Hey Jealousy aka Elly's Fancy Cooking...

I know that I inspire (jealousy in) many of you in a myriad of ways. Whether it's my athletic prowess, my divine home design skills, or my amazing free form poetry..there's been a time you've cried yourself to sleep, wishing you were me, right? It's ok to admit it... take comfort in knowing that you're not alone. :)

Well, prepare to cry some more because my niece (the unsinkable Elly Monroe) and I have just gone and conquered the cooking world. Here's our first show-we expect the network to pick it up any day now...

Yours truly,

LORELLY!!!

Come as you are...

Blue sky jello I made with the kids. After we ate it, we danced to Nirvana and forgot about all of our cares for a while.

You know how they say that you never forget how to ride a bike?

Or how some people; who are dancers or artists or whatever, can come back to their craft, even after a long absence?

That has been my experience over the last week.

After 3 years of working almost every single day I have slid back into unemployment with the ease of someone who never left.

My mom made me get in the shower at noon today. I tried to explain to her that if I was in the shower, that there would be no one to watch "say yes to the dress" and "48 hours mystery".

Gosh.

I have also slid easily back into my pattern of showing my mom every cut and scratch, asking my dad to move stuff for me and to fix my car, having my sister Danielle french braid my hair and organize my life.

It's nice to be the family baby again.

Baby Lori

Mi gente

I am back amongst my people. They are strange, it is true. And I'm still completely disoriented from the move. But it's nice to have people who make me dinner, move stuff for me, listen to my problems, and encourage me. And people who dance with laundry baskets on their heads. I love those people the most!

Lori Ann

Penguins and Such

I'm home. It's been a adjustment for me to be surrounded by the craziness that is home. But change is so good for me. And this is going to be the best summer of our lives!

Elly's bathing suit. She put it on and said "Isn't it so beautiful? It's like a penguin"

Lori Ann

I'm writing this from the tub...

Tomorrow is my last day of work. I am seriously going in at 5 am to get all of my paperwork done! 

Anyway, my favorite former intern (who I made bring me lunch today!) stopped by my office and we created this....

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/mis/2416994496.html

You are going to thank me for this. It's a life changer.

Thanks, Laura. For being amazing. I'll pick you up at the train station, whatever day you decide to visit!!

Lori Ann

Memorial Day

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the judgement that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. " (Meg Cabot)

I learned a lot of things when my sister had children. I learned what it meant to love someone more than yourself and to want the world for someone. I know it's not the same as a mother's love, but an aunt's love can be pretty crazy too :)

Those babies have changed how I see the world. I cannot imagine the pain of the mothers who buried their young sons here during the Civil War. I couldn't ever stand at the grave of one of my nieces or nephews. It would probably kill me.

I don't know how they did it.

I dedicate my memorial day not just to the soldiers who gave that last full measure of devotion, but to their devastated mothers (and aunts), who endured the pain of their loss for the rest of their lives. Those women were braver than I could ever be.

Lolee

What's up, house cat?

I have one more week of work left. 

And my clients have graciously agreed to turn up the crazy, in honor of my leaving. 

I have gotten the following questions from them over the last weeks:

1. Do you think the world is about to end?

2. Have you ever had an STD?

3. Do I really need a high school diploma?

They've also danced at their doors, literally singing the words "please never come back" and told me that 2011 was "just the engine starting" before the really bad weather of 2012. 

I am not at the place where I am feeling sentimental about leaving yet. 

Right now, I can still hardly wait to go. 

I am ready to get out of here and have an amazing summer and get a new job and be home again. 

Lolee