

jack...

many of my long-time readers  know i grew up in my little,  white cottage here on the lane.  what you may not know is  my next-door neighbor, jack,  was my best friend...

in the summers...

i talked to him while he planted his garden.

he taught me how to shoot his bb-gun.

we watched sanford and son 
on the tv he had hooked up 
in his garage.

and, we talked politics
over mason ball jars filled 
with stella's iced, sweet tea.

in the winters...

i talked to him
 while he shaped his frasier fir 
and hooked up the outdoor lights (always red).

we watched the edge of night together 
every afternoon after school.

and, we talked politics

over potter cups filled 
with stella's delicious hot chocolate.

~@~

one can only imagine 
how brokenhearted i was 
when at 14 my parents divorced 
and sold our house on the lane.

i was brokenhearted to have to move

but even more so 
to have to leave my best buddy.

~@~

little did i know, though...

it would only prove 
to be a temporary separation...

for,
 a month before i turned 22,

john presented me my childhood home
 as a 1st anniversary gift!

he purchased my cottage on the lane
for us to fill with our family.

~@~

i was thrilled...

to be living, once again, 
in my sweet house,

to be sharing it 
with the one i loved 
with all my heart and soul,

to be living next-door 
to my jack and stella again, and

to be sharing john with them 
and them with john,

one can only imagine 
how over the moon 
i would be 
to share our baby, katherine,
with jack and stella

the following year at Christmas!

~@~

jack taught baby katherine
 to "spit tobacco".
he would spit, 
and she would mockingly 
proceed to do the same
(no tobacco, of course)... 

katherine's first word was "dack" (jack).
baby katherine would stand 
at the back french doors
and would squeal 
as she watched jack pull 
into his driveway after work, 

"dack, dack!"

~@~

in the summers, 
with baby katherine 
first in my arms 
then later
at my side, 

we played with jack's kittens.

we watched katherine grow.

and, we talked politics.

in the winters...

jack shoveled snow off our deck

(to repay john for mulching his leaves in the fall).

we talked to jack while he trimmed the tree...

then later as he unboxed his new artificial one.

we watched the young and the restless.

and, we talked politics.

~@~

then,
 in the late fall of 2004, 
jack became ill.

he told me the doctors were running tests.

in mid december jack had surgery.

right before Christmas that year,
he returned home.

~@~

i was very busy preparing for Christmas...

shopping, baking, decorating, wrapping gifts, and cleaning...

so busy i hadn't taken the time 
to go visit jack for a few weeks.

a blessing happened, 
it began to snow.

it snowed...

and snowed...

and snowed...

(for 30 hours it snowed.)

until we were completely snowed in 
on the lane.

the normal festivities of Christmas 
were just not going to happen.

all the tri-state roads, highways, 
airports, etc...

were closed!

no one would be coming, 
and no one would be going.

~@~

i didn't have to be busy anymore:)

~@~

so, i donned my jeans, turtleneck, 
sporto boots, and coat.

i slicked my hair back into a pony-tail,

waded through the thigh-high snow, 
which separated our houses,

and made my way over 
to check on my buddy.

to my delight,
i was greeted at the door 
by jack's and stella's daughter, jeda;

she was snowed in as well.

YAY!

i LOVE jeda!

(she was my choir teacher 
all through elementary and middle school.

then, when i became an adult, 
she grew to be my dear friend.)

that night while katherine and john sat  in our den watching a Christmas story together,
i sat with jack, stella, and jeda  reminiscing about old times,  laughing,  and enjoying all the Christmas confections  jeda had brought her mother and daddy. 
~the blessing~
it wasn't until after jack had fallen asleep  and stella had nodded off as well  that i realized just how great the blessing.
jeda confided in me that jack had cancer...

~@~

to this day,  i believe with all my heart  that that evening i enjoyed  with three of my dearest, life-long friends  was nothing short of a gift from God.

~@~

jack died the following summer.

~@~

i miss summers
and
winters of old on the lane.
i miss jack....


love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

mosses monday XLV...

"i am so thankful that i had this chance meeting.
i am thankful for all things that remind me of mosses..."

as you know from my last post,

i see mosses occasionally;)

i see him in the antiquated fella who is still very much alive...

in the man who is more gentle,

in the man who moves a little more slowly... a little more deliberately,

in the man who is more generous,

and in the man who has more gumption

than his body should allow,

i see him in the man who is

MORE!

~@~

several years ago dawn called and invited me to go see a movie and have lunch with her.

"what do you want to see?" i asked.

"let's go see the holiday," she continued, "the one with jude law."

oh.my.word.
what girl is not up for two hours of jude law!!?!?

"sounds good to me; it's a date!"

~@~

that friday afternoon we arrived at the theater.

she bought buttered popcorn and a diet:

i bought jr. mints and a diet...

we made our way to our seats just in time for the movie to begin.

we patiently awaited for jude law to grace the screen...

to see his perfectly sculptured body,

to hear the heavy, british accent in his voice,

to look into his paul newman'esque eyes.

the movie began.

jude law was scrumptious...

~@~

however,

it was this man who stole the movie and my heart.

(meet arthur abbott played by eli wallach)

from the moment i laid eyes on him,

he was mosses!

arthur was kind,

and brilliant,

and humble

and endearing

and cute,

and funny,

and...

not only was he mosses...

kate winslet,

who played opposite wallach,

was me!

(meet iris simpkins played by kate winslet)

~@~

while on holiday in los angeles,
iris met mr. abbott.
she was so taken by him,
instead of doing normal, touristy things,
she chose to spend her time with arthur,

who stole her heart...

not in a romantic way,
you see,
but in a very soulful kind of way.


iris took to heart his every word.
arthur was a wise man;
he had lived a very long life.
he knew the ways of the world.
he explained to iris that she was important
that she should be the star of her own life.

in turn, iris helped arthur to realize no matter his age...
he was still important.

.
iris shared dinner with mr. abbott.

iris helped arthur reacquire his strength.

their relationship was mutually beneficial.
he helped her to find her inner strength and independence.
she helped him find the man he had forgotten he was.

~@~

my relationship with mosses was much the same...
it was a relationship of building each other up.
when i was with him, i was my best person.
when he was with me, i think he was his best person.

i think we were in love...

i know i was:)

not in a romantic way,
you see,
but in a very soulful kind of way:)

in the end, iris found romantic love in a funny guy she met while on holiday...

arthur found relevance.

~@~
and jude law...

yeah, he was the icing

on the proverbial cake;P

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled,

"our love story":)

the girl who cried, "tenderloin"...

for two years john, katherine, jacob, and i watched masterchef. i dvr'ed it; we never missed a single episode. secretly, i wanted to be on the show; i thought i could win... REALLY! i have no fear when it comes to cooking. i learned long ago what makes what taste good AND how to turn cooking failures into winning dishes.

so, in august when (as a friend of the show) i received an invite to apply, i jumped at the opportunity and expressed my desire to be a part of masterchef 3. several weeks later i received another email from them asking that i choose two cities from a list of many that i might be able to travel to for a casting call. there were three (nashville, atlanta, and chicago) from the list that were in a 6 hour radius of henderson.

about a month later masterchef sent me the list of cities and dates. one of my choices, chicago, was on the list: chicago, illinois, dec. 3, 2011, le cordon bleu culinary institute @10 am. the only other information i received at the time was that i was to bring a dish (ready to be plated), a head-shot, and my contract. i chose the chicago venue and shared with family and friends that i would be attending. i was super-excited!!!... at first. then i started thinking about the dish situation.

how was i going to prepare a dish to take to this casting call 6+ hours away from my home?

on masterchef's facebook page, i asked if anyone knew what constituted a dish but received no reply. after attempting to get a hotel room at one of the area residence inns with no avail, i decided to take a dessert to plate. i knew exactly what i was going to prepare...

my pink suede cake!

however, as soon as i decided to plate the cake , i started second guessing myself. i had this funky feeling that i was going to be in line with all these people bearing beautifully plated, succulent, savory main dishes, and i was going to be like, "hi, i'm dani from kentucky. here's my (day-old, well-travelled) cake." after expressing my dilemma to john (who thought the whole venture was "screwy" because of my lack of information), we agreed that i would just wait for masterchef to come to a town closer to home preferably nashville.

THEN...

on tuesday of this week, a dear friend called and totally harassed me when i told her i was choosing not to go;)

"if you don't go, i'm going to be so mad at you! you could totally win! i'm going to come get you on friday after work and take you myself! yadda, yadda, yadda..."

ha! she was killing me.

THEN...

that very night my brother called. "well, are you going to go this weekend?" he asked.

"i don't know." i continued, "i don't think so."

"i don't think it would be a good idea," he said. "you cannot be away from home that long." he laughed.

"i think i could do it, it's only for a couple of weeks between february and march."

"oh, i thought it was like american idol where you're there for the show's entirety.. like 13 or 14 weeks."

"oh, nah, it's all pre-taped before it airs." (i was sure i'd read that it was a 2 week commitment.)

"that's still a LONG time for you to be away from home, sister!" he laughed.

i laughed, too; but he was right, nonetheless.

THEN...

on wednesday morning, roy called.

roy, from masterchef!

he called to inquire as to whether or not i would be attending the chicago casting call on saturday

and to ask if i had any questions giving me a link to a faq site.

after going to the site, i had answers to most of my questions and all of john's questions. i called him and shared the information i gathered. "what do you think?" i asked him.

"it's up to you, but i still think you should wait until it comes to nashville," he replied.

"i think i should just go ahead and do it; i may not have this chance again."

i returned roy's call and confirmed i would be there.

i made hotel reservations.

i took a head-shot and sent it to walgreens for prints.

and...

i made a grocery list:

pork tenderloin

couscous

cranberries

green onion

garlic

feta cheese

etc...

THEN...

i told everyone i was going to go to the call and asked for prayers that my pork tenderloin would be edible (after standing outside the institute for up to 4 hours in chicago's winter weather conditions). everyone was so supportive and sweet... promising to pray for my tenderloin:)

THEN...

i uploaded the 11 page contract from the link roy sent me.

i read through the questions.

when i arrived at the question asking if i would be able to make a 7 week commitment between february and march, i started sweating.

i took a picture of the screen and texted it to my aforementioned dear friend and cheerleader.

i received a quick reply, "you are going to have so much fun!!!"

being away from home for a week once or twice a year is fun,

but after 7 days, i'm totally ready to be back at home.

as my brother pointed out, 2 weeks was pushing it (but, i knew i could do it if need be).

being away from home for 7 weeks did not sound a bit FUN to me:(

i emailed the contract to john to read. he did and brought a copy of it home to me yesterday afternoon. "did you see that the time commitment is 7 weeks?" i asked him.

"yep, i thought you said it was only 2 weeks?'

"i thought it was! assuming i would even make it that far, i don't want to be away from home that long, john."

"yeah, that's what i thought when i read it; you'd be homesick after about a week," he responded.

"i'm not going to do it, ok?"

he laughed, "it's up to you."

in the end, it is up to me. i would love to win the $250,000; don't get me wrong. but honestly, i cannot put a price on missing 2 months of my family's life. economically speaking, one of these days i my not have a choice but to travel away from home to monetarily support my family. but, right now, i'm just not that hungry (i am so blessed!). i hope that a person who is that hungry wins the competition.

as for me and my house, we are going to eat a wonderful, HOT, FRESH pork tenderloin at home together on the lane this weekend:)

love and GOD's blessings,

dani xxx

mosses monday XLIV...

john and i sat in deconess hospital's, emergency room waiting area while the doctors and nurses worked to stabilize my dad in a room just down the hall from us. we sat there with my dad's family. after only a few minutes, an admissions receptionist called for me to come sign some paperwork. after doing so, i returned to my seat; as i was sitting i noticed an orderly wheeling a frail, elderly lady into the e.r. a time-worn gentleman followed along behind them with the aid of his walker.

my heart danced!

i grabbed john's hand and (with a smile that extended from my right ear to my left) nodded toward the man. john glanced the way of the fellow... he looked. after a moment he too smiled acknowledging he knew exactly what i was thinking.

"he looks just like mosses," i whispered.

"a lot!" john agreed.

i noticed the fella wearing a suit that was no longer tailored to his shrunken body, his shiny.thinning.white.hair, his metal rimmed glasses, and that his body was crooked...

brought on by time and arthritis.

just.like.my.mosses.

<@>

a few moments later, the receptionist summoned the fellow. i was actually familiar with his rather uncommon surname.

i recalled a farm in my hometown,

owned by a man with the same last name as the one she called.

when he completed his wife's paperwork, he arose and made his way over to the vending machines. as he passed me i noticed that he even had a bowed-out leg like mosses (more than likely stemming from a 1980's knee replacement)... uncanny!

so uncanny, in fact, that i took out my cell phone and snapped a photo of him.

when i did so, i noticed even his hair grew in the same direction as mosses did...

noticing he needed help, one of my aunts offered to help him purchase chips and a soda. he thanked her and proceeded back to his seat. as he passed me, i said his name, "mr. m...?" he stopped and looked at me. "is your name mr. m...?" i asked.

"well, yes it is," he replied.

"are you from henderson?," i inquired.

(we were at a hospital in a neighboring city.)

"yes, i am," he answered with a twinkle in his eye.

"i am too. my name is dani berrong," i introduced myself.

i reached out and placed my hand atop his hand.

it felt sweetly familiar...

"did you ever know george moss?" i asked.

"well, as a matter of fact i do know george. back in the day, we played many a poker game," he said and grinned.

what a small world!

"mr. moss was my dearest friend:) i just stopped you because you remind me so much of him."

he chuckled, "do you think so? how is george getting along?"

"oh, mr. m..., mr. moss died several years ago," i replied with regret.

my heart sank a little.

"he did? i'm so sorry. i don't think i knew that. george was a good friend... " he stood for a moment thinking, "when you get old, you just lose touch, i guess," he lowered his chin.

i smiled and patted his hand, "thank you for taking the time to stop and talk to me. it was so nice to meet you!"

we then exchanged good wishes for each other's respective loved ones.

<@>

i am so thankful that i had this chance meeting.
i am thankful for all things that remind me of mosses...

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)

time to bring back mosses mondays...

over the weekend i received a facebook message asking for a link to my mosses mondays stories. the person explained that she had lost the link and was wanting to catch up on what she had missed. i sent her the link but explained that there was nothing new there.

i couldn't believe it when i realized my last entry was dated march of last year!

there is so much more to share, and it is time to share it:) so, i hope to have a new entry soon. i also hope my mosses followers will return to the lane for the rest of the story...

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

by one...

wedding cake yogurt
victoria secret sales
pink hydrangeas
cheap airfare
america's top 40
fresh garden tomatoes
shade trees
vera bradley patterns
air conditioning
sea salt
holding hands
cotton anything
summer rain

to be continued...

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

counting the little things...

one-by-one:




pink floats
mikeritas
96sto
flip-flops
cut-offs
my pink and green front porch
ralph lauren sheets, beach towels, and tees
polished toenails
oscillating fans
ac
summer breeze
cocoa butter
snackwells
the charcoal grill
day lilies
the ground hog currently living in my backyard
brightly colored noodles
melon
the light smell of chlorine
lightning bugs
my old transistor radio
cool showers
cotton pajamas


(to be continued...)

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

hope...

as a believer, i always have hope.
God is the grounds for hope...
for believing good can happen.
God is also the grounds for knowing...
He will make good of that we give over to Him.
believing gives us hope.
belief prepares us for and supports us through the worst
with the knowledge that God is good always!

i have passed these beliefs on to katherine.

~@~



months ago when it was time for katherine to order graduation invitations, she chose to forgo doing so. she said she didn't want to send them because she didn't want people to think she was asking for something (other than their presence at her commencement) in return. after a little brainstorming, i went back to her and explained that if she didn't send out invitations there would be those who would think they were overlooked. i made a proposal to her. i told her that she could put an insert in each of her pre-printed invitations, and on it she could make her intentions known. she was happy with the idea.

hence, she decided to request only the gift of the recipients' presence at her ceremony and to give those who insisted on gifting an option.

~@~

before katherine was even 10 years old, she lost 2 people to whom she was very close to cancer. a third was diagnosed and given only a 2% chance of surviving more than 5 years. so, the summer before her tenth birthday, she started actively participating in our local relay for life. that year she walked in memory of her uncle gary and dear friend, ernie, and in honor of her uncle stevie who was in the battle of his life...
for his life.

respectively, cancer robbed her of the man who she spent countless hours with out on his pontoon on his beloved lake misty. cancer robbed her of the man with whom she visited, shared candy corn, and whom she thought was her granddad. further, cancer was attempting to rob her of her uncle stevie with whom she went on most every vacation and celebrated every holiday.

she loved these men with all her heart...

~@~

over the next five years, cancer took katherine's great-uncle bill
and jack, her neighbor... her best buddy.
however, uncle stevie, beat the odds; he was in the 2% that survived!

~@~

even through loss, katherine continued to hope.
she continued to walk for a cure.

~@~

the option upon which she decided was a great one in her opinion.

on her invitation inserts, she wrote:

only the gift of your presence is requested.
however, you may make a contribution to alcan/rio tinto's
relay for life in memory of my uncles:
gary berrong
bill manion
or
steve hurd.
love, katherine

you may have noticed that steve hurd was listed as in memory of instead of in honor of...
katherine's uncle stevie died a week to the day before she received her graduation announcements in the mail...

he won the cancer battle but lost the war of life.

~@~

friends and family were very generous, so generous in fact, katherine was able to donate enough money to purchase more than 60 luminaries! she donated her own money for luminaries in memory of ernie and jack.

kat was thrilled she was able to pay her gifts forward to a great cause...
the search for a cure for cancer!


love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

a friend in need...

last friday i was visiting with friends when one asked if i knew charla tompkins. i smiled and said yes that i'd known her most of my life; then i inquired why she was asking. my friend went on to tell me that charla had had an incident that required emergency care and that she'd been diagnosed with cancer.

my heart sank...

charla was my first, elementary school librarian. she and her husband, glenn, built a home across the street from my aunt and uncle and were neighbors with them for years. charla moved on to be my middle school librarian, for whom i was a student-aid. she was a member of the church i joined when i was in high school. and then, when i took katherine for high school orientation, i caught up with charla there to discover that she was going to be katherine's librarian at henderson county high school. charla explained to katherine our connection and told her if she ever needed anything to come see her.

she meant it;
that is just the kind of person charla is!
she is precious:)

i am posting today for two reasons:

first and foremost, i am requesting prayers on behalf of my friend... i know i have wonderful blogging friends all around the world who have joined with me in prayer before and have made such a difference!

secondly, today is charla's birthday. i would so much appreciate it, if you are a facebooker, if you would go and leave her a message of support and encouragement (you don't have to be a "friend" of charla's to leave her a message). i would be so grateful:)

just click on her photo below:




love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

winning...

i knew that as president of her class katherine was going to give a speech at her class' graduation. however, i was surprised to watch her make her way to and be seated on stage with her principals, school board, and superintendent. my little girl was the master of ceremonies at her commencement!

(katherine is seated at the far right.)

after introducing henderson county high school's choir and band, she began her speech...

Reflections.




On behalf of the graduating class of 2011, I would like to welcome all of you who are here for tonight’s commencement. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank each of you, respectively, for the part you have played in making us the winning graduates we are today.
It has been my pleasure to serve you, the Henderson County Senior High Class of 2011. As I look out among your faces, I recognize many with whom I started this journey 13 years ago. Honestly, in hindsight, it has been a short journey; but, there were days, weeks, and even months that seemed to go on forever...

In the past 13 years we have witnessed a lot of history in the making and learned many valuable lessons:
• In kindergarten, we saw Pokemon debut; we learned “our courage will pull us through.”
• We saw Y2K come and go: we learned K equals one comma zero zero zero.
• We saw the introduction of the iPhone and iPod: we learned that said gadgets can cost us a lot.
• We saw Kelly Clarkson become America’s first “Idol”; we learned that through hard work anyone can win a title.
• We saw Tom Cruise jump on Oprah’s sofa; we learned that bad manners can cause one’s career to be over.
• We saw Vice President Cheney accidentally shoot a hunting bud; we learned that hunting with Dick Cheney’s like hunting with Elmer Fudd!
• We saw Jersey Shore hit the little screen on Thursdays; we learned Thursdays are no longer Thursdays, they now are called Jersdays.
• Recently, we saw ol' osama go out like a flash; we learned it only takes two shots and a splash!

~@~

which brings us to this evening…


Tonight, my classmates, is only the beginning; for, you have worked hard for your diplomas and are as Charlie Sheen says,
“duh, winning!”

class of 2011, you are special,
you are accomplished,
you are winners!!!



her speech was followed by speeches from the valedictorian and salutatorian of her class. after which, katherine joined her classmates in receiving their diplomas and being pronounced 2011 graduates!



my little master of ceremonies was right, she and her classmates...
are special...
are accomplished...
are very much winners!!!

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

time...

when i was a little girl living on the lane,
time went by so slowly...
from summer to summer
from Christmas to Christmas.

~@~

now that i am a wife and mother living on the lane,
time goes by so quickly...
by the time we get our pool closed, it is almost time to reopen it;
by the time we get our Christmas decorations taken down and put away, it is time to pull them out and decorate again.

~@~

since the last time i blogged,
much has happened.
it all happened so quickly;
it almost seems like it was a dream.

~~~

katherine was accepted into the university of evansville and was granted a very generous academic scholarship.



we spent spring break in cancun, mexico.



john and i flew to canada where he received a project award from rio tinto/alcan.



john and i went on a wine tasting tour in indiana.



my family said, "good-bye," to my uncle steve.



katherine went with jacob to their senior prom.



john and i marked 21 years of marriage.



john and i attended katherine's student ambassador recognition dinner.



and just last night...

john and i attended katherine's senior honors night at the high school where she received one of only 12 commonwealth diplomas (in a class of over 400 students) and her student ambassador chords...



which she will wear tomorrow night to her graduation ceremony.

~@~

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

ps. i hope to elaborate on the aforementioned soon:)

seeing purple...

on friday, katherine and i visited
the university of evansville's campus...



~@~@~@~

our experience was great!

kat's admissions counselor greeted us
and went over our agenda for the day,
we then took a tour of the
campus (which was very
informative), had lunch with one
of ue's academic advisers,
met with financial aid, and ended
the day back with her admissions
counselor to debrief.

(katherine awaiting the debriefing)

if all goes as planned,
my kitty kat will be a purple ace
come fall:)



love and God's blessings,
dani xx

adding color to an otherwise gray day...

last weekend was a long weekend off for katherine due to the martin luther king, jr. holiday on monday. so, kat and i made a date to go prom dress shopping. prom isn't until may; but, we knew the earlier, the better selection.

honestly, however, we have been windows shopping ever since the 2011 dresses came off the runway. as a matter of fact, the very first day we were able to view them online, we looked at each and every dress available (over 5,000 dresses) out of which katherine only really liked three.





the first was just a short, fun pick, the second (minus the bolero) was my favorite, and the third was katherine's favorite. i thought they were great choices but told her we should at least go and look at what was in the stores and that it would be a good idea for her to try on some different styles; she agreed.

~@~

therefore, on monday, that is exactly what we did. unfortunately, none of the three dresses katherine had chosen were in the store. but, she did try all of these:









the first was too big,
the second was a maybe,
the third was not lined,
the fourth was a definite maybe,
the fifth was too heavy,
the sixth was only the style she wanted,
and the 7th was just too much dress...

whew!

~@~

in the end, we ordered...



her favorite from the word, "go":)

love and God's blessings,
dani xx