1. I think Violet (Mrs. Jeter) is more excited about Derek Jeter reaching 3,000 hits than any of us. She has been glued to the MLB channel.
2. I think (are you sick of hearing about this yet? did you think I'd given up?) I made some serious headway on Lightroom yesterday. It boiled down to making organizational decisions, and let's face it, I'm just not that organized. If I have time today, I'm going to jump in and see if I can make some things really happen.
3. I think I love it when Neel is in a chatty mood in the mornings.
4. I think Callum has some very exciting things on deck for next week. I can't wait to tell you all about them.
5. I think I'm in a very "want-y" mood these days. (Shopping is hope for the future.) I have so much I want to  - and that I actually am getting rid of, but if I made a list of the things I really want right now, I fear it would be fairly long.

1. I think I'm most proud of my husband today.
2. I think I'm in the mood to do something big. Not sure what that is yet, but I'm feeling the need to stretch a bit.
3. I think I'm we're all very excited that Ama is here. Posting may be light at the start of next week.
4. I think I'm trying to remember that 80% (or was it 95?) of the things that we worry about never come true.
5. I think it's pretty funny that I, who am not a baker, always feel compelled to bake in anticipatition of my mom's visit, especially given the fact that she is (a baker, that is.).

1. I think saying goodbye is hard.
2. I think I love summertime. This is shaping up to be a good one.
3. I think our family is having some interesting conversations, inspired by the christening we attended last weekend. More to come on that later, I imagine.
4. I think the potatoes from Neel's garden are some of the best I've ever tasted.
5. I think it's time to take another step in the living room re-do. Anyone know a good upholsterer?

1. I think sometimes it's okay to put the camera down and just live life.
2. I think we really hit the ground running since school let out. Drinks with neighbors, pool party, dinner with friends, quick getaway weekend (incl. spa day & Busch Gardens!), Rudee Rocket, and coming up: dinner with friends, drinks with neighbors, dinner with friends, a christening...Whew! I'm ready to s l o w
d o w n and have some routine and order.
3. I think I haven't really liked this masthead since I put it up, and I'm ready to change it.
4. I think it's hard to have words for how much this past weekend meant to me. A friend, from long ago, lost and then found again, only to discover that we mean maybe more to each other as adults than we ever did as kids (plus, I love her husband too.). Seriously, how do you find words for that?
5. I think I'm looking forward to a special celebration this weekend and I'm incredibly touched to have been asked to be part of a certain young man's life. His family means very much to me.

1. I think being awakened by birdsong before five after staying up late with Callum to watch game 5 of the NBA finals is not quite the way I wanted to start the day.
2. I think whereas last year was very much an "I don't want to grow up summer," this year might be more of an "I'm grown up enough" summer.
3. I'm looking so forward to seeing some friends this weekend that I can't contain myself.
4. I think the long lazy days (even hot) stretching before us is a lovely feeling indeed. We intend to take full advantage.
5. I think I read one of my favorite lines ever over at Habit a little while ago: Summer means saying yes more often. Like I said, we intend to take full advantage.

1. I think we've had much entertainment and joy watching a family of robins use our backyard as a nursery this week.
2. I think I'm ready for summer. I've already been mentally crafting my end-of-year post for Callum. I can't believe fifth grade is (almost) over.
3. I think we've had some hard lessons this week. All of us. And I know I'm very proud of my son.
4. I think it was probably a mistake to have taken this last photography class. I've simply been too busy to give it the attention I wanted to. That's been disappointing, but it's all on me. I love my work, and I actually love how I've been able to throw myself into it so totally over the last weeks, but I miss balance. I miss taking pictures and being able to focus on other things in my life. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. And I have a treat coming up next weekend. I can't wait.
5. I think my pink living room wall has been a big hit.

1. I think I'm feeling better. Thank you so much to everyone who checked in on me with your emails and calls and comments. I love you all.
2. I think this week has been particularly exciting in the garden. There's corn on the corn! My favorite hydrangeas are in full flush and the beans are popping out. Neel harvested our first strawberry yesterday, and he was we were giddy with delight.
3. I think Neel was probably right to look nervous when I said that my plan for our revamped living room was coming together: part southern, part funky, part mid-century modern & part romantic.
4. I think I'd like to dress up more, just look a little more with it, I suppose. Harder to do in the summer, but I plan to try.
5. I think I've decided on a photography plan for this summer. We're having a Summer Planning Meeting this weekend, and my photography project will be part of it. I have lots of plans.

1. I think Neel needs to drink more water.
2. I think I must have needed a blogging break this week.
3. I think, no matter how old I am, there are times that I will never feel grown up. And not in a good way.
4. I think that while it's been a glorious spring, I wish my heart weren't so tender.
5. I think the best part of Callum's environmental project (aside from the fact that it's over...he's spent the last two months picking up trash at the Elizabeth River) was on the last day when (as he put it) "some random guy" thanked him for what he was doing.

1. I think Screen-Free week has been great. Barely noticable even. But of course, I didn't sign the pledge.
2. I think I want a photography project to get me through the summer since I won't be in a class. Any thoughts?
3. I think one of my favorite moments in my married/motherhood life came this week when Neel (who was in the backyard) did something that made me laugh and laugh from my vantage point on the family room sofa. Callum, who was sitting next to me said, "You really love him, don't you?" Yes, I think I do.
4. I think I'm having trouble finding just the right shade of purple eyeshadow.
5. I think that sometimes the most exciting opportunities are the ones you don't take. In the past few weeks I've been skirting around a job offer that's been skirting around me. It would mean going back to work I did prior to this past year when I've been freelancing from home. Meaningful work for a great organization. Steady reliable income (that's nice!). And yet, the more the more I thought about it and the more Neel and I talked about it, we realized that I would be giving up more than gaining if I took this job. If I do take this job, a lot of the work I am doing now and hope to do in the future would probably be curtailed. I have, in the past year, stepped onto a path that feels like the right path for me. The work feels right, the schedule feels right. I feel right. I own my life. And still, I am not as far down that path as I want to be, so not taking this job feels a bit like a leap of faith. I'm trusting the universe that what feels right really is right. So far, things look good. In this case, I think "no" really means "yes."

1. I think this has been, in some ways...a lot of ways, a pretty awesome week!
2. I think I love being in a photography class. I'm not going to be able to take any this summer, and I'm already worried. It'll be okay. My teacher turned me onto an amazing food photographer (her name is Helene DuJardin) last week, and I'm rushing out to buy her book (if only it were in stock). I figure what with learning Lightroom (still) and all the stuff we'll be doing in class, I won't be able to start being inspired by her until at least June. Okay, let's face it. I'm inspired now, but I won't really be doing anything about it until June. So maybe that'll be my summer project.
3. I think it was as much a big week as it was a good week around here. Neel got some well-deserved good news. I figured some important things out. Some Rilke kinds of things out. ("You must change your life." Extra credit to whomever guesses the reference.) I'm not quite ready to talk about them yet, but I will.
4. I think I'm finally ready to talk about the show, so I'll blog about it next week. Took me long enough, huh? One thing I learned is that I'm not the greatest at embracing the moment. I need to get better about that.
5. I think it feels like everyone I'm taking pictures with (I know, I know back to the photography) knows what they like to take pictures of. Has a niche. I'm not sure I do. I like to take pictures of people, and I like to take pictures of things. I don't totally love taking landscape shots, or wildlife, but other than that, I'm pretty happy going click, click, click at pretty much anything. I told Neel I really want to stretch myself in this class (as if I didn't get enough of that last time!), but I'm still not sure I'll be any closer to figuring some of this stuff out.

1. I think I got some of the best birthday cards ever this year. I have learned to be ruthless (for the most part) when it comes to cards (all in a seeming futile attempt to declutter my life), but this year I had nothing but keepers.
2. I think I would give anything for a week where I had nothing to do but take care of things around the house and in my life. An organization stay-cation. I would clear out cupboards and the refrigerator, chip away at our attic and the guest room closet...that kind of thing. I don't foresee the time on the horizon anytime soon, but that's what I want.
3. I think my mom will have something to say about that last comment.
4. I think I'm wrestling with some stuff right now. Not bad stuff, just figuring out kinds of stuff. In some ways it's exciting because I think it means that I must be on the right path...just that I have things to figure out. It's all good, I suppose, but my mind is full. 
5. I think next week I'll have to tell you the story of the robins who are building a nest outside the window where I write these posts. It sort of reminds me of Billy Joel's Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. I want to tell you about Neel's garden too. That peony doesn't look real, does it?

1. I think I am very much looking forward to my (very different) birthday this year.
2. I think that it is imperative that I take a day this weekend to get my crap together regarding my photo backlog. It's holding me back from taking pictures and from posting here on the blog and that's not good.
3. I think rekindled friendships and richly blooming friendships are sustaining me right now.
4. I think Neel is probably the better field trip parent of the two of us.
5. I think I've said this before, but 41 is going to be great. Nothing but blue skies ahead.

1. I think I'm very much looking forward to coffee this morning with a friend I don't get to see nearly enough of. Hopefully we can make it a more regular thing.
2. I could be wrong, but I think I have a sense that things might be turning a corner around here. In a good way.
3. I think if we're thinking of summer camps, the school year must be drawing to a close.
4. I think I'm still desperate to clean my house and organize my pictures and make some food. I think I'm desperate for order.
5. I think I'm very proud of Callum and all his hard work this year. We had his conference at school this week, and I'd say "thriving" is an appropriate word for how he's doing.

1. I think that on Wednesday I had a once in a lifetime experience.
2. I think I'd like to do it again!
3. I think I'm desparate for a clean house.
4. I think as much as we teased Neel about his passport photo, mine's worse. (And no, I won't be posting it.)
5. I think I miss having a photography class to take.

A sneak peek of (most of) the photos as they lie in wait on our dining room table.

1. I think I am growing tired of waiting on the postman. I have two things coming that I am anxiously watching out for, and I'm well past the "happy anticipation" stage. They need to just get here, darn it.
2. I think this is a very big morning for Callum. I'm excited for him and so nervous too.
3. I think in some ways I was born to live in the Pacific Northwest. The days on end of misty drizzle don't bother me a bit. I will be glad to see the sun though.
4. I think that if I can get through next week, all will be well.
5. I think it's my birth month. Okay, I know it's my birth month. It's been a winter of worry and no small measure of heartache too, but for the most part 40 has been very good to me. I am embraced by the security of my friends and my loving family. If someone had told me that I'd push my writing as far as I have in this year, or my photography, I never would have believed it. I feel good about what I've accomplished this year, and I'm ready for more. No, 40 has been very good. I can't wait to see what comes next.

1. I think I'm feeling remarkably composed about the fact that I'll be hanging a show of my photos in just under two weeks.
2. I think I'm astonished that Callum's foot is just shy of being as big as mine.
3. I think a night of no lacrosse practice AND no math homework this week was just what our family needed.
4. I think I'm feeling interested and hopeful about a meeting I have later today.
5. I think I continue to just love Callum's school. Yesterday the fifth grade got to hear Greg Mortenson speak, all the kids had to dress up...for the boys that means blazers and ties. Today is "Jeans for Japan." Everyone who brings in money to donate to the American Red Cross gets to wear jeans and red shirts. Not too shabby.

1. I think it's pretty funny that last night we had Indian food for dinner, thus meshing the two sides of my husband's not-so disparate heritage. He's half Indian and half Irish. His mother, an Irish lass, is pictured on the right. Wasn't she beautiful?
2. I think I wouldn't mind if someone got this for me.
3. I think work is a blessing.
4. I think I am often moved and surprised by my son, and I shouldn't be. This week I was exceedingly proud when, unprompted, he suggested we send lovingkindness to Japan in the wake of the terrible disasters that have befallen that country. May they be filled with lovingkindness. May they be well. May they be peaceful and at ease. May they be happy.
5. I can't quite believe that by the end of next month I'll be able to say that my work, however humble, has shown at The Contemporary Art Center of Virginia.

1. I think Neel is the funniest person of my acquaintence.
2. I think however that his head is going to explode when he reads this: I've been thinking about changing up our living room. It involves new furniture and a pink(ish) wall.
3. I think I'm really glad Callum and I got to watch the final landing of the Space Shuttle Discovery. She surely was a good ship. They all were.
4. I think that this photography class is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Is it too late to quit?
5. I'm not Catholic, but I think (wish) I could give up worrying for Lent.

One of the photos from my recent shoot at Simply Selma's.

1. I think it happened just like I thought it would. A photography-confidence dip. I'm primarilay chalking it up to mid-session blahs and trying to learn all I can from it, but I definitely have the blahs. Everybody else hung up their pictures for class yesterday and I thought, why are mine so awful? What I do know is this: my pictures aren't awful. But the blahs are.
2. I think I learned that the more I prepare for a photo shoot, the better I like the resulting pictures. Duh.
3. I think last night was not the best frame of mind to go to a class on "How to market your small business online." Amazing class, but when you're thinking, "What flipping business?" And "I could never do this..." Well, you do the math. (I took lots of notes so I'd remember everything for when I feel better later though.)
4. I think Neel and I totally dropped the ball on Spring Break, and despite the fact that I really have too much work to take a trip next week, we should have planned a trip. Next year, we have to be more on it.
5. I think I'm excited that lacrosse season starts in earnest this weekend. And I think I'm especially proud that Callum has volunteered to play goalie. Goalie? Nervous for him, but proud.

1. I think I'm with Callum who says, "If it's not gonna snow, I wish it would just warm up already."
2. I think I have had some signs from the universe in the last week about my photography that I should probably not ignore. Add to that one not-so-great shoot, and my confidence has been on quite the roller coaster lately.
3. I think that when you lead with kindness and generosity (something I sometimes struggle with), good things return to you.
4. I think it's pretty interesting that Callum suddenly wants to "write a cookbook" with me. We're going to have a brainstorming session at the boulangerie this afternoon.
5. I think I can't believe that this is my 600th post. I love this little blog. Where do we go from here?